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. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. Written by the prophet jonah, son of amittai, around 785760 b. This is the holy book of jonah, known simply as jonah. Go at once to nineveh, that great city, and proclaim judgment upon it. The recording is dramatized, from the king james bible. Instead, he sat outside the city in the shade of a bottlegourd plant and pouted. The book of jonah, written primarily in the third person, does not explicitly name the. 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. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for tarshish to flee from the lord. Go, enquire of the lord for me, and for them that are left in israel and in judah, concerning the words of the book that is found.
It is a story about a hebrew woman named naomi who lives during the period of the judges, prior to the establishment of the monarchy. Watch our overview video on the book of jonah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The story has a long interpretive history and has become well known through popular childrens stories. Jonah, the book of definition and meaning bible dictionary. But, the prophet jonah s account of remarkable experiences with storms at sea, being eaten by. He went down to the port of joppa, where he found a ship leaving for tarshish. The book of jonah is a book of the neviim prophets in the hebrew bible. The book is anonymous, and there are no indicators elsewhere in scripture to identify the author. He went down to joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. 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.
Through some supernatural events, god convinced him to obey and carry out the lords plan. Book of jonah read, study bible verses online bible study tools. Unpublished class notes in 103 introduction to hebrew exegesis. That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers. Now he obeys and goes to nineveh, the capital of israels ancient enemy. The book of jonah is a subversive story about a rebellious prophet who despises his god for loving his enemies. The book of jonah is a book of the neviim in the hebrew bible.
This book of jonah, though it be placed here in the midst of the prophetical books of scripture, is yet rather a history than a prophecy. The book of jonah demonstrates the sovereignty of the almighty as he employs his creation to accomplish the divine plan. Jehovah had been patient and merciful with jonah, but jonah was not merciful with the people of nineveh. Jonah 1 niv jonah flees from the lord the word of bible. Firstly the book of jonah is a proof of gods unlimited grace and mercy not only for his earthly people israel but also for the impious heathen city of nineveh. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep. For israel or the jews, respectively, this was very difficult to understand for they considered only themselves as gods. Dive into an intriguing tale of mercy in the book of jonah. Jonah 1, new revised standard version nrsv the bible app. Literary characteristics unlike most other prophetic parts of the ot, this book is a narrative account of a single prophetic mission. 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. Book of jonah overview insight for living ministries. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god.
Jonah flees from the lord the word of the lord came to jonah son of amittai. Jonah 1 niv bible the word of the lord came to jonah. A paper presented in 381 bible researchold testament. 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. The book of jonah recounts real events in the life and ministry of the prophet himself. Jonah mosaic in aquileia cathedralmosaic of the biblical story of jonah. Overall a very informative and useful book with an author who is well versed on the subject and has solid credentials. 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.
While jonah eventually did what he was asked to do, the book closes with showing jonah as a. Book of jonah, the fifth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the. Jonah, ruth, and esther cliffsnotes study guides book. Study scripture verses with commentary, concordances, and use highlighting, underlining, take notes in the bible. Jonah, whose name means dove, lived in gathhepher, located. Jonah 1, new international version niv the bible app.
Go to the great city of nineveh and proclaim the message that i will give you. It shows that god has given these people repentance for life. The following scripture is the authorized king james version, now in the public domain, and the new international version of the holy bible. Go to the great city of nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. Identified in verse 1 as the son of amittai, jonah came from a town called.
Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, lord, have done as you pleased. T he book of jonah is an old testament story which tells about how the prophet jonah refused to follow the lord. A subversive story about a rebellious prophet who despises his god for loving his enemies. The book contains fascination interaction between men and god, which sasson brings out well. The book of jonah is narrative history and a prophetic oracle. This little roll of four short chapters has given rise to almost as much discussion and difference of opinion as the first four chapters of genesis. Set in the reign of jeroboam ii, it was probably written in the postexilic period, some time between the late 5th to early 4th century bc. But jonah ran away from the lord and headed for tarshish.
Jonah is perhaps one of the least understood books of the bible, with most people unable to get by the whale actually, dag gadol, or great fish. Introduction jonah is the book of the bible which perhaps has been criticized more than any other. Jonah 1 new international version niv jonah flees from the lord. This book also includes translation problems, additions and subtractions that have been made to the bible, and problems with themorality of the book in general. This is, in my opinion, the best and most beautiful recording of.
See whats new in logos 8 explore all features schedule a demo howtos. It would be presumptuous to think that one could, in a brief article, speak the final word on the questions in debate. Book of jonah lesson 1 welcome to the study of the book of jonah. The historicity and assyrian background of the book of jonah. The book of jonah focuses on gods mercy toward a foreign people and the reluctant prophet he sent to them. Like the book of jonah, the book of ruth, a masterpiece of storytelling, has a moral lesson, but this lesson may not be the chief reason why the book was written. It tells of a hebrew prophet named jonah son of amittai who is sent by god to. Key personalities include jonah, the captain and the ships crew and the people of nineveh. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the lord by sailing to tarshish. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 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 with book summary versebyverse bible commentary.
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