Arbeh (אַרְבֶּה) means locust — the swarming, devouring insect that could strip an entire agricultural region bare in hours. The locust was feared throughout the ancient Near East as one of the most devastating forces in nature. The eighth plague of Egypt was a massive locust invasion (Exodus 10).
Locusts became a powerful image of divine judgment — God could use the natural world as an instrument of His wrath. Joel's extended locust prophecy is simultaneously literal and eschatological, pointing toward ultimate spiritual devastation. Yet God also promises to "restore the years that the locust has eaten" (Joel 2:25) — a glorious picture of redemption and restoration.