Jonah


The Reluctant Prophet


  Reading time approx 20 minutes

Read now
About this book 1 2 3 4

About Jonah

Jonah is the fifth of the twelve minor prophets. The story of the reluctant prophet Jonah is well known. The name Jonah means dove in Hebrew. He was from Gat Chefer (2 Kings 14:25), now El-Meshhed, a small village just a few kilometers northeast of Nazareth, see Josh. 19:13. In El-Meshhed, you can still visit a place that is said to be his grave. The village of Gat Chefer is located within the territory of the tribe of Zebulun (Josh. 19:10, 13), which makes it likely that his family belonged to that tribe. Another tradition placed his tomb in the Nebi Yunis mosque in Mosul, but it no longer exists as ISIS blew it up and razed it to the ground in 2014. Jonah lived in the 7th century BC when Assyria, with its capital Nineveh (now Mosul in Iraq), was the superpower in the Middle East. Assyria was also Israel's enemy, which explains his reluctance to go there with a message from God. Archaeological finds and inscriptions from this period describe how enemies were skinned alive. That God would show mercy to these cruel Assyrians, one of Israel's worst enemies throughout history, seemed completely wrong and evil in his eyes, see Jonah 4:1. Typology – Jesus' sacrifice of atonement Even though the Lord is the God of Israel, he cares about other nations and all people on earth. As Paul puts it, first the Jew, but also the Greek, see Rom. 1:16, of which the people of Nineveh are an example in this book. Secondly, Jesus quotes from Jonah in reference to his death and resurrection. Jesus says that this is the only sign that the scribes and Pharisees will receive, see Matt. 12:39–41; 16:4. This refers to Jonah in the belly of the great fish, which is a typology for Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. Just as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, Jesus also spends three days and three nights in the realm of death before rising at dawn on the third day.

In Judaism, the entire Book of Jonah is read during the afternoon service on Yom Kippur. The reason for this reading is the book's clear theme of God's mercy, fasting, repentance, and control of nature (the wind, the fish, the tree, the worm). The tradition of this reading on the holiest day of the Hebrew calendar further demonstrates how Jesus' sacrifice of atonement fulfills the shadow image of the sacrifice of atonement on Yom Kippur (the biblical name is Yom Hakippurim – literally "Day of Atonement"). Structure
The phrase "the word of the Lord" appears seven times. There are two parallel calls and a concluding climax with a lesson from God for Jonah.

A The first call to go to Nineveh (Jonah 1:1–3)
  B Jonah and the pagan sailors (Jonah 1:4–16)
    C The first prayer (Jonah 2:1–11)

A The second call to go to Nineveh (Jonah 3:1–3a)
  B Jonah and the pagan inhabitants of Nineveh (Jonah 3:3b–10)
    C The second prayer (Jonah 4:1–4)

D The Lord's message to Jonah (Jonah 4:5–11) .

Report a problem

Table of Contents

Table of Contents


Persons (4) BETA

Persons in Jonah


Places (3)

Places in Jonah


Unique Words (6)

Unique Words in Jonah



  Written: Probably in the 700s BC, before the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC.

Covers the period: Jonah was active during the reign of Jeroboam II 792-753 BC, see 2 Kings 14:25. The events may coincide with the solar eclipse of June 15, 763 BC.

Author: Jonah

Related books:
Hosea
Amos
Nahum
Habakkuk

Reading time: ca 20 minutes.

Total Word Count

688 words in the book (in the original text).

  Reading settings

Click the the gear icon in the menu for more settings. You can for example choose to hide chapter or verse numbers.

Tip! Click on a verse or chapter number in the text and you will see the exact hebrew words in an interlinear versionBETA where every word is linked to the Hebrew lexicon.

Reading view:

  Core Bible translation without expansions () or explanations [].
Text size:

Jonah

The first call

The prophet's flight

11
(Jon 1:1) Jaffa, with Tel Aviv in the background.

Jaffa, with Tel Aviv in the background.

