Lexical Summary alah: wail Original Word: אָלָה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance lament A primitive root (rather identical with 'alah through the idea of invocation); to bewail -- lament. see HEBREW 'alah NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to wail NASB Translation wail (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs III. [אָלָה] verb wail (Aramaic אֲלָא,  ) only Qal Imperative feminine singular אֱלִי Joel 1:8 (see אַלְלַי). Topical Lexicon Root Idea and Essential Sense אָָלָה (H421) conveys the involuntary, guttural cry that escapes when deep covenant hopes collapse. It is not the measured lament of a funeral dirge but the instinctive wail of a heart suddenly bereft. Canonical Occurrence Joel 1:8 supplies the single biblical instance: “Wail like a virgin dressed in sackcloth, grieving for the husband of her youth” (Berean Standard Bible). The prophet chooses the image of a young woman whose wedding joy has been shattered before consummation, capturing Judah’s devastation as locusts and drought dismantle harvest, worship, and national stability. Literary Function in Joel 1. Intensifying the Call to Repentance. Joel piles image upon image—vipers of devastation (1:4), withered fields (1:12), extinguished grain and drink offerings (1:13)—but the command to אָָלָה is the emotional apex. It invites Judah to feel what covenant infidelity has cost. Theological Themes • Covenant Marriage: Israel is often portrayed as the bride (Isaiah 54:5; Hosea 2:19). The unfulfilled wedding in Joel 1:8 underscores how idolatry nullifies covenant joy. Historical Background Joel ministered during or shortly after a catastrophic locust plague, likely between the ninth and seventh centuries B.C. In agrarian Judah, such devastation threatened food supply, temple offerings, and social order. The prophetic summons to אָָלָה would have echoed through emptied granaries and silent sanctuary courts, reminding a chastened people of their dependence on Yahweh. Christological Perspective The unconsummated marriage in Joel anticipates the Bridegroom language of the New Testament. John the Baptist rejoices “at the Bridegroom’s voice” (John 3:29), and Jesus identifies Himself as that Bridegroom (Mark 2:19). The wail of Joel 1:8 therefore prefigures the disciples’ brief sorrow during the crucifixion (John 16:20), even as resurrection restores joy. Pastoral and Worship Implications • Call to Authentic Lament: Congregations may resist sorrow, yet Joel validates corporate weeping in crises such as moral failure, natural disaster, or cultural decline. Summary for Ministry Use אָָלָה is a single-appearance verb that nevertheless epitomizes biblical lament. It instructs God’s people to voice grief openly, to treat national calamity as covenant crisis, and to couple sorrow with repentance that expects restoration. In preaching, worship, counseling, and intercession, Joel’s imperative still summons the Bride to cry out—so that despair may yield to deliverance, and ruined fields may blossom again under the faithful love of her Redeemer. Forms and Transliterations אֱלִ֕י אלי ’ĕ·lî ’ĕlî eLiLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts |
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