Introduction: What the Chapter Is About
Chapter 4 of Yoel is the closing chapter of the book, and its central theme is the Day of Judgment for the nations for what they perpetrated against Israel, alongside the redemption of Yehudah and Yerushalayim. Even before we approach the verses, we must preface with a fundamental dispute among the commentators regarding the era to which this prophecy refers. The Ibn Ezra cites: "Because of this verse, many thought that the prophecy refers to the future" - that is, many understood that "in those days" refers to the End of Days, "and perhaps it is so." However, he quotes in the name of Rabbi Moshe that the prophecy refers to the days of King Yehoshaphat, when the fear of Hashem fell upon all the surrounding nations of Yerushalayim, they brought him tribute, and in his days the captives from his ancestors' times returned. According to this, "and I will bring them down to the Valley of Yehoshaphat" refers to that gathering of the children of Moav, Ammon, and Mount Seir who came to wage war against Yehoshaphat, who possessed an immense army from Yehudah and Binyamin; that place was called "Emek Berachah" and was named after the king as "the Valley of Yehoshaphat." Thus Ibn Ezra directs the entire chapter to the era of Yehoshaphat. We shall follow the approach of the other commentators: that the entire chapter speaks of the future, of the War of Gog and Magog in the End of Days.
"I Will Return the Captivity of Yehudah and Yerushalayim" - And What About the Ten Tribes?
כִּי הִנֵּה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵמָּה וּבָעֵת הַהִיא אֲשֶׁר אָשִׁיב אֶת שְׁבוּת יְהוּדָה וִירוּשָׁלִָם׃ - "For behold, in those days and at that time, when I return the captivity of Yehudah and Yerushalayim."
The meaning is: when the End of Days arrives and Hashem redeems Yehudah and Yerushalayim. One might ask: why did he not mention the Ten Tribes? In truth, Chazal debate whether the Ten Tribes are destined to return, and our accepted view is that they will indeed return. Why, then, were they not mentioned? The Malbim explains that because the tribe of Yehudah is paramount, it alone was mentioned. The Radak adds: since the Mashiach descends from the tribe of Yehudah, and this passage addresses the redemption, it specifically mentions the tribe of Yehudah. Yerushalayim was mentioned because it is the capital city, the royal seat of the kingdom, and also because the War of Gog and Magog will take place there and the nations will gather there. Thus, the specific mention of Yehudah and Yerushalayim alone gives no reason to think that the remaining tribes and the other cities of Israel will not be redeemed; rather, all of them will be redeemed.
"Whom They Scattered Among the Nations" - The Nations That Exceeded Their Mission
וְקִבַּצְתִּי אֶת כָּל הַגּוֹיִם וְהוֹרַדְתִּים אֶל עֵמֶק יְהוֹשָׁפָט וְנִשְׁפַּטְתִּי עִמָּם שָׁם עַל עַמִּי וְנַחֲלָתִי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר פִּזְּרוּ בַגּוֹיִם וְאֶת אַרְצִי חִלֵּקוּ׃ - "I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Yehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there concerning My people and My heritage, Israel, whom they scattered among the nations, and divided up My land."
The Malbim explains: The Holy One, blessed be He, will orchestrate events so that all the nations assemble in the Holy Land, as prophesied by Yechezkel regarding the War of Gog and Magog. It is explained there that the children of Edom will be aroused to wage war against the children of Yishmael - this is the first stage; afterward, the children of Yishmael will fight against the children of Edom - the second stage. Then the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring them down to the Valley of Yehoshaphat, which is called "Gei Hamon Gog" (the Valley of the Multitude of Gog), and there the fallen will fall. And why is it called the Valley of Yehoshaphat? After the phrase "and I will enter into judgment with them there" (ve-nishpatti immam sham) - for there Hashem will bring them to justice concerning His people and His heritage, for all the evils that the nations inflicted upon us throughout the generations.
One might ask: Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself decree exile upon us? If so, why should the nations pay a penalty? Is it not written, "Ashur, the rod of My anger" - he was merely an instrument that Hashem used to strike us, and after all, we deserved the punishment! The answer is: "I was angry only a little, but they helped to worsen the affliction." They were exceedingly overzealous in executing their mission; they were stringent with it to the standard of a Chazon Ish measure and even beyond, refusing to settle for the bare minimum.
This is the meaning of "whom they scattered among the nations": It was decreed upon Israel to end up among the nations, but the relentless scattering itself stemmed from the wickedness of those rulers. We arrived in Spain and found rest there - then they came, expelled us, and scattered us across numerous lands; and so it was with every place we reached. Exile was decreed upon us, but this widespread scattering among the nations - that is what you did yourselves.