And the word of the Lord (Yahweh) came to Jonah (Hebr. Jonah), son of Amittai: 2"Arise, go to Nineveh [Mosul in present-day Iraq], that great city, and cry out (Hebr. qara) [preach] against it, for its wickedness has come up before me." [The name Jonah means "dove" (see also Gen. 9:8–9) and Amittai means "truth." Literally, the first sentence is: "And the word of Yahweh came to Jonah, son of Amittai, saying." The fact that the book begins with the word "and" (Hebr. vav) reinforces how the story is connected to the message of the entire Bible. This style of writing is not unusual; see also, for example, Ex. 1:1; Lev. 1:1; Num. 1:1; Josh. 1:1 etc., although Jonah is the only one of the twelve prophetic books that begins with vav.]
3Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord (Yahweh).
He went down to Jaffa,
he found a ship going to Tarshish,
paid for the trip and went down [into the boat]
to go to Tarshish, away from the face of the Lord (Yahweh) (God's presence). [Jaffa (Hebr. Jafo, Gk. Joppe) is a port city just south of present-day Tel Aviv. In this verse, the distant western city of Tarshish is mentioned three times. The verse is structured as a three-level chiasm that reinforces how Jonah flees from God's presence and travels toward Tarshish, in the opposite direction from Nineveh. In the second level of the chiasm, the same verb "down" is used for Jaffa as for "down" in the boat, which also reinforces how Jonah goes further down, away from God's will.]

Jonah among pagan sailors

4But the Lord (Yahweh) hurled (threw – Hebr. tol) a strong wind into the sea, and there was a mighty storm on the sea, so that the ship was about to break apart. [An unusual word is used for hurling/throwing, often used in reference to throwing a spear (1 Sam. 18:11). It is quite clear that it is the Lord who is preventing Jonah from fleeing his mission.] 5The sailors were afraid and each cried out to his god, and they threw (Hebr. tol) the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone down [the same word "down" as in verse 3] into the lower parts of the boat and was lying there fast asleep.
     6The captain of the ship came to him and said, "What do you mean by sleeping? Get up and call upon your God (Elohim)! Perhaps the gods will consider not letting us perish."
     7They said to each other, "Let us cast lots to find out for whose sake this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8Then they said to him, "Tell us, I beg you, why this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? In what country do you live? To what people do you belong?"
     9He [Jonah] said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear (revere) the Lord, the God of heaven (Yahweh Elohim), who created the sea and the dry land (the earth)." [In the midst of the storm, Jonah confesses that God has power over the sea and the land!]
     10Then the men were very afraid and asked him, "What have you done?" For the men knew that he had fled from the presence of the Lord (Yahweh), because he had told them so. 11So they said to him, "What shall we do to you so that the sea will become calm for us?" For the storm continued to rage.
     12Then he [Jonah] answered them, "Take me and throw (Hebr. tol) me into the sea, and the sea will become calm for you. I know that it is because of me that this violent storm has come upon you." 13Despite this, the men tried to row toward land, but they could not, for the sea continued to rage against them. 14So they cried out to the Lord (Yahweh) and said, "We beg you, Lord (Yahweh), we beg you, do not let us perish because of this man's soul (what we have heard about this man's life) and do not place (lay) innocent blood on us (keep us free from responsibility). For you, Lord (Yahweh), have done as you pleased." [In verse 5, each one cried out to his god, but here they all pray to Jonah's God instead.]
     15So they took Jonah and threw (hurled – Hebr. tol) him into the sea, and the sea became calm (the storm ceased as suddenly as it had begun). 16The men feared the Lord (Yahweh) with great fear, and they sacrificed and made vows. [The verse is composed of three pairs of verbs/nouns with the same root (Hebr. jare/jirah, zavach/zevach and nadar/neder). Offering sacrifices and making vows was a common way of showing gratitude when one had been rescued from danger.]
17The Lord had prepared a large fish that swallowed Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. [This is the sign that Jesus speaks of in the Gospels Matt. 12:40–41; 16:4; Luke 11:29–30. It is a typology for Jesus' death and time in the tomb until his resurrection on the third day.]

