Jonah The overall structure of Jonah can be allocated to two contrasting scenes: at sea (chapters 1 and 2) and at Nineveh

(chapters 3 and 4). Schematically, this structure of the book appears as follows:1 Chapters 1-2 Chapters 3-4 Word of God to Jonah 1:1 Word of God to Jonah 3:1 Content of the word 1:2 Content of the word 3:2 Response of Jonah 1:3 Response of Jonah 3:3-4a Gentile Response 1:5 Gentile Response 3:5 Action of Captain 1:6 Action of King 3:6-9 Sailors and Jonah 1:7-15 Ninevites and God 3:10 Disaster averted 1:15c Disaster averted 3:10c Response of sailors 1:16 Response of Jonah 4:1 God and Jonah 2:1-11 God and Jonah 4:2-3 Gods response 2:11 Gods response 4:6-11 Notice the parallelism throughout the book of Jonah as the story is echoed in both 1-2 and 3-4. This is a typical usage of parallelism found in Hebrew narratives. With the second half upping the ante. Salvation goes from the crew of a ship to the whole city as an example. This structure also highlights the sea segment in chapters one and two that depict Yahwehs power beyond Israels territory and across the sea. The second segment in chapters three and four displays Yahwehs power beyond Israels territory again this time in Nineveh. This structural analysis leads to the major themes of the narrative Yahweh is the Alpha and Omega of the book of Jonah (cf. Rev. 1:8). He is in control of the heavens, the sea and the dry land (Jonah 1:9). He may do whatever he pleases (Jonah 1:14b) and his pleasure is to extend grace and mercy upon non-Israelites, even, and especially, the Ninevites (Jonah 4:10-11). Chapter 1 Two Scenes 1:1-3 Jonahs Call and response o Parallels 3:1-3 The Word of Yahweh 1:4-16 Yahwehs response to Jonah o Parallels Jonahs confession of Faith in 3:4 || 1:9 Scene 1 1:1- The Call of Jonah Major Characters of scene are introduced o Yahweh and Jonah
This follows to a large extent Rosemary Nixon, The Message of Jonah: Presence in the Storm (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 24.
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o No other characters are named o Center of story is the relationship between God and Jonah Book of Jonah begins and ends with the Word of God. (1:1 || 4:10-11) o Emphasizes what this narrative is about o The effects and consequences of his word. Son of Amittai = son of faithfulness 1:2- The mission Jonahs call here to go beyond his borders and not just increase their size is frequent also in the Old Testament. o Abram is called to leave his homeland in Mesopotamia in order to find a new land of blessing (Gen. 12:1-3) o Moses is called to lead Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land (Exod. 3:1-14). o Balaam is sent to Moab from where, greatly to the chagrin of Balak, the king of Moab, he blesses Israel (Num. 22:20-21). o Elijah is called to the Gentile town of Zarephath in Sidon to help a widow (1 Kings 17:9). o Noah, Joshua, Ruth, David, Amos, Jeremiah all turn their back on the established norms and enter into new ways of living. Why refuse? o Answers to this question are many and varied. He is self-centered, lazy hypocritical and altogether inferior to the wonderful pagans around him and a good-for-nothing.2 Jonah is revche et ttu (cantankerous and bad-tempered),3 mulish,4 sinister,5 and a bigot who is eyeless with hate.6 He is the embodiment of Fleischliche Gesinnung und niedrige Rachsucht (carnal mentality and base vindictiveness).7 Jonah is a mutant dove who is less like a dove than a hawk8 who is self-centered, self-righteous, and self-willed.9
2

Holbert, Deliverance Belongs to YHWH, 70, 74.

