The book is anonymous, and there are no indicators elsewhere in scripture to identify the author. The book of jonah was likely written between 793 and 758 b. The book of jonah is short and a lot of time we can read through it quickly. This book professes to give an account of what actually took place in the experience of the prophet. He is the central figure of the book of jonah, in which he is called upon by god to travel to nineveh and warn its residents of impending divine wrath. Though some modernists argue that the concept of a bodily resurrection of christ from the dead was unknown in old testament times, jesus demonstrated otherwise. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Yes, the book of jonah is not a book on the animal kingdom nor is the book of matthew. Jonah is the most widely known of the minor prophets, the last 12 books of the old testament.
The book of jonah is one of the key readings in judaism during yom kippur, the day of. It follows the book of obadiah, the shortest book in the ot, which is comprised of a diatribe against edom. If there is no logical reason to doubt the historicity of the book of jonah, then its testimony about the moral reformation on the part of the ninevites stands. When god had a message for the people, he spoke through the prophets. Unlike other old testament prophetic books, jonah is not a collection of the prophets oracles but primarily a narrative about the man. While jonah eventually departed and proclaimed gods message, the lesson of his story does not end there. The second book after jonah is nahum, another diatribe.
The name jonah means dove in hebrew, but jonahs character is anything but dovelike. Go at once to nineveh, that great city, and proclaim judgment upon it. Key personalities include jonah, the captain and the ships crew and the people of nineveh. The perfecter of our faith, jesus, referred to jonah as an actual person and gave the inspired interpretation of two of the prophetic happenings in jonah, thus showing the book to contain true prophecy. Not stopping and chewing on what the scripture is trying to show us. The audience of the book of jonah was the people of israel and all future readers of the bible and, typically, prophets issued warnings or gave instructions to the people of israel. Verses 12 this book is a story about god and jonah. Although we make a big difference between a whale shark and humpback whale, they most likely would have not. Jonah, book of webbible encyclopedia christiananswers. Skeptics laugh at the account as one which could not possibly be true, and liberal bible scholars often regard it as an example of a myth or early legend which was invented to teach a lesson. Some critics have sought to interpret the book as a parable or allegory, and not as a history. The purpose of this book is to show that god is a merciful and gracious god. In this psalm there is an evident disdain for the gentiles and the telltale signs of selfrighteousness in the praise of jonah.
At the core of jonahs trepidation, though, there is something even deeper at work. His word came in visions, oracles, dreams, parables, and the like. Although the book is written in the third person, the traditional view is that jonah is the author of the book, and there is no persuasive reason to theorize about an unknown author. The book of jonah is narrative history and a prophetic oracle. Book of jonah overview insight for living ministries. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet esaias. The book of jonah is often considered a favorite among children. The most popular bible verses from jonah found 48 verses jonah 1.
At first this book can best be seen as a beautiful new presentation of one of the bestloved bible stories in a translation by j. So go there and tell them to stop doing such evil things. Or lets be really honest when we think of jonah we just think about the whale or big fish. Go to the great city of nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. Scholars disagree over the nature of the book of jonah. While it contains a deeper message about obedience and repentance, the main story shows jonah being swallowed by a whale. Before you attempt to answer the questions below you should read these chapters in the bible and answer the questions at the end of each chapter found at the website answer the questions below and then click ok to send your answers.
We stop there and think of it as a fun story especially for childrens church. Jonah, which predicts in type form the death and resurrection of christ compare jonah 2 with mt. In the midst of the obscure prophecies before and after this book, wherein. Full text in english of the book of jonah my jewish learning. Through some supernatural events, god convinced him to obey and carry out the lords plan. At least, it is said, the book must have been written after the destruction of nineveh in 612 b. What to expect in this new edition of the book of jonah. The book is written in the 3rd person, and no author is identified any where in the bible. There are three basic interpretations of the book of jonah. Jonah 1 niv jonah flees from the lord the word of bible. But jonah rose to flee to tarshish from the presence of the lord.
T he book of jonah is an old testament story which tells about how the prophet jonah refused to follow the lord. The book is replete with irony, wherein much of its humor lies. The book of jonah is more than just a delightful story for children. Bible book number 32jonah watchtower online library. The book of jonah presents a beautiful type of the resurrection of christ from the dead. It concerns a disobedient prophet who rejected his divine commission, was cast overboard in a storm and swallowed by a great fish, rescued in a marvelous manner, and returned to his starting point. Written by the prophet jonah, son of amittai, around 785760 b. For as yonah was a sign unto the ninevites, so shall also the son of man be. Chapter 3 is from the holy bible, new international version. Jonah is the fifth of the twelve prophets in the book of the twelve in hebrew scripture. Nov 19, 2012 first, there is no mention anywhere in jonah or elsewhere in scripture about who wrote this short prophetic book.
