Joel the Prophet Tomb

Joel the Prophet

Joel was a prophet of ancient Israel, the second of the twelve minor prophets and according to the book itself the author of the Book of Joel. He is mentioned by name only once in the Hebrew Bible, in the introduction to that book, as the son of Pethuel

In ancient times, there was a Jewish settlement called “Gush Halav”, which existed in the days of the Second Temple. It served in 67 as an important center of the Jewish rebels in the Romans. In the writings of Yosef ben Matityahu, the place appears as “Giscala”, which was probably the Greek version of the Hebrew name.

Arrival instructions
From Highway 89, enter the main street of Kfar Gush Halav, and reach the junction, from there continue on a dirt road on the left street to fields and olive groves, after c. 600 m turn right, and then left on the road that passes between the olive groves. And arrive at a building located up a hill, with the cave of Joel the prophet.

In the Islamic period, the settlement was called Josh or Jish. Various historical sources from the 10th to the 15th centuries indicate Gush Halav as a large Jewish village. In the 17th century, Druze lived in the settlement and left the village at a later stage

Jish is a local council in Upper Galilee, located on the northeastern slopes of Mount Meron, 13 kilometers north of Safed, in Israel’s Northern District. In 2019 it had a population of 3,105, which is predominantly Maronite Catholic and Melkite Greek Catholic Christians, with a Sunni Muslim Arab minority