"And divided up My land": They treated Israel as though they were a gentile's monetary chattel, and they partitioned the land as if they had purchased it and it belonged to them. They acted this way as early as the Balfour Declaration and the subsequent partition of the land: this portion for the Jews and this portion for the Arabs. Because they viewed Israel as their slaves, and whatever a slave acquires belongs to his master, they came and took control over the Holy Land, imagining themselves to be its owners. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: This I never gave them, and for this I am entering into judgment with them.
"And Gave a Boy for a Harlot"
וְאֶל עַמִּי יַדּוּ גוֹרָל וַיִּתְּנוּ הַיֶּלֶד בַּזּוֹנָה וְהַיַּלְדָּה מָכְרוּ בַיַּיִן וַיִּשְׁתּוּ׃ - And for My people they cast lots, and gave a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, and drank.
"And for My people they cast lots" - they regarded the very bodies of Israel as monetary property. They took the Jews captive, and every captive was deemed a commodity in their eyes. They cast lots among themselves to determine who would acquire this one as a manservant and that one as a maidservant. And so degraded were the captives in their eyes that "they gave a boy for a harlot" - when the gentile went to a harlot, he gave her the Jewish boy as her fee; the child became a worthless vessel to be traded away. "And sold a girl for wine" - when he wanted to drink wine, he gave the captive girl as payment for the wine. Says the Holy One, Blessed be He: Does this not warrant that I bring them to judgment?
Tyre and Sidon: Retribution Inflicted Without Permission
וְגַם מָה אַתֶּם לִי צֹר וְצִידוֹן וְכֹל גְּלִילוֹת פְּלָשֶׁת הַגְּמוּל אַתֶּם מְשַׁלְּמִים עָלָי וְאִם גֹּמְלִים אַתֶּם עָלַי קַל מְהֵרָה אָשִׁיב גְּמֻלְכֶם בְּרֹאשְׁכֶם׃ - And also, what are you to Me, Tyre and Sidon and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying Me back with retribution? And if you are inflicting retribution upon Me, swiftly and quickly I will return your retribution upon your head.
The nations into whose hands Israel was delivered were Assyria and Babylon, and even they will be judged for exceeding the measure. But you - Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia - Israel was never handed over to you at all. Therefore, there is a fundamental claim against you from the outset: Who told you to do evil to them?
The Malbim distinguishes here between three expressions. "Paying retribution" (meshalem gemul) refers to a person who received evil from his fellow and repays him in kind, evil for evil; the payment is always in response to what was done to him beforehand. "Inflicting retribution" (gomel gemul), without the term for payment, refers to someone who harms his fellow out of hatred and inner malice, even though the fellow did nothing to him. And there is "returning retribution" (meshiv gemul) - which is like paying, except that the return is measure for measure in the exact same manner. When one pays retribution, he can pay in a different currency: he drowned our children in the Nile, and Hashem judges him with fire. But when one returns retribution - he drowned our children in the Nile, and Hashem drowns him in the Yam Suf. This is what the verse in Eichah means by "You will return retribution to them" - that Hashem will exact punishment from them in the exact same measure as they did to us, making it unmistakably recognizable that this is their recompense for the harm they inflicted upon us.
Now the repetition in the verse is understood. "Are you paying Me back with retribution?" - did I ever do you any harm that you are repaying Me for it? What wrong did I do to you that would warrant you capturing My children and enslaving them? And if you say that there is no payment here at all, "and if you are inflicting retribution upon Me" - that is, purely out of malice and hatred, Hashem says: "swiftly and quickly I will return your retribution upon your head." I will not wait for you until the Day of Judgment at the end of days like the other nations, but rather I will punish you immediately. And so it was: already in the days of Alexander of Macedon, Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia were destroyed and reduced to perpetual ruins, their immediate recompense.
"You Have Taken My Silver and My Gold" - and the Sale of the Children to the Greeks
אֲשֶׁר כַּסְפִּי וּזְהָבִי לְקַחְתֶּם וּמַחֲמַדַּי הַטֹּבִים הֲבֵאתֶם לְהֵיכְלֵיכֶם׃ - For you have taken My silver and My gold, and brought My goodly treasures into your temples.
Here the verse details the rest of the evils. "You have taken My silver and My gold" - I did not deliver their wealth into your hands as their wealth was handed over to Nevuchadnezzar; you took it on your own initiative. "And My goodly treasures" - the precious and beautiful items you took and brought into your palaces and temples.
