Joel 1:2

“Hear this, ye old men, etc.] What the prophet was about to relate, concerning the consumption of the fruits of the earth, by various sorts of creatures, and by a drought; and these are called upon to declare if ever the like had been known or heard of by them; who by reason of age had the greatest opportunities of knowledge of this sort, and could remember what they had heard or seen, and would faithfully relate it: this maybe understood of elders in office, as well as in age; and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land; or “earth”, not of the whole earth; but of the land of Judea; who were more particularly concerned in this affair, and therefore are required to listen attentively to it:…”

“A spirited introduction calling attention. old men--the best judges in question concerning the past (Deu 32:7; Job 32:7). Hath this been, &c.--that is, Hath any so grievous a calamity as this ever been before? No such plague of locusts had been since the ones in Egypt. Exo 10:14 is not at variance with this verse, which refers to Judea, in which Joel says there had been no such devastation before.”

“Hear this, ye old men - By reason of their age they had known and heard much; they had heard from their fathers, and their father’s fathers, much which they had not known themselves. Among the people of the east, memories of past times were handed down from generation to generation, for periods, which to us would seem incredible. Israel was commanded, so to transmit the vivid memories of the miracles of God. The prophet appeals “to the old men, to hear,” and, (lest, anything should seem to have escaped them) to the whole people of the land, to give their whole attention to this thing, which he was about to tell them, and then, reviewing all the evils which each had ever heard to have been…”

“Old men - The oldest among you, who can remember things done many years ago. Joel 1:4”

“1:2 Hear this: Joel summoned the inhabitants of the land to pay close attention to the prophetic word. • Leaders (literally elders): The prophet asked the community elders, has anything like this happened before? It hadn’t—this disaster was unique in the history of God’s people.”

“Hear: Psa 49:1; Isa 34:1; Jer 5:21; Hos 5:1; Amo 3:1, Amo 4:1, Amo 5:1; Mic 1:2; Mic 3:1, Mic 3:9; Mat 13:9; Rev 2:7 ye old: Job 8:8, Job 12:12, Job 15:10, Job 21:7 Hath: Joe 2:2; Deu 4:32-35; Isa 7:17; Jer 30:7; Dan 12:1; Mat 24:21 Joel 1:3”