DAY OF THE LORD (YAHWEH) (יֹ֣ום יְהוָ֑ה; LXX ἡ ἡμέρα [τοῦ] Κυρίου). Together with associated expressions like “the day of the wrath of Yahweh” and “that day,” it designates God’s decisive intervention in history for judgment. (Elsewhere decisive events are called “days,” cf. “the day of Midian” in Isa 9:4; “the day of Jezreel” in Hos 1:11. Heb. has no special word for “hour.”)
The expression was evidently current in the time of Amos in the 8th cent. b.c., indicating the time when Yahweh would avenge His people on their enemies. Amos turns it back upon those who use it, for the day will bring judgment upon sinful Israel as well (Amos 5:18-20; 6:3; 8:9; chs. 1 and 2). Already Amos’s vision of the day oscillates between battles, natural disasters and supernatural calamities, but he ends on a note of hope. The day will usher in a new age (9:11f., which is interpreted christologically in Acts 15:16f.).
The expression figures a great deal in subsequent prophecy. The theme of judgment is developed by Isaiah (cf. chs. 2 and 22), but like other prophetic books Isaiah telescopes numerous themes together. Most prophets look forward to the day of the Lord, but there is a sense in which it was fulfilled in the fall of Jerusalem in 587 b.c. (Lam 1:21; Ezek 34:12). Sometimes the prophet foretells the impending judgment of a particular nation: Babylon (Isa 13:1, 6, 9, 13); Edom (Isa 34:8f.; 63:4); Egypt (Jer 46:10; Ezek 30:3ff.); the Philistines (Jer 47:4). After describing the horrors of the day in great detail, Zephaniah (Zeph 1) mentions by name the surrounding nations (cf. 2; cf. 3:8) before announcing the judgment and restoration of Jerusalem (ch. 3). Obadiah 15 announces that “the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.” Zechariah 12-14 paints a vivid and detailed picture of the desolation of Jerusalem on that day.
The day of the Lord is also associated with universal restoration, and in places is connected with the Messiah. “In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious. In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant which is left of his people” (Isa 11:10, 11; cf. 61:2; Luke 4:18f.). Isaiah 2:2-4 (cf. Mic 4:1-3) looks forward to “the latter days” of universal peace and prosperity, when the Lord shall judge between the nations.
Malachi stresses the unbearable judgment and purging as well as the healing and joy that the day will bring (3:2; 4:1f.). He also speaks of the messenger, “Elijah,” who will herald the day (Mal 3:1; 4:5). The latter is identified with John the Baptist in Matthew 11:10; 17:10-13; Mark 1:2; 9:11-13; Luke 1:17, 76; 7:27.
Joel’s description of the day of the Lord might at first seem to refer to a plague of locusts (Joel 1:15; 2:1f., 11), but the vision merges into one of cosmic, supernatural events and final judgment (3:14ff.). Against the background of heavenly portents the promise is given that “all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered” (2:32), and God will pour out His spirit “on all flesh” (2:28). Acts 2:17-21 sees the prophecy being fulfilled at Pentecost.
Jeremiah speaks of “that time” and “those days” rather than of the day of the Lord (cf. Jer 3:16ff.; 4:11; 50:4). The thought seems to be the same. He announces that “the days are coming” when God will make a new covenant, by which He will write His law on men’s hearts and fulfill the covenant promise: “I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (31:31-34).
The expression is not found in Daniel who speaks rather of “that time” when “shall arise Michael...who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time; but at that time your people shall be delivered, every one whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (12:1f; cf. 9:26; 10:14; 11:27, 35, 40; 12:4, 9, 13 where mention is also made of the “end”).
The expression virtually disappears in late Jewish lit. which ceases to use the name of Yahweh. The terminology survives in (e.g.) 2 Baruch 48:47; 49:2; 55:6. It is revived in the NT (2 Pet 3:10, 12; Rev 6:17; 16:14) where it is also connected with the return of Christ both in language and imagery (Matt 24; 25; Mark 13; Luke 17:22-31; 21; 1 Cor 1:8; 5:5; 2 Cor 1:14; Phil 1:6, 10; 2:16; 1 Thess 5:2; 2 Thess 2:2).
OT prophecy stresses the imminence of the day of the Lord. Men need to prepare for it without delay. God’s justice and judgment are certain, as is His mercy. Sometimes prophetic utterances found partial fulfillment in particular events. But these are, in fact, foretastes or trailers of the decisive acts of God in the coming of Christ, the outpouring of the Spirit and Christ’s return in final judgment and glory.
Bibliography L. Cerný, The Day of Yahweh and Some Relevant Problems (1948); G. Delling, ἡμέρα, G2465, in TDNT, II, 943-953; E. Jenni, “Day of the Lord” IDB, I, 784f.; H. H. Rowley, The Faith of Israel (1956), 177-201; S. Mowinckel, He that Cometh (1956), passim; G. von Rad, “The Origin of the Concept of the Day of Yahweh,” JSS, IV (1959), 97-108; Old Testament Theology, II (1965), 119-125; D. S. Russell, The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic (1964) passim.