וּבְנֵי יְהוּדָה וּבְנֵי יְרוּשָׁלִַם מְכַרְתֶּם לִבְנֵי הַיְּוָנִים לְמַעַן הַרְחִיקָם מֵעַל גְּבוּלָם׃ - And the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem you sold to the children of the Greeks, in order to distance them from their border.
This is far more severe than taking the money. You took the money for your own pleasure, and you took the children as slaves for profit - at least there is an understandable human motive of acting for self-benefit. But selling them off to a distant land, what did you gain from that? That was done purely out of enmity and malice, "in order to distance them from their border."
The Exact Retribution: The Jews in Greece Will Purchase the People of Tyre
הִנְנִי מְעִירָם מִן הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר מְכַרְתֶּם אֹתָם שָׁמָּה וַהֲשִׁבֹתִי גְמֻלְכֶם בְּרֹאשְׁכֶם׃ - Behold, I will arouse them from the place where you sold them, and I will return your retribution upon your own head.
We noted that the return of retribution corresponds precisely measure for measure, and so it will be. When the Greeks came and destroyed Tyre and Sidon, they took the people of Tyre and Sidon captive to the land of Greece. And who was already in Greece from long ago? The Jews, for it was the Tyrians and Sidonians who had sold us to Greece! Thus, the Tyrians and Sidonians were now sold to the Jews residing in Greece.
וּמָכַרְתִּי אֶת בְּנֵיכֶם וְאֶת בְּנוֹתֵיכֶם בְּיַד בְּנֵי יְהוּדָה וּמְכָרוּם לִשְׁבָאיִם אֶל גּוֹי רָחוֹק כִּי יְהֹוָה דִּבֵּר׃ - And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation, for Hashem has spoken.
Those very Jews whom you sold to Greece will purchase you, and they will sell you to the Sabeans - the kingdom of Sheba, a distant nation. Measure for measure: you did this "to remove them far from their border," and now you will be sold to Sheba, far from your own border, so that you are punished by the hands of the Jews themselves.
A textual note: The Radak writes "לשבאיים" - with the alef carrying a chirik and the yud quiescent. But in our text it is "לִשְׁבָאיִם", where the alef is quiescent and the yud carries a chirik. It is cited in the pamphlet Masoret Shaul that there is a printing error in the Radak here, and that in his work Michlol, the Radak himself writes according to our text of the verse.
Return to the War of Gog: Three Campaigns
קִרְאוּ זֹאת בַּגּוֹיִם קַדְּשׁוּ מִלְחָמָה הָעִירוּ הַגִּבּוֹרִים יִגְּשׁוּ יַעֲלוּ כֹּל אַנְשֵׁי הַמִּלְחָמָה׃ - Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war, arouse the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.
Here the parenthetical section concerning the people of Tyre closes, and the prophet returns to the primary subject: the nations whom Hashem gathers to the Valley of Yehoshaphat and from whom He exacts retribution for the excessive suffering they inflicted upon us. "Proclaim this among the nations, prepare for war" - the nations will be aroused to come to battle.
The Malbim explains: I have already explained in the Book of Yechezkel, in chapters 32, 38, and 39 (and whoever wishes may consult the lessons on Yechezkel, where these matters are discussed at greater length, as well as the prophecy of Zechariah concerning Gog and Magog, which is even more detailed). There it is explained that in the future to come, the nations will be aroused to conquer the Land: the descendants of Edom will come and cause great slaughter among the people of Egypt, who belong to the Ishmaelite faith. Afterwards, the Ishmaelites will be aroused to take vengeance on Edom and will inflict great slaughter and destruction upon them. Then the Edomites will return a second time to battle the Ishmaelites and strike them down. Thus, there are three campaigns: in the first campaign Edom strikes Ishmael, in the second Ishmael strikes Edom, and in the third Edom exacts retribution from Ishmael.
And regarding the first campaign, it is said here, "Arouse the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up" - the mighty warriors, skilled tacticians of war and men of valor. Notice that in the second campaign, mighty warriors are no longer mentioned at all, for the mighty warriors will have already perished in the first campaign.
"Let the Weak Say, 'I Am Mighty'"
כֹּתּוּ אִתֵּיכֶם לַחֲרָבוֹת וּמַזְמְרֹתֵיכֶם לִרְמָחִים הַחַלָּשׁ יֹאמַר גִּבּוֹר אָנִי׃ - Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, 'I am a warrior.'
