I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate god, slow to anger and abounding in love, a god who relents from sending calamity jonah 4. Jonah was a prophet of god and in his book and the first chapter we read that the command of god came to jonah to go preach to the city of nineveh. Ancient nineveh background bible study bible history. In addition to i what the book itself tells usthat the city was so large that it took three days to cross it and that it had 120,000 infants or small children 4. Most literature proceeds on the assumption that the author. Book of jonah lesson 1 welcome to the study of the book of jonah. The description of nineveh in jonah likely was a reference to greater nineveh, including the surrounding cities of rehoboth, calah and resen the book of jonah depicts nineveh as a wicked city worthy of destruction. Jonah 3 new international version niv jonah goes to nineveh. 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. The book of jonah is narrative history and a prophetic oracle. Biblical jonah visits nineveh the evil city ancient pages. Key personalities include jonah, the captain and the ships crew and the people of nineveh. God sent jonah to preach to the ninevites of their coming destruction, and they fasted and repented because of this.
Survey of jonah jonah is an unusual book because of its message and messenger. The book of jonah, despite its brevity, gives some verifiable information regarding nineveh, a very old city, which disappeared completely after its destruction in 612 bce. Jonah didnt want those idolaters to be saved, so he ran away. This is his only appearance in the bible except for a few references in the new testament. The book also portrays jonah as narrowminded and vindictive person whom god must teach his ways. As the story is related in the book of jonah, the prophet jonah is called by god to go to nineveh a great assyrian city and prophesy disaster because of the. While jonah eventually did what he was asked to do, the book closes with showing jonah as a bitter man. It is interesting that nineveh responded better to the preaching of jonah than israel and judah ever responded to any of their prophets. And he cried, and said, yet forty days, and nineveh shall be overthrown. The book of jonah is structured with this many even sections. The dimensions mentioned seem colossal, however they agree. Jonah therefore is the only prophet of the ot revealing the grace of god towards the heathen.
After jonah refused to obey gods call to go to nineveh, god hurled a great wind upon the sea, which resulted in jonah being thrown into the deep waters and was swallowed by a dag, fish and was in the belly, meeh in hebrew literally intestines for three days and three nights. Jonah is commanded to go east to nineveh but flees toward the westernmost possible point, only to be swallowed by a great fish and dumped back at this starting point 2. God told jonah that nineveh2 was a very great city, and indeed it was. Other than his book and those opening lines, we do not know that much about the man.
So jonah arose and went unto nineveh, according to the word of the lord. The book of jonah, containing the wellknown story of jonah in the stomach of a fish for three days, is a narrative about as the story is related in the book of jonah, the prophet jonah is called by god to go to nineveh a great assyrian city and prophesy disaster because of the citys. Now nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a threeday journey in extent. The message of the parable in the book of jonah is clear. A storm arose and the men threw jonah into the sea. When god sent jonah as a missionary to the capital, nineveh, the prophet balked. He lived in the period of the divided kingdoms of israel and judah. God saw into the hearts of the people and responded to their positive volition by.
The other biblical depiction of nineveh is in the book of jonah. God will forgive even the most wicked people if they repent and give up their evil ways. Jonah, whose name means dove, lived in gathhepher, located just north of nazareth, during the reign of jeroboam ii in the. Why did jonah try to go to tarshish instead of nineveh.
Nineveh is not mentioned again in scripture till the days of jonah, when it is described as a great and populous city, the flourishing capital of the assyrian empire 2 kings 19. Historians consider the biblical account about jonahs warning against nineveh as a pious fiction, however, the gospels refer to it as a real story lk 11. The book ends with jonah waiting in vain for nineveh to be destroyed. The word of the lord came unto jonah, the son of amittai, saying, arise go to nineveh, that great city, and cry against it. Due to jonah shirking his divine mission, god sends. Instead of obeying and going straight to nineveh, he. At the end of his story, jonah specifies his reason for resistance. Why study the book of jonah with dr doug ingram duration.
