Joel 2:9

Joe 2:9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.

Ver. 9. They shall run to and fro] As soldiers do when they have taken a town by assault, and have leave to plunder. En victoriam et hostilem insultationem, saith Mercer here. See the lively portraiture of victory and triumph.

They shall run upon the wall] After they have scaled it (as before) they shall walk or run upon it as conquerors, without fear of an enemy. Alexander the Great would do so.

They shall climb up upon the houses] No longer now the owners’ castles; for they shall be ferreted out of their retiring rooms, or forced to do as Sardanapalus the Assyrian monarch did; who, straited by the enemy, sacrificed himself with his wealth and wenches to Vulcan in a woodpile (as one phraseth it) in his royal palace.

They shall enter in at the windows, as a thief] Whose property is, 1. To climb up some other way and not to enter in by the door, Joh 10:1; death also getteth in by the windows and that way entereth into palaces, Jer 9:21; so doth Satan (that thief of the truth, as Basil calleth him) wind himself into the soul by the eyes, those windows of wickedness and loop holes of lust. 2. To rifle and ransack, and leave little enough behind him. What clean work these insects made, see before, Joe 1:4, and take notice what great matters God Almighty can do by the most contemptible creatures. Quid cimice vilius, saith Philo the Jew, what can be baser than a louse? and yet all the strength of Egypt was brought down by that despicable vermin? Pliny in his eighth book and 24th chapter tells us out of Mr Varro, that a great town of Spain was undermined and overturned by conies; another in Thessaly by moles; a third in France undone by frogs; a fourth in Africa by locusts; a fifth in Italy by serpents, Clara exitii documenta sunt ex contemnendis animalibus (Plin.). Who hath not heard of Hatto, that merciless Archbishop of Mentz, devoured by mice, though he had moated up himself against their invasion in an island? God cannot possibly want a weapon wherewith to beat his rebels.

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.

Joe 2:9-10. They shall run to and fro in the city — No place shall be inaccessible to them, nor free from them. “Every place,” says St. Jerome, “lies open to them; for they infest not only the fields, and the fruits of the earth, but creep into cities, houses, and the most secret recesses.” The earth shall quake before them — The inhabitants of the land of Judea shall be seized with a horrible dread at their approach. The heavens shall look dark and dismal, because they shall come in such swarms as to intercept the rays of the sun, and the light of the moon and stars. By the expression, The heavens shall tremble, is either meant, that the whole state of the kingdom of Judah, of the very highest in rank and dignity, as well as the meanest, should be struck with a panic at this unusual judgment; or else that the locusts should so fill the sky, that, at a great height, it would appear as if the heavens themselves trembled.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In the city they clatter Heb. יָשֹׁקּוּ. This is an expression of making a din. Cf. (Isa. 33:4) “like the roaring (כְּמַשַּׁק) of the cisterns”; (Prov. 28: 15) “A growling (שּׁוֹקֵק) bear”; (Zeph. 2:9) “the clattering of (מִמְשַׁק) the thorns.” Jonathan, however, renders it as an expression of arms (נֶשֶק). They are armed.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

run to and fro in the city--greedily seeking what they can devour.

the wall--surrounding each house in Eastern buildings.

enter in at the windows--though barred.

like a thief-- (Joh 10:1; compare Jer 9:21).

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

It afterwards follows, Through the city shall they march; over the wall shall they run here and there; into houses shall they climb; through the windows shall they enter like a thief. The Prophet here shows that the Jews in vain trusted in their fortified cities, for the enemies would easily penetrate into them. They shall march, he says, through the city, that is, as though there were no gates to it. The meaning then is, that though Judea abounded in cities, which seemed impregnable and appeared sufficient to arrest the course of enemies, as it had happened almost always, so that great armies were forced to desist when any strong fortified city stood in their way; yet the Prophet says that cities would be no impediment to the Assyrians at their coming to Judea, for they would march through the city, as along a plain road, where no gates are closed against them. They shall then march through the midst of cities as through a plain or open fields. To the same purpose is what follows, They shall run here and there over the wall, he says. These are indeed hyperbolical words; yet, when we consider how slow men are to fear punishment, we must allow that the Prophet in these expressions does not exceed moderation. They shall then run up and down through the city; that is, “In vain you expect that there will be to you any rest or quietness, for ye think that you sill be able for a time to sustain the onsets of your enemies: This,” he says, “will by no means be the case, for they shall run here and there over the wall, as though it were a plain. Besides, they shall climb into the houses, and enter in through the windows, and do this as a thief; that is, though there should be no hostile attack, yet they shall stealthily and secretly penetrate into your houses: when there will be a great tumult, when the whole regions shall meet in arms, and when ye will think yourselves able to resist, they will then as thieves quietly enter into your houses and come in through the windows, and ye shall not be able to close up the passage against them.”

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.