The sword-wielders have already all been killed, and they have no swords left. What do they do? They take the plowshare and beat it - reshaping and sharpening it - until it is fit to serve as a sword; and the farmers are the ones who will go out to fight. "Your pruning hooks" (mazmeroteichem) - a pruning hook, as the Radak explains, is the tool used to cut vine branches, and from them they will fashion spears. And since the mighty warriors have already fallen in the first campaign, none remain but the weak who come with improvised weapons, and "let the weak say, 'I am a warrior.'"
The Radak notes: observe that regarding the era of peace following the war, an exactly opposite prophecy is stated - "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks." Here, a sword is made from a plowshare and a spear from a pruning hook, whereas in the future, when Hashem swallows up death forever, it will be the reverse. There is also room to understand these words in connection to our own era - not to assert that this is the War of Gog, but it is very possible that this entire era expresses this reality: an era of stabbing attacks, terror strikes with improvised means, pipe bombs, and the like. There is no sophisticated arsenal here, but improvised weapons with which they come and murder.
"Ushu VaVo'u" - A Unique Biblical Word and Its Decipherment
עוּשׁוּ וָבֹאוּ כָל הַגּוֹיִם מִסָּבִיב וְנִקְבָּצוּ שָׁמָּה הַנְחַת יְהֹוָה גִּבּוֹרֶיךָ׃ - Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather; there bring down, Hashem, Your mighty ones.
All the remaining nations will go off to fight a third time, which is the war of Edom against Yishmael. Notice that here there will be no might whatsoever: "Bring down (hanchat), Hashem, Your mighty ones" - hanchat denotes bringing down and lowering, like mei nachat (low, gently flowing waters), implying lowered and degraded. There will be no mighty men at all; rather, all will be brought low.
And what is the meaning of ushu? The Malbim writes: It has no companion (ein lo rei'a). Here is an important insight for every student of Tanach: the method of the early commentators in clarifying the meaning of a word was to search for its parallel elsewhere in Scripture - what is done today with a concordance or digital search tools, but which they held in their heads. For example, if one does not know the meaning of av, and sees in another verse av he'anan ("the density of the cloud"), one immediately understands that avim are a type of cloud. This is a logical deduction from another passage where the context is clearer. But when it is said of a word that "it has no companion" - meaning it is a unique word appearing only once throughout the entire Tanach in any of its forms (which the Masorah designates with the letter Lamed, for leit, "there is no other") - it cannot be learned from another verse. What is done then? First, one attempts to understand it from the context itself; and second, one tries to compare it, sometimes even by a remote association, to similar words.
First, from the context: "Ushu and come, all you surrounding nations" - since the word is linked to "and come" and to the gathering of the nations, it clearly implies gathering together. Thus both the Malbim and the Radak explain: ushu means "gather." However, the question remains why the verse chose this specific expression. The Malbim maintains that ushu derives from ash (moth), which is frail ("like a moth"), and an assembly of frail individuals is termed ushu; that is why it does not say yikabtzu or he'asefu. The Radak connects it to "Ash, Kesil, and Kimah," which are constellations - a cluster of stars - and just as they are clustered together, so too ushu means gather. Notice that both explanations are somewhat remote: the fragile "moth" does not naturally fit here, and even if it refers to a cluster of stars, why single out Ash rather than Kesil or Kimah? Yet this serves as a wonderful example of how commentators decipher unusual words in Scripture.
Rashi takes a different approach. He cites Menachem that ushu is equivalent to chushu ("hurry"). How so? Here another grammatical principle is needed: words often vary through the interchange of phonetic cognates - letters sharing the same point of articulation. There are five phonetic groups in the Hebrew language: the dentals (דטלנ"ת), the labials (בומ"ף), the palatals (גיכ"ק), the gutturals (אהח"ע), and the sibilants (זסשר"ץ). The grammatical rule states that letters sharing the same phonetic source may interchange. Thus, if the Ayin is substituted with a Chet - both being gutturals - the result is chushu ("hurry"). Targum Yonatan, however, translates it as yitkanshun ("they will gather"), and Targum Yonatan is always a primary authority for Rashi. It turns out that the Radak and the Malbim align with Targum Yonatan, who preceded them, viewing the term as an expression of gathering. Yet Rashi offers a different etymology for this: from the phrase eshet barzel ("a block of iron"), which is a lump of iron pressed and bound together. Thus we have three interpretations, each tracing the word to a different root: the fragile moth (ash), the constellation of Ash, and the dense block of iron (eshet).