A prayer from the depths

21Then Jonah prayed from the belly of the fish to the Lord his God (Yahweh Elohim). 2He said:
"I cried (shouted) out of my distress to the Lord (Yahweh)
    and he answered me.
From the belly of Sheol (the underworld, the grave) [among the dead] I cried for help
    and you heard my voice. 3For you cast me into the depths
    to the heart of the seas
    and the rivers surrounded me,
all your waves and your billows
    passed over me.
 4And I said, "I have been banished
    from your sight (sent away from your presence),
but I will continue to gaze (look up)
    toward your holy temple.
 5Water surrounded me up to my neck (Hebr. nefesh) [close to death, see also Ps. 69:2],
    the deep [the sea] surrounded me,
    seaweed wrapped around my head.
 6I went down to the carved rocks [the root/foot of the mountains] [see Jonah 1:3, 5],
    [down under] the earth, its bars were behind me forever.
But you brought me up from the depths,
    Lord (Yahweh), my God (Elohim). [The first part is difficult to translate. Hebr. qetsev is used for something shaped and comes from the verb to carve. It is used in connection with how Hiram works and makes the shape for the stand on which the bronze sea in the tabernacle stood, see 1 Kings 6:25; 7:37. The mountains can be poetically understood as stretching their roots or ridges to the lowest depths of the sea. There they are carved and shaped. Another interpretation is that it is Jonah's head that sticks up above the surface and is likened to mountains covered with vegetation.]
7When my life (my soul – Hebr. nefesh) was fading away within me,
    I remembered the Lord (Yahweh)
and my prayer to you,
    to your holy temple. 8Those who look to deceitful vanity (worthless empty things)
    abandon their mercy (caring love).
    [They exchange the mercy they have received by not taking advantage of it, but instead devoting themselves to superficiality.]
 9But I will sacrifice to you
    with a grateful voice.
What I have promised (sworn an oath to) I will pay.
    Salvation belongs to the Lord (Yahweh)."
 10The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. [Some interpret verse 2 and the mention of Sheol as meaning that Jonah is dead and then resurrected when he is thrown onto land. However, the verses suggest that Jonah is conscious and praying. He describes the experience of being close to drowning—what it feels like to be in the depths of the realm of death (Sheol). Jonah experiences the fear of death and may have fainted at times. Jonah's description in verse 7 of how he sank to the bottom of the mountains and the bars of the earth were closed may mean that he sank to the bottom, but it may also be a description of how he believes he has reached the realm of the dead, since the general belief at the time was that Sheol (the place of the dead/the grave) was located in the innermost part of the earth. From there, he was miraculously lifted up by a fish! The belly of Sheol is not the same as the belly of the fish. The belly of the fish became the salvation from the belly of Sheol. The belly of Sheol is actually without return, while the belly of the fish represents salvation and a safe wait for complete salvation, a return to life – a "resurrection." Even in this passage, we see parallels with Jesus' time in the grave before the resurrection.]

The second call

31The word of the Lord (Yahweh) [prophetic message] came to Jonah a second time: 2"Get up and go to Nineveh [Mosul in present-day Iraq], the great city, and cry out (Hebr. qara) [preach] against it, what I have spoken to you."
[Verses 1-3a are similar to Jonah 1:1–3, with one major difference—Jonah's response. In the first call, he fled to Tarshish; in the second, he goes to Nineveh. The almost verbatim repetition also shows the Lord's desire to reach Nineveh with the prophetic warning. God does his utmost to give all people the opportunity to repent, despite his own prophet's disobedience. There are several parallels in these two episodes. In both cases, Jonah is among pagans (the sailors on the boat and the inhabitants of Nineveh). Both stories recount dialogues and many details, the pagans respond to the prophet's words, their leaders (the captain and the king) actively participate in the repentance, and God saves them. Sadly, on both occasions Jonah seems uninvolved, absent, and unwilling to obey God.]

