Introduction

This account tells about a prophet named Yonah (commonly known as ‘Jonah’) who lived in northern Israel around 250 years after David became king, i.e., in the eighth century BC, perhaps around 785 BC. This account is not like other prophetic accounts because it tells us about the fate of a prophet who didn’t obey God when he was commanded by God to go to the city of Nineveh (Heb. Ninveh). He didn’t obey because knew that God would be merciful and not carry out his threat of punishing that city if the people decided to turn away from their sins. But due to a miracle when he was swallowed by a large fish after being tossed overboard from a ship in a storm, Yonah was spat out on the beach and forced to go to Nineveh. His missionary work there was very successful as the king led a movement of turning back towards God. This upset Yonah when God indeed didn’t punish the people of Nineveh by destroying their city.

This account also indicates how the author believes that God is in control of everything he made, including the ocean, fish, the wind, etc. But most of all, we’re told here how loving and merciful God is, because even the enemies of his chosen people were forgiven and saved after they turned away from their sins.

This is still a very early look into the unfinished text of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check the text in advance before using in public.