The Parable of the Harvest, the Winepress, and the Vats - The Three Campaigns
יֵעוֹרוּ וְיַעֲלוּ הַגּוֹיִם אֶל עֵמֶק יְהוֹשָׁפָט כִּי שָׁם אֵשֵׁב לִשְׁפֹּט אֶת כָּל הַגּוֹיִם מִסָּבִיב׃ - Let the nations rouse themselves and go up to the Valley of Yehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
שִׁלְחוּ מַגָּל כִּי בָשַׁל קָצִיר בֹּאוּ רְדוּ כִּי מָלְאָה גַּת הֵשִׁיקוּ הַיְקָבִים כִּי רַבָּה רָעָתָם׃ - Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, tread, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.
Now the prophet returns to describe the three wars by way of parable and metaphor. The first time: the nations are likened to grain standing in its stalks, while they are still all dwelling peacefully upon their land. Then the reapers are commanded, as it were, "Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe" - go and reap this grain; the measure of their sins is full, and the time has arrived to exact retribution from the nations.
The second time: "Come, tread, for the winepress is full." Here it is no longer standing grain; they have already undergone one war and been harvested, and behold, they are like grapes that have been harvested and placed in the winepress - the place where grapes are gathered to be trodden. Hashem says: The time of treading has arrived; after the reaping comes the time to exact even greater retribution from them.
The third time: "The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great." Now they are like grapes that have already been trodden, but the wine must still be drawn out. For they used to tread the grapes in a hollow in the ground, and from there the juice would pour down into a lower basin, thereby separating the wine from the skins and seeds. They have already gone through two wars, they have already been trodden, and they were only not yet separated from the seeds and skins - and concerning this it is said, "The vats overflow," draw the wine into the vat. "For their wickedness is great" - because their evil is so immense, the command is given to tread and trample them, in the sense of "I have trodden the winepress alone... and I trod them down in My anger, and trampled them in My fury," an expression of what Hashem will do to the nations for all the suffering they caused us.
And what is the meaning of heshiku? The Malbim explains that it comes from the root of mashkeh (drink) - they filled them with drink. Others explain, as we saw earlier, that when wine pours from the upper pit where it is trodden into the pit below it, it makes a sloshing, rushing sound. And there are those who explain it from the idea of hashakah, just as vessels were brought into contact to purify their contents, creating a connection between the liquid inside the vessel and the liquid outside, thereby purifying the water in the vessel.
The Valley of Decision (Emek HeCharutz)
הֲמוֹנִים הֲמוֹנִים בְּעֵמֶק הֶחָרוּץ כִּי קָרוֹב יוֹם יְהֹוָה בְּעֵמֶק הֶחָרוּץ׃ - Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of Hashem is near in the valley of decision.
Multitudes will gather in the Valley of Yehoshaphat. The Valley of Yehoshaphat is named for judgment (mishpat), for Hashem will bring the nations there to trial to see who is acquitted and who is guilty, who harmed Israel. Afterwards, it will be called "Emek HeCharutz." Why? The Malbim explains: because their verdict has already been decided (necheratz) and finalized - that they are liable to destruction, in the sense of "their sentence has been decreed." This explains the repetition in the verse: once their sentence has been decreed in the valley of decision, it follows that "the day of Hashem is near" to destroy them, and the punishment is immediate. There is another explanation, as the Radak explains: it is called Emek HeCharutz because Hashem will cut and slice the nations there, so that they will be incised and cut to pieces, as something incised (mechuratz) is full of cuts; and this is an expression of their punishment.
"The Sun and Moon Grow Dark" - The Suspension of the Celestial System
שֶׁמֶשׁ וְיָרֵחַ קָדָרוּ וְכוֹכָבִים אָסְפוּ נָגְהָם׃ - Sun and moon have grown dark, and the stars have withdrawn their brightness.
The Malbim explains: the celestial influences and planetary rules will be suspended. The Malbim maintains this approach in many places: when Hashem performs a miracle, He suspends the direction of the celestial system - the governance of the heavenly constellations according to which nature operates - setting it aside, and directs the world in a supernatural manner. This is the meaning of the expression "sun and moon have grown dark, and the stars have withdrawn their brightness." This does not necessarily mean literal darkness, although we saw in the previous chapter those who interpret it literally, that it will be a day of physical gloom; rather, according to the Malbim, once the dictates of the sun and moon no longer hold sway because the governance is no longer according to nature and the stars, that in itself is called growing dark - meaning they no longer exert their influence upon the guidance of creation.
