Тhe Problem of Dating the Book of the Prophet Joel
https://doi.org/10.31802/BCA.2025.28.4.005
Abstract
Although the question of the dating of the Book of Joel has been examined by a number of scholars, it remains a subject of debate. The reason for this lies in the difficulty of unambiguously interpreting the indirect indications of its date of composition found within the text, as well as the possibility of the book’s gradual formation over time. The purpose of this article is to classify the existing hypotheses regarding the dating of the Book of Joel, along with the arguments put forward by exegetes and scholars in their support, and to identify the specific complexities of its dating problem. To achieve this, the text of the Book of Joel is analyzed, alongside existing commentaries and scholarly works addressing this issue. The research is based primarily on the historiographical method. Furthermore, in the direct analysis of the Book of Joel, philological methods (literary, intertextual, and hermeneutical analysis) as well as historical-critical and comparative-historical methods were employed. The primary sources, besides the Masoretic text of the Book of Joel, included its interpretations by Clement of Alexandria (2nd–3rd centuries A.D.) and by authors of the 4th–5th centuries A.D.: Jerome, Cyril of Alexandria, and Theodoret of Cyrus. As a result of this analytical work, the author concludes that the most substantiated dating for the Book of Joel is the post-exilic period (515 BC — 5th century B.C.).
About the Author
N. M. Stoliarov
Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Nikolay M. Stoliarov - Graduate Student
6, bld. 1, Likhov lane, Moscow 127051
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Review
For citations:
Stoliarov N.M. Тhe Problem of Dating the Book of the Prophet Joel. Bible and Christian Antiquity. 2025;(4):153-168. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31802/BCA.2025.28.4.005
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