A. Loch, La religion Disraeli (1931), 196, cited in C. A. Keller, Jonas Le Portrait dun prophete, Theologische Zeitschrift 21 (1965), 329-40, 329.
3 4

Von Rad, God at Work in Israel, trans. J.H. Marks; (Nashville: Abingdon, 1980), 76.
5

M. Burrows, The Literary Character of the Book of Jonah, 86. A. and P.E. Lacocque, Jonah: A Psycho-Religious Approach to the Prophet (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1990), 31.
6 7

K. Kautzsch, Biblishe Theologie des Alte Testament (1876), 187.

8

M. Burrows, The Literary Character of the Book of Jonah, 87. Bewer, Jonah, 64.

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He is a psychological and religious monster,10 the incarnation of all that the author of this book means to reject.11 The best description of Jonah is that he is simul justus et peccato (simultaneously sinner and saint).12 This is the view taken by Luther. Jonah is simul justus et peccator whose chief problem is the application of the Gospel. Nineveh some 500 miles from Jonahs home of Gath Hepher in Northern Israel lies now across the Tigris River from the modern Iraqi town of Mosual, two hundred and fifty miles north of Baghdad.13 1:3- Jonah Flees to Tarshish The author uses a Chiasm to make his point that Yahweh surrounds Jonah, even in his flight. (Psalm 139:7-10 shows just how impossible that is.) A. But Jonah arose to flee toward Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh A. he went down to Joppa B. and found a ship B. going to Tarshish C. he bought the ship B. and boarded it A. to go with them toward Tarshish away from the presence of Yahweh This is the first sign that this is no typical prophet. This would be like Moses throwing water on the burning bush or pawning his miraculous staff to Aaron. Jeremiah fears he does not know how to speak- (Jer. 1:6) Isaiah insists he is unworthy (Isa. 6:5) Moses even says he is not a man of words (Ex. 4:10) They dont take action though, they follow the words of Yahweh. Jonah does not. Jonah is silent. This silence is as striking as a bride responding with complete silence after the question- Will you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? o We expect the words I will from the bride and from Jonah. o More to the point though this silence mirrors Adam in Gen. 2:15-25 after he ate of the tree he was explicitly told not to. This starts Jonahs move downward
10

von Rad, God at Work, 66. Compare von Rads comment with that of Allen, What religious monster is that? (Joel, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah, 229).
11

Peake, Jonah, 556.

12 Likewise Job appears in this same light as simultaneously a sinner and a saint. Like Jonah 2:3-10, Job can make great statements of faith (e.g. Job 13:15-16; 19:23-27). Like Jonah 4:2, Job can attack God (e.g. 7:20-21; 9:22-24: 16:7-17). And also like Jonah 4:3, 8, Job can despair of life itself (3:1-26; 9:16-18; 14:18-22).

A good overview of the city and its history can be found in M. Roaf, Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East (New York: Facts on File, 1990), 18687.
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o Instead of going up to Ninevah, he went down to Joppa, then down to Tarshish, then down to the depths in the whale. Away from the presence of Yahweh is meant to talk about the temple and cultic presence of Yahweh. This sets up two questions: o What will happen to a prophet who disobeys his Gods command and tries to run away from the presence of Yahweh? o What will happen to Nineveh, that great but wicked city?

Scene 2 Jonah 1:4-16 (Scene II) is built according to a concentric or chiastic pattern:14 A Yahweh hurls the storm (1:4) B The sailors pray and act (1:5ab) C Jonah acts (lies down and sleeps 1:5c) D The captain and sailors question Jonah (1:6-8) E Jonah speaks (1:9) D The sailors question Jonah (1:10-11) C Jonah speaks (1:12) B The sailors act and pray (1:13-14) A The sailors hurl Jonah and the storm ends (1:15) Conclusion 1:16 This is another pattern that Hebrew writers use to make the words easier to remember and give them more punch. The midpoint and the turning point of the construction is 1:9 where Jonah professes his faith. 1:4 Yahwehs storm Emphasis is on Yahweh hurling the storm. As Jonah flees, Yahweh goes with him by means of this storm. The prophet cannot get rid of Yahweh! He cannot hide, travel, sleep or put himself in such a situation that Yahweh will ever give up on him. This is all the setup to Chapter 4 1:5 To prayer! The first thing the sailors do is try to lighten the ship by throwing cargo overboard. o Can also be seen as an offering to the Canaanite god of the sea, Yamm The sailors combat wone hurling (the storm) with another (the stuff) Jonah continues to withdraw and is now fast asleep in the deepest depths of the
14

This analysis for the most part follows Limburg, Jonah, 47. Lohfink was the first to suggest that the account of Jonahs sea voyage (1:4-16) formed a concentric structure (Jona ging zur Stadt hinaus (Jon 4,5), 201.