"Hashem Will Roar from Zion and Utter His Voice from Jerusalem"
וַיהֹוָה מִצִּיּוֹן יִשְׁאָג וּמִירוּשָׁלִַם יִתֵּן קוֹלוֹ וְרָעֲשׁוּ שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ וַיהֹוָה מַחֲסֶה לְעַמּוֹ וּמָעוֹז לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And Hashem will roar from Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and heaven and earth will shake; but Hashem will be a refuge for His people and a stronghold for the Children of Israel.
Notice the Malbim's precise observation: from Zion He will "roar" (yish'ag), whereas from Jerusalem He will merely "utter His voice" (yiten kolo). Zion typically signifies the Temple Mount, the site of the Beit HaMikdash, and from there the divine order of justice and judgment will go forth as Hashem judges the nations. A "roar" is a powerful sound, the opposite of a low whisper - raising one's voice with might and vigor. In contrast, "giving His voice" simply denotes making a sound, the opposite of silence. Thus, there are three levels: silent, giving voice, and roaring. Therefore, in Zion, where the primary presence of the Shechinah resides, Hashem will roar and sound His voice afar until it is proclaimed across the entire world and His sovereignty rules over all; whereas throughout the rest of Jerusalem, which does not possess the same level of sanctity as the Temple Mount, He will not roar with such immense volume, but He will utter His voice - Divine governance will be manifested there as well.
And by virtue of this roar, "the heavens and earth shall shake." Just as we explained regarding "the sun and the moon grow dark," so too here: under the natural order, the heavens and earth are the conduits that transmit and channel abundance down into the world. When the natural order ceases and is replaced by a direct spiritual order, heaven and earth and the entire physical system of governance will, as it were, shake, because their regular function is suspended, and everything will be directed through Hashem's direct spiritual governance.
"And Hashem is a refuge for His people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel": insofar as they are "His people," He will serve as their refuge, saving them from all harm so that no evil befalls them. And insofar as they are "the children of Israel" - reflecting their exalted standing, related to noble dominion (serarah) - He will serve as their stronghold (ma'oz), empowering them with Hashem's own might. A stronghold is greater than a refuge: a refuge means taking shelter beneath something and being protected, though one remains powerless; whereas a stronghold imparts power and strength, as in the phrase "Ascribe strength to God."
"And You Shall Know" - Knowledge Beyond Faith
וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי אֲנִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם שֹׁכֵן בְּצִיּוֹן הַר קָדְשִׁי וְהָיְתָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם קֹדֶשׁ וְזָרִים לֹא יַעַבְרוּ בָהּ עוֹד׃ - And you shall know that I am Hashem your God, dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain; then shall Jerusalem be holy, and strangers shall pass through her no more.
You will possess clear knowledge. Until now, the matter rested in the realm of faith, but knowledge is far beyond faith - it is tangible, experiential perception, as stated earlier: "And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel." And when you see that I dwell in Zion, My holy mountain, and that My Shechinah rests there permanently, the sanctity of Jerusalem will become evident: "then shall Jerusalem be holy," and "strangers shall pass through her no more" - for strangers passing through desecrate her sanctity. Furthermore, Zion will possess an even higher sanctity, such that even Israelites will not enter there needlessly. For Zion represents the Temple Mount and the Sanctuary, where even an Israelite is not permitted to enter everywhere: first, one must be in a state of purity, and beyond the Court of the Israelites (Ezrat Yisrael), he is forbidden to enter. Thus, Zion is far more sanctified and exalted than the rest of Jerusalem.
"And a Spring Shall Go Forth from the House of Hashem"
וְהָיָה בַיּוֹם הַהוּא יִטְּפוּ הֶהָרִים עָסִיס וְהַגְּבָעוֹת תֵּלַכְנָה חָלָב וְכָל אֲפִיקֵי יְהוּדָה יֵלְכוּ מָיִם וּמַעְיָן מִבֵּית יְהֹוָה יֵצֵא וְהִשְׁקָה אֶת נַחַל הַשִּׁטִּים׃ - And it shall come to pass on that day that the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the ravines of Judah shall flow with water; and a spring shall go forth from the House of Hashem, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
Abundance will multiply so greatly that the mountains will drip with sweet juice from the sheer abundance of sweet fruits, and the hills will flow with milk from the multitude of cattle and sheep. "And all the ravines of Judah shall flow with water" - until now there has been a water shortage, with talk of importing water from Turkey, and Jerusalem in particular suffers from a scarcity of natural springs. Yet not only will there be water throughout Judah, but the House of Hashem itself will be a source from which a spring emerges and spreads outward, until it reaches the Valley of Shittim.
