How To Read The Book Of Jonah
Book of Jonah
Albert Younas
Basic Hebrew HB1
Ptr. Billy
March 4, 2011
For most people in the former generation the book of Jonah is literary and historical account. They said that Jonah lived during the reign of Jeroboam II. Some scholars obtain that no evidence is been found outside the bible that Nineveh went through such a religious conversion. The book is name after the main character of the book Jonah which means “DOVE” driven from the old Hebrew. Scholars agree on certain things about the book, but they have drawn quite different conclusions in addressing the following questions:
Authorships
The Date
Setting / Themes
Key verses / literary style Authorship/Date: Driven from the principal character Jonah son of Armatti; no direct claim of authorship can be connected to Jonah himself but it refers to a third person. Jonah was from Nazareth who …show more content…
lived around 793-758 BC. Some would say book itself do not refer or say anything about the author but tradition has attributed to the prophet himself as the author. Some writer had said that it has many similarities with the narrative of Prophets Elijah and Elisha; however it may come from the same writer. Jonah preached during the reign of King Jeroboam II when many significant events happened in the northern kingdom of Israel (800-750 BC). According to the Cooper Abrams Jonah was a prophet of God during the period divided kingdom. Cooper didn’t say much about the authorship of the book but the date he mentioned is 760 BC. After reading all these thoughts of different scholar of their time I am not sure how is can be said that its written by Jonah himself yet lets go with the tradition and assume the authorship of the book to the prophet himself. The setting or interpretation of the book is seen as historical which happened in ancient Israel in 8th or 7th century. The traditional view is that; the book is historical, biographical narratives, some suggestions range from fictional short story, allegory parable. It is said that book came out from imagination of the author denying the fact of historical happening. The major themes of the book are Sin, Repentance, Grace and compassion of God.
God commissioned Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach to them repentance of their sin and tell them what God wants from them. By reading the book of Jonah we could see God’s compassion, mercy and unconditional love in each verse. After receiving God's call to go and preach to Nineveh, he tried to run from his calling and from God, which reveals the true condition of Jonah’s heart in the mission of God. For us today it may seem dishonorable act of running from God; as we know that nobody can run away from God. God is always at work even though we may sleep or have rest after day’s handwork so it happened to Jonah as he feels from God and gets into the ship and fell asleep. For some writers “the main theme of the Book of Jonah is that God wants man to love his enemies. Mercy and pity are encouraged because, although God wants man to preach against evil, it should always be in the hope that the wrongdoers will repent. Its message also stresses the universality of God, that he is the God of all mankind”.
Key
verses:
Outline
• Jonah Flees His Mission (chs. 1–2) o Jonah’s Commission and Flight (1:1–3) o The Endangered Sailors’ Cry to Their Gods (1:4–6) o Jonah’s Disobedience Exposed (1:7–10) o Jonah’s Punishment and Deliverance (1:11—2:1; 2:10) o His Prayer of Thanksgiving (2:2–9)
• Jonah Reluctantly Fulfills His Mission (chs. 3–4) o Jonah’s Renewed Commission and Obedience (3:1–4) o The Endangered Ninevites’ Repentant Appeal to the Lord (3:5–9) o The Ninevites’ Repentance Acknowledged (3:10—4:4) o Jonah’s Deliverance and Rebuke (4:5–11)
The literary style of book is more as narrative account of single prophetic mission as it could be seen with most books in the Bible. There are similarities to the mission accounts of Elijah and Elisha found in 1,2 Kings, and to certain narrative segment of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel who ware considered the major prophets and Jonah is seen in the section of minor prophets in the Old Testament.
The book portrays the superior possibility of God’s purpose for Israel: that she might revive the truth of His worry for the entire creation and that she might better appreciate her own role in carrying out that apprehension. “A light satire with no pretension to being historical, it teaches the universality of God’s love, probably to correct the exclusiveness of the post-exilic community. The willing obedience of the Ninevites contrast pointedly with Jonah’s obstinacy and bad temper. This fictional form is unique in the prophetic tradition.”(The New Jerusalem Bible- pp 1111).