9. They course about in the city; they run upon the wall] no sooner have they gained an entrance than they make the city their own, and take possession of the walls. The exact force of the word rendered course about is not certain: it is used of locusts in Isa_33:4 (“like the attack of locusts, shall they attack it”), of a bear in Pro_28:15 (“A growling lion, and a ranging bear”), and (in a reflexive form) of chariots charging the suburbs of a city in Nah_2:4 (“they justle one another in the broad places”).

climb up into the houses] cf. Exo_10:6. Modern travellers relate the same: e.g. Morier, below, p. 89. Eastern windows, being not glazed, but consisting merely of an opening with lattice-work, would naturally present no obstacle to the entrance of the locusts.

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.

They shall run to and fro in the city,.... Leap about from place to place, as locusts do; see Isa 33:4; and as the Chaldeans did when they became masters of the city of Jerusalem; they ran about from place to place to seize upon their spoil and plunder:

they shall run upon the wall; which before they climbed, now they shall run upon, and go from tower to tower, as the Chaldeans did, and broke clown the walls and fortifications:

they shall climb up upon the houses, and enter in at the windows, like a thief; so the locusts entered into the houses of the Egyptians, Exo 10:6; and Pliny says (s), they will eat through everything, and even the doors of houses. Theodoret on the place observes, that not only this may be done by enemies, what is here said,

"but even we have often seen it done by locusts; for not only flying, but even creeping up the walls, they enter into houses at the windows.''

(s) Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 29.

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

They shall run to and fro in the city - “The city” is questionless Jerusalem. So to the Romans, “the city” meant Rome; to the Athenians, Athens; among ourselves, “town” or “the city” are idiomatic names for the whole of London or “the city of London.” In Wales “town” is, with the country people, the neighboring town with which alone they are familiar. There is no ambiguity in the living language. In Guernsey, one who should call Port Pierre by any other name than “the town,” would betray himself to be a stranger. In Hosea, and Amos, prophets for Israel, “the city” is Samaria Hos 11:9; Amo 3:6. In Solomon Psa 72:16; Pro 1:21; Pro 8:3 and the prophets of Judah (Mic 6:9; Lam 1:1, etc.; Eze 7:23; Eze 33:21), “the city” is Jerusalem; and that the more, because it was not only the capital, but the center of the worship of the One True God. Hence, it is called “the city of God Psa 46:4; Psa 48:1, Psa 48:8; Psa 87:3, the city of the Lord” Psa 101:8; Isa 60:14, then “the city of the Great King Psa 48:2; Mat 5:35, the holy city” Isa 48:2; Isa 52:1; Neh 11:1, Neh 11:18; Dan 9:24; and God calls it “the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel 1Ki 11:32, the city of righteousness” Isa 1:26. So our Lord spake, “go ye into the city” Mat 26:18; Mar 14:13; Luk 22:10, and perhaps, , “tarry ye in the city.” So do His Evangelists Mat 21:17-18; Mat 28:11; Mar 11:1, Mar 11:19; Luk 19:41; Act 7:58; Joh 19:20), and so does Josephus .

All around corresponds with this. Joel had described their approach; they had come over “the tops of the mountains,” those which protected Jerusalem; and now he describes them scaling “the wall,” “mounting the houses,” “entering the windows,” “running to and fro in the city.” Here the description has reached its height. The city is given over to those who assault it. There remaineth nothing more, save the shaking of the heaven and the earth.

They shall enter in at the windows - So in that first great judgment, in which God employed the locust, He said, “They shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth; and they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians” Exo 10:5-6. : “For nothing denies a way to the locusts, inasmuch as they penetrate fields, cornlands, trees, cities, houses, yea, the retirement of the bed-chambers.” “Not that they who are victors, have the fear which thieves have, but as thieves are accustomed to enter through windows, and plunder secretly, so shall these, if the doors be closed, to cut short delay, burst with all boldness through the windows.” : “We have seen this done, not by enemies only, but often by locusts also. For not only flying, but creeping up the walls also, they enter the houses through the openings for light.” : “a.d. 784, there came the flying locust, and wasted the corn and left its offspring; and this came forth and crawled, and scaled walls and entered houses by windows and doors; and if it entered the house on the south side, it went out on the north; together with herbs and trees it devoured also woolen clothing, and men’s dresses.”

Modern travelers relate the same. : “They entered the inmost recesses of the houses, were found in every corner, stuck to our clothes and infested our food.” : “They overwhelm the province of Nedjd sometimes to such a degree, that having destroyed the harvest, they penetrate by thousands into the private dwellings, and devour whatsoever they can find, even the leather of the water-vessels.” : “In June 1646, at Novogorod it was prodigious to behold them, because they were hatched there that spring, and being as yet scarce able to fly, the ground was all covered, and the air so full of them, that I could not eat in my chamber without a candle, all the houses being full of them, even the stables, barns, chambers, garrets, and cellars. I caused cannon-powder and sulphur to be burnt, to expel them, but all to no purpose. For when the door was opened, an infinite number came in, and the others went fluttering about; and it was a troublesome thing when a man went abroad, to be hit on the face by those creatures, on the nose, eyes, or cheeks, so that there was no opening one’s mouth, but some would get in. Yet all this was nothing, for when we were to eat, they gave us no respite; and when we went to cut a piece of meat, we cut a locust with it, and when a man opened his mouth to put in a morsel, he was sure to chew one of them.” The eastern windows, not being glazed but having at most a lattice-work , presented no obstacle to this continuous inroad. All was one stream of infesting, harassing foes.

