Яһуды пайғамбары Йoел және оның кітабы

Abrahamic prophet, author of the Book of Joel

Joel ('/dʒ//oʊ//əl/; – Yōʾēl; – Iōḗl; – Yu'il) was an Israelite prophet, the second of the twelve minor prophets and according to the book itself the author of the Book of Joel. He is mentioned by name only once in the Hebrew Bible, in the introduction to that book, as the son of Pethuel (Joel 1:1). The name Joel combines the covenant name of God, YHWH (or Yahweh), and El (god), and has been translated as "YHWH is God" or "one to whom YHWH is God," that is, a worshiper of YHWH.

Some commentators suggest that Joel lived in the 9th century BC, whereas others assign him to the 5th or 4th century BC. The dating of his book is similarly debated; there are no mentions of kings that might help locate it in time. The book's mention of Greeks has not given scholars any help in dating the text since the Greeks were known to have had access to Judah from Mycenaean times (c. 1600–1100 BC). However, the book's mention of Judah's suffering and to the standing temple have led some scholars to place the date of the book in the post exilic period, after the construction of the Second Temple. Joel was originally from Judah/Judea, and, judging from its prominence in his prophecy, was quite possibly a prophet associated with the ritual of either Solomon's or the Second temple, depending on the date when he lived. According to a long standing tradition, Joel was buried in Gush Halav.

On the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, his feast day is 19 October. Since then, other religious figures have interpreted the words as having special significance for their own time. According to the Eastern Orthodox Christian hymns, the ancient hymnographer Anatolius links Joel's prophecy to the birth of Christ. In Joel 2:30, he says that the blood refers to the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the fire to the Divinity of Christ, and the pillars of smoke to the Holy Spirit.