Commentaire sur Joël 2:5

like the sound of a flame—A flame, consuming stubble, makes noise.

1. And it mentions the sounds of the men that the sounds are loud and powerful and they scare the people. They are like the "voice of chariots on the mountaintops" that the same voice that is heard from a distance because of the chariots and because of the mountains. And the Ibin Ezra writes that the chariots don't travel on high places but these are able to go on the mountaintops. And also like the sound of a flame. That flame is the one that consumes the straw and creates a loud sound when it burns the sticks, like the "cracklings of nettles under a kettle" (Koheles 7:6). that was the sound of the Babylonians. Meaning that they weren't a people that was shy and timid and not tested by war, but rather were powerful and were trained for war from youth.

arrayed for battle Heb. עֱרוּךְ. Since it is in the construct state, it is vowelized with a “hataf segol.”