Dictionary Article

Fifth book of the 12 Minor Prophets in the traditional arrangement of the books of the OT. It is a literary narrative rather than a series of prophetic oracles, and it gives the account of Jonah’s experiences after he disobeyed a command from the Lord directing him to preach to the people of Nineveh. Several extraordinary events recorded in the book have made it the center of much controversy as to its interpretation.

The book of Jonah has been traditionally ascribed to Jonah the son of Amittai, a prophet of great influence, who ministered during the reign of Jeroboam II of Israel (2 Kgs 14:25).

The content of the book describes Jonah as an intensely patriotic person, but his misguided patriotism caused him to rebel at the possibility of Israel’s former enemies receiving forgiveness from God. One of the most important lessons of the book emerges when God rebukes Jonah’s exclusivistic attitude (Jon 4:6-11).

Jesus used two of the experiences of Jonah as signs to his generation. The three days and nights spent by Jonah in the great fish served as an analogy of Jesus’ death and resurrection (Mt 12:38-41). Also, the positive response of the Ninevites to Jonah’s preaching was used by Jesus as a condemnation of the failure of many in his generation to believe in him (Lk 11:32).

The unusual elements in the book of Jonah have led to widely varying views of its nature. Not only has the account of Jonah being swallowed by the fish led some to think the book to be of a fabulous nature, but the account of the repentance of the people of Nineveh (Jon 3:5) also has been regarded as highly unlikely.

The historicity of the book has been championed by outstanding biblical scholars. The basic approach of these scholars has been to counter the arguments of those who deny its historicity and to point to what is regarded as positive evidence for the historicity of the book in Jesus’ allusions to the prophecy and in early Jewish tradition.

Opponents of the authenticity of Jonah point to the following difficulties: (1) The use of the expression “king of Nineveh” (3:6) appears to be an inaccuracy because Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. A contemporary would have referred to the king as the king of Assyria. (2) The use of the past tense to describe the city of Nineveh (v 3) seems to point to a much later date than the traditional view of the authorship of the book would permit. (3) The size of the city of Nineveh is described in greatly exaggerated terms (v 3). (4) The mass repentance of the Ninevites lacks historical support. (5) It is unlikely that a human being could exist within a fish for an extended period of time.

With regard to the use of “king of Nineveh,” it should be noted that similar expressions may be found in the OT. Ahab, the king of Israel, is called “king of Samaria” (1 Kgs 21:1), and Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, is designated “king of Damascus” (2 Chr 24:23). The designation “king of Nineveh” is therefore not anomalous.

The use of the past tense to describe the city of Nineveh may be regarded as nothing more than a simple narrative past tense describing the size of the city at the time that Jonah prophesied there.

The description of the size of the city (“three days’ journey”) may be an indication of the length of time that it would take one to go through the suburbs included in the administrative district of Nineveh.

The repentance of the Ninevites is not to be understood as a mass conversion to Yahweh, the God of Israel. The book of Jonah describes their response as repentance in view of the impending destruction threatened by Jonah (Jon 3:4). While secular history does not record such an event, there is evidence that such a response was possible. In less than a decade (765–759 BC) the city of Nineveh had experienced a total eclipse of the sun and two serious plagues. One can understand how the citizens of Nineveh may have been prepared for the preaching of this prophet who came to them in such an unusual way.

It should also be noted that one of the kings of Assyria, Adad-nirari III, limited his worship to the god Nebo. If the prophetic ministry of Jonah was active during the time of his reign (810–783 BC), it is possible that the Jewish monotheism represented by Jonah may have found a more favorable climate than one would normally expect in a pagan society.

The participation of the animals in the national penitence that followed Jonah’s preaching (3:7-8) is not unknown from history. The historian Herodotus records a similar event in the Persian Empire.

The event that creates the greatest difficulty, however, is the experience of Jonah in the fish. It has often been pointed out that the gullets of most whales are not large enough to admit an object the size of a man. But the book does not say that it was a whale that swallowed Jonah, but simply a great fish (1:17). Even so, it is possible for a sperm whale to swallow an object as large as a man.

