Jonah: A False Prophet or a Prophet with a False God?
The Jonah narrative is a story often told to children to emphasize that it is wrong to run from God and there is no way to escape from God. However as adults we see that there is more to the story. There are many ways to interpret the Jonah narrative and the character of Jonah. Readers may even read the story with an anti-Semitic view if they judge solely from their first impressions of Jonah. We see a man who flees, a man who is angry with God, and a man who pouts under a bush and wishes to die. From all this we may conclude that Jonah is selfish. If we read beyond the surface impression and pay careful attention to the narrative and Jonah's words and not just deeds, we see a more spiritual concern in Jonah's heart. He is not concerned about what people think of him but what people think of God.
During Jonah's time, conditions were not very stable. Political, social, and religious disorder reigned in Israel. Syria had recently won a war and taken over Israel. The relationship between Jonah's homeland and Nineveh, the capital of Syria, were strained and bursting with animosity. Israel itself was in a state of turmoil, trying to adjust to the loss of their power and independence (Winard 538).
In his article "Jonah: The Wayward Dove", Richard Stamp charges Jonah with extreme nationalism. "We see a rather obnoxious man who is disobedient to God and seems to be a bigoted nationalist of the worst kind" (Stamp 80). Jonah's frustration with God shows that he would rather see the destruction of more than a hundred and twenty thousand souls than acknowledge that God can be merciful to the foreigners of Nineveh. His anger over God's mercy towards this wicked city is used to ju...
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...aracteristics in all his actions. Jonah is never concerned about what people think of him but what people think of God.
Works Cited
Fretheim, Terence E. The Message of Jonah: A Theological Commentary.Augsburg Publishing House: Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1977
Martin, Hugh D.D. The Prophet Jonah: His Character and Mission to Nineveh. The Banner of Truth Trust: Highgate West Hill, London , 1958.
Myers, Jacob Martin. The Book of Joel; The Book of Amos; The Book of Obadiah; The Book of Jonah. John Knox Press: Richmond, Virginia, 1959.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible: (NRSV)Oxford University Press, 1991.
Seiden, Chaim. "Why does Jonah Want to Die?" Bible Review 15 June 1999: 4.
Stamp, Richard. "Jonah: The Wayward Dove" The Expository Times Vol. 111 Dec.1999:80-82.
Winward, Stephen F. A Guide to the Prophets. John Knox Press: Richmond, Virginia 1969.
Carson, D. A. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
"Tariff of 1832 and Clay's Compromise." Hippocampus. Regents of the University of California and Monterey Institute for Technology and Education, 2006. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. .
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...
Henry Clay was the first Speaker of the House that really helped to establish the position and increase the power. Clay served three terms as Speaker of the House and in those years demonstrated how his tactics were effective as well as successful. Henry Clay was personable, and his youth and assertiveness made him a popular choice for Speaker. Clay used his position to place his allies in important committees to achieve these goals. As Clay gained clout in the House of Representatives, he was able to introduce his American System and ideas founded in the American Colonization Society. Henry Clay’s greatest accomplishment as Speaker of the House was the drafting of the Missouri Compromise, which gained him the title of the Great Compromiser. Henry Clay became a very powerful, respected and effective Speaker of the House, and set a precedent for future Speakers.
Rubenzahl, Samuel A. “The Prevalence and Characteristics of Male Perpetrators of Acquaintance Rape New Research Methodology Reveals New Findings.” Violence Against Women 4 (1998): 713-726.
Main Events in the history of Jerusalem. (n.d.). Retrieved May 8, 2011, from Century One Educational Bookstore: http://www.centuryone.com/hstjrslm.html
... Schlesinger, L. B., Pinizzotto, A. J., & Davis, E. F. (2008). Serial and single-victim rapists: differences in crime-scene violence, interpersonal involvement, and criminal sophistication. Behavioral Sciences & The Law, 26(2), 227-237. doi:10.1002/bsl.804
Near the beginning of Moby Dick, Father Mapple reminds Pequod sailors of the biblical prophet Jonah and his unique encounter with a whale. The whale, known as a Leviathan in the Bible, swallows Jonah because Jonah refuses to obey God's command to preach to a wicked group of people. Father Mapple in his sermon says, "If we obey God, we must disobey ourselves; and it is in this disobeying ourselves, wherein the hardness of obeying God consists" (47). Once Jonah admits his sinfulness and follows his maker, the whale frees Jonah. Father Mapple says that obeying God can be difficult and might not seem logical to the person listening.
Moran, Daniel. "Critical Essay on 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish.'" Short Stories for Students. Ed.
Seto, M. & Barbaree, H. (1999). Psychopathy, Treatment Behavior, and Sex Offender Recidivism. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 14, pp.1235-1248
On an opposite note, Jonah was a man whom God called upon to become a prophet. Jonah refused because he didn't desire a life of servitude. Knowing that he had committed an ultimate sin, Jonah fled to the ocean, risking hundreds of crew members' lives, believing that God would not be able to follow. In the sea, Jonah was swallowed by God in the form of a whale In the whale's belly, he repented and prayed for forgiveness. He was spit up by the whale upon dry land and all was forgiven.
LaSor, W., Hubbard, D., Bush, F., & Allen, L. (1996). Old Testament survey: The message, form, and background of the Old Testament (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans
While most westerners know the story of Joseph as a passage from the end of the book of Genesis in the Bible or the Torah, understanding the story and its intricacies in sura 12 of the Qur’an proves equally important. Joseph’s story in Genesis emphasizes his personal abilities and God rewarding him and his people’s loyalty and faith amidst hardship. The Qur’an takes the same plot and enforces the theme of monotheism and Joseph’s prophetic role in its spread. The Qur’an’s interpretation serves as a more influential religious text in the context of its body of belief, whereas the Biblical story of Joseph, with its thematically intriguing story line and embellishments, comparatively serves a greater literary purpose. By reading and understanding both passages, one can gain a clearer knowledge of what is regarded as important to the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths.
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