The book of jonah is a remarkable story perhaps best known for the stubbornness of a prophet, the great fish that swallows and then regurgitates jonah, the conversion of the whole city of nineveh, and the rapid growth and death of a gourd. The book of jonah is concerned with telling the story of jonahs mission to nineveh, the capital of the assyrian empire. Nineveh is situated on the eastern bank of the river tigris, 50 miles from its mouth and 250 miles north of babylon. Was there a reason why god sent jonah to nineveh and not. The book of nahum was written after the destruction of the egyptian city of thebes nahum 3.
In the book of jonah, why did god send jonah to nineveh. Asshur, or according to the marginal reading, which is generally preferred. Wiseman when i accepted the invitation to deliver this lecture, a number of considerations were in mind. Instead, god told jonah to evangelize in the city of nineveh, home of israels cruelest enemy. An overview of the book of jonah leads one to determine two prominent sections, namely, jonahs abortive voyage to tarshish jon 12 and jonahs journey to nineveh. Much of the attention surrounding the book of jonah focuses on the story of jonah being swallowed for three days and three nights by a whale. The name jonah means dove in hebrew, but jonahs character is anything but dovelike. He flee on a boat toward tarshish, to get away from god. Jonah, in the story, feels about nineveh as does the author of the book of nahumthat the city must inevitably fall because of gods judgment against it.
In the book of nahum, nineveh is a symbol of the apostate religions of mankind, which substitute manmade gods for the one true god. During the prophet jonahs day, nineveh was spared by gods compassion in response to their repentance jonah 3. Jonah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Jonah 3 niv jonah goes to nineveh then the word bible gateway. He was a prophet to the northern kingdom of israel during the reign of king jeroboam ii of israel c. The book is replete with irony, wherein much of its humor lies. Nineveh, the capital of the assyrian empire from 705 to 612 b. For one thing, the actual bible text calls it a great fish, and not a whale jonah 1. When jonah sees that god has relented from destroying nineveh because of their repentance he is. The storys climax is jonahs grand prayer of confession, salvation comes from the lord the middle confession of three from his lips 1. In the final chapter chapter 4 of the book, nineveh is spared and jonah is still depicted as dissatisfied with gods decision to save the.
The book is a parable of mercy that not only has god protecting jonah through miracles on two separate occasions, but allowing the people of nineveh to live, when they changed their ways. Jonah goes to nineveh then the word of the lord came to jonah a second time. It is first mentioned in the old testament in connection with the primitive dispersement and migrations of the human race. Historical context critical to understanding the story of jonah the prophet and his dramatic mission to the assyrian capital of nineveh in the. Go to the great city of nineveh and proclaim to it the message i give. There, nineveh is described as hugetaking three days to walk acrossand thoroughly evil. The city and the empire for which it stands feature prominently in entertaining biblical stories such as jonah, and major museums around the world proudly display largerthanlife assyrian sculpture, feeding our.
The only prophetic message that jonah announced was the one about the coming judgment over nineveh jonah 1. Jonah is the central character in the book of jonah, in which god commands him to go to the city of nineveh to prophesy against. The purpose of this book is to show that god is a merciful and gracious god. More than any other old testament book, jonah reveals the universal concern of yahweh for all men. Jonahs experiences form the main contents and purpose of the book. Sometime after the fish vomited jonah onto dry land, the word of the lord comes to him yet again, arise, go to nineveh, that great city, and call. As the story is related in the book of jonah, the prophet jonah is called by god to go to nineveh a great assyrian city and prophesy disaster because of the citys excessive wickedness. But jonah gives no specifics about the citys evil beyond the kings command that citizens turn away from the violence that is in their hands jonah 3. Aalders tyndale lecture, the problem of the book of jonah 1948. This old testament book describes at least part of the ministry of a prophet called jonah, the only prophet who attempted to run away from god. Jonah is the central character in the book of jonah, in which god commands him to go to the city of nineveh to prophesy against it for their great wickedness is come up before me, but jonah instead attempts to flee from the presence of the lord by going to jaffa and sailing to tarshish.