Book of Joel Chapter 1 Vs. 10

An Invasion of Locusts

The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. Joel 1:10

The field is ... By the locust, that eats up all green things, the grass and herbs, the fruit and leaves of trees.

שָׂדַי שָׂדֶה

śâdeh śâday

saw-deh', saw-dah'ee

From an unused root meaning to spread out; a field (as flat): - country, field, ground, land, soil, X wild.

שָׁדַד

shâdad

shaw-dad'

A primitive root; properly to be burly, that is, (figuratively) powerful (passively impregnable); by implication to ravage: - dead, destroy (-er), oppress, robber, spoil (-er), X utterly, (lay) waste.

the land mourneth... Being destitute, nothing growing upon it, and so looked dismally, and of a horrid aspect; or the inhabitants of it, for want of provision.

for the corn... By the locusts, and so by the Assyrian or Chaldean army, before it came to perfection.

אֲדָמָה

'ădâmâh

ad-aw-maw'

From H119; soil (from its general redness): - country, earth, ground, husband [-man] (-ry), land.

אָבַל

'âbal

aw-bal'

A primitive root; to bewail: - lament, mourn.

the new wine... In the grape, through the drought after mentioned: or, is ashamed; not answering the expectations of men, who saw it in the cluster, promising much, but failed.

תִּירֹשׁ תִּירוֹשׁ

tı̂yrôsh tı̂yrôsh

tee-roshe', tee-roshe'

From H3423 in the sense of expulsion; must or fresh grape juice (as just squeezed out); by implication (rarely) fermented wine: - (new, sweet) wine.

the oil languisheth... Or sickens; the olive trees withered; the olives fell off, as the Targum, and so the oil failed. The corn, wine, and oil, are particularly mentioned, not only as being the chief support of human life, as Kimchi observes, and so the loss of them must be matter of lamentation to the people in general.

יִצְהָר

yitshâr

yits-hawr'

From H6671; oil (as producing light); figuratively anointing: - + anointed, oil.

But because of these the meat and drink offerings were, and therefore the priests in particular had reason to mourn.

The offering stopped, because of the failure of the crops. We will study in the book of Isaiah that much of the devastation was from natural causes.

Isa. 24:3 "The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word."

An Invasion of Locusts

The destruction of the crops (grain, grapes, and olive oil, Joel 1:10; cf. Hos. 2:22) had left the priests who served in the house of the Lord without the essentials for the daily grain offerings minḥâh, which included flour and oil (cf. Num. 28:5), and drink offerings nesek, which included wine (cf. Exo. 29:40; Num. 28:7).

אָבַד

'âbad

aw-bad'

A primitive root; properly to wander away, that is lose oneself; by implication to perish (causatively, destroy): - break, destroy (-uction), + not escape, fail, lose, (cause to make) perish, spend, X and surely, take, be undone, X utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.