We often read stories in the Bible without taking the historical context into consideration. As a result, we become unaware of the story’s historical validity. In some cases, stories are used to share a moral concept, or used as a tool to teach a lesson. The Book of Jonah is an example that will be used to determine if this particular story describes an accurate recount of history, or if it teaches the readers a lesson. In the Book of Jonah, Jonah (the prophet) is instructed to go to a pagan city (Nineveh) to preach to the Ninevites, hoping that they will repent for their sins. However, he challenges God and travels to Tarshish instead. Jonah receives consequences for his actions and Nineveh is eventually forgiven by God. Although the story of Jonah appears to entail a historically accurate event on the surface, it is, however, used to teach a lesson that God is the ultimate decider of who is worthy of forgiveness. Analyzing the historical context, explicating the verses of the book, and interpreting the book as a whole will allow a clearer understanding of the true purpose of the Book of Jonah, which is to convey a satirical story with a very important lesson.
The Book of Jonah is dated between 783 and 745 B.C. and takes place in an ancient Assyrian city, Nineveh. During this particular time, the Assyrians were aggressive and often had internal conflicts which had a bit of a change in its rulers. However time after time, the Assyrians nevertheless “retrenched itself in its old evil ways” (Judisch 154). The Assyrians would intimidate and fear the Israelites, making it easier for Jonah to not care about the city of Nineveh when God instructed him to help preach to the Assyrians. Nineveh was accused of evils and the Ninevites were ...
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This essay will attempt to exegete, the passage of Jonah chapter one. This is a common passage in the Old Testament known as the call of Jonah to Nineveh. It is widely believed that Jonah was a prophet of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, in about the 8th century BC . The available evidence seems fair to suggest that Jonah is the main character in the book named by his name. First thing to remember is that Johan’ popularity is based on his story for being swallowed by a fish. Hayes holds the view that he was born in 009BC in Gath-Hepher a few miles north of Nazareth. He was the son of the prophet Amittai. It traditionally believed that God revealed to Jonah that he will allow Israel to add a great expanse of territory to its borders.
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The people of Nineveh were living in evil, and Jonah was called to command them to repent [Jonah 1:2]. Furthermore, the citizens were governed by a King; moreover, the people repented to the Lord after Jonah’s warning [Jonah 3:6-10]. In addition, the book of Nahum is written almost entirely to address the people of Nineveh; Nahum prophesies that their wickedness, folly, and unrepentant lives will lead to destruction. Nineveh is described as a bloody city [3:1], and is repeatedly condemned for their practices of sexual immorality [3:4]. Lastly, Zephaniah 2:13 briefly foretells the future abbihulation of Nineveh. "Jonah son of Amittai” was an Israelite prophet from Gath Hepher; he lived under the rule of Jeroboam II [2 Kings 14:15-25]. He was called to travel to the Assyrian capital, Nineveh, and command them to repent of their wickedness [Jonah 1:2] Conversely, Jonah boarded a ship to travel Tarshish, fleeing from God’s request [1:3]. However, while at sea a great storm arose as a result of Jonah’s disobedience, and after being tossed overboard, was swallowed by a large fish [1:4-16]. Consequently, after being in the belly of the fish for 3 days, he repented; this led to a change in the prophets heart, and he was determined to do as the Lord had asked [1:17-2:10]. Therefore, he traveled to Nineveh, and proclaimed God’s call to repentance for all to hear [Chapter 3]. Additionally, in Matthew 12:39-40, Jesus says evil doers will receive the sign of Jonah. In verse 40 Jesus parallels his 3 day stay in “the heart of the earth” to Jonah’s 3 day experience in the belly of the fish.
The Book of Jonah is a story centered around the concept of disobedience. This book starts off in the most shocking way by showing the prophet Jonah disobeying God’s commands. The first instance of disobedience is shown when god commands Jonah to head to Nineveh in order to preach against their ideals, instead Jonah choses to flee, he heads to Joppa and boards a ship heading to Tarshish. Nowell points out in his biblical commentary Jonah, Tobit, Judith how ludicrous this situation was by citing Jonah 1:9 where Jonah expresses his fear of God because He made both “the sea and the dry land” (“JONAH’S DISOBEDIENCE AND FLIGHT”). God retaliates by sending a storm that terrorizes the sailors and forces them to throw Jonah off the boat. This highlights
Correspondingly, other canonical prophetic books interpret Yahweh’s will during periods of social or political crisis.4 Many minor prophets wrote during one of the three critical periods: the Assyrian Crisis, the Babylonian threat, or the postexilic readjustment.5 During the Babylonian threat of the late-seventh century, Habakkuk served as a link between God and humanity. The Assyrian kingdom, led by Shalmanasar V, forced the people of Judah into harsh conditions through a heartless deportation. In time, political drama spread throughout the region. After 612 B.C.E. when Assyria fell to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Habakkuk wrote his prophetic book, focusing on the agony of humankind’s struggle to progress in such a wicked world. His message of faith and morality transcended the evil within society, ultimately revealing to the Israelites that justice would prevail.
Collins, John J. A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007.
Specifically, it taught about how His mercy could not be restricted by a person’s preconceptions. Jonah was a prophet of God but was ruled by his unrelenting hatred towards sinners. Despite his loathing, God was more than capable of using him in the salvation of the corrupted. When Jonah was commanded by the Lord to preach to the Ninevites, he resisted. Nineveh was a pagan society and epitomized “everything evil that the Israelites hated” (MacArthur, Jonah 112), Seeing that his enemies would be forgiven if he delivered the message, Jonah fled from his duty. However, he would not be able to elude from the will of God and, after some precarious situations in the sea, would reluctantly prophesied to the Ninevites and inspired their faith in the Lord. This came to show that while “Jonah was filled with resentment … [and his] wrath was aroused, … the Lord [could still extend His] grace” (MacArthur, Jonah
In Vonnegut’s novel, readers can notice that there are numerous religious references such as names and terms throughout it. In the opening of the novel it can already be seen. Vonnegut starts his novel off with the narrator introducing himself, “Call me Jonah. My parents did, or nearly did. They called me John.” (Vonnegut 1). From this opening line you can already see a biblical reference, that reference being “Jonah”. The name Jonah derives from the Hebrew bible, it’s known to be the name of a prophet who disobeyed God. Already early on in the novel it can be seen that a parallel between religion and the post-war world which the story take place in are intertwining. It can be assumed that by the author uses of the reference Jonah, a disobedient prophet of god, that the novel also revolves around the theme of deception among people in society. Deception implicated among person to another can lead to creating destruction in society. If one such as a writ...
The book of Jonah is an adventurous story of a prophet chosen by God to go preach denouncement to a heathen nation. With the exception of stating that Jonah is the son of Amittai, the book itself fails to reveal any background information. Nevertheless, a plorthea of scholars have attempted to provide us with some insight to the, who, when, where, and what of the book. This paper will utilize four scholarly commentaries in a quest to determine the author or authors of the book, the time when it was written, the original audience it spoke to, the occasion, the historical, social and cultural context in which it was written. It will also address the historical, social and cultural context of the book and that of the pericope of 3:1 – 10.
God’s graciousness can be shown through Gods establishment of the covenant agreements between God and Israel. In the Septuagint, five different covenants can be distinguished, however this narrative will focus on the relationship between the Abrah...
Henry, Matthew, and Leslie F. Church. Commentary on the Whole Bible: Genesis to Revelation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, 1961. Print.