According to Rav Saadia Gaon, as quoted by the Malbim, this refers to the Jordan River, which is the stream close to Shittim. Rashi explains the verse according to its literal sense. Both Yechezkel and Zechariah also prophesied about this spring, and the imagery of a spring issuing from the House of Hashem appears in several other places. Some have pointed to a contemporary hint of this: some years ago, water began gushing on the Temple Mount near the al-Aqsa mosque, and they did not know how to stop or contain it. Some saw in this an allusion to that future spring that will begin to flow from Jerusalem and reach all the way to Shittim - described there as starting as ankle-deep waters (mei afsayim), eventually flowing in tremendous volume.
Yet the Malbim adds an allegorical dimension (remez): since "out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of Hashem from Jerusalem," and Torah and faith are compared to water, the verse teaches that a vast outpouring of Torah will stream from this place to the entire world. And why does it specifically mention Shittim? Shittim is known as the place where Israel fell into immorality with the daughters of Moab and attached themselves to Baal Peor - the very origin of sin for the House of Israel. Therefore, a spring will come forth and purify that initial sin: a spring flowing from the Beit HaMikdash and the Holy of Holies, which will cleanse the defilement that began at the stream of Shittim, eradicating all the evils of idolatry and immorality from the world - a spiritual spring that will purify the entire world.
Egypt and Edom - The Two Nations Prevailing Until the Redemption
מִצְרַיִם לִשְׁמָמָה תִהְיֶה וֶאֱדוֹם לְמִדְבַּר שְׁמָמָה תִּהְיֶה מֵחֲמַס בְּנֵי יְהוּדָה אֲשֶׁר שָׁפְכוּ דָם נָקִיא בְּאַרְצָם׃ - Egypt shall become a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they shed innocent blood in their land.
Ibn Ezra notes that the Egypt mentioned here is not ancient Egypt, but a different Egypt, for it is well known that Sennacherib mixed up the nations. And the Radak asks why Scripture specifically mentions Egypt and Edom here, and answers that these are the two nations that have held dominance for many days and will remain dominant until the time of the Redemption: the Ishmaelites and the Roman Empire, which is Edom. And this is the reality to this very day - the struggle between the descendants of Edom (which encompasses Christianity as a whole, America, and Russia) and the descendants of Ishmael (which includes ISIS, Hezbollah, Assad, and all the Arab nations). This is the fourth beast seen by Daniel, the beast that concludes the era of exile; and this is also the meaning of the statue's feet that Daniel saw, feet of clay and iron, which characterizes these nations (as discussed at length in the lessons on Sefer Daniel).
And why does the verse mention Egypt when the reference is to the Ishmaelites? Because Ishmael's wife was Egyptian: "and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt," and his mother, Hagar, was also an Egyptian. Although Egypt descends originally from Ham, its bond with Ishmael is pronounced, and to this day the Egyptians are bound up with Ishmael. And Edom is the Roman Empire, which destroyed the Beit HaMikdash, and most of them were Edomites, for the Caesar was an Edomite, and all the subsequent Roman emperors were from the peoples of Edom - even though many nations were intermingled with them, since Sennacherib mixed up the nations, one goes by the primary element. So too when speaking of Germany as the location of Amalek - is every German an Amalekite? No. We know that the seed of Amalek was absorbed into Germany; this is the "Germania of Edom" mentioned in the Midrashim, but to say that every German is an Amalekite - we have no certainty of that. Here as well, the reference is to the general character of the nation.
And these nations caused immense harm: they harmed the tribes of Judah and Benjamin who were exiled among them, shedding their blood like water; and Edom, which is the Roman Empire, destroyed the Second Temple through the wicked Titus, spilled their blood like water, and exiled them among the nations. And because this prophecy concerns our current exile, it mentions only Judah; for the Ten Tribes, says the Radak, were exiled by the king of Assyria and have not returned to this day, and they were never under the dominion of these nations at all, but rather reached Chalah, Chavor, and the River Gozan, and did not fall into the hands of Edom and Ishmael; therefore, Scripture did not mention them.
The Malbim adds that the "Egypt" written here encompasses all adherents of the Ishmaelite faith, and is not directed at Egypt as an isolated nation. For the primary destroyers of the First Temple were Assyria and Babylonia, and they subsequently entered beneath the religious fold of Egypt. For what do people believe today in Babylon (Iraq)? Muslims - Ishmael. And what is the faith in Persia (Iran)? Muslims - Ishmael. Thus, Assyria and Babylon are aligned with the religion of Ishmael and have entered beneath the belief system of Egypt.
