AUTHOR: Traditionally, the Book has been accepted as the work of one author, who is Joel himself. Data on the author are scarce, with the exception of his father's name, Petuel. While Joel made prophetic considerations to the people of Judah (Southern Kingdom), Elijah did it in Israel (Northern Kingdom).

ORIGIN OF THE NAME: The name Joel was common in Old Testament times, it originates from the Hebrew name "Yo'el", formed from the combination of the elements "Yahweh​" and "El ", and means "Jehovah is God" or "the Lord is God". It is equivalent in meaning to the name Elijah, which simply reverses the logic, meaning "the Lord is Jehovah".

THEME: The theme of this book is the day of the Lord and presents the figure of destroying locusts as a background, thus demonstrating the consequences resulting from the sin practiced by the people of Israel. Joel starts his ministry parallel to a terrible invasion of locusts, which devastated the land, destroyed the crops and brought general famine. The prophet sees in this calamity a visitation from the Lord and refers to it as a type of the final punishment of the world the day of the Lord [Joel 1:15]. In the midst of calamity, Joel calls upon spiritual leaders to guide the people to repentance [Joel 1:13-14]. There was hope if the people repented [Joel 2:18-27]; the people would know that God was present in Israel and that He alone is God [Joel 2:27]. Such repentance, God said, “would remove the plagues of locusts and drought and restore the blessings of rain, bountiful harvests, and protection from the enemy [Joel 2:19:20]. After repentance, a great outpouring of the Spirit of God would bring about spiritual renewal before the "great dreadful Day of the Lord" [Joel 2:31]. It would be a day of terror for the sinner and a day of blessing for the redeemed. All who would call on the Lord would be saved [Joel 2:32].

COMPILATION: We cannot determine the date of the locust plague, which forms the historical background of this book. There are disagreements as to the date it was written, although we can say that the book does not depend on its date at all; its message applies to man today. Probable dates are 830 or 600 BC. It consists of 3 chapters and 73 verses.