Ref: www.bible-truth.org/Jonah.html/ Cooper Abrams
www.enotes.com/classical-medieval-criticism/book-jonah
Albert Younas
Basic Hebrew HB1
Ptr. Billy
March 4, 2011
For most people in the former generation the book of Jonah is literary and historical account. They said that Jonah lived during the reign of Jeroboam II. Some scholars obtain that no evidence is been found outside the bible that Nineveh went through such a religious conversion. The book is name after the main character of the book Jonah which means “DOVE” driven from the old Hebrew. Scholars agree on certain things about the book, but they have drawn quite different conclusions in addressing the following questions:
Authorships
The Date
Setting / Themes
Key verses / literary style Authorship/Date: Driven from the principal character Jonah son of Armatti; no direct claim of authorship can be connected to Jonah himself but it refers to a third person. Jonah was from Nazareth who …show more content…
lived around 793-758 BC. Some would say book itself do not refer or say anything about the author but tradition has attributed to the prophet himself as the author. Some writer had said that it has many similarities with the narrative of Prophets Elijah and Elisha; however it may come from the same writer. Jonah preached during the reign of King Jeroboam II when many significant events happened in the northern kingdom of Israel (800-750 BC). According to the Cooper Abrams Jonah was a prophet of God during the period divided kingdom. Cooper didn’t say much about the authorship of the book but the date he mentioned is 760 BC. After reading all these thoughts of different scholar of their time I am not sure how is can be said that its written by Jonah himself yet lets go with the tradition and assume the authorship of the book to the prophet himself. The setting or interpretation of the book is seen as historical which happened in ancient Israel in 8th or 7th century. The traditional view is that; the book is historical, biographical narratives, some suggestions range from fictional short story, allegory parable. It is said that book came out from imagination of the author denying the fact of historical happening. The major themes of the book are Sin, Repentance, Grace and compassion of God.
God commissioned Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach to them repentance of their sin and tell them what God wants from them. By reading the book of Jonah we could see God’s compassion, mercy and unconditional love in each verse. After receiving God's call to go and preach to Nineveh, he tried to run from his calling and from God, which reveals the true condition of Jonah’s heart in the mission of God. For us today it may seem dishonorable act of running from God; as we know that nobody can run away from God. God is always at work even though we may sleep or have rest after day’s handwork so it happened to Jonah as he feels from God and gets into the ship and fell asleep. For some writers “the main theme of the Book of Jonah is that God wants man to love his enemies. Mercy and pity are encouraged because, although God wants man to preach against evil, it should always be in the hope that the wrongdoers will repent. Its message also stresses the universality of God, that he is the God of all mankind”.
Key
verses:
Outline
• Jonah Flees His Mission (chs. 1–2) o Jonah’s Commission and Flight (1:1–3) o The Endangered Sailors’ Cry to Their Gods (1:4–6) o Jonah’s Disobedience Exposed (1:7–10) o Jonah’s Punishment and Deliverance (1:11—2:1; 2:10) o His Prayer of Thanksgiving (2:2–9)
• Jonah Reluctantly Fulfills His Mission (chs. 3–4) o Jonah’s Renewed Commission and Obedience (3:1–4) o The Endangered Ninevites’ Repentant Appeal to the Lord (3:5–9) o The Ninevites’ Repentance Acknowledged (3:10—4:4) o Jonah’s Deliverance and Rebuke (4:5–11)
The literary style of book is more as narrative account of single prophetic mission as it could be seen with most books in the Bible. There are similarities to the mission accounts of Elijah and Elisha found in 1,2 Kings, and to certain narrative segment of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel who ware considered the major prophets and Jonah is seen in the section of minor prophets in the Old Testament.
The book portrays the superior possibility of God’s purpose for Israel: that she might revive the truth of His worry for the entire creation and that she might better appreciate her own role in carrying out that apprehension. “A light satire with no pretension to being historical, it teaches the universality of God’s love, probably to correct the exclusiveness of the post-exilic community. The willing obedience of the Ninevites contrast pointedly with Jonah’s obstinacy and bad temper. This fictional form is unique in the prophetic tradition.”(The New Jerusalem Bible- pp 1111).
Ref: www.bible-truth.org/Jonah.html/ Cooper Abrams
www.enotes.com/classical-medieval-criticism/book-jonah