As Joel speaks of an invasion of locusts (1:4), he quickly explains that these locusts are indeed “a nation” (1:6) sending their army (2:11) of soldiers (2:7, 3:9) who will invade (1:6) Israel in the latter times. However, it is in Joel 2:20 where he speaks of their leader who he introduces with a profound and telling name, one that captures his past plots, his present schemes, and his future destiny.
This one verse is found in Joel 2:20; this is how it reads,“But I will remove the northener far from you, And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land, And its vanguard into the eastern sea, And its rear guard into the western sea. And its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up, For it has done great things.”
Who is this Northerner? And why give him this title? Most translations read, the Northern Army but in the Hebrew it is one word HaTzafoni הַצְּפוֹנִי, meaning: the one from the north. This mysterious title caught the attention of the rabbis who wondered who or what this northerner could be.
Because of its connection to the north, many commentators, especially those medieval rabbinical voices like Abarbanel and Radak, have associated Joel’s prophecy with the war of Gog and Magog, which they describe as the final conflict that will usher in the Messiah and the Messianic Age.
The text of the Bible itself seems to point in this direction. The invasion Joel describes does not match those of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, or Romans. Though these empires attacked mostly from the north, their true origins were more to the east or west.
Yet there is one invasion in Scripture that repeatedly stresses the north; three times, in fact, naming the enemy as coming from the uttermost parts of the north from of the land of Israel. The passage is in Ezekiel 38-39 which describes none other than the war of Gog and Magog. This is in Ezekiel 38:6, 38:15, 39:2. And speaking to the leader, Gog, the LORD says in vs.15, “You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty army”.
The word uttermost יַרְכָה (yarĕkâ) speaks of the most northern regions, and here it is a region that is, geographically, the most utter north to the land of Israel. When we draw a straight line north from Jerusalem, do you know where that leads us? To Moscow, in what Ezekiel calls the land of Magog, which is situated immediately north of Jerusalem. It is also believed that the word Tubal is where the city of Tobolsk in Russia takes its origin. Tobolsk is considered the capital of Siberia.
This may also have influenced many ancient rabbis such as Rashi, Radak, Mezudat David, and Abarbanel in associating the wars in Joel with those of Gog and Magog. For them, Gog and Magog is the last war, ushering in the coming of the Messiah. You see, in rabbinical prophecies, they do not have ample information concerning of the war of Armageddon.
But Joel does not stop with this evil leader, for right away in the next section, he introduces the true Leader with a powerful title. He speaks of the Messiah and just before he does this, he lays the groundwork for His Coming; he says in vs.21-22, Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad, for the Lord has done great things. Do not fear, beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, for the tree has borne its fruit, The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.
Do not fear this Hatzafoni, for the Lord is more powerful. Think of Satan as a created being. This is who he is, with limited capacity. We are told twice over, Do not fear but rejoice and be glad. What is the basis of this gladness? Yeshua!
See vs. 23, So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in the Lord your God; For He has given you the Teacher of Righteousness and He has poured down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before. Most translations will say, for he has given early rain for your vindication.
The Hebrew text reads early rain as one word: Ha-Moreh, but this word means, the Teacher. Yet, in an effort to fit the context, some translators rendered this Hebrew word as “early rain.” But this is not how it was originally understood. Long before the coming of Jesus, the Targum translated the verse as: “For He has given you back your Teacher in Righteousness, and He sends down rain for you.”
This understanding also appears in the writings of the Qumran community, often identified with the Essenes, who also may be the group known as the Herodians in the New Testament. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, they repeatedly refer to the awaited Messiah as, “The Teacher of Righteousness” a title mentioned some fifteen times (Rydelnik).
Even the Pharisees anticipated a Messianic Teacher. In the Talmud they referred to Him as “the Leper Scholar” (הַמְּצוֹרָע), the one who “suffers for the sins of Israel.” They connected this with Isaiah 53:4: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” Notice, they called this messianic figure a leper and a scholar, a teacher.
In the Brit Chadashah, the New Testament, one of the most prominent titles given to Yeshua is indeed Teacher. He is called Teacher some 41 times in the Gospels; by His own disciples, by the religious leaders, and by the crowds at large.
And what is powerful is that the Scriptures themselves apply this title moreh to the Lord Himself. Isaiah 30:20 declares: “The LORD…, your Teacher, will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher.” And in Joel, this title appears again. The moreh—the Teacher—is none other than the Messiah Himself, the ultimate Teacher of righteousness.
And when He came on earth, Yeshua was not only a Teacher in words, but the Teacher of life. He did not simply explain the law, He embodied it. Every command, every principle, every truth that He spoke, He lived out in perfect obedience. Yeshua was the living commentary on the Torah, the Word made flesh, teaching not just by precept but by example.
When He spoke of humility, He bent to wash His disciples’ feet. When He spoke of love, He laid down His life for His friends. When He spoke of forgiveness, He prayed for those who crucified Him. He was, in every sense, the perfect Moreh, through and through.
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