Pethuel is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Pethuel was the father of the prophet Joel. He is named only once in the entire King James Bible, in the opening verse of the Book of Joel: “The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel” (Joel 1:1). Beyond this single identifying phrase, Scripture tells us nothing else about him—not his tribe, his hometown, his occupation, or the circumstances of his life and death.
What we do know is the setting in which his name appears. The Book of Joel opens with a prophetic oracle delivered against the backdrop of a devastating locust plague and its aftermath, a national calamity that the prophet uses to call Judah to repentance and to announce the coming “day of the LORD.” It is into this moment of crisis and prophetic urgency that Joel steps forward, and he is identified—as prophets so often are—by his father’s name. Pethuel’s role in the narrative is entirely that of paternity: he is the man through whom Joel came into the world and into the covenant community of Israel.
That is the whole of what Scripture records of him. He performs no recorded deed, speaks no recorded word, and receives no direct divine word. Yet his name is preserved in the sacred text because it anchors the identity of the prophet who did. In the economy of God’s revelation, being the father of a faithful messenger is itself a place of quiet significance.
The Name
The name Pethuel appears to be a Hebrew compound name, and its meaning is not clearly recoverable with certainty. Suggested derivations connect it to roots involving opening or persuading, with the divine name “El” (God) as its ending element, which would yield a sense roughly like “God opens” or “God persuades.” Other proposals have been offered as well. Because the etymology is debated among scholars and no meaning is stated in Scripture, it is best to say plainly that the precise sense of the name is uncertain rather than to assert one confidently.
A Closing Thought
Most of God’s people are like Pethuel: known to Him, named in His book, yet hidden from history’s spotlight. Pethuel never preached, never wrote, never saw the visions—but he raised the son who did. His one verse is a quiet reminder that faithfulness is often measured not in what we accomplish in our own name, but in what we nurture in others. If your life feels unrecorded and unremarkable, take heart: God keeps His own records, and no faithful life is wasted in His purposes.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Joel 1:1 — The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.