Joel 1:2

"Hear this, you elders, and listen, all you inhabitants of the land! Has this ever happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?"

Key Reflection

Hear this, you elders, and listen, all you inhabitants of the land! Has this ever happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? This call to attention addresses the older generation as well as everyone else, indicating a serious event is about to be communicated. The question probes whether such a catastrophic experience has occurred before, suggesting that whatever is impending is unprecedented and significant for all generations to remember and pass on.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Hear this, ye old men -By reason of their age they had known and heard much; they had heard from their fathers, and their father’s fathers, much which they had not known themselves. Among the people of the east, memories of past times were handed down from generation to generation, for periods, which to us would seem incredible. Israel was commanded, so to transmit the vivid memories of the miracles of God.

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