Introduction from the niv study bible go to jonah title the book is named after its principal character, whose name means dove. There are two questions related to the date of jonah. Although the book is written in the third person, the traditional. Jonah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Humanly speaking, the bible was written by approximately 40 men of diverse backgrounds over the course of 1500 years. The book of jonah is the fifth book in the christian canons and the jewish. To conclude that someone else wrote the book is difficult since the information about jobs experience in the fishs stomach and in chapter 4 requires firsthand knowledge. Written by the prophet jonah, son of amittai, around 785760 b.
Through some supernatural events, god convinced him to obey and carry out the lords plan. Dive into an intriguing tale of mercy in the book of jonah. Though the book does not identify its author, tradition has ascribed it to the prophet himself, jonah son of amittai 1. Go to the great city of nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. After his initial draft jones wrote back, saying, in truth i should be content to send you all that remains of the bible, with great. The book of jonah is a subversive story about a rebellious prophet who. M any people like to memorize the list of the books of the bible in the order they are found in their version of the scriptures. Key personalities include jonah, the captain and the ships crew and the people of nineveh. Perhaps the third quarter of the eighth century is the most likely date for the book, after the public ministries of amos and hosea and before the fall of samaria to assyria in 722721. Book of jonah overview insight for living ministries. Intro to jonah biblica the international bible society. 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. Full text in english of the book of jonah my jewish learning. Learning who these writers were would give you a better understanding of the perspective of the book.
This familiar expression is found in many books of the bible, occurring 92x e. Get unlimited access to thousands of bible and theology video lectures. The book of jonah is a book of the neviim prophets in the hebrew bible. Even the truth of god pleases the human heart often only as long as the own importance can be stressed by it. During this time, an important event happened to israel. Of course, a story like this is the kind of story that likely would have originated with the person its about. Introduction jonah is the book of the bible which perhaps has been criticized more than any other. Book of jonah, the fifth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor. First, there is no mention anywhere in jonah or elsewhere in scripture about who wrote this short prophetic book. While the author could have been someone who obtained the information about the event e. As a result of jonahs ministry to assyria, the assyrian captivity of israel was postponed over years. Near the end of the book, jonah states what he believes to be the character of god, and says that it is because of what he knows about god that led him to behave. Who wrote the book of jonah and what is its purpose. Isaiah was a prophet, ezra was a priest, matthew was a taxcollector, john was a fisherman, paul was a tentmaker, moses was a shepherd, luke was a physician.
Jonah niv jonah flees from the lord the word of bible. While jonah eventually did what he was asked to do, the book closes with showing jonah as a. That doesnt necessarily mean that jonah wrote the book. Many have questioned whether the book of jonah is historical. We really dont have any idea who wrote it and the book doesnt really offer any clues as to who might have written it.
Jonah is the book of the bible which perhaps has been criticized more than any other. Nachtigal 1799 contended that there were three different authors of widely different periods. The book of jonah was likely written between 793 and 758 b. One other obvious hyperbolic element in the book is the repentance of animals together with the ninevites, which influenced a number of scholars to challenge the historical level of the book. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for tarshish to flee from the lord. 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.
Apr 12, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of jonah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The book of micah is the sixth of the twelve minor prophets in the hebrew bible old testament. 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. 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.
The bible book of jonah contains the prophets own account of accepting correction, fulfilling his assignment, and receiving gods loyal love and mercy. But jonah ran away from the lord and headed for tarshish. Jonah mosaic in aquileia cathedralmosaic of the biblical story of jonah. Through satire and compelling storytelling, the book of jonah reveals to readers why god is compassionate to evildoers in the past and present age today. Ironically, the book of jonah is filled with irony, parody and exaggeration that are often overlooked by many interpreters. While jonah eventually did what he was asked to do, the book closes with showing jonah as a bitter man. My jewish learning is a notforprofit and relies on your. Jonah, in the story, feels about nineveh as does the author of the book of. This helps to find books and verses more quickly, and i encourage everyone who wants to use their bible more effectively to do so. Although this book is clearly about the prophet jonah, it was written by a later, unknown author see bible dictionary, jonah. However, this seems very unlikely, as he does not claim to be the author, and he is constantly referred to in the third person.
Mar 16, 2019 written by the prophet jonah, son of amittai, around 785760 b. Why study the book of jonah with dr doug ingram duration. This is because the story is not very favourable towards jonah. 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. 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. Book of jonah old testament britannica encyclopedia britannica. Jonah is assumed to have been a genuine sign to the people of ninevah. Prophet jonah runs away, jonah in the belly of the fish, prays, obeys god, nineveh, bottlegourd, mercy. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from harpercollins christian publishing 501 nelson place, nashville, tn 37214 usa providing information about products and services of hccp and its affiliates.
