Author: Joel, son of Pethuel (Joel 1:1).

Name: Joel (Hebrew Yo’el) means “Yahweh is God” or “The LORD is God.” Beyond Joel 1:1, Scripture gives us essentially no biographical information about him. His familiarity with Jerusalem, the Temple, priests, and worship strongly suggests his ministry was centered in Judah/Jerusalem.

Date: The date is debated because Joel names no reigning king, unlike many other prophets. The two major proposals are an early date (c. 835–800 BC), perhaps during the reign of Joash, and a post-exilic date (c. 500–400 BC). Conservative evangelical scholars have defended both positions. If you are teaching Joel, I'd probably say “the exact date is uncertain; the message doesn't depend upon knowing it.”