Some Introductory Notes on Jonah

by | Oct 6, 2014 | Bible, Scripture References

I. JONAH THE PROPHET

A. NAME : Jonah – “Dove”

B. HOME: Gath-hepher – 4 miles north of Nazareth in Galilee (modern el-Meshad)

Jonah, the son of Amittai, of Gath-hepher (II Kings 14:25). These two names are found nowhere else in the Old Testament.

C. JONAH’S PERIOD OF MINISTRY: (c. 786-746 B.C.)

Jonah was active as a prophet during the reign of Jeroboam II (c. 786-746 B.C.), the wicked and idolatrous king who reigned in the Northern Kingdom.

 

II. THE BOOK ITSELF

A. AUTHORSHIP: No real reason to deny that the book was written by Jonah himself.

B. DATE: 8th Century B.C.

There are three historical occurrences in Assyria that may form the backdrop to the book:

  1. In the reign of Adad-Nirari III (810 – 783 B.C.) there was a tendency toward monotheism in the Assyrian Empire.
  2. In the reign of Assurdan III there were two major plaques in Assyria (765, 759 BC).
  3. Total solar eclipse – (763 BC).
  4. Jonah likely preaching in Nineveh between 759-755 BC.

C. PLACE IN THE CANON:

Jonah stands fifth in The Book of the Twelve in the Hebrew Old Testament. In the Septuagint, however, Jonah is sixth, the order there being Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah.

D. TYPE OF LITERATURE:

  1. Parable – no.  2. Allegory – no. 3. Historical Narrative – yes.

E. THE HISTORICITY OF THE BOOK:

On at least two (possibly three) occasions Jesus referred specifically to Jonah:

  1. Matthew 12:38-41 (Luke 11:29-32).
  2. Matthew 16:4

Place Names in Jonah:

Gath Hepher – 4 miles north of Nazareth in Galilee—modern el-Meshad

Joppa – Modern Jaffa—suburb of Tel-Aviv (35 miles NW of Jerusalem)

Tarshish – Southern tip of Spain (2000 miles from Nineveh)

Nineveh – Modern Tell Kuyunjik in Iraq located on the Tigris River opposite modern day Mosul

  •  A major metropolitan area in Assyria
  • Circumference just under 3 miles
  • Destroyed in 612 by Babylonians

F. JONAH IN RELIGION, ART, AND LITERATURE[1]:

  1. Muhammad in the Quran described Jonah as “a righteous preacher of the message of God.” Muhammad once warned, in the collection of Imam Bukhari, that “One should not say that I am better than Jonah.”
  2. Michelangelo, in his frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, paints Jonah as the largest and most imposing figure.
  3. Bruce Springsteen’s song “Swallowed Up (in the Belly of the Whale).”
  4. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, concludes a 10-day period of repentance that begins with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. These 10 days are also known as the Days of Awe, each one bringing closer the moment when, without repentance, there is no longer any escape possible from God’s verdict of judgment for every individual. As that moment draws near, Jewish tradition requires a reading of the four chapters of Jonah, which serve as the concluding biblical message of the day. Jonah is read in every synagogue around the world. The Talmudic rabbis felt that the book of Jonah captures the quintessential message for Yom Kippur because it is a story that reminds us that God judges the whole world.

 

III. THEOLOGY OF JONAH:

A. MISSIONARY THRUST – UNIVERSALITY OF GOD’S REDEMPTION:

  1. The Book of Jonah is indeed a missionary book, teaching that the love of God embraces the whole human race. God does not desire that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (1 Timothy 2:4-6; II Peter 3:9).
  2. That Gentiles were to be saved was a constituent part of Old Testament revelation: Genesis 12:3; Isaiah 42:6; 49:6; 65:1; Hosea 2:23; Joel 2:28-32.
  3. The theological point of the book — Israel is an ineffective servant under divine discipline. The attitude of Jonah is the attitude of Israel. But Yahweh preaches salvation to the Gentiles through His reluctant prophetic messenger.

In Jonah we find the intersection of God’s concern for nations hostile to Israel with God’s election of Israel; and the intersection of God’s justice with God’s mercy.

B. THE PROPHETIC CALL:

The prophetic commission is inescapable and outward circumstances do not excuse a man from his mission.

C. JONAH AS A “SIGN” IN THE NT:

Jesus took the fact of Jonah’s being in the belly of the fish for three days and nights (1:17) to be a picture of his own miraculous resurrection from the tomb (Matthew 12:40).

D. GOD.

  1. Sovereignty
  2. Gracious, compassionate (chesed), longsuffering.
  3. Holy, Justice, Love.

E. MAN.

  1. Sinfulness
  2. Ability to Respond to God’s Word

 

IV. GENERAL & SPECIFIC OUTLINE OF JONAH.

  1. From Silent Resistance to Jubilant Acceptance: The Compelling Nature of God’s Mercy

(1:1-2:11)

  1. From Compliant Acceptance to Angry Resentment: The Offense of God’s Mercy

(3:1-4:11)[2]

____________

I. Jonah Runs from the Lord (1:1-16)

  1. Jonah Sails to Tarshish (1-3)
  2. Jonah Sleeps While a Storm Rages (4-6)
  3. Jonah Discovered by Casting of Lots (7-10)
  4. Jonah Cast Overboard (11-16)

II. Jonah Prayers and is Rescued (2:1-11)

  1. Jonah is Saved from Drowning & Prays to God (1-3a)
  2. Jonah’s Prayer of Thanksgiving (3b-10)
  3. Jonah Released on Land (11)

III. Jonah Fulfills His Calling (3:1-10)

  1. Jonah Preaches in Nineveh (1-4)
  2. Nineveh Repents & God Forgives (5-10)

IV. Jonah Objects to Nineveh’s Survival (4:1-11)

  1. Jonah Demonstrates His Wrong Attitude (1-4)
  2. God Responds with an Acted Parable (5-9)
  3. God’s Final Word (10-11)[3]

[1] See Yvonne Sherwood, A Biblical Text and its Afterlives: the Survival of Jonah in Western Culture (Cambridge: CUP, 2000).

[2] Kevin Youngblood, Jonah: God’s Scandalous Mercy, in Hearing the Message of Scripture: a Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013), 45.

[3] Adapted from Joyce Baldwin, “Jonah,” in The Minor Prophets, vol. 2, T. E. McComiskey, ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2009), 548.