Jonah 3 Footnotes

A better solution considers the nature of a prophecy of judgment. If God was concerned enough about Nineveh—capital city of the feared Assyrian Empire—to send Jonah to preach repentance, such a message must be understood as a warning. Jonah’s prophecy to the Ninevites was therefore conditional, not absolute. If the people repented, the Lord might not bring the judgment. Jonah recognized this even before he gave the message; he fled from the Lord initially because he knew that God might relent (4:2).