Joel 2:22

Joe 2:22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

Ver. 22. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field] q.d. Ye shall have no cause to fear for the future: though hitherto ye have suffered hardship, Joe 1:18. Beasts and birds do in diem vivere to live for the day, (as Quintilian saith of them), and take no further thought than for present sustenance. But by a personification (as before the land, so here) the beasts that till it are forbidden to fear want; for God, the great housekeeper of the world, will provide them their meat in due season, Psa 104:27-28, and several meats according to their various appetites. He will hear the heaven, the heaven shall hear the earth, the earth shall bear all kind of fruits, both natural, as herbs of the field and grass of the wilderness, and such as are sown and planted, as wine, oil, figs; so that neither man nor beast shall want anything ad esum, vel ad usum, to eat or to use but have plenty without penury, &c. It shall be said of Judea, as Solinus saith of Spain, In Hispania nihil infructuosum, nihil sterile, that there is no unfruitfulness in any part of it; or, as it is said of Campania, in Italy, that it is the most fruitful plat of earth that is in the universe.

The fig tree and the vine] That before had been barked and wasted, Joe 1:7; Joe 1:12,

do yield their strength] i.e. their utmost fruits; which they could not do without God, into whom therefore the prophet Hosea rightly resolveth the genealogy of grain, wine, oil, &c., Hos 2:22. It is no otherwise with us in spiritual regards. For though we have grace, yet we cannot bring forth that grace to act without new grace; like as trees, though they be fitted to bear fruits, yet, without the influence of the heavens, they cannot put forth that fitness in fruit. Nolentem praevenit Deus ut velit: volentem subsequitur, ne frustra velit (Aug. Enchir. chap. 32).

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(Zac 8:12). As before (Joe 1:18, Joe 1:20) he represented the beasts as groaning and crying for want of food in the "pastures," so now he reassures them by the promise of springing pastures.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Here the Prophet turns his address to the beasts; not that his instruction suited them; but it was a more efficacious mode of speaking, when he invited the very beasts to a participation of the people’s joy; for except the Jews had been made to know that God’s wrath was now nigh at hand, no consolation which the Prophet has hitherto applied would have been of any weight with them. But now since they perceived that God’s wrath did not only suspend over them, but extended much farther, even to the beasts, and since the Lord would have mercy on them, so that his blessing would be partaken in common by the beasts and brute animals, the address was far more impressive. We hence see that the Prophet, for the best reason, directed his discourse to the very beasts, though destitute of mind and discernment. For in addressing brute animals he addressed men with double force; that is, he impressed their minds more effectually, so that they might seriously confess how great was God’s wrath, and also how great would be his blessing.

Beasts, he says, fear not. Then the beasts of the field ought to have dreaded the judgment of God which he had before denounced; for except God had been pacified to his people, the fire of his wrath would have consumed the whole land, trees and pastures; so all the beasts must have been famished. But now when God is reconciled to his people, his blessing will smile on the brute animals. What then is to be said of men? For God is properly propitious to them, and not to brute animals. We hence see that the fruit of reconciliation is made more evident, when it is in part extended to the brute creation.

He therefore says, Fear not, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the desert will grow, the trees will bring forth their fruit. By these words the Prophet intimates, that had God’s wrath toward his people been implacable, the sterility of the land would not have been improved. Now then whence came so sudden a change that the pastures grew, that the trees produced their fruits, both the fig-tree and the vine, except that God was pleased to bless the land, after having received men into favor? We now then apprehend the meaning of the Prophet, even this, — that the land would be made by an angry God to execute his judgment, and that there would be no remedy for the barrenness of the land until men propitiated God. This is the sum of the whole. It now follows —

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

22. The beasts of the field, whose sufferings were described in Joe_1:18; Joe_1:20 need now fear no longer: the “pastures of the wilderness,” which but recently were burnt up (Joe_1:19), will now soon begin to spring.

spring] lit. have young grass: the verb being cognate with the word for “young grass,” Gen_1:11 (“let the earth grass forth young grass”), 12; Psa_23:2 (lit. “pastures of young grass”).

