How does the book of jonah fit into the larger story of the bible. According to legend, jonah was the son of the widow at zarephath. With the great feeding cycle of whales and the repeated intake of water, how could jonah have had time to compose a reflective and repentant prayer to the lord. This is the only mention of the prophet outside of the book of jonah. 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. Apocalypse explained ae 538 11 particulars in the book of jonah are historical, and yet prophetical, involving and representing such arcana, as do all the other historicals of the word.
Although the book is written in the third person, the traditional view is that jonah is the author of the book, and there is no persuasive reason to theorize about an unknown author. 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. You will also remember how god provided jonah with a living submarine to get him back where he belonged. Jonah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. By dissertation submitted to the faculty of the in partial.
Nineveh was an enormously large city a three days walk across. Pdf on dec 1, 2016, grazia papola and others published a biblical story of conversion. Contagious book jonah berger pdf download ebook pdf. In recent years, jonah has seen an explosion of critical and favorable attention. Jonah, whose name means dove, lived in gathhepher, located just north of nazareth, during the reign of jeroboam ii in the. 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.
He went down to joppa and found a ship going to tarshish. Book of jonah has created wide gaps, even among likeminded theologians. There are those who relate the book of jonah to the phoenician myth of hercules and the sea monster. 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. The essentials here are jehovah and jonahgod and manthat is what the book is all about. One could describe kimchis commentary as psychological.
The title of the book is the name of the main character, jonah. Key personalities include jonah, the captain and the ships crew and the people of nineveh. Concern for the salvation of all people, including ones enemies, is the proper attitude for people of god. Unlike other old testament prophetic books, jonah is not a collection of the prophets oracles but primarily a narrative about the man. Jonah 14 new revised standard version nrsv jonah tries to run away from god. Jonah is the one minor prophet that is also mentioned in the historical books 2 kings 14. This was created to assess how well you know the book. The secret history of the american left, from mussolini to the politics of meaning kindle edition by goldberg, jonah. This reminds us of the humble spirit which jonah must have had when god first called him. David kimchi was an important scholar of hebrew grammar and wrote michlol, an early comprehensive study of it. If you have ever attended church, sunday school, or bedtime story sessions as a child, you have likely heard about the story in the book of jonah at some point.
But, the prophet jonahs account of remarkable experiences with storms at sea, being eaten by. It is a well known story for obvious reasons, not least of which are a disobedient prophet, an obedient fish and a wicked nation that starts out bad, yet ends up good. He was gods instrument to carry out gods will on earth. While jonah eventually did what he was asked to do, the book closes with showing jonah as a bitter man. 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 foundational source for the book was likely jonahs own telling of the story after his return from nineveh. We read nowhere in the book that jonah confessed his sin and received a new heart. Jonah was teachable up to a point, but when god told him of his plan for him to go to a wicked gentile nation, then jonahs. The aramaic targum interprets the hebrew as there was a word of prophecy from the. 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. All of nature obeys god in this book but a prophet of god does not. Written by the prophet jonah, son of amittai, around 785760 b. Ac 1188 2 but then we find a startling, thoughtprovoking passage in.
The book of jonah was likely written between 793 and 758 b. I chose for this address a very modest book from among the prophetic books. Jonah is the only old testament prophet on record whom god sent to a heathen nation with a message of repentance. Commentary on the book of jonah relevant bible teaching. The book of jonah is particularly interesting because, within the confines of a. Pdf commentary on the book of jonah samuel amirtharaj.
The issue is complicated somewhat by the use of the. The prophetic significance of this book not only lies in the short message in nineveh but also in the entire history of jonah described in his book. The book of jonah preface those of you who are familiar with the story of jonah and the whale know that jonah hopped a ship heading in the opposite direction when god commanded him to go preach to the ninevites. A book for jonah alvin independent school district. Gods ministry to jonah chapter 4 the bible exposition commentary, cook communications, colorado springs, 2002, p. The purpose of this book is to show that god is a merciful and gracious god. Our aim in this book is to tackle purely the spiritual side, and not the theological side. This did not mean, however, that jonah remained the same. We wish to take from this beautiful book beneficial lessons for our life. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Full text in english of the book of jonah my jewish. Ac 1188 2 but then we find a startling, thoughtprovoking passage in the work called spiritual. Jonah 14 nrsv jonah tries to run away from god now. Commentary on the book of jonah jonah 1 1the word of the lord came to jonah the son of amittai saying, 2arise, go to nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.
