Articles about the book of jonah in the bible

Through some supernatural events, god convinced him to obey and carry out the lords plan. Article pdf available december 2016 with 597 reads. However, jonah tries to escape his mission and sails for tarshish. In this sermon, jerry gifford deals with how the book of jonah ends abruptly with a question. Listen to chuck swindolls overview of jonah in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork. During this time, an important event happened to israel. Dec 19, 2015 the book of jonah ends on this note of contrast between jonahs ungracious heart and the kind heart of the lord. Existing ruins show that nineveh acquired its greatest extent under the kings of the second dynasty, that is, the kings mentioned in scripture. Context makes a difference in conversation, but also when we read the bible. 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. Kitchen, a famous egyptologist wrote in the first chapter of his book, the bible in its world, of a great enemy archaeology cannot defeat. Jonah hated this idea because nineveh was one of israels. 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. 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.

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. Jonah 1 new international version niv jonah flees from the lord. The book of jonah is a subversive story about a rebellious prophet who despises his god for loving his enemies. The selfrighteous make the grave mistake of rejoicing only in their own deliverance 2.

First, we should note that this marvelous narrative has suffered the brunt of the critics barbs for a long while. Though many of us may be familiar with the general storyline of jonah, or at least familiar with the survivingbeingswallowedbyawhale thing from disneys pinocchio, much fewer of us are familiar with micah and nahum. 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. List of books and articles about book of jonah online research.

The book of jonah, written primarily in the third person, does not explicitly name the prophet as the author of his own account, but we have no reason to doubt either the inspiration or the historical veracity of the book. This article is part of the christ in all of scripture series delayed obedience. The historicity and assyrian background of the book of jonah. Wed love to hear what youre learning along the way. The way we fully understand ourselves is to compare our selfinterest with gods sacrificial love. It is one of trei asar the twelve prophets in the tanakh, and in christian tradition as oi dodeka prophetai or ton dodekapropheton, greek for the twelve prophets. The book of jonah tells a short, fascinating story. Jonah is the book of the bible which perhaps has been criticized more than any other. Go to the great city of nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. Set in the reign of jeroboam ii 786746 bc, it was probably written in the postexilic period, some time between the late 5th to early 4th century bc. Key personalities include jonah, the captain and the ships crew and the people of nineveh.

One teacher of israel says the story of jonah is more about repentance than it is about the fish. So based on the date and message of the book of jonah, the view of this commentary is that jonah is the originator of the story, but it was passed down orally for several hundred years, being modified and changed over time, until it was eventually recorded by a later author who lived in judea. God sends jonah to the notoriously evil city of nineveh jonah 1. Jonah or jonas, in the hebrew bible tanakhold testament, is a prophet of the northern kingdom of israel in about the 8th century bce. There is only one jonah in the bible, and he is an historical person. Hurvitz, hebrew and aramaic in the biblical period. When a great storm arose, and the inmates of the vessel. The book of jonah closes with sullen and unwilling jonah still preferring death to gods outpouring of mercy upon anyone except jonah and his jewish relatives. He is eventually thrown away by the ships crew in the. The book is written in the 3rd person, and no author is identified any where in the bible. And dont you listen to the lies of the enemy when he whispers in your ear, youre done. Others believe jonah is read on yom kippur with the hope that listeners would learn from jonahs mistakes. Perhaps we could reflect upon a few of these matters.

He went down to joppa and found a ship bound for tarshish. It is an important book to both religious traditions christianity and jewish. Nineveh was an enormously large city a three days walk across. The purpose of this book is to show that god is a merciful and gracious god. It is quite interesting in this regard to compare the case of jonah with another of the prophets, obadiah. The prophet jonah wrote his own account of how he accepted correction, fulfilled his assignment, and was taught a vital lesson about gods loyal love and mercy. In his article, he attacked the book of jonah by stating. The story of the bible is all about fresh starts and new beginnings.

It is an important book to both religious traditions christianity and jewish because of its message of doom upon israels longtime enemy. We read nowhere in the book that jonah confessed his sin and received a new heart. Full text in english of the book of jonah my jewish learning. Sep 02, 2017 watch other amazing bible stories like birth of jesus, cain ad abel, noahs ark, joseph, moses and many more this is a summary on the biblical account of the jonah and the. Bible need to know is a recurring feature that digs into the story behind the bible stories to learn more check out our jonah.

Visit our library of inductive bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the bible you can use in your small group. On the surface, the story of jonah lends itself to a moralistic. A paper presented in 381 bible researchold testament. Jonahs lack of response indicates that he got the point. In all of the bible, jonah is one character you do not want to emulate. Jonah was a prophet in the land of israel about 800750 bc.

God called to jonah one day and told him to go preach to nineveh because the people were very wicked. The book of jonah is the fifth book in the christian canons and the jewish tanakh. Now he obeys and goes to nineveh, the capital of israels ancient enemy. You can read more indepth bible verses from the scripture below and use the articles and videos to understand the meaning behind this teachable event in the bible. Jonah and the whale almost serves as a cipher or cliffsnotes kind of summary for the book, despite the facts that 1 the book never calls the animal in question a whale but simply a fish or big fish, and 2 the fish episode is hardly what the book of jonah is primarily about. Fleeing his task, jonah hopped aboard a commercial vessel bound for tarshish, in the west jon. The translation whale appears in william tyndales bible of 1534 in reference to the. And thats too bad, because jonah is a bible character worth knowing, and the book he wrote is not only rich in theological content, but is extremely relevant. Jonah and leviathan innerbiblical allusions and the problem. Consequences of disobedienceout of the frying pan, into the fire.

