The Bible Book

166

T

he story of Jonah, which

also occurs in the Qur’an,

is found among the short

prophet books, often called the

Minor Prophets or the Twelve

Prophets. Most biblical scholars

extrapolate two major themes

from the story of Jonah: first, the

omnipresence of God, and second,

His willingness to forgive those

who repent. Although Jonah hears

God, he does not want to listen.

Punished prophet

The story opens with God telling

Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital

of Assyria, to preach against sin.

Instead, Jonah runs away to

Joppa (Jaffa) and boards a ship

sailing to Tarshish, whose location

is unknown today. However, he

cannot run from an omnipresent

God. While Jonah is on the boat,

the Lord sends a violent storm.

When the sailors discover that

Jonah is a Hebrew, and that the

Lord is angry with him, they ask

Jonah what to do to calm the

sea. Jonah tells them to throw him

into the water. At first, they ignore

Jonah’s advice, as they do not want

to kill an innocent man, but when

their attempts to row back to land

fail, they throw him overboard. The

sea calms and the sailors offer

a sacrifice to the Lord. God then

sends a fish to swallow Jonah,

who stays in the belly of the fish

for three days and nights.

Jonah’s prayer

While in the fish, Jonah says a

prayer in poetic form similar to that

of many of the Psalms of lament. He

IN BRIEF

PA S SAGE

Jonah 1–4

THEME

God’s omnipresence

SETTING

786 –746 bce The reign of

Jeroboam. The Mediterranean

Sea; Nineveh, the capital

of Assyria.

KEY FIGURES

Jonah Reluctant prophet,

son of Amittai.

Sailors The polytheistic crew

of a ship that Jonah boards

to escape God’s command to

preach in Nineveh.

Fish or whale An instrument

of God.

The Ninevites Enemies of

Israel whose wickedness has

drawn the attention of God.

JONAH WAS IN THE

BELLY OF THE FISH

THREE DAYS AND

THREE NIGHTS

JONAH 1:17, THE DISOBEDIENT PROPHET

Jonah is devoured by a “huge fish”

with gills in this 15th-century French

miniature from the Bible of St. John

XXII. Contrary to popular myth, the

Bible does not specify a whale.

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167

See also: The Tower of Babel 42–43 ■ Sodom and Gomorrah 48–49 ■ The Ten Commandments 78–83 ■

The Psalms 138–43 ■ The Empty Tomb 268–71

WISDOM AND PROPHETS

describes how he has been brought

low, but the power of the Lord will

save him, suggesting he is willing

to do what is commanded of him.

Jonah appears to allude to the

Psalms in the prayer. He includes

the word sheol in Hebrew, which is

typically translated in the Psalms,

and elsewhere, as the grave, or

abode of the dead. Little is known

about the ancient concept of sheol,

but scholars believe it is a place

where the presence of the Lord

cannot be felt.

Jonah ends the prayer by

vowing to reform. Echoing Psalm

3:8, he says: “Salvation comes

from the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). After

this, the fish spits Jonah out.

God’s compassion

Chastised by his experience, Jonah

travels to Nineveh, where he fulfills

God’s command. He tells the sinful

Ninevites to repent and prophesies

their destruction. However, when

they do repent, and the Lord

forgives them, Jonah is angry that

God should show mercy to enemies

of Israel and deny his prophecy.

He obstinately sits outside the

city, waiting for its destruction.

To teach Jonah a lesson—prophets

are the messengers of the Lord;

they are not supposed to punish or

act independently—God grows a

vine (generally thought to be a

gourd) over Jonah to provide shade

while he waits near Nineveh, but

then commands a worm to eat the

vine, and sends a scorching east

wind so that Jonah grows faint.

Jonah is rebuked by God for wanting

to influence what only He controls.

Jonah shirks God’s command to preach in Nineveh and flees.

He is angry that God is compassionate toward Nineveh.

He then asserts his own prophecy and judgment.

The disobedience of Jonah

Interpretations of the story of Jonah

For many, it is puzzling to see

a prophet of the Lord being

disobedient and the enemies

of Israel receiving forgiveness.

However, God mentions that all

nations are under the Lord’s

dominion and Ezekiel 21 states

that even Babylon is the tool of

the Lord. In Matthew 12:39–41,

Jesus equates Himself to Jonah:

He applauds that the people of

Nineveh repented, but says that

His work will be greater. Jesus

also mentions that, just as Jonah

was in the fish for three days, He

will be three days and nights “in

the heart of the earth.”

Many readers focus on the

fish, or whale, but what all the

interpretations show is the

centrality of repentance and

forgiveness. In Judaism, Jonah

is read during Yom Kippur (Day

of Atonement) in remembrance of

God’s forgiveness, even to the

enemies of Israel.

A 4th-century mosaic in the

Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta,

Aquileia, Italy, shows Jonah resting

under the gourd vine sent by God.

Through this act, God both forgives

and punishes Jonah. But Jonah

remains angry. God then says to

Jonah, “Should I not have concern

for the great city of Nineveh, in

which there are more than a

hundred and twenty thousand?”

(4:10). While Jonah believes

salvation should be for the Israelites

alone, God’s mercy extends to all. ■

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