Text: Joel 2:13
OT Text Referred to: Exodus 34:6
Subject: Attribute formula (divine compassion)
Source: Schnittjer, Old Testament Use of Old Testament (2021); Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Anchor Text: Exod 34:6-7 — The Attribute Formula
Significance: Joel 2:13 directly quotes the divine attribute formula first revealed at Sinai: חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם (channun werachum, "gracious and compassionate"), אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם (erekh appayim, "slow to anger"), and רַב־חֶסֶד (rav-chesed, "abounding in loving devotion"). By placing this Exodus 34:6 creedal statement in a call to repentance, Joel appeals to Yahweh's self-revealed character as the ground for Israel's hope that judgment may be averted. Joel adds the distinctive clause וְנִחָם עַל־הָרָעָה (wenicham al-hara'ah, "and He relents from sending disaster"), which extends the Sinai formula toward the prophetic theme of divine responsiveness to repentance. This demonstrates how later prophets treated the Exodus 34:6 formula as the foundational confession of Yahweh's character, to be invoked whenever Israel needed assurance of God's mercy.