Jonah goes to Nineveh

3So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh [about 800 km, more than a month's walk] in accordance with the word of the Lord (Yahweh). [This time he obeys, whereas the last time Jonah got up (Jonah 1:2) it was to flee to Tarshish] Nineveh was a very large city before God (Elohim), it took three days to walk through it. [The expression "to walk around it or through it" is often perceived as a colorful description of the city's enormous size. However, both archaeological findings and historians such as Strabo describe the city as enormous, significantly larger than Babylon, with an outer circumference of about 80–90 km! This means that it literally took three days to walk around the city. The inner city wall was 12 kilometers long, and archaeologists today estimate that at most, about 200,000 people lived in the city, even more than Jonah states. Jonah visited it a decade or so before the city reached its peak under the rule of King Sennacherib (704-681 BC), see 2 Kings 18:13; 2 Chron. 32; Isaiah 37:37.] 4And Jonah began to enter the city, walking a day's journey, and he proclaimed, saying, "In forty days Nineveh shall be overthrown (transformed – Hebr. hafach)."
[The Hebrew word describes how something is turned upside down and completely changed, as in Psalm 66:6, where the sea becomes dry land. It is used to describe how the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown and destroyed, see Gen. 19:21. The choice of words is interesting, and the meaning varies depending on whether it refers to the city or the people. The same word is used when Samuel prophesies how the Spirit of the Lord will come upon Saul and he will be transformed, see 1 Sam. 10:6. If the people do not repent, the meaning is that God will judge the city and it will be destroyed, see verse 10. If, on the other hand, the people repent, the meaning is that the city will be "turned around" and a reformation will take place, and they will begin to do good instead of evil and experience God's mercy, see Jonah 4:2.]

The people respond

5So the people of Nineveh believed in God (Elohim) [they trusted that the message was true]. And they proclaimed (declared – Hebr. qara) a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest among them to the least of them. 6And the word (the news) reached the king of Nineveh. Then he rose from his throne. And he took off his robe. And he covered himself with sackcloth. Then he sat in ashes. [Ashes are a symbol of mourning, see Job 2:8; Jer. 6:26.] 7And he gave up a cry of lamentation (cried out, wailed) [as when one cries out in great distress, see Ex. 2:23]. And the king and his nobles proclaimed a decree in Nineveh, saying:
"No man, animal, cattle [large animals such as cows and horses], or small livestock (sheep, goats) shall eat anything. They shall not graze or drink. 8Yes, cover yourselves in sackcloth, humans and livestock. And cry out to God with all your might. And turn from your evil ways, yes, from the injustice (cruel violence and all kinds of wrongdoing – Hebr. chamas) that they commit [literally: that is in their hands]. [Thanks to archaeology, we know that people from this area and this period also had their livestock, especially horses, participate in a fast. It was also customary to shave the horses' manes in connection with this.]
9Who knows if God (Elohim) will then turn around and repent (feel sorrow over this – Hebr. nachum), yes, turn away from his burning anger, so that we will not perish."
 10And God (Elohim) saw what they [the inhabitants of Nineveh] did, yes, that they turned from their evil ways (sinful lifestyle). Then God (Elohim) relented (sorrow-comforted – Hebr. nacham) God (Elohim) the evil [the judgment to destroy the city, see verse 4] that he had said he would do to them—yes, he did not do it. [The word for "repent" (Hebr. nacham) does not mean that God regrets his first decision in the sense of "realizing that it was wrong." The origin of the word has to do with "breathing deeply," and thus physically showing feelings of sorrow, compassion, or comfort. The word means both to feel sorrow and to comfort, and the very process of going from sorrow to giving comfort (hence the translation with the compound word "sorrow-comfort"). The name of the prophet Nahum, which means comfort, has the same Hebrew root, see also Nah. 3:7; Ps. 23:4; 71:21. Jesus chose to work from Capernaum (Isa. 9:1; Matt. 4:13), which in Hebrew is Kfar Nachum – literally "village of consolation"!]

Solar eclipse 763 BC
On June 15, 763 BC, a total solar eclipse occurred over Nineveh. It is documented in Assyrian history and is usually referred to as the Bur-Sagale eclipse. Bur-Sagale was governor of Guzana and is mentioned in the text. The solar eclipse occurred shortly before noon in northern Assyria. The Assyrians regarded solar eclipses as a supernatural sign of divine judgment. It was interpreted as a sign of impending disaster or that the king would be overthrown. Jonah is mentioned in connection with Jeroboam II, who reigned from 770 to 750 BC (2 Kings 14:25), which fits in with the time of the solar eclipse. In Assyrian history, the period 785-745 BC is a special time usually referred to as the "time of stagnation." It was a time when Assyria did not go to war as often as it had done previously. It was otherwise common to go to war every year. This could have something to do with the nation's conversion. Just over 60 years later, during the reign of Sennacherib (704-681 BC), Nineveh became the capital of the country (the previous capital was Assur). This is also confirmed in the Bible, see Isa. 37:37.

