Joel 2:28 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Joel 2:28
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
to spill forth (blood · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
spirit
רוּחִי֙ru.Chi
H7307
wind · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 1st person feminine singular
flesh
בָּשָׂ֔רba.Sar
H1320
flesh (from its freshness) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
sons
בְּנֵיכֶ֣םbe.nei.Khem
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
daughters
וּבְנֽוֹתֵיכֶ֑םu.ve.no.tei.Khem
H1323
a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms… · conjunction + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
prophesy
וְנִבְּא֖וּve.ni.be.'U
H5012
to prophesy · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
men
זִקְנֵיכֶם֙zik.nei.Khem
H2205
old · adjective, masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
dream
יַחֲלֹמ֔וּןya.cha.lo.Mun
H2492
properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + paragogic nun
dreams
חֲלֹמ֣וֹתcha.lo.Mot
H2472
a dream · noun, common feminine plural absolute
men
בַּח֣וּרֵיכֶ֔םba.Chu.rei.Khem
H970
properly · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
see
יִרְאֽוּyir.'U
H7200
to see · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
visions
חֶזְיֹנ֖וֹתchez.yo.Not
H2384
a revelation · noun, common feminine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Acts 2:16-21 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Ezekiel 39:29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
Isaiah 32:15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Acts 2:2-4 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon th…
Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall loo…
Acts 11:15-18 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Joel 2:28–end
The promises of corn, and wine, and oil, in the foregoing verses, would be very acceptable to a wasted country; but here we are taught that we must not rest in those things. God has reserved some better things for us, and these verses have reference to those better things, both the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory, with the happiness of true believers in both. We are here told,
I. How the kingdom of grace shall be introduced by a plentiful effusion of the Spirit, (Joe 2:28, Joe 2:29). We are not at a loss about the meaning of this promise, nor in doubt what it refers to and wherein it had its accomplishment, for the apostle Peter has given us an infallible explication and applicatio…
afterward--"in the last days" (Isa 2:2) under Messiah after the invasion and deliverance of Israel from the northern army. Having heretofore stated the outward blessings, he now raises their minds to the expectation of extraordinary spiritual blessings, which constitute the true restoration of God's people (Isa 44:3). Fulfilled in earnest (Act 2:17) on Pentecost; among the Jews and the subsequent election of a people among the Gentiles; hereafter more fully at the restoration of Israel (Isa 54:13; Jer 31:9, Jer 31:34; Eze 39:29; Zac 12:10) and the consequent conversion of the whole world (Isa 2:2; Isa 11:9; Isa 66:18-23; Mic 5:7; Rom 11:12, Rom 11:15). As the Jews have been the seedmen of th…
And it shall come to pass afterward,.... After the teacher of righteousness has been sent, and a plentiful rain of the Gospel has been let down in the land of Judea, in the ministry of John the Baptist, Christ and his apostles, and such a comfortable enjoyment of the blessings of grace in it, and the knowledge of God by it; and after the wonderful work of redemption wrought by Christ. R. Jeshua in Aben Ezra and Jarchi both say this prophecy refers to time to come; and Kimchi observes, that the phrase is the same with "in the last days"; and so the Apostle Peter quotes it, Acts 2:17; a phrase, as the above writer observes, which always signifies the days of the Messiah, to which he applies th…
The Church Fathers
But of what creature can it be said that it fills all things, as is written of the Holy Spirit: "I will pour My Spirit upon all flesh." This cannot be said of an Angel. Lastly, Gabriel himself, when sent to Mary, said: "Hail, full of grace," plainly declaring the grace of the Spirit which was in her, because the Holy Spirit had come upon her, and she was about to have her womb full of grace with the heavenly Word.
I have already said, and do again say, that it had been prophesied that this would be done by Him after His ascension to heaven. It is accordingly said, 'He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, He gave gifts unto the sons of men.' And again, in another prophecy it is said: 'And it shall come to pass after this, I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and on My servants, and on My handmaids, and they shall prophesy.'
Next, well-ordered reason and the authority of our faith bid us (in the words and the writings of our Lord set down in orderly fashion) to believe, after these things, also in the Holy Spirit, who was in the times past promised to the church and duly bestowed at the appointed, favorable moment. He was promised by the prophet Joel but bestowed through Christ. "In the last days," says the prophet, "I will pour out from my spirit upon my servants and handmaids." And the Lord himself said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Tongues, Gift of — Granted on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4), in fulfilment of a promise Christ had made to his disciples (Mark 16:17). What this gift actually was has been a subject of much discussion. Some have…
Baptism · OF THE HOLY SPIRIT — OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Drink Offering · Illustrative of the: Pouring out of the Spirit — Illustrative of the: Pouring out of the Spirit
Gentiles · PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF — PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF
Holy Spirit · 31:3;35:31; — 31:3;35:31;
Inspiration Of The Holy Spirit, The · Foretold — Foretold
Man · Called: Flesh — Called: Flesh
Miraculous Gifts Of The Holy Spirit · Foretold — Foretold
Prophecy · Gift of, promised — Gift of, promised
Prophetesses · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Prophets · Women sometimes endowed as — Women sometimes endowed as
Joel 2:28
28. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
28. Et accidet post sic (hoc est, postea,) effundam Spiritum meum super omnem carnem: et prophetabunt filii vestri et filiae vestrae: senes vestri somnia sommabunt: juvenes vestri (aut, viri electi) visiones videbunt.
We have explained why the Prophet began with earthly blessings. One may indeed think that this order is not regular; for Christ does not in vain remind us, that the kingdom of God ought to be first sought, and that other things shall be added in their place, (Matth…
(Heb. ch. 3). Outpouring of the Spirit of God, and Announcement of Judgment.
(Note: Among other special expositions of these verses, see Hengstenberg's Christology, vol. i. p. 326ff. translation.)
Joe 2:28. "And it will come to pass afterwards, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men see visions. Joe 2:29. And also upon the men-servants and maid-servants I will put out my Spirit in those days." As 'achărē-khēn points back to bâri'shōn in Joe 2:23, the formula vehâyâh achărē-khēn describes the outpouring of the Spirit as a second and later consequence of the gift of the teacher for r…
In the more distant future, God would restore his people’s spiritual lives, pour out his Spirit on all people who respond to him in faith, and render judgment on the peoples and nations that refuse to acknowledge his lordship.
2:28-32 The prophet looked beyond his time to the future day of the Lord, when God would pour out his Spirit in ways never before seen and would perform signs and wonders for all humanity to see. The apostle Peter quoted this passage as being fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21).
2:28-29 I will pour out my Spirit upon all people: In Israel, the empowering gift of God’s Spirit had previously been given only to select individuals such as judges (Judg 3:10;…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
