Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

JONAH

The fifth book of the Minor Prophets collection, named for its chief character. This placement may function to provide a positive word about the nations after Obadiah. The reference to Jonah, son of Amittai (Jonah 1:1), relates the book to an 8th-century prophet who spoke in support of Jeroboam II, king of Israel (786-746 b.c.e.; 2 Kgs. 14:25).

The reason for this historical connection is not clear, especially in view of the nonhistorical nature of the book. It may be that Nineveh (the capital of Assyria), responsible for destroying the northern kingdom in 721, serves as a type for wicked nations opposed to God’s purposes (cf. Nah. 3:1). The question posed is this: Is God’s salvation available even to such people? For God to be so concerned about the positive future of nations such as Assyria was intolerable to some: How could God think of saving a nation that had so devastated God’s own people? Jonah himself is a type representing certain pious Israelites who posed such a question regarding the extension of God’s mercy to the wicked. This perspective constituted a challenge to the confession of faith that Yahweh is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Exod. 34:6-7, disputed by Jonah in 4:2). The book argues that this ancient confession — with the addition about divine repentance (cf. Joel 2:13) — is still decisive in thinking about God and God’s relationship to the larger world of nations. God’s way with the world, not simply with Israel, is the way of mercy in the face of deserved judgment. Such a theological dispute may have surfaced in the postexilic period, when Israel’s ongoing subjugation to a prospering foreign nation (Persia), related hardships, and the seeming failure of exilic promises raised questions about the fairness of God’s treatment of Israel (cf. Mal. 2:17; 3:14-15).

The book differs from other prophets in its absence of oracles (except 3:4) and its form as a story about a prophet. Unlike other prophetic oracles against the nations, Jonah is called to deliver a word of judgment against Nineveh in person. Yet, the book is prophetic in that it speaks a word of judgment and grace to a specific Israelite audience, seeking to elicit amendment in their thought and life.

The book is a literary unity; the four chapters constitute a carefully structured creation wherein Jonah and the heathen (sailors and Ninevites) are compared. To this end, the book makes use of earlier motifs and traditions (Gen. 18; 1 Kgs. 10; Jer. 18, 36; Joel 2). The psalm originally functioned as an independent song of thanksgiving, here adapted to accommodate Jonah’s gratitude for being saved from drowning. The book is to be identified as a satire, with irony widely used in depicting Jonah and his perspective on the nations. The concluding question is designed to move readers to a new theological stance.

The plot of Jonah may be outlined as follows:

Jonah Called (1:1-3)

God’s call to preach to Nineveh is rejected by Jonah. The reason becomes clear only at 4:2. This call creates the possibility that Israel’s destroyers might repent and God would extend them mercy rather than judgment. Jonah’s sense of justice is violated. Hence, to escape to a place where God’s call is less compelling, he buys the most expensive ticket on a ship headed in the opposite direction — to Tarshish in Spain.

Jonah Pursued (1:4-16)

Because Jonah’s flight subverts God’s intentions for Nineveh, God pursues the prophet through a storm at sea, not to visit him with wrath but to turn him around. Jonah responds to the storm with nonchalance, and the captain — who sees that prayer does not compel God (cf. 3:9) — ironically reminds him of his religious responsibilities. When the lots pinpoint Jonah as the culprit, he confesses his faith. This confession in time moves the sailors (parallel to the Ninevites in ch. 3) to worship the god of Jonah. But the confession does not stop the storm; in fact, the weather gets worse. What is at stake for God is not Jonah’s confession (Jonah is a man of faith), but his theologically informed stance regarding the nations. Jonah confesses his guilt and, given his sense of justice, offers to be thrown overboard to receive his deserved judgment. The sailors finally grant Jonah’s request after making sure they are not blamed if Jonah is innocent. The storm stops; the sailors respond to God like good Israelites.

Jonah’s Response to God’s Deliverance
(1:17–2:10[MT 2:1-11])

God sends a fish to save Jonah from drowning and return him home. Ironically, guilty Jonah is the recipient of divine mercy. God’s use of the fish brackets Jonah’s prayer of thanksgiving. Metaphors typically used in stating or recalling distress (cf. Pss. 30, 42) are used literally by Jonah to depict his descent to the doors of death. Jonah voices the key theme of deliverance — ironically, for he no more deserves salvation than Nineveh and would limit God’s exercise of the mercy that had saved him. The prayer reveals no repentant Jonah, but God and the fish mercifully bring him home.

Nineveh and God Repent (3:1-10)

Still in need of Jonah, God repeats the call. Nineveh is described in larger-than-life terms; the entire evil city repents (even the animals!) at Jonah’s minimal efforts, executed under duress. Such deliberately overdrawn details highlight the irony of his unparalleled success. Jonah’s graceless word in the wake of his own experience of grace — an unprecedented countdown to doom — speaks Jonah’s own mind regarding a just future for the city. Led by their king, the Ninevites engage in words and acts of repentance. Israel’s God, affected by such actions, responds by reversing the announced judgment. This pattern of threat followed by human and divine repentance, common in Israel’s experience, is made available to all (Jer. 18:7-11).

A Theological Debate (4:1-11)

Jonah responds with profound anger at the deliverance and presents his case for originally refusing to go — a fear that God would be merciful when judgment was called for. God has not conformed to basic standards of justice, and Jonah calls for his own death for participating in this act of injustice — Jonah will be just (cf. 1:12). God refuses the challenge and questions Jonah’s response to Nineveh’s salvation. But Jonah remains firm and decides to sit and wait God out (4:5). God refuses to back off and sends a plant to reinforce Jonah’s shade, ironically delivering the one who is angry at God for delivering others. Jonah rejoices in his own salvation and so God pursues the issue with a worm and wind, giving him a taste of the destruction he wished upon others. In view of such give-and-take capriciousness, Jonah prefers death. God persists and questions Jonah’s anger at the plant’s destruction. Either answer to this clever question impales Jonah. If negative (as it should have been), then Jonah recognizes God’s right to make judgments regarding God’s own creatures. If positive (as it was), then he tacitly acknowledges God’s right to respond to Nineveh as God pleases. Jonah has received a gift from God apart from questions of justice, and so Jonah should not begrudge God’s generosity when God extends that mercy to others.

Bibliography. T. E. Fretheim, The Message of Jonah (Minneapolis, 1977); J. Limburg, Jonah. OTL (Louisville, 1993); J. D. Magonet, Form and Meaning: Studies in Literary Techniques in the Book of Jonah (Sheffield, 1983); J. M. Sasson, Jonah. AB 24B (New York, 1990); P. Trible, Rhetorical Criticism: Context, Method, and the Book of Jonah. Guides to Biblical Scholarship (Minneapolis, 1994); H. W. Wolff, Obadiah and Jonah (Minneapolis, 1986).

Terence E. Fretheim

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

JONAH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)