Yoel 4 | The Conclusion of Sefer Yoel

Chapter 4 serves as the conclusion of Sefer Yoel, offering an extensive response to the prayers and distress found in Chapter 2. This chapter describes the judgment that God will execute upon the nations, structured into two main sections. In the first section (verses 2–8), the judgment is depicted as retribution for the harm the nations have inflicted upon the people of Israel: “I will carry out judgment against them for the sake of My people – My possession Israel, whom they scattered among the nations and for the sake of My land, which they divided among themselves” (4:2).

In the second section (verses 9–17), the judgment of the nations is not framed as punishment for their past actions against Israel but rather as a response to their current mobilization for war against Jerusalem. This section begins with a call for warriors to prepare for battle against the city: “Declare a war and let the warriors stir. Let all the men of war approach, ascend” (4:9). There is room for debate regarding who is issuing this call — does it describe the rallying cry of the nations’ military leaders, or is it God Himself summoning the nations to war against Jerusalem only to bring about their downfall, similar to the war of Gog and Magog?

The nations' ascent to Jerusalem contrasts with the vision in Yeshayahu Chapter 2. In Yeshayahu’s prophecy, all nations ascend to Jerusalem to hear God’s judgment. Here too, the nations ascend to Jerusalem to receive God’s judgment — but in this case, the nature of the judgment is reversed. In Yeshayahu, the nations ascend to learn God's ways and establish peace, while in Yoel, they ascend only to be judged and struck down. The very location where they sought to assert their power over Israel becomes the place of their downfall. The contrast to Yeshayahu’s prophecy is especially emphasized in the following verse: “Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears” (4:10). Instead of beating swords into plowshares, as in Yeshayahu’s prophecy, the nations do the opposite, underscoring their fervor for war — they beat their plowshares into swords.

The chapter concludes with a redemption that closes several narrative circles in the book. The description, “But the Lord will be a shelter for His people, a stronghold for the children of Israel” (4:16), promises a broader salvation than that of Chapter 3, where only those who call upon God's name are saved (3:5). The verse “So you will know that I am the Lord, your God – the One who resides in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be sacred; strangers will pass through her no longer” (4:17) serves as a response to the priests’ prayer in Chapter 2: “Do not allow Your possession to become a reproach – ruled by nations” (2:17). Furthermore, the descriptions of the day of the Lord, darkness, and the sounding of a voice and a roar — which in Chapter 2 depicted the people’s distress — are used in Chapter 4 to portray their salvation from the nations.