Jonah

by John H. Walton

Model of Sennacherib’s Nineveh

Amar and Greyevsky, Bible Lands Museum, Jerusalem

Introduction

Historical Setting

A reference to Jonah the son of Amittai in 2 Kings 14:25 places the setting for the book of Jonah between 790 and 760 B.C. Jonah therefore serves in the generation just before Amos and Hosea, at the beginning of classical prophecy in Israel.1 During the time of Jonah, the reign of Jeroboam II (793–753) achieved unparalleled prosperity and military success in the history of Israel’s divided monarchy. The Arameans were the only hindrance to territorial expansion. Assyria, in a period of decline, was preoccupied with internal security. This background is important for it shows that the northern kingdom Israel at this time was near the top, not the bottom, in the realm of international politics.

This situation was a reversal from a century earlier when, under Shalmaneser III, the Assyrian Empire had extended its control into the west, exercising authority over Aram, Israel, Judah, and many others. The end of his reign, however, saw revolt by several Assyrian centers (including Nineveh) from 826–820. His son, Shamshi-adad V, subdued the rebellion, but Assyrian control over the west weakened considerably.

Shamshi-adad V died about 811 B.C. and left as heir to the throne his young son, Adad-nirari III. Until the boy came of age, the country was ruled by Shamshi-adad’s widow, Sammuramat, who retained extensive control until her death. Adad-nirari reigned until 783 B.C. His city of residence and capital was not Nineveh but Kalhu. He was succeeded by three sons, Shalmaneser IV, Assur-dan III, and Assur nirari V, respectively. This was a period of practical anarchy. Particularly notable is the series of rebellions between 763 and 758. These were led by disaffected officials who showed evidence of usurping royal prerogatives.2 In such a political climate a prophecy proclaiming the imminent fall of Nineveh would be taken quite seriously.

Shamshi-adad V

Ryan Mallady, courtesy of the British Museum

With the accession of Tiglath-pileser III in 745 B.C. a new dynasty began that established Assyrian supremacy for a century. Tiglath-pileser III was succeeded by Shalmaneser V, Sargon II and, finally, Sennacherib, who enlarged Nineveh and made it the capital of the Assyrian empire more than fifty years after the time of Jonah.

The importance of this information for the study of the book of Jonah is the realization that at the time of Jonah, Assyria had not been a threat to Israel for a generation, and would be no threat for a generation to come. In addition, when Jonah was sent to Nineveh, he was not being sent to the capital city of a vast empire but to one of the provincial centers of a struggling nation. Some consider this evidence that the book of Jonah was written several centuries after the Assyrian Empire had come and gone by an author unfamiliar with the details of history. Preferably, it could suggest that God had chosen to send Jonah to Nineveh in anticipation of the role it would eventually play.

Assyrian Control in the Ninth and Eighth Centuries B.C.

Tiglath-pileser III

Z. Radovan/www.BibleLandPictures.com

Literary Setting

A number of literary features in Jonah can be considered in relation to the literature of the ancient Near East.

Tales of prophets in the ancient Near East. Though other tales of prophets can be found in the biblical text (e.g., about Elijah and Elisha), no tales of prophets have yet been found among the texts of the ancient Near East. But some of the narrative motifs found in Jonah can also be seen in the Epic of Gilgamesh as well as the less familiar tale of Adapa. All of these feature a hero/anti-hero who is out of favor with deity and engaged in a mission in which he encounters danger and experiences confusion about divine ways. But in the ancient Near East examples the heroes are a king and a priest/sage respectively, rather than a prophet.

Gilgamesh and Enkidu defeat Huwawa

© The Trustees of the British Mueseum

Satire in ancient literature. In current trends within critical scholarship, Jonah is commonly labeled as parody3 or satire.4 The former typically lampoons a piece of literature, while the latter targets people (specific or stereotyped categories) or events, as Jonah does. Satire can be either an enactment or a written composition in which vice, folly, or incompetence is held up for ridicule. The closer to reality a satire can be, the more effective it is. By definition it targets real people and tries to use the mannerisms and words that they use. Satire exaggerates reality, but by its nature is based on reality.

A votive clay cast shows Humbaba’s (Huwawa) head with wrinkles, a broad grin, and straight hair.

Ian Goulden, courtesy of the British Museum

Satire and parody are both known in the ancient world and the Bible. The examples of parody in the ancient Near East also target entities who are considered to be historical and from which historical information may be deduced.5 In the realm of satire, the Babylonian Dialogue of Pessimism6 targets a wide variety of cultural institutions. The biblical prophets at times satirize the people of their audience, such as when Amos refers to the society women as “cows of Bashan” (Amos 4:1) and when Isaiah satirizes the idol manufacturers and worshipers (Isa. 44). In the New Testament, Jesus satirizes the teachers of the law and Pharisees. In similar ways, most would agree that the book of Jonah wants us to laugh at the prophet’s incongruity and senselessness even as we are appalled by his behavior and attitude.

Ancient literature referring to fantastic creatures sent from the gods. In the famous Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, the two heroes, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, encounter a number of divinely appointed creatures. Huwawa is the guardian of the cedar forest that they slay in combat. Consequently, Anu is persuaded by his daughter Ishtar to send the “Bull of Heaven” against the two for this act of presumption. Later in the epic, as Gilgamesh journeys to the end of the world, he encounters the scorpion men, who were the guardians of the mountains there.

Though today we consider Gilgamesh to be fanciful mythology, the people in the ancient world took it seriously and would have considered these to be “real” creatures, though associated with the supernatural realm (as Bible readers would think of cherubim or seraphim). The Bull of Heaven is particularly interesting in that it is sent in response to the hubris of the hero with the intention of teaching him a lesson. Jonah likewise acted against deity (by fleeing) and was subsequently confronted by a cosmic creature ordained by deity. In Gilgamesh the Bull of Heaven is not symbolic or allegorical. It is considered real, but as a supernatural creature would not be classed alongside any standard list of zoological specimens. A similar understanding may be possible for the fish in Jonah.