The second prayer

41But this [that God is good and forgiving] made Jonah very unhappy (for Jonah it was something evil, yes, something very evil), and he became furious. [Nineveh was the capital of the great Assyrian empire, which was known for its bloodthirstiness and cruelty, see Nah. 3. Archaeological finds and inscriptions from this period describe how enemies were flayed alive. That God would show mercy to these cruel Assyrians, one of Israel's worst enemies of all time, seemed completely wrong and was something evil in Jonah's eyes.] 2He prayed to the Lord (Yahweh) and said, "O (Ack – Hebr. ana), Lord (Yahweh), was not this my word (what I thought would happen) when I was in my own country? That is why I tried to flee to Tarshish! I knew that you are a gracious (Hebr. chanon) and merciful God (El), slow to anger and rich in grace (loving care – Hebr. chesed), ready to repent (feel sorrow and regret – Hebr. nachum) of the evil you have threatened. 3So take my life instead, Lord, for I would rather die than live." [Perhaps Jonah was afraid that the Assyrians would threaten Israel again as they had done before, see 2 Kings 18:19.]
4The Lord said, "Is it right for you to be angry?" [Compare with the disciples' reaction in Luke 9:53–55.]

Conclusion

5Jonah left the city [without answering God] and stayed east of it, building himself a sunshade (temporary shelter – Hebr. sukkah) [a hut made of twigs and leaves, see also Job 27:18; Isa. 1:8; 4:6]. There he sat in the shade to see what would happen to the city [Nineveh]. [The Hebrew word for east, kedem, is a rich word that also means to ponder, to take stock of the past, and to have visions for the future. Here it suggests that Jonah not only sat east of the city but also contemplated both what had happened and what was to come.] 6The Lord God (Yahweh Elohim) had prepared a small tree (a castor oil plant, Hebr.: qiqajon) and caused it to grow up over him, freeing him from his discontent (evil attitude). [Presumably, the leaves of the sunshade Jonah had built himself had withered, and he was exposed to the heat of the sun. The unusual Hebrew word qiqajon describes an unidentified shrub or tree. Suggestions include a carob tree, castor oil plant, grapevine, or an oil plant. The word is only used here in the entire Bible. The root word qir describes a broad surface and indicates thick foliage and that the tree had an umbrella-like shape that worked well as a sunshade. The ending on in qiqajon is a diminutive form that belittles the word, hence the translation "a small tree." The plant itself must have been several meters tall to cover Jonah, so from Jonah's perspective, it was not a small tree but a large tree. The diminutive form is probably used to increase the contrast in verses 10-11. From God's perspective, it was a small tree compared to the large city of Nineveh.] Jonah was very happy [to have the protection of] the small tree. 7But the next morning, God had prepared a worm that attacked the little tree so that it withered. 8When the sun rose, God (Elohim) had prepared a scorching east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah's head, and he was close to fainting. Then he wished for death and said, "It is better for me to die than to live." [These verses mention the small tree, the worm, the sun, and the east wind. What they have in common is that it was God who sent them, just as he had previously sent the storm and the fish, see Jonah 1:4; 2:1.] 9Then God asked him, "Is it right for you (are you feeling well) to be so upset that the little tree died?" Jonah replied, "I have every right to be angry (angry to death)!"
     10The Lord said, "You are upset about a small tree that you did not work on and that you did not grow yourself, which grew up overnight and disappeared (withered) the next day. 11Shouldn't I be more concerned about the great city of Nineveh? There are more than 120,000 people there who cannot even tell right from wrong, and besides that, many animals (all the livestock that is also there)!"[Here is one of the many places in the Old Testament where God shows that his salvation is not only for the Jews, but for all peoples. After these apt words, Jonah had nothing more to add.]




© 2004-2026 The Core Bible
ta bort markör