We wish to benefit from gods work and from peoples virtues and. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Click download or read online button to get contagious book jonah berger pdf book now. Date since jonah prophesied during the reign of jeroboam ii 782753. As early as the 1st century christian theologians have been prominently discussing. Jonah berger is a marketing professor at the wharton school at the university of pennsylvania and internationally bestselling author of contagious, invisible influence, and the catalyst. The word of the lord came to jonah and jonah refused. Jonah started out and made his way into the city the distance of one days walk, and proclaimed. Jonahs own telling of the story after his return from nineveh. The foundational source for the book was likely jonah s own telling of the story after his return from nineveh.
Substantive work, while differing through the centuries, has been dedicated to the book of jonah. Dive into an intriguing tale of mercy in the book of jonah. Gods word to jonah was a clear and unmistakable command to go to heathen. Now the word of the lord came to jonah the son of amity, saying, arise, go to nineveh, that great city, and cry, out against it. He examines jonahs inner process, telling us what jonah must have.
Jonah went at once to nineveh in accordance with the lords command. Jeroboam fulfilled god prophecy given through jonah 2 kings 14. T he book of jonah is an old testament story which tells about how the prophet jonah refused to follow the lord. Book of jonah lesson 1 welcome to the study of the book of jonah. How long was it to be before the city jonah had a message for was overthrown. Although the author of jonah is never identified in the book itself, jonah himself has traditionally been identified as the author. When we believe in the lord jesus christ, we become ambassadors, charged with the responsibility of communicating the gospel to people around us. The secret history of the american left, from mussolini to the politics of meaning. Conservative scholars place the writing of the book of jonah before 745. The book is anonymous, and there are no indicators elsewhere in scripture to identify the author. The book of jonah is narrative history and a prophetic oracle. The incidentals in the book of jonah are the fish, the gourd, the east wind, the boat, and even the city of nineveh. Hes a worldrenowned expert on social influence, word of mouth, and why products, ideas, and behaviors catch on and has published over 50 papers in toptier academic journals.
Specifically, i will explore how the book of jonah may be read as a type of folktale depicting a failed rite of passage and suggest why that reading is appropriate for the worldview of its authors and audience. But who then wrote the book and where do those intimate details of the story come from. A subversive story about a rebellious prophet who despises his god for loving his enemies. H people were curious about dylans favorite activities. Many critics however want to lower the book of jonah to an allegory, a parable or a legend because of the miracles described in it especially the appearing of the great fish devouring jonah. Francis jonahs books are so easy to read and understand and they teach the truth of gods word. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading liberal fascism. The book of jonah the prophet is full of wonderful spiritual contemplation. Jonah prophesied that jeroboam iis kingdom would expand to the former extent of israel during the united kingdom excluding the southern portion of judah and benjamin.
The book of jonah is a book of the neviim prophets in the hebrew bible. We know that jonah was a prophet used by god to prophesy the prosperity of israel. The book of jonah by zalman shazar opening address of the 19th annual conference of the israel society for biblical research, jerusalem, passover, 5731, translated from president shazars hebrew article in beth mikra, vol. Commentary on the book of jonah samuel amirtharaj middle old testament 2 1516 historical background authorship though the author is not mentioned in. The analysis of the various imaginative genre classifications of the book of jonah shows that scholars have viewed the book as an allegory, parable, mashal, prophetic legend, midrash, novella, or. It is claimed that jonah was picked up after the storm and shipwreck by a boat that had a fish for a figurehead which gave support for the record in the book of jonah. Such, however, is highly unlikely since jonah would have been around 100 at the time of this account. Jonah was teachable up to a point, but when god told him of his plan for him to go to a wicked gentile nation, then jonah s. It may be read as an allegory, one of sin and repentance, with gods loving mercy and forgiveness. Through some supernatural events, god convinced him to obey and carry out the lords plan. Jonah and the whale is a favorite story among children.
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