the fig tree and the vine] which were described as ravaged in Joe_1:7; Joe_1:12. The tenses in this verse are in the Hebrew perfects, to be explained as the perfect in Joe_2:21.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field,.... Which before groaned, and were perplexed for want of pasture, and cried because of the drought, Joe 1:18; perhaps the Gentiles may be here designed, in the mystic and spiritual sense, in distinction from the Jews, the children of Zion, in Joe 2:23;

for the pastures of the wilderness do spring; grass in abundance springs up in them, and covers them, so that there was plenty of food for the beasts of the field:

for the tree beareth her fruit; brings forth and bears fruit suitable to it, agreeable to its nature:

the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength; send forth their branches, put forth their buds, their leaves and fruit. This and the preceding clause cannot be understood as a reason why the beasts of the field should not be afraid, for they relate not to them, but to men; and may serve to confirm the mystic sense of the words, as they may refer to the great fruitfulness produced in the wilderness of the Gentile world, through the preaching of the Gospel in the times of the Messiah; which are more clearly pointed at in Joe 2:23; and which were introduced with great outward peace and plenty; and the Jews (f) by the tree bearing her fruit, in the preceding clause, understand barren trees bearing fruit.

(f) T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 112. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The reversal of the whole former sentence is continued up to man. The beasts of the field “groaned, were perplexed, cried” unto God; now they are bidden, “be not afraid;” before, “the pastures of the wilderness were devoured by fire;” now, they “spring” with fresh tender life; before, “the fig tree” was “withered, the vine languished;” now, they should “yield their strength, put out their full” vigor. For God was reconciled to His people; and all things served them, serving Him.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Strength; fruit, as formerly.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field. In Joe 1:18-20, the poor beasts were represented as in greatest perplexity, for want of pasture they were like to perish; but now they are (as if capable of fears or joy from foresight of what was coming toward them) encouraged, they should find pasture, both the tamer which are under man’s hand, and the wilder which range the mountains.

The pastures of the wilderness: see Joe 1:19. Do spring; begin to look green, and the grass fresh promise the food for you. The tree beareth her fruit; all sorts of trees, though they were withered, and seemed to be dead, Joe 1:12, now they recover their strength and bring forth fruit.

The fig tree does not, as Joe 1:12, languish.

The vine is not, as before, dried up, but with change of season hath changed its hue.

Do yield their strength; both these trees do mightily bear, are full of fruit, and bring forth as much as ever they are able to stand under.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field. The dumb animals had groaned in distress for food, but now they too have cause to rejoice, and are here called on to do so; and the suitable cause in their case is also specified. It is as follows: For the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. He thus specifies the ground of gladness in their case also, pointing to the fresh green of the pastures and the fruit hanging in rich abundance and variety on the trees. The fruits of vines and fig trees are net, it is true, the food of the beasts of the fields; but the revival of vegetation in trees, the higher and larger growths, the chief factor in which is moisture, comprehends the revival of the smaller growths of herbs, grasses, and plants, the proper sustenance of cattle. Kimchi"s explanation is that "as the tree bears its fruit in the inhabited part of the world, so in the wilderness the places of pasture grow green." Aben Ezra, who never loses an opportunity of directing attention to contrasts wherever they exist, contrasts "Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field," in this verse with "the beasts of the field cry also unto thee" at the close of the preceding chapter; also "the pastures of the wilderness do spring" with "the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness;" likewise "the tree beareth her fruit" with "all the trees of the field are withered." It has been observed that all plants, even shrubs and trees, spring up at the first as the fresh young juicy green of plants, avD; then they develop into qry or ryxij, grass: into herb, bce; and into tree, xe yrc is not the plural for but singular, after the analogy of ymv. (Psa_96:12) Nasaperi, equivalent to "lift up, bear," is more poetical than asah peri, equivalent to "make fruit;" so in Latin, surgunt fruges. The expression, "yield their strength," puts the cause for the effect; the strength of the tree produces the fruit and centres in it.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Their strength - Bring forth as much as they are able to stand under.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.