NOTES for Joe 1:2-3

What is the historic memory? And what relation does it have with the Tradition? At first sight, the call of the prophet to the people who listen to him to remember what they see and hear, assumes the appeal particularly to the historic memory, without which one can’t speak about any memorization of the events occurring and no transmission of the words heard by the descendants.

But is it really so easy? What should remember those who see and hear the prophet of what they saw and heard? Given that the Book of Joel is part of the prophetic books of the Bible, we can say that the contemporaries of the prophet saw, heard and remembered in particular what is needed. But who in particular remember it? And who had in general to see, hear and remember? Joel addresses the old men and all the people. In the time of the formation of generations and tribes, the old men were practically the only representatives of the power in the Jewish society, but in the time of Joel it is rather necessary to speak about the council of the old men, which existed in Jerusalem throughout its ancient history until the defeat in 70 AD. As we see, the prophet addresses the representative organ of the power and the public opinion, as we would call it today.

But we have today the Book of Joel not thanks to the council of the old men and not thanks to the public opinion, but thanks to the Synagogue, which already at the after captivity period systematized the inscriptions of the sermons of Joel, quite as for the other prophets, and thanks to this circle of the followers of the pre-captivity prophets, of whom very little is known to us, but who perhaps also constitute in the pre captivity Judea a certain communal movement. As we see, the Tradition is born not in the society in general, but in the community of faithful, ready to listen to the prophets and to remember what they said, understanding that it is about the revelation given by God.

But for the very prophets, including Joel, was particularly important all the people of God. And not because it was more comfortable like that to the very witnesses (for them, it would exactly have been more joyful to preach to a narrow circle of like-minded people, who understand them and sympathize), but because each had to have the possibility of hearing the Word of God. Indeed, God wanted to see among his faithful everyone belonging to His people, thus and it was necessary to give the chance to each. Such a chance could only be the word of Revelation sounded publicly.