AUTHOR

Jonah ben Amittai was a prophet of Israel from Gath Hepher, a village near Nazareth. He prophesied during the time of Jeroboam II (793–753 BC). God had earlier given Jonah the privilege of delivering the good news that Israel would experience a time of safety and prosperity (2Kg 14:25). According to the book of Jonah, God also used him against his will to deliver a warning to the pagans in Nineveh.

Jonah is the only prophetic book that consists entirely of an account of what happened to the prophet. Indeed, the prophetic message is primarily told through both the story and the dialogue between God and Jonah.

IS THE STORY OF JONAH FACT OR FICTION?

Is the book of Jonah historical narrative or fictional narrative? Biography or autobiography in the Prophets can either give historical information or illustrate the message. For example, Hosea’s marriage to Gomer typified God’s relationship with Israel. The events of the book of Jonah illustrate, or in this case even comprise, the message of the book. That the book of Jonah teaches a lesson through what happened does not rule out its historicity any more than the lesson of Hosea’s marriage rules out the historicity of Hosea’s book. However, the style in Jonah is somewhat different from other Minor Prophets.

Various suggestions of a nonhistorical genre have been made for Jonah: a parable; an allegory; a midrash (a preaching commentary on a portion of Scripture); a short story; a satire. The supernatural elements are the main reason that some object to viewing Jonah as historical. Also there are elements of the account that seem unusual or humorous, such as the king’s decree that the animals should participate in the repentance (3:7-8) or Jonah’s odd behavior as a prophet of God.

While they are certainly intriguing, none of these reasons automatically rules out the historicity of this book. Moreover, two things tip the balance in favor of Jonah as history. First, the form of the book does not fit easily into any of the suggested fictional categories; everything about its form suggests a historical work. Second, the use Jesus made of the account of Jonah implies that he considered the book historical (Mt 12:39-41; 16:4; Lk 11:29-30,32).

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF JONAH

The reign of Jeroboam II allows us to date Jonah somewhere between 793–753 BC, although his mission could have occurred after Jeroboam died. The Assyrians, not unexpectedly, left no known record about the repentance of the Ninevites. Assyria was in a weakened condition in the first half of the eighth century, and though Nineveh did not become the official capital until Sennacherib (705–682 BC); there is evidence that it served at least as a part-time royal residence during the era of Jeroboam II.

It is significant for the meaning of the story to know that the Assyrians were feared throughout the ancient Near East and threatened the very existence of Israel shortly after the time of Jonah. In their inscriptions the Assyrians boast of their conquests and of their cruel treatment of prisoners of war.

THE MEANING OF THE BOOK OF JONAH

To some extent it is possible to interpret Jonah in more than one way because the meaning derives from narrative rather than from explicit statements. Nevertheless, there are some clues in the story that should help. Here are two.

The first clue involves the intended audience of the book. It would have to have been written to Israel or Judah, not Assyria. So how would an Israelite have reacted to this book? Other prophets complained that Israel failed to respond to their messages, but the Ninevites responded immediately to Jonah’s simple statement, “In forty days Nineveh will be demolished!” (3:4). Jonah’s story would have been a rebuke to the Israelites and an exhortation for them to likewise repent.

A second clue is found in the reason that Jonah gave God for why he fled. He knew that God was merciful and would forgive the Ninevites, not destroy them. Jonah represented Israel’s provincial attitude that the Lord was unconcerned about those outside Israel. The book of Jonah tried to bring a corrective to that.

If we reflect on how we might be like Jonah, some of our incorrect attitudes may come to the surface. Are we concerned only about ourselves in our faith? Is ministry important only if it has some relationship to us personally? To our racial or ethnic group? Are there groups that we would rather hate than love? Have we opened our lives completely to God’s grace, compassion, and love if we are unwilling to love those who have offended us deeply?

Jesus’s parable of the unforgiving servant (Mt 18:23-35) makes a nice parallel to the message of Jonah. Indeed, a theme that runs from Deuteronomy (6:4-5), through all the Prophets, and on into the New Testament is that God wants his people to love him wholly and to love their neighbor as themselves (see Mic 6:8; Lk 10:25-37; Jms 2:8; 1Jn 4:7-21). The book of Jonah conveys this message in a unique way.