Joel 3:6

The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem,.... Not children in age literally, as Kimchi, kidnapped or bought by the Tyrians; but the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem: have ye sold

The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.

The children also of Judah, the Jews who dwelt in the land, and the children of Jerusalem, the citizens of Jerusalem; or perhaps the young ones, boys and girls, as , both of city and country. Ye; Tyrians, Zidonians, and Philistines, though neighbours, and oftentimes befriended by the Jews, yet you have done this. Sold unto the Grecians; or sons of Grecians, who either employed them as slaves in Greece, or else sold them to other nations for slaves. That ye might remove them far from their border; that there might be no hope to these poor captives ever to return to their country, nor fear to the Tyrians and Zidonians of being called to account for the injury by them it was done unto. ,9, mentions this sin of the Philistines, and God’ s displeasure at it.

Joe 3:6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.Ver. 6. The children also of Judah, and the children of Jerusalem] "The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold," Lamentations 4:2, with whom you were anciently confederate in the days of Solomon, 1 Kings 4:25, and seemed to be then their prosperity proselytes. Have ye sold unto the Grecians] That is, to the Gentiles in general, for so St Paul often useth the word Grecians, as contradistinct to Jews; who were barbarously sold, as if they had been brute beasts, and that into the farthest countries, that they might never ransom themselves, nor return to their native soil again. This was singular, yea, savage cruelty, which the merciful God cannot abide, but will severely punish, James 2:13-14 Isaiah 47:6, "Thou didst show them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke." See the Babylonian cruelty graphically described, and accordingly recompensed, Jeremiah 51:34-35, &c. The Spanish cruelty to the poor Indians is unspeakable. They have made away 50,000,000 of them in 42 years, as Acosta the Jesuit testieth, and that under pretence of converting them to the faith. They suppose they show the wretches great favour when they do not (for their pleasure) whip them with cords, and day by day drop their naked bodies with burning bacon: such a devil is one man to another, when set to work by the devil, and spurred on by him. But "shall they thus escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God," Psalms 56:7. He will do it: for those words are not more a prayer than a prophecy.

(6) Unto the Grecians.—Javan, the Hebrew name for Greece, is mentioned in Ezekiel as one of the representatives of the heathen nations who “traded (with Tyre) the persons of men and vessels in her market” (Ezekiel 27:13). The Grecian traffic in slaves was enormous.

Verse 6. Sold unto the Grecians] These were the descendants of Javan, Genesis 10:2-5. And with them the Tyrians trafficked, Ezekiel 27:19. That ye might remove them far from their border.] Intending to send them as far off as possible, that it might be impossible for them to get back to reclaim the land of which you had dispossessed them.

6. The Phoenicians had further played the part of slave-dealers, and had sold Judahite captives into the hands of the Greeks. The slave-traffic of the Phoenicians is often mentioned; they sometimes kidnapped women and children themselves, sometimes obtained slaves by purchase from uncivilized tribes, or purchased captives taken in war: cf. Amos 1:9, Ezekiel 27:13, 1Ma 3:41, 2Ma 8:11, and the stories in Hom. Od. xiv. 288 ff., xv. 402 ff., Hdt. i. 1, ii. 54. In the classical period, Syrians were very common as slaves in Greece, and the designation probably included Jews as well (cf. Movers, Die Phφnizier ii. iii.75 ff.). the Grecians] Heb. Yewβnξm, elsewhere in the sing. (collectively) Yβwβn (Genesis 10:2; Genesis 10:4; Ezekiel 27:13; Ezekiel 27:19 (?); Isaiah 66:19; Zechariah 9:13; Daniel 8:21; Daniel 10:20; Daniel 11:2); i.e. the Ionians (Ἰάϝονες, in Homer constantly), the name by which the Greeks were regularly known among both the Hebrews, and other Eastern nations, on account, viz., of the fact that the Ionians (whose colonies extended over a large part of the W. coast of Asia Minor, and many of the Aegean islands) were most active commercially in ancient times, and hence were best known to other nations. that ye might remove them far from their border] in order to minimize the chances of their return. The real motive of the Phoenician slave-dealers was, no doubt, simply their own gain: but Joel represents pointedly the result of their action as though it were their design.

The children also - Literally, “And the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem have ye sold to the sons of the Greeks.” This sin of the Tyrians was probably old and inveterate.

4-8. The prophet turns aside for a moment to address the nations who had been especially hostile to the Jews; he points out their special wrongdoings and promises to them swift and righteous retribution for their crimes.