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ship 1:6-8- Whats going on Jonah? The captain is more aware of the power of prayer then the fleeing prophet! He does not respond to the captain, continuing his silence. o It is not unusual for people in profound states of denial to seek out extreme ways of dealing with their situation. o Seen in this light, Jonahs sleep is a way of escaping the implications of Yahwehs call upon his life. The captain does not want to die, and knows that there is a god who can help, maybe it is Jonahs? The captain questions Jonah, then the sailors question Jonah, later we will see the king of Nineveh question Jonah, this is to teach the readers. The sailors are sure someone on the ship is the cause for this storm. o So they cast lots. This was a typical way to try to understand the divine will in that time. In this verse in Jonah in all likelihood the sailors grab from among the others, the shard of pottery that bares Jonahs name. That the sailors had to resort to this activity shows that the strength of Jonahs desire to remain unknown is greater than his willingness to show solidarity with the suffering of others.

Once the lot falls on Jonah he is immediately put on trial. The sailors ask all sorts of questions to learn more about the why of this storm. 1:9- Jonah speaks (at last) This is Jonahs statement of faith- I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven who made the sea and dry land. o Sea and dry land are representative of all things. Though he doesnt necessarily admit culpability. He doesnt confess his evil until it grows into a great evil in 4:1 and seeks to overcome him. This is the main thrust of this scene, this is how the sailors will be saved. This confession is to say that Yahweh is the only one who can calm this storm. 1:10-11 - The sailors are afraid (still) Now they are greatly afraid, realizing the true power of Jonahs God. Even they know how ignorant you must be to think you can run from God and the implications that has for them. They continue to press Jonah for answers. 1:12-13 Jonahs answer and the sailors response to this. Throw me overboard! o What is the motivation Suicide? Save the sailors? Appease Yahwehs judgement?

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 All three? o This shows Jonahs contempt for his assignment, he would rather die than to complete his assignment. No way! The sailors dont want this on their heads, so they try to row back to shore. The storm continues. Their muscles are no match for the work of God. They are being really more upstanding than Jonah and more godly in their actions. 1:14-15- Jonah into the sea. The sailors are in a catch-22 o If they throw Jonah to the sea they face Gods wrath o If they dont they will surely die. So they cried out to Yahweh asking his forgiveness, and explaining their actions ahead of time. Their prayer is in the pattern of the most common Hebrew prose prayer address, petition and motivation for the petition. o The sailors request is twofold. First, Do not let us perish on account of the life of this man. Here they remind Yahweh that throwing Jonah overboard is Jonahs solution, not theirs, and so they do not want to be held responsible. The sailors second request is, do not lay upon us innocent blood. The phrase innocent blood does not mean that the sailors believe Jonah is innocent (cf. 1:10), but rather that, if by some chance he is or that they are making the wrong move, they not be made responsible for what they are about to do (cf. Deut. 21:8-9). The sailors want to be sure that they are doing the will of Yahweh. A greater contrast with Jonah cannot be made. So they threw him into the sea after much prayer and deliberation. The sea instantly calmed down. 1:16- The sailors pray to Yahweh and make vows. The sailors now knew the true power of Yahweh and believed. They did all the things necessary as prescribed in the law. 1:17- The Lord Appointed a great fish to swollow Jonah God did not forget Jonah or write him off, but continued to work in him and through him. 3 days and three nights, for us it is the time Jesus was in the tomb. Jesus himself refers to this passage.

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