Joe 1:12 | KingComments | STEP | It is not only the farmers and vineyards who suffer. The whole people, all “sons of men”, share in the disaster. The five tree species, together with the wheat and barley of , are seven in total. This indicates the total extent of the devastation. The palm tree is the date palm. The statement that “all the trees” have been withered, after a number of trees have already been named, completes the picture of desolation. Trees are given by God at creation as a blessing for man. He was allowed to eat free of all trees, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ( ). For the Jew, for whom these crops belong to the blessings of the land ( ), taking them away is a disaster and also a judgment. In addition to their economic value, the trees mentioned are also symbols of spiritual food and refreshment and of joy and fruit in the life of the faithful believer ( ; ). The full joy that could have characterized their lives as people of God has fled. Nothing is left of it.

‏ Joel 1:12

All Trees Are Gone

It is not only the farmers and vineyards who suffer. The whole people, all “sons of men”, share in the disaster. The five tree species, together with the wheat and barley of Joel 1:11, are seven in total. This indicates the total extent of the devastation. The palm tree is the date palm. The statement that “all the trees” have been withered, after a number of trees have already been named, completes the picture of desolation.

Trees are given by God at creation as a blessing for man. He was allowed to eat free of all trees, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:16-17). For the Jew, for whom these crops belong to the blessings of the land (Deu 8:6-10), taking them away is a disaster and also a judgment.

In addition to their economic value, the trees mentioned are also symbols of spiritual food and refreshment and of joy and fruit in the life of the faithful believer (Psa 92:13; Song 2:3). The full joy that could have characterized their lives as people of God has fled. Nothing is left of it.