A Call to Repentance
How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. Joel 1:18
How do the... Not only are the people out of food, but even the grass of the field is not producing, and the cattle and sheep are starving. The drought and the locusts have destroyed everything that even resembles grain. For want of fodder, all green grass and herbs being eaten up by the locusts; and also, for want of water to quench their thirst.
מֶה מַ־ מָ־ מַה מָה
mâh mah mâ ma meh
maw, mah, maw, mah, meh
A primitive particle; properly interrogitive what? (including how? why? and when?); but also, exclamations like what! (including how!), or indefinitely what (including whatever, and even relatively that which); often used with prefixes in various adverbial or conjugational sneses: - how (long, oft, [-soever]), [no-] thing, what (end, good, purpose, thing), whereby (-fore, -in, -to, -with), (for) why.
בְּהֵמָה
behêmâh
be-hay-maw'
From an unused root (probably meaning to be mute); properly a dumb beast; especially any large quadruped or animal (often collectively): - beast, cattle.
The herds of... The larger cattle, as oxen; these were in the utmost perplexity, not knowing where to go for food or drink.
עֵדֶר
‛êder
ay'-der
From H5737, an arrangement, that is, muster (of animals): - drove, flock, herd.
yea, the flocks... Which have shepherds to lead and direct them to pastures, and can feed on commons, where the grass is short, which other cattle cannot. Yet even these were in great distress, and wasted away, and were consumed for want of nourishment.
גַּם
gam
gam
By contraction from an unused root meaning to gather; properly assemblage; used only adverbially also, even, yea, though; often repeated as correlation both... and: - again, alike, also, (so much) as (soon), both (so) . . . and, but, either . . . or, even, for all, (in) likewise (manner), moreover, nay . . . neither, one, then (-refore), though, what, with, yea.
עֵדֶר
‛êder
ay'-der
From H5737, an arrangement, that is, muster (of animals): - drove, flock, herd.
With no harvest available, the storehouses and granaries had been left to deteriorate. The domesticated animals (cattle.… herds… flocks of sheep) were suffering from starvation.
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