As the windows are to the house, so are the senses and especially the sight to the soul. As the strongest walls and battlements and towers avail not to keep out an enemy, if there be an opening or chink through which he can make his way, so, in vain is the protection of God’s Providence or His Grace , if the soul leaves the senses unguarded to admit unchallenged sights, sounds, touches, which may take the soul prisoner. : “Death,” says Jeremiah, “entereth through the window” Jer 9:21. Thy window is thy eye. If thou seest, to lust, death hath entered in; if thou hearest enticing words, death hath entered in: if softness gain possession of thy senses, death has made his way in.” The arrow of sin is shot through them. : “When the tongue of one introduces the virus of perdition, and the ears of others gladly drink it in, “death enters in;” while with itching ears and mouth men minister eagerly to one another the deadly draught of detraction, “death enters in at the windows.” : “Eve had not touched the forbidden tree, except she had first looked on it heedlessly. With what control must we in this dying life restrain our sight, when the mother of the living came to death through the eyes! The mind of the prophet, which had been often lifted up to see hidden mysteries, seeing heedlessly another’s wife, was darkened,” and fell. “To keep purity of heart, thou must guard the outward senses.” An enemy is easily kept out by the barred door or window, who, having entered in unawares, can only by strong effort and grace be forced out. “It is easier,” said the pagan philosopher , “to forbid the beginnings of feelings than to control their might.”

Like a thief - that is, they should come unawares, so as to take people by surprise, that there should be no guarding against them. As this is the close at this wonderful description, it may be that he would, in the end, describe the suddenness and inevitableness of God’s judgments when they do come, and of the final judgment. It is remarkable that our Lord, and His Apostles from Him adopt this image of the prophet, in speaking of the coming of the Day of Judgment and His own. “Behold I come as a thief. This know that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched. Be ye therefore ready also, for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. Yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. Ye are not in darkness, that that Day should overtake you as a thief” (Rev 16:15 (add Rev 3:3.); Mat 24:43-44; Luk 12:39; 1Th 5:2; 2Pe 3:10).

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

In this verse we must discern what is any whir proper to the locusts, and what is applicable more fitly to the soldiers figured by them.

They shall run to and fro: this seems not proper to these insects, which move forward, and alter not their course in such limited and straitened bounds as a city; but this well suits with soldiers that conquer a city, and search all places for plunder and prey.

In the city; in every city that they take.

They shall run upon the wall; to clear the wall of all the besieged who did defend it, to help up others that were scaling the wall, and to seize towers which were built upon the wall: this is better fitted to soldiers that take a city than to locusts.

They shall climb up upon the houses; either forsaken and shut fast up by the inhabitants before they left them, or houses defended by such as are in them, as is usual in cities taken by assault.

They shall enter in at the windows; where they can find the first entrance, there they will through, and nothing shall keep them out.

Like a thief; suddenly, unexpectedly, to spoil at least, if not to kill and destroy: locusts and soldiers will do this.

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

They shall run to and fro in the city (or rush to the assault of the city. Wunsche, and so LXX, "They shall seize upon the city"); they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. In the first clause the comparison with an army still continues. The attack has succeeded, the city has been taken by assault, the victorious troops are running to and fro in the city; so far the locusts are fitly represented by an army vigorous in its advance, steady in its march, resistless in its assault, victorious in its attack, and masters of the captured city. The remainder of the ninth verse is not equally applicable to the figure and the fact in common, but belongs exclusively to the locusts themselves; they creep up the wall, climb up upon the houses, and find ingress even at the windows. "There is no road," says Jerome, "impassable to locusts. They penetrate into fields, and crops, and trees, and cities, and even the recesses of the bedchambers;" while Theodoret remarks of locusts that" not only when flying, but by creeping along the walls, they pass through the windows into the houses themselves." Thus there was no spot to which they could not find access, and no place secure from their assault. Yashoqqu. Aben Ezra and Kimchi both connect this word with shoq, a leg. The latter says, "It has the signification of shoq, a leg, and he mentions this word in respect to the locust, because its legs are long; and further, because it is continually going and seldom resting; and thus he (Isaiah) says, "As the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them," as if he said, "a continual going up and down.

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

Runs to and fro - This seems not proper to these insects, but it well suits with soldiers, that conquer a city and search all places for plunder. Run upon the wall - To clear the wall of all the besieged. The houses - Either forsaken by the inhabitants, or defended by such as are in them. Like a thief - Suddenly, unexpectedly, to spoil if not to kill.

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