TEXT [Commentary]

black diamond   B.   Jonah and the Ninevites (3:3b-10)

3b a city so large that it took three days to see it all.[*] 4 On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” 5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.

6 When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. 7 Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:

“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. 8 People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. 9 Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”

10 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.

NOTES

3:3b a city so large. Lit., “a great city to God.” While some view the Hebrew phrase as indicating the city’s superlative size (Stuart 1987:268), it probably points to the importance of the city in God’s sight. The NLT translates according to the first sense and relates it to what follows, viewing the whole description in terms of Nineveh’s size.

three days. The connection of the three days with Nineveh is debated. The NLT follows the lead of those who believe that the term has to do with Nineveh’s size (e.g., Feinberg 1976:143). The city, however, was probably no more than three miles across and less than eight miles in circumference. It could be that the size here refers to the entire administrative district, including not only Nineveh but Calah (Nimrud) and Khorsabad. Nothing in the narrative, however, indicates that anything other than Nineveh proper was visited.

Some think that, in accordance with ancient Near Eastern protocol, three days were required for Jonah to accomplish his business. Thus, Wiseman (1979:38) suggests that “the ‘three day’ journey could refer to the day of arrival in the city, followed by the customary day of visiting, business and rest, then the day of departure.” This suggestion would accord with the ancient Near Eastern practice of hospitality whereby the first day is for arrival, the second for the primary purpose of the visit, and the third for return. While this is possible, such protocol in the court was likely extended only to official guests. Jonah might not qualify in this regard. Perhaps it is simplest to view the phrase as indicating Nineveh’s relative importance and Jonah’s need to visit various quarters of the city in order to deliver God’s message.

3:4 he shouted. Lit., “he proclaimed and said.” Once again, the verb qara’ [TH7121, ZH7924] (proclaim) is employed (see Introduction). No indication is given as to whether Jonah spoke in Assyrian, Aramaic (the language of international diplomacy), or Hebrew. The emphasis here is on the content, not the vehicle, of the message.

Forty days. The forty-day period is reminiscent of other time periods mentioned in the Scriptures: the Flood (Gen 7:4, 12, 17), Moses on Mount Sinai (Exod 24:18), the mission of the Hebrew spies (Num 13:25), Goliath’s taunting of Israel’s armies (1 Sam 17:16), Elijah’s trip to Horeb (1 Kgs 19:8), Jesus’ fasting (Matt 4:2), and the period in which Jesus appeared between his resurrection and ascension (Acts 1:3). The Greek translation reads “three days,” a figure probably influenced by the number in v. 3.

destroyed! The form of the verb here (nehpaketh [TH2015, ZH2200], “overturned”) may serve as a double entendre, indicating the potential for Nineveh’s destruction or the reversal of its spiritual fortunes.

3:5 The people . . . believed God’s message. The verb translated “believed” comes from a root meaning “be firm/secure.” In this construction it denotes “trust” or “believe.” (See the extended treatment of this Hebrew root by Barr 1983:161-205.) This construction normally expresses the idea of trusting a person. Hence, the Hebrew here literally reads “believed [in] God.” To be noted is the fact that the text does not say “believed in Yahweh,” the covenant God of Israel. The NLT rendering emphasizes the Ninevites’ response to the divine message. Probably both ideas are latent: Believing in the power of Israel’s God came through Jonah’s warning.

from the greatest to the least. This expression emphasizes the total citizenry of Nineveh.

declared a fast. Communal fasts and times of mourning were called in cases of dire or ominous circumstances such as invasion, a total solar eclipse, earthquake, flood, famine, plague, or epidemic (Stuart 1987:490-492). Even animals could be included in the event. Limburg (1993:81) remarks, “Those fasting wore sackcloth, put dirt on their heads, and sat in ashes (3:6-9; Jer 4:8; Neh 9:1). Since fasts were occasioned by national emergencies, fast days were proclaimed as needed.” Sasson (1990:245) records a Neo-Assyrian royal edict dealing with prayer and public weeping before Adad, as well as the making of burnt sacrifices. Such proclamations illustrate the activities of the king.

burlap. Usually made of goat hair, burlap (sackcloth) symbolized the repudiation of earthly comforts in exchange for humility, sorrow, or penitence. As Herr observes (ISBE 4.256), “Sackcloth was frequently worn at times of repentance (Neh 9:1; Jonah 3:5f., 8; etc.).”

