Book of Joel Chapter 3 Vs. 6

 The Lord Judges the Nations

The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. Joel 3:6

The children...

בֵּן

bên

bane

From H1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like H1, H251, etc.): - + afflicted, age, [Ahoh-] [Ammon-] [Hachmon-] [Lev-]ite, [anoint-]ed one, appointed to, (+) arrow, [Assyr-] [Babylon-] [Egypt-] [Grec-]ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, + kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+) people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, + spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous one, + valiant[-est], whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.

also of Judah...

יְהוּדָה

y^ehûdâh

yeh-hoo-daw'

From H3034, celebrated; Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five Israelites; also of the tribe descended from the first, and of its territory: - Judah.

of Jerusalem...

יְרוּשָׁלַיִם יְרוּשָׁלַםִ

y^erûshâlaim y^erûshâlayim

yer-oo-shaw-lah'-im, yer-oo-shaw-lah'-yim

A dual (in allusion to its two main hills (the true pointing, at least of the former reading, seems to be that of H3390)); probably from (the passive participle of) H3384 and H7999; founded peaceful; Jerushalaim or Jerushalem, the capital city of Israel: - Jerusalem.

have ye sold... They had sold them to the Greeks to get them further away from their homeland, so there would be less chance of them returning. This speaks in the past tense, and is not connected to the end time prophecy, except that God had not forgotten even in the end times what they had done.

מָכַר

mâkar

maw-kar'

A primitive root; to sell, literally (as merchandise, a daughter in marriage, into slavery), or figuratively (to surrender): - X at all, sell (away, -er, self).

unto the Grecians... The sons of Greece. Although not prominent militarily, the Greeks were active in commerce on the Mediterranean in the 9^th century B.C.

בֵּן

bên

bane

From H1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like H1, H251, etc.): - + afflicted, age, [Ahoh-] [Ammon-] [Hachmon-] [Lev-]ite, [anoint-]ed one, appointed to, (+) arrow, [Assyr-] [Babylon-] [Egypt-] [Grec-]ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, + kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+) people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, + spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous one, + valiant[-est], whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.

that...

מַעַן

ma‛an

mah'-an

From H6030, properly heed, that is, purpose; used only adverbially, on account of (as a motive or an aim), teleologically in order that: - because of, to the end (intent) that, for (to, . . . ‘s sake), + lest, that, too.

ye might remove them far...

רָחַק

râchaq

raw-khak'

A primitive root; to widen (in any direction), that is, (intransitively) recede or (transitively) remove (literally or figuratively, of place or relation): - (a, be, cast, drive, get, go, keep [self], put, remove, be too, [wander], withdraw) far (away, off), loose, X refrain, very, (be) a good way (off).

their border...

גְּבֻל גְּבוּל

g^ebûl gebûl

gheb-ool', gheb-ool'

From H1379, properly a cord (as twisted), that is, (by implication) a boundary; by extension the territory in-closed: - border, bound, coast, X great, landmark, limit, quarter, space.

Another feature worthy of notice is that the Phoenicians are accused of selling Jews to the sons of the Jevanim, Ionians or Greeks. The latter lie on the far horizon of the prophet, and we know from classical writers that from the fifth century onward numbers of Syrian slaves were brought to Greece. The other features of the chapter are borrowed from earlier prophets.

Phoenician and Philistine involvement in slave trade (Joel 3:6) is mentioned elsewhere (cf. Amos 1:6, 1:9). According to Kapelrud, the Greeks mentioned here are actually Ionians y^ewānı̂m, who populated the coasts of Asia Minor (Joel Studies, p. 154). Ionian commerce was at its peak in the seventh and sixth centuries b.c. Eze. 27:13, 27:19 mentions Tyrian trading arrangements (including slaves) with the Ionians (or Greece). The trading recalled in Joel may have occurred in conjunction with Judah’s fall to the Babylonians.