T he book of jonah is an old testament story which tells about how the prophet jonah refused to follow the lord. Jonah was a prophet in the land of israel about 800750 bc. Set in the reign of jeroboam ii 786746 bc, it was probably written in the. 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. Nov 19, 2012 first, there is no mention anywhere in jonah or elsewhere in scripture about who wrote this short prophetic book. The recording is dramatized, from the king james bible. Book of jonah, also spelled jonas, 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. Sasson includes a detailed analysis of the various dating theories for the book of jonah. Tolkien accepted the task and was given the book of jonah. Although the book does not identify its author, it is traditional to assume that jonah himself wrote it. 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. 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. Jun 02, 2017 who wrote the book of jonah and what is its purpose.
First, when did the events in the book of jonah take place, and second, when was the book of jonah written. The book of jonah stands unique in the prophetical canon, in that it does not contain any predictions, but simply relates the story of its hero, beginning for that reason with waye. Ostensibly, it records the sayings of micah, whose name is mikayahu hebrew. By signing up, youll get thousands of stepbystep solutions to your homework questions. Genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, deuteronomy moses 1400 b. Physically and figuratively, this storm was sent for jonah. Unlike other old testament prophetic books, jonah is not a collection of the prophets oracles but primarily a narrative about the man. The latter prophets follow psalms and the wisdom books in the greek septuagint, as well as our christian old testament of the bible. Jonah does notor will not understand that gods loyalty is to the whole human race. Early christian tradition compared the resurrection of jesus christ on the third day in the tomb to jonah s three days in the belly of the whale matthew 12. And jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah bible study outlinecontents by chapter and verse. To numerous scholars, poetic elements are more original than. 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. Some people think that jonah wrote this book, but unlike other prophetic books, the book of jonah is entirely a story about jonah and does not contain collections of messages spoken by the prophet. It shows that god has always had concern for the heathen, who are without hope apart from him.
Jonah is identified as a prophet and servant of god during the reign of king jeroboam ii of israel 2 kings 14. The book of jonah is the fifth book in the christian canons and the. What the book of acts is to the new testament, the prophecy of jonah is to the old testament. The author of the book is the prophet jonah who wrote his own autobiography. Amazing jonah tim mackie the bible project duration. No writer in the bible tells such a bad story about himself.
Second, identifying jonah as the author is impossible if the book was written between 400 bc and 200 bc as suggested above. The purpose of this book is to show that god is a merciful and gracious god. He went down to joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. Book of jonah lesson 1 welcome to the study of the book of jonah. 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. The people of ninevah are assumed to have repented, and to be among those who will judge jesus generation in the future. Nov 21, 2012 neither group knows much of anything about the god whom jonah proclaims, so their statements can be read as questions concerning the nature and character of this god whom jonah serves.
Jonah flees from the lord the word of the lord came to jonah son of amittai. Jonah intro to jonah biblica the international bible society. Following the lead of the hebrew masoretic text, the title of the book is derived from the principal character, jonah. Since jonah prophesied during the reign of jeroboam ii 782753 b. And we see god use this method of correction many times in the bible. This little book therefore contains very practical lessons for every reader. Jonah, whose name means dove, lived in gathhepher, located. Before you attempt to answer the questions below you should read these chapters in the bible and answer the questions at the end of each chapter found at the website answer the questions below and then click ok to send your answers. It tells of a hebrew prophet named jonah son of amittai who is sent by god to. 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 supposed legendary character of some of the events e. The new world translation of the holy scriptures is published by jehovahs witnesses. This is the holy book of jonah, known simply as jonah. Those who see the story as a chronicle of real events propose that jonah, son of. This is, in my opinion, the best and most beautiful recording of. Patrick fairbairn wrote, gods goal in affliction is to awaken. 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. The story is about a certain prophet, jonah and a city called nineveh. But, how about memorizing the authors along with the books. 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.
The people of ninevah are included among another historical figure the queen of the south. Ok, this is a brief but pointed synopsis of the story, please understand that much more can be gotten if you will read and meditate on the story for yourself. The book of jonah is anonymous, and we really do not know who the author was or when he lived. Bible believers believe that god wrote the bible using human writers. Book of jonah, destruction and captivity by the assyrians. The view that jonah wrote the story of his own disobedience and his debate with the merciful god has not been made wholly untenable.