3:6 When the king of Nineveh heard. Lit., “And the word reached the king of Nineveh.” The word of the Lord had come twice to Jonah (1:1; 3:1), and now, news of the divine message through Jonah came to the king of Nineveh. Although critics have faulted the historicity of this account that there was a king of Nineveh at this time, such objections are not substantive (see Introduction).

He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. The king traded his royal robes for coarse burlap and his throne for ashes (cf. Job 1:20; 2:8, 12-13). He provided an example of penitence and mourning for his people. David similarly told Joab and his companions to “tear your clothes and put on burlap” as they mourned the death of Abner (2 Sam 3:30-37). Interestingly, the people of Joel’s day were instructed to fast, weep, and mourn, but with broken hearts, not torn garments (Joel 2:12-13).

3:7 the king and his nobles sent this decree. Critics have doubted both (1) the issuing of a royal decree in the name of the king and his nobles and (2) the accuracy of the word used here for “decree.” The former may indicate the relative weakness of the crown or that Nineveh had its own ruler (see Introduction). The word for “decree” (ta‘am [TH2940, ZH3248]) is usually understood as “taste,” with the derived sense of discrimination (Ps 119:66; Prov 26:16). Here it reflects the meaning of the Aramaic te‘em [TA/ZA10302, S2942] (“decree”; see Ezra 4:21; Dan 3:10, 29). Some lexicons also suggest the meaning “edict,” possibly reflecting the Akkadian temu (see Koehler and Baumgartner 1974:2.361). Such a meaning for temu, however, is discounted by Sasson (1990:253-254).

No one . . . may eat or drink anything at all. Lit., “may [they] not taste anything; let them not eat or drink water.” The word for “taste” (yit‘amu [TH2938, ZH3247]) echoes the word translated “decree” (ta‘am [TH2940, ZH3248])—both being derived from the root ta‘am. Also the word “eat” (ra‘ah [TH7462, ZH8286]) forms an intended play on the word for “evil” (ra‘ah [TH7451, ZH8273]), which appears in v. 8. The fast is both total in its participation and extreme in its implementation. Serious times call for strong measures.

not even the animals. The mourning is total. In a move demonstrating living solidarity, food and drink are withheld even from the animals. Appropriately, the book of Jonah ends on a note of God’s concern for both humans and animals (4:11). Joel reported that the animals, like their human counterparts (Joel 1:8-12), felt the effects of the locust plague and cried out to the Lord (Joel 1:18, 20). Both were assured of God’s acting on their behalf (Joel 2:21-24). The intertestamental book of Judith (Jdt 4:9-10) similarly reports of humans and animals wearing sackcloth in the face of an Assyrian threat.

3:8 wear garments of mourning . . . pray earnestly. “Pray” repeats the verb qara’ [TH7121, ZH7924], attested already in 1:2, 6, 14; 2:2; 3:2, 4-5. Hezekiah likewise donned garments of mourning and prayed in the face of Sennacherib’s attack on Jerusalem (2 Kgs 19:1-2). “Earnestly” translates the Hebrew “with strength.” The king’s edict contains a note of urgency.

turn from their evil ways. Once again, the word ra‘ah [TH7451, ZH8273] (evil) appears (cf. 3:7; see Introduction). The king’s plea sounds a note that is familiar to the Hebrew prophets (e.g., Jer 18:11; Ezek 20:44; Zech 1:4) and wisdom literature (Prov 28:10). Unfortunately, Israel failed to heed that which the Lord communicated to Solomon upon the completion of the Temple (2 Chr 7:14); for this disobedience, Israel paid the price of deportation and exile (2 Kgs 17:13-20).

stop all their violence. Even as Obadiah (Obad 1:10) condemned the violence that Edom did to God’s people, Habakkuk decried the violence that he saw in society all around him (see notes on Obad 1:10 and Hab 1:2). Here, in contrast to what seems to have been a lack of response to their messages, the gentile Ninevites turn from their violence.

3:9 Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind. The Hebrew expresses the thought here as “who knows whether . . . ?” A similar sentiment is expressed by David regarding the death of his son (2 Sam 12:22) and by the citizens of Jerusalem in praying for God’s mercy during the great locust plague (Joel 2:13-14; cf. commentary on Zeph 2:1-3). The compound verbal phrase translated “change his mind” is rendered “turn and repent” (KJV), “turn and relent” (NKJV), “relent and with compassion” (NIV), “relent and change his mind” (NRSV). Limburgh (1993:84) suggests that the thought actually does have to do with changing one's mind. It appears again in 3:10 and in 4:2.

fierce anger. As Sasson (1990:262) observes, “The expression kharon ’ap [TH2740/639, ZH3019/678] ‘heating up of the nose/nostrils/face’ is a metaphor for ‘anger,’ and this expression . . . is always about God’s anger.”

