Joel

Though the chronological Bible places Joel after the exile, there is nothing internally or externally to pinpoint the time. It is a timeless message, for nothing in the book depends on the time. Here are three possibilities.
1. Ninth century B.C.
Tyre and Sidon, mentioned together in Joel 3:4, were only united in the early eighth century. The Greeks in Joel 3:6 were not the later Greeks Athens and Sparta, but the earlier Ionian Greeks, who controlled the trade routes in modern-day Turkey in the early eighth century. There is no reference to either Assyrians or Babylonians. The period in history when both were week was from Adad-nirari’s II death 782 B.C. to 745 B.C. when Tiglath-Pileser started his reign. Judah was strong at this time, and King Uzziah was the head of an anti-Assyrian alliance. The Philistines harassed Israel during this time.
The NIV Study Bible p.1339 says a good case can be made for this time.
2. Late-preExilic (597-587 B.C.)
2a. 10,000 men of Judah were deported in 597 B.C. (2 Kings 24:10-16) Also, Jews had been enslaved for years (See the discussion on Joel 3:6).
2b. Future mercy on Judah in Joel 2:12-20.
2c. The Temple was still standing (Joel 1:13)
2d. Future sudden destruction of Jerusalem.
3. Post-exilic (after 587 B.C.)
3a. Joel calls the Judean kingdom Israel in Joel 2:27 and 3:16, so this might have been after the exile of the northern kingdom in 722 A.D.
3b. Many more were enslaved in 587 B.C.
3c. Some see in Joel 2:12-20 God promising mercy to those individuals, not their descendants.
The skeptical work, Asimov’s Guide to the Bible p.630 believes it is the post-exilic. However, he justifies this based on Joel 3:6, where God’s people were sold to the Greeks. Since the Greeks were known to Moses, and Mycenean Greeks lived in Greece prior to Moses, this evidence does not support a late date.

Tomorrow's reading: Welcome to the New Testament! Mark 1:1a; Luke 1:1-4; John 1:1-18; Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23b-38