Joel and Amos

Tyndale Old Testament Commentary

by David Allan Hubbard

Joel's arresting imagery--blasting trumpet, darkened sun and marching hosts--has shaped the church's eschatological vision of a day of wrath. Amos's ringing indictments--callous oppression, heartless worship and self-seeking gain--have periodically awakened the conscience of God's people. Twenty-five-hundred years after they were first born, those prophetic words never fail to awaken and arrest. Viewed against the background of their culture and society, artistry and context, these visions and oracles take on even more vibrant colors and cleaner lines. This commentary is a valuable guide to the fascinating world and challenging word of these two prophets. Ever mindful of the wider context and composition of these ancient but living texts, David Hubbard shows how Joel and Amos addressed Israel's mind and heart. The original, unrevised text of this volume has been completely retypeset and printed in a larger, more attractive format with the new cover design for the series

Genres: Reference, Biblical Studies, Theology, Old Testament, Christian, Nonfiction

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

David Allan Hubbard was the President of Fuller Theological Seminary between 1963 and 1993.

Reviews

[Kofi Opoku · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good primer on both books.

[Chris Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

The prophets are arguably the most difficult Biblical books to understand. Their assumed recognition of geopolitical events and places along with many cultural idoms (sarcasm, puns, imagery, et al) leave the modern reader often confused and left with the impression that the prophets have little to offer the NT church.

Hubbard helps dispel this misnomer in his treatment of Joel and Amos. In his relatively brief work, he traces the verses across the panoply of the text without rendering them in isolation from the whole. His expertise of the culture, geography, and language enables him to clearly and simply communicate the thrust of the prophets' aims in employing rich literary devices to impact their respective audiences. Most importantly, Hubbard approaches the text with the assumption that it is the Word of God and penned by the original author, thus side-stepping much of the modern assumptions that the prophets were extensively redacted and repurposed in the post-exilic community.

Nevertheless, at times his rather brief treatment falls short of more thorough exegesis. His presentation avoids almost entirely linguistic considerations and at times brushes across exegetical factors that would warrant (in my opinion) further analysis.

That said, this book is an excellent, simple overview of Joel and Amos.

[Joe Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

After disliking Hubbard's book on Hosea, I was worried about getting through this book but it turned out to be a solid commentary. Joel is understood as being about literal locusts and nothing else. This seems a bit odd as I would have assumed some symbolism, but in an agricultural country, a locust plague would be disastrous. Amos was a workmanlike effort on an early prophet that did a decent job setting the man and his ministry in time and space.

[Noah Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I only read half of the book. As I studied through the book of Joel with a friend this commentary was our trusty companion. I would definitely recommend the portion I read which is the portion that covers the book of Joel. I am grateful for Ligonier ministries, who on their website listed this as a resource they recommend for the book of Joel.

[Loraena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the Amos portion of this book pretty helpful for a class project.

[Stinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful commentary for learning about and teaching on Joel and Amos

[Jon Pentecost · Rating 4 out of 5]

The TOTC series in general is exceptional in being consistently useful. I think the thing that stood out about Hubbard is that you get a sense of the spiritual warmth of the text. However, Hubbard does not dig too far into specific individual textual issues.

Used in preparing to preach Joel in 2021, Amos in 2023.

[Mandy]

Great reference for studying Amos.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the Amos section for a Bible study.