COMMENTARY [Text]

On the very first day, as Jonah fulfilled his commission to warn the people of imminent judgment, the populace of Nineveh responded positively to the divine message. Donning sackcloth, they began to fast in attestation of their sorrow. Even the king of Nineveh was moved to repentance, going so far as to leave his throne, exchange his royal attire for sackcloth, and sit down in ashes. He issued a proclamation that required the people and animals of Nineveh to wear sackcloth. Further, each person was to pray urgently and turn from wickedness in the hope that Jonah’s God might relent from the threatened judgment. God saw their genuine penitence and had compassion on them. The prophesied destruction was averted.

The instantaneous, mass repentance of Nineveh’s citizens has, of course, met with great skepticism. That animals would be involved in such measures has also been doubted. Such things are deemed impossible. From a human perspective this skepticism is justified. But one must remember that (1) Jonah went with the message of the Lord and in his power[74] and (2) “with God everything is possible” (Matt 19:26). Moreover, if Jonah’s message came at a time of Assyrian royal weakness and significant natural and political calamities (see Introduction), the possibility of Nineveh’s about-face becomes all the more credible.[75]

The case of Nineveh also throws light on the issue of God’s seeming change of mind in certain circumstances. At first glance, this passage appears to be at variance with texts that declare that God is not a mere mortal who changes his mind (Num 23:19; 1 Sam 15:29). God is also represented elsewhere in Scripture as being immutable (Mal 3:6; Jas 1:17). Even Jonah, however, was aware that God is compassionate and loving, always desirous of reclaiming the sinner (4:1-2). Therefore, God’s immutability is to be understood as pertaining to his consistency of character and actions. It was right to announce the certain doom of Nineveh because this was intended to produce the desired effect. Further, Nineveh would be “overturned” one way or another, either in destruction or in change of lifestyle. For God to act in accordance with Nineveh’s response to the prophecy was consistent with his pronouncements elsewhere (Jer 18:7-10; Ezek 18:21-24). Accordingly, God had not changed his mind but had taken into consideration the changed circumstances and character of people.[76]

Above all, this section illustrates the wedding of God’s justice and loving patience. Although justice demanded Nineveh’s severe judgment, a patient God was willing to wait forty days before exacting the penalty. Throughout this section God shows himself to be a God of love who has concern for all people (cf. 4:2, 11). The message of judgment contained a veiled prophecy: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be [overturned]” (3:4). “Overturned” it was, but not with destruction. Rather, its unrighteous lifestyle was changed so greatly that God was moved to relent from bringing punishment upon them (3:10).

Such oracles of judgment are often conditioned upon human interaction. God himself announced that when any nation destined for divine judgment repents of its evil ways after hearing his message, he will relent from inflicting the threatened disaster (Jer 18:7-9; 26:3, 13, 19). This had been the case in Moses’s day (Exod 32:12-14) and through the intercession of Amos (Amos 7:1-6). Hezekiah was also delivered from the sentence of death (2 Kgs 20:1-11). (Thus also, Nebuchadnezzar’s opportunity to capture Tyre was left to Alexander the Great to fulfill; Ezek 26:7-21.)

Peter’s pronouncement is true (2 Pet 3:9). Rather than wishing for people to perish, God patiently deals with them, desiring that they should come to repentance. As Jesus pointed out (Matt 12:41), the example of the Ninevites stands as an illustration of the possibilities of repentance when people respond to the preaching of the Word of God.

God’s desire to reclaim the great city of Nineveh provides an example for contemporary society. Although it is true that punishment ought to fit the crime (Exod 21:12-36), it is also certain that society is best served when a violator is reclaimed and becomes a responsible and productive member of the community (cf. Gal 6:1). Therefore, while upholding the proper demands of justice, it may also be helpful for society (and churches) to make sure that lawbreakers take conscious responsibility for their actions and to make every attempt to redeem offenders. In so doing, society will improve its own situation and that of the individuals concerned. In an ultimate sense, of course, such restoration can best be accomplished when offenders recognize themselves as sinners, repent, and receive the pardon that comes through faith in Christ.[77]