Book of jonah read, study bible verses online bible study tools. The book of the twelve prophets was originally on one. Jonah 1, new international version niv the bible app. Intro to jonah biblica the international bible society. The book begins with god telling jonah to go to the great city of nineveh. Feb 16, 2018 ok, this is a brief but pointed synopsis of the story, please understand that much more can be gotten if you will read and meditate on the story for yourself. It gives an account of his divine commission to go to nineveh, his disobedience, and the punishment following 1. Our modern classification of animals was not around at that time. But he could not understand how god could love even foreign nations who did bad things. The book of jonah is a story about a prophet rather than a prophecy. Jonah 4, new international version niv the bible app.
The story of a fish swallowing a man and the man living sounds impossible, and since most liberal scholars deny the possibility of the supernatural, they reject the book of jonah as anything but a fairy tale. It tells of a hebrew prophet named jonah son of amittai who is sent by god to prophesy the destruction of nineveh but tries to escape the divine mission. Mar 16, 2019 written by the prophet jonah, son of amittai, around 785760 b. This is the liberal view, which would look upon jonah as it would robinson crusoe, gulliver of gullivers travels, or hercules. In this fourpart article series, well look at the book of jonah with four techniques in mind. Now the word of the lord came to jonah the son of amittai, saying, arise, go to nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me. The book of jonah is a book of the neviim prophets in the hebrew bible. Now he obeys and goes to nineveh, the capital of israels ancient enemy. Jonah knows that if he succeeds at winning over the ninevites to the lord, they will be shown. There is a foreword by sir anthony kenny, where he recalls his own memories of working on the jerusalem bible and the impact made by its. It tells of a hebrew prophet named jonah son of amittai who is sent by god to. So jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. Introduction jonah is one of the most ridiculed books by liberal scholars.
Jonah or jonas, in the hebrew bible tanakhold testament, is a prophet of the northern kingdom of israel in about the 8th century bce. Outside the book jonah is mentioned only in 2 kings 14. It may be read as an allegory, one of sin and repentance, with gods loving mercy. Ok, this is a brief but pointed synopsis of the story, please understand that much more can be gotten if you will read and meditate on the story for yourself. But, as every bible student knows, his plans were soon thwarted. Probably one of the best known stories in all the bible is that of jonah and the fish. This book of jonah, though it be placed here in the midst of the prophetical books of scripture, is yet rather a history than a prophecy. Jonah 1 niv bible the word of the lord came to jonah son. Second, identifying jonah as the author is impossible if the book was written between 400 bc and 200 bc as suggested above. Irony exists in the gaps, between what we are told and what we are meant to understand.
Book of jonah, the fifth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, embraced in a single book, the twelve, in the jewish canon. But the lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. The book of jonah, written primarily in the third person, does not explicitly name. With the employment of classical biblical hebrew in the book of jonah, it signals for an eighthcentury composition. Book of jonah, the fifth of 12 old testament books that bear the. Jan 20, 2015 yes, the book of jonah is not a book on the animal kingdom nor is the book of matthew. He went down to joppa and found a ship going to tarshish. Amazingly, there was mass repentance, from the king ashurdan iii, according to assyrian records down. I have heard about the many evil things the people are doing there. Though the book does not identify its author, tradition has ascribed it to the prophet himself, jonah son of amittai, from gath hepher 2ki 14. Jonah prophesied to nineveh but he wasnt happy about it jonah 4. The story is about a certain prophet, jonah and a city called nineveh.
The book of jonah is a subversive story about a rebellious prophet who despises his god for loving his enemies. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you. In the bible, how many chapters are in the book of jonah. Jonahs psalm was selfcentered, focusing more on the prophets dilemma, danger, and deliverance, than on the god who spared his life. Jonah is commanded to go east to nineveh but flees toward the westernmost possible point 1. It may be considered an historical narrative or a fictional story. While jonah eventually did what he was asked to do, the book closes with showing jonah as a bitter man. Jonah flees from the lord the word of the lord came to jonah son of amittai. Jonah is identified as a prophet and servant of god during the reign of king jeroboam ii of israel 2 kings 14. Watch our overview video on the book of jonah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. There is every reason to believe that this book was written by jonah himself. The book of jonah is one of the key readings in judaism during yom kippur, the day of atonement, which occurs on the tenth day of tishri following rosh hashanah, generally in september or early october.