Numerous examples of individuals being swallowed by whales have been cited in the past. While many of these accounts may be disregarded as fancy, it would be wrong to uncritically reject all of them. (An interesting account of one of these experiences may be found in the Princeton Theological Review 25, 1927, p. 636.) The experience of Jonah in the great fish need not be regarded as an absolute impossibility. The activities of God in history have often been accompanied by unusual or miraculous events.

The difficulties of the book of Jonah have led many to regard the book as a prophetic parable rather than a record of historical fact. The most common interpretation is that the book is an expression of the universal concerns of God. As such, it inveighs against the exclusive nationalism of the Jews. This narrow-minded attitude, some suggest, fits best into the postexilic period, when the hatred of Israel for its former captors was still very bitter.

There are several difficulties with this view. While there are a number of parables in the OT, none is as extensive as the book of Jonah. Also, since the major elements of a parable symbolize persons, objects, or concepts that contribute to the main teaching of the parable, the proponents of this view are hard pressed to show how the account of Jonah’s experience in the fish contributes to the central lesson of the parable.

Another approach to the book is to regard it as an extended allegory. An allegory is a literary form, the basic elements of which are intended to symbolize or explain aspects of real life to which they are analogous. The intended meaning is usually evident or explained by the author. In the OT, allegories are short literary forms used to lend force to a pronouncement. The book of Jonah does not seem to fit this category. It is a narrative account with no evident meaning given to the various persons, objects, and events cited.

There seems to be no convincing reason for rejecting the historicity of the book of Jonah on the basis of the arguments generally given. Jesus referred to the account of Jonah in a way that seems to imply his acceptance of its validity.

If Jonah was the son of Amittai cited in 2 Kings 14:25, the prophecy would have to be dated in the reign of Jeroboam II of Israel (793–753 BC). Jonah would then be one of the great eighth-century prophets who ministered during the Silver Age of Israel.

Those who understand the book to have been written by an author other than Jonah place the writing at various times, from the period following the fall of Nineveh to well into the postexilic period.

Archaeological excavations at the site of ancient Nineveh have yielded many artifacts and literary works indicating that it was a cultural center for a great part of its history. In the Middle Assyrian period, the city of Nineveh was greatly enlarged and became an administrative center. Some of the most powerful Assyrian kings ruled from Nineveh.

The city of Calah, to the south of Nineveh, had an area much smaller than Nineveh but housed almost 70,000 persons. The description of the vast population of Nineveh in the prophecy of Jonah seems to fit with this.

The purpose of the book of Jonah is to teach that God’s grace was not limited to the Hebrew people. This lesson is taught in the dramatic climax of the book. Jonah, filled with self-pity, laments the loss of the plant that gave him shade. God shows Jonah’s concern for the plant in stark contrast to his own concern for the thousands of people of Nineveh.

The book clearly sets forth the fact that God’s mercy was not the sole possession of the Hebrew people of Jonah’s time but was available to all through repentance. Even Israel’s enemies could experience God’s mercy.

The book of Jonah begins with a command from the Lord to the prophet directing him to preach to the people of Nineveh. Jonah was reluctant to go to Nineveh because he knew that the Ninevites would repent. He would therefore find himself in the dubious position of proclaiming God’s mercy to the hated Assyrians. Therefore, he fled from Joppa by ship in a futile attempt to flee from the presence of God. He boarded a ship bound for Tarshish, a Phoenician colony in southern Spain. It was as far west as Jonah could flee within the scope of the ancient Mediterranean world (1:1-3).

Jonah’s Roundabout Journey

When Jonah was called to go to Nineveh, he ran from God by boarding a ship in Joppa headed for Tarshish in Spain. Eventually, Jonah could not hide from God; he went to Nineveh.

God would not allow his servant to disobey without chastisement, however (1:4-16). God’s love demanded Jonah’s discipline. The program of discipline commenced with a divinely originated storm (v 4). In the midst of the terrifying rage of this storm, the sailors busied themselves with supplications to their individual pagan deities and with casting excess cargo overboard (v 5). Through all the commotion Jonah was asleep in the hold of the ship.