And from there will come the first war of Gog: the descendants of Edom will march against the descendants of Ishmael and destroy them, which is "Egypt shall become a desolation" - the first campaign. Afterward, the Ishmaelites will rise against the descendants of Edom and destroy them, which is "and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness" - the second campaign. And why is there an accounting against Edom as well? Because they destroyed the Second Temple through Titus. Therefore: "for the violence against the children of Judah" - for the violence they perpetrated against the children of Judah in both destructions: the destruction of the First Temple by Assyria and Babylonia, who in the future align with Ishmael as mentioned, and the destruction of the Second Temple by Titus, who was from Edom. Because of this, they will strike one another, and through this Hashem will exact retribution from them, "because they shed innocent blood in their land."
"Forever" Versus "From Generation to Generation"
וִיהוּדָה לְעוֹלָם תֵּשֵׁב וִירוּשָׁלִַם לְדוֹר וָדוֹר׃ - But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
In the beginning, Ephraim separated from Judah and Jerusalem, but ultimately they will be reunited; Judah will never again be exiled, and Jerusalem will never again be destroyed. And what is the difference between "forever" (le'olam) and "from generation to generation" (ledor vador)? The Malbim explains - as he elaborates in several places throughout Tanach - that le'olam refers to indivisible eternal time: eternity. One cannot speak of eternity in terms of division; eternity is eternity, an enduring continuity that does not depend on time. By contrast, dor vador speaks of a reality that contains division: one generation followed by another generation, according to the passing of years. Therefore, Judah's dwelling will remain constant and unchanging: "shall abide forever"; whereas Jerusalem's dwelling will shift according to the generations - in each generation new inhabitants will arrive, and in each generation it will ascend in its splendor and glory. Therefore it says "from generation to generation," for in Jerusalem we will see continuous, positive renewal.
The Concluding Verse: "And I Will Cleanse Their Blood That I Have Not Cleansed"
וְנִקֵּיתִי דָּמָם לֹא נִקֵּיתִי וַיהֹוָה שֹׁכֵן בְּצִיּוֹן׃ - And I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed, and Hashem dwells in Zion.
Rashi explains: Even if I absolve the nations of the other sins they committed and the evils they perpetrated throughout history, the blood of the children of Judah - from this I will not cleanse them, and for this they will pay the full penalty. And when will this take place? When "Hashem dwells in Zion."
Radak explains: "And I will cleanse" - regarding the silver and gold that they took, I will absolve the nations, because Israel is also destined to take silver and gold from them, so there is settlement in this regard. But regarding their blood that they spilled - of this I will not absolve them, but rather a life for a life, either them or their descendants after them. In other words, whatever silver and gold they might offer for Israel's spilled blood - I will not accept from them, and I have not cleansed Israel's blood until I exact retribution from the nations by taking their lives.
And the Malbim explains: Since only Edom and Yishmael were included in the war of Gog and Magog, yet there are other nations that are neither from Edom nor from Yishmael who distressed us and shed our blood - where will their downfall be, and where will their retribution be extracted? Concerning this, Hashem says, "And I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed": afterward, I will also cleanse the blood of those whom I have not cleansed until now in the war of Gog, who were not part of it and from whom I did not exact retribution - now I will exact retribution from them. And when? After "Hashem dwells in Zion," then He will also cleanse the other blood and execute judgment upon them.
In summary:
Chapter 4 of Yoel lays out before us the great Day of Judgment for the nations: Hashem gathers all the nations to the Valley of Yehoshaphat and enters into judgment with them for having scattered Israel, divided His land, cast lots for His people, and traded a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine. Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia, into whose hands Israel was never delivered at all, received their retribution promptly in the days of Alexander of Macedon; and the children of Judah who were sold to the Greeks themselves purchased their captors and sold them to Sheba - a precise, measure-for-measure repayment. Afterwards, three stages of the war of Gog and Magog between Edom and Yishmael are described through the parables of the harvest, the winepress, and the vat, culminating in the "Valley of Decision" where their sentence is decided. Then the dictates of the celestial system are nullified; Hashem roars from Zion and gives forth His voice from Jerusalem, and He is a refuge for His people and a stronghold for the Children of Israel. Jerusalem is sanctified and strangers will no longer pass through it; the mountains will drip sweet wine and a spring will issue from the House of Hashem - a spring of Torah that will purify the initial sin of Israel at Shittim. Egypt and Edom, the very two powers that prevail until the redemption, will lay waste to one another, while Judah will abide forever and Jerusalem for generation to generation. And the prophet concludes: Hashem will not absolve the blood of Israel until He exacts retribution from all who distressed us. May Hashem reveal to us the eternal redemption speedily, Amen and Amen.