Introduction
Overview
Jonah is a book about obedience, illustrating how foolish it is to refuse to obey God or to try to flee from God and his calling. Jonah is also a book about compassion and concern for one’s enemies. God has compassion on the Assyrians in Nineveh, and he rebukes Jonah for his lack of concern over their salvation. This book also underscores how serious and unthinkable it is for the Israelites back in Jerusalem to ignore the prophetic call to repent and return to God. The repentant actions of the Assyrians in Nineveh, from the king down to the lowest peasant (and even the cows!), lead to their deliverance, in contrast to the obstinate, hostile, and unrepentant attitude of Israel and Judah, which results in foreign invasion and judgment.
Authorship and Date
Although the text never mentions Jonah as the author, both Jewish and Christian traditions attribute authorship of the book to the eighth-century-BC prophet Jonah mentioned in 2 Kg 14:25. In this text Jonah predicts the restoration of Israel’s borders to those originally associated with the Davidic dynasty. Jonah the son of Amittai came from Gath-hepher near Nazareth and lived during the reign of Jeroboam II (782–753 BC) in the northern kingdom of Israel. While the book of Jonah is situated among the prophets, Jonah himself utters only five words of prophecy in the entire narrative.
A number of factors prompt some scholars to argue against Jonah as the writer, in addition to the fact that most of the book is written in the third person. For example, the notion that God desires salvation for all of his people, including the Gentiles, reflects a late theological development more comfortable in the postexilic period. Other arguments for a possible fifth- or sixth-century date include literary affinities with other biblical texts, such as the Psalter, and the presence of several potentially late Hebrew terms as well as possible Aramaic influence. While the text itself remains essentially preserved, a few late Hebrew forms may simply reflect scribal updating. Linguistic studies no longer assume that Aramaic terms must indicate late composition, since many Aramaic terms have been located in biblical literature normally associated with the northern kingdom. Consequently, linguistic evidence does not preclude a mid-eighth-century date for the narrative.
Historically, Nineveh was not destroyed until 612 BC, so the setting of the book depicts a time before Nineveh’s devastation.
The genre of the prayer in 2:2–9 and its interruption of the flow of the narrative prompt some to argue that it is a later addition by a different author. The unusually large number of affinities between the prayer and psalm fragments likewise may point to a later date, or at least that the prophet is familiar with temple worship. However, there is no reason to assume that a writer cannot vary in literary style. Others claim that the placement of a thanksgiving psalm here seems inappropriate. Obviously, though, Jonah did not write down the psalm while in the belly of the sea creature but in retrospection; this presents a logical explanation for the awkward placement of the prayer before the Lord formally delivers Jonah.
Historical Context
Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria, whose people enjoyed a reputation for their severe cruelty, especially toward Israel. Often they impaled their captives or wore amulets around their necks created from human heads. Idolatry played a significant role in Nineveh; the city was home to a number of temples, dedicated to deities such as Ashur, the source of power and life over all the Assyrian gods, and Nabu, the god of scribes and wisdom. Located at the apex of a central trade route, Nineveh was a commercially vital city with a healthy population of at least 120,000 people.
Locations in the Book of Jonah
Theological Themes
Many struggle to identify a single theological theme for the book, since what seems simple on the surface actually harbors a number of complexities.
Although there is widespread familiarity with the story of Jonah and the “whale,” the book’s thematic diversity contains several intertwined theological threads, making it one of the most practical texts to teach and preach from. The overarching emphasis on God’s sovereignty over his creation and his creatures (1:4, 9, 15, 17; 4:6–8) is developed in light of the compatibility of God’s judgment of and his compassion toward sinners, particularly Gentiles (3:10; 4:2). In addition, the text addresses the nature of God’s gracious response to national and individual repentance. Consequently, the book addresses the prejudice of national exclusivity, the concept that Israel considered its relationship with the Lord as unique, limited to only one nation and people (3:9–10; 4:11). The subtle contrasts between the righteous actions of the sailors in chapter 1, the ethical and moral repentance of the Ninevites in chapter 3, and the stubborn and unyielding character of Jonah function to highlight the ironic obedience of the ungodly Gentiles to the Lord in comparison with Jonah’s refusal to comply with the Lord’s commands and failure to understand his ways.
Structure
The underlying structure of the book reveals two major sections, which mirror each other both in content and in sequence of events (1:1–2:10; 3:1–4:11). The language describing the Lord’s initial call to Jonah and Jonah’s negative response (1:1–3) recurs in the Lord’s second call to the prophet (3:1–4). Jonah 1:4–16 and 3:5–10 describe the repentance of the sailors and the unanticipated remorse of Nineveh’s population to the Lord’s impending judgment. Jonah emphasizes the Lord’s sovereignty, as God “appointed” a great fish (1:17), a shading plant (4:6), a worm (4:7), and a hot wind (4:8). The first climactic episode begins with Jonah’s brush with death and concludes the entire first section with the Lord’s deliverance (1:17–2:10), while the second climactic episode (4:5–11) begins with Jonah’s desire to die (4:1–4) and concludes with the Lord’s deliverance of Nineveh. Repetition plays a significant role in the structure of the narrative, linking the parts contextually in the mind of the reader. The interplay between the Hebrew verbs meaning “get up” and “go down” mimics the rocking of the waves (1:2, 3 (2×), 5–6; 2:3, 6; 3:2–3, 6). These same words also figuratively trace Jonah’s progressive distance from the Lord and his subsequent restoration.
Outline
1. The Lord’s First Commission and Jonah’s Disobedience (1:1–16)
A. The Lord’s First Commission to Jonah (1:1–3)
B. The Lord’s Response to Jonah’s Refusal to Obey (1:4–6)
C. The Sailors’ Response to Crisis at Sea (1:7–16)
2. The Lord Protects and Rescues Jonah (1:17–2:10)
A. The Lord’s Provision of the Fish (1:17–2:1)
B. Jonah’s Prayer for the Lord’s Deliverance (2:2–9)
C. The Lord Delivers Jonah (2:10)
3. Jonah’s Second Commission and Nineveh’s Response (3:1–10)
A. Jonah’s Proclamation of the Lord’s Message to Nineveh (3:1–4)
B. Nineveh’s Response to the Lord’s Message (3:5–9)
C. The Lord Relents from Judgment (3:10)
4. Jonah’s Unjustified Anger and God’s Response (4:1–11)
A. Jonah’s Unjustified Anger toward God’s Sparing of Nineveh (4:1–4)
B. God’s Response to Jonah’s Unjustified Anger (4:5–11)