But who then wrote the book and where do those intimate details of the story come from. Book of jonah encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. Watch other amazing bible stories like birth of jesus, cain ad abel, noahs ark, joseph, moses and many more this is a summary on the biblical account of the jonah and the. Biblical jonah visits nineveh the evil city ancient pages. The bible is full of men and women who, despite their best efforts, suffer from a chronic lack of love. Jonah, or, in hebrew, yonah, was an israelite prophet in the bible who, as told in the book preserved in his name, was divinely commissioned to announce a prophecy of imminent doom to the assyrian people of nineveh jon. Home bible studies jonah studies jonah 2 these small group studies of jonah extensive crossreferences, bible study discussion questions, lessons to learn, and applications.

On the surface, the story of jonah lends itself to a moralistic interpretation. The book of jonah cannot be accepted as history settle, b4. Jonah went at once to nineveh in accordance with the lords command. So far archaeology has disagreed with that assessment. It is incredible that one could be alive for three days in a fishs belly. God protected jonah and saved him, not because he was such a good man, but because he wanted to teach him a great lesson. Written by the prophet jonah, son of amittai, around 785760 b. This did not mean, however, that jonah remained the same. They asked him how the sea could be made calm again, and he told them to throw himself into it. Unpublished class notes in 103 introduction to hebrew exegesis. But thats about the extent of most peoples understanding of this old testament prophet and the book that bears his name. Professor settle listed several alleged inaccuracies contained in the book. The book of jonah is filled with valuable information and timeless lessons. This is the perfect type of fleshly israels rejection of christ and of christianity throughout history.

Jonah 4 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on. Nov 19, 2012 so based on the date and message of the book of jonah, the view of this commentary is that jonah is the originator of the story, but it was passed down orally for several hundred years, being modified and changed over time, until it was eventually recorded by a later author who lived in judea during the postexilic time period, and was using the. He went down to joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. Outside the book jonah is mentioned only in 2 kings 14. Nov 09, 2018 the bible says that jonah walked for 3 days just to get to the center of the city. Perhaps weve read them in a readthroughthebible plan or. Some explain that jonah is evidence that no one can escape the presence of god, even while trying to run from the almighty. This article provides a brief discussion on these issues and where. Apr 12, 2016 the book of jonah is a subversive story about a rebellious prophet who despises his god for loving his enemies.

It tells the story of a prophet called by god to preach repentance to the city of nineveh. Jonah is identified as a prophet and servant of god during the reign of king jeroboam ii of israel 2 kings 14. Jonah chapter 2 bible study and verses study and obey. Notice all through this story that, although jonah was gods servant, he was always thinking about himself. Pdf the literary genre of the book of jonah researchgate.

The book of jonah is a book of the neviim prophets in the hebrew bible. Others believe jonah is read on yom kippur with the hope that listeners would learn from jonah s mistakes. While jonah eventually did what he was asked to do, the book closes with showing jonah as a bitter man. Jan 18, 2016 this is a summary on the biblical account of the jonah and the big fish. Summaryafter jonah told the sailors about the god he served, and they put it together with what he had already told them of his flight from gods presence, they became extremely afraid. The writer of this article has attempted to do this in stades zeitschrift, 1892, pp. But, as every bible student knows, his plans were soon thwarted. The blue letter bible ministry and the blb institute hold to the historical, conservative christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of scripture.

In the book, jonah is called upon by god to prophesy the judgment of nineveh. This summary of the book of jonah provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of jonah. This article is part of the christ in all of scripture series. 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. Book of jonah overview insight for living ministries. Its a filthy, horrible, spiritually paralyzing lie. What you need to know about the book of jonah digital.

Jonah 1 ampc now the word of the lord came to jonah bible. Pfeiffer, states, it is fictiona short story with a moral like the book of ruthor the stories about danieljonah is a perfectly good short storywith a beginning, a middle, and an endthe author of jonah. Jonah is one of the most striking examples of a heart in need of expansion. 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 named after its principal character, whose name means dove. Unlike other old testament prophetic books, jonah is not a collection of the prophets oracles but primarily a narrative about the man. The only times that the name occurs in the bible are in this reference in 2 kings, in the book of jonah itself, and in the new testament references to that book. When the walled city was first excavated, it was found to be less than nine miles in. List of books and articles about book of jonah online.

Jonah defied god, sat in a fish belly for three days, preached to his most hated enemy, and then got into a shouting match with god. The message of the book of jonah christian articles. Nevertheless, focus on the whale highlights the genre. No writer in the bible tells such a bad story about himself. This book has an almost entirely narrative content. The word of the lord came to jonah and jonah refused. He does not just have lovehe is love it is never too late to turn to god. Its amazing to me that god has any patience with jonah. The book of jonah is narrative history and a prophetic oracle. Unfortunately, many christians thoughtlessly cast aspersions upon this important book in the canon of scripture without realizing that they are playing into the hands of the critics and innocently becoming the dupes of the skeptics. You can find the best commentary on jonah for you using the tools on the right side. We sin against the spirit of the book jonah in trying to take it as real history.

Jonah started out and made his way into the city the distance of one days walk, and proclaimed. Top 5 commentaries on the book of jonah ligonier ministries. Jonah vows to descend to the depths, snag leviathan with a fishhook an exegetical nod to job 40. According to the second book of kings, jonah lived during the reign c. At this time another prophet, named jonah, was giving the word of the lord to the israelites. Since the text and audio content provided by blb represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not.