The sailors were as yet unaware that Jonah was the real problem. The captain of the ship aroused Jonah and told him to pray to his god for deliverance from the tempest (v 6).

Receiving no response to their supplications, the sailors proceeded to cast lots in an attempt to determine who on board was the cause of the wrath of the god who had brought the storm upon them (1:7); the lot indicated that Jonah was to blame. The sailors then wanted to know what god was responsible for the storm and why. Jonah’s testimony was simple and to the point: he was a Hebrew who worshiped the Lord who created both land and sea (v 9).

The sailors asked Jonah what they should do to him since the storm was increasing in its fury (1:11). The captain had previously told Jonah to pray or perish. Now Jonah revealed that praying would not accomplish what his perishing could (v 12). He asked them to throw him into the sea.

Before yielding to Jonah’s request, the sailors struggled to save the ship (1:13). Failing in their attempt, they cast him into the sea (v 15). Imagine the impression made on these sailors when the storm ceased as soon as Jonah’s body was in the sea. Their experience caused the ship’s crew to fear the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice and made vows to him (v 16).

But God was not through with Jonah, for he prepared a great fish to swallow him (1:17). Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights (cf. Mt 12:38-41). From within the fish Jonah prayed to God (Jon 2:1), and thanked him for hearing his prayer and saving him from death in the sea (vv 7-8). Jonah’s deliverance brought him to the point of renewed devotion to God (v 9). It is significant that his prayer reflected a deep personal acquaintance with the Psalms (cf. Pss 3:8; 5:7; 18:4-19; 30:2-3; 31:6, 22; 39:9; 42:6-7; 59:17; 69:1-2; 120:1; 142:3; 144:2).

The ultimate answer to Jonah’s prayers came when God provided him with the opportunity of obeying his commission and keeping his vows. The sea creature spit Jonah out upon the shore (Jon 2:10).

The writer now turns his attention to God’s dealing with the city of Nineveh (chs 3–4). Jonah repented of his disobedience and manifested that repentance by going to Nineveh to declare God’s message (3:1-3). Upon his arrival in Nineveh, he proceeded to proclaim God’s message. The inhabitants of the city were told they had 40 days (v 4), but they evidently responded immediately.

The people and their king repented in sackcloth and with fasting (3:5-6). Having repented privately, the king made a public proclamation to reinforce the response to God’s message (vv 7-9).

God’s acceptance of Nineveh’s repentance (3:10) caused Jonah’s grudging attitude to return and he complained (4:1-3). His recently uttered psalm of prayerful praise to God (2:1-9) now turned to bitter grumbling. Jonah prayed again to God (4:2), revealing his reason for refusing to obey the first commission. He had personal knowledge of God’s loving and forgiving nature, and he resented that love and forgiveness being extended to the enemies of his country. In foolish abandon, Jonah asked to die rather than to see God’s work among the Ninevites (v 3).

God’s compassion had been manifested to Nineveh, but he was also to show compassion again to Jonah by illustration and instruction (4:4-11). God’s quiet question, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?” must have probed Jonah’s innermost being (v 4). But the prophet preferred to put in a temporary shelter on the east side of Nineveh (v 5) waiting to see if anything would happen.

God added a plant (something with large leaves) to the number of nature’s objects that he used in his dealings with Jonah (4:6). This provision for Jonah’s comfort brought him joy. But the plant was destroyed by a worm sent by God (v 7). Then God sent the hot sirocco wind to dry out the air, increase the heat, and add to Jonah’s misery (v 8). Again, Jonah begged to die.

For the second time God questioned Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?” (4:9, NLT). The point of the illustration was being driven home to the insensitive prophet. Jonah, however, responded with more bitterness (v 9). Jonah was greatly agitated because the loss of the plant affected him personally, even though he had nothing to do with its creation (v 10). The Lord Yahweh had created man. The Lord was concerned for the welfare of the Ninevites. Did not the great Creator have the right to be agitated over the destruction of Nineveh with its 120,000 children and all its animals (v 11)? As Jonah had desired the preservation of the plant, so God had desired even more exceedingly the preservation of Nineveh.

Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary