The biography of jonah in the bible
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This role is seen as a type of Christ, who is the ultimate prophet bringing God's message of salvation to humanity. But he was not answered until he had promised to redeem his pledge to capture Leviathan. Soon a raging storm causes the crew to cast lots and determine that Jonah is the problem. This is an experience God wants us to share with Him, not being jealous or resentful of those who come to Christ in “last-minute conversions” or who come through circumstances dissimilar to our own.
For Further Study
Holman Old Testament Commentary: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah by Trent ButlerJoel, Obadiah, Jonah & Micah, New International Commentary on the Old Testament by Leslie C.
Allen
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Old Testament Survey
Summary of the Book of Jonah
- Description: Jonah's three days and nights in the belly of the great fish are seen as a foreshadowing of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection after three days.
260 et seq.; see also Cheyne in "Encyc.
He goes to Nineveh and preaches a message of judgment—and to his surprise, the people repent.
Key Highlights:
- Jonah declares: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4)
- From the king to the animals, everyone fasts and seeks God’s mercy.
- God sees their repentance and relents from bringing disaster.
Lesson: God responds to repentance, and no one is beyond His mercy.
Jonah’s Anger and God’s Compassion (Jonah 4)
Rather than rejoicing in Nineveh’s repentance, Jonah becomes angry that God spared them.
It asks: Will we obey God, even when it’s uncomfortable? In any case Jonah is one of the prophets who advised the house of Jehu, and it is not unlikely that with him the series of prophets that began with Elijah came to a close. The LORD (God)(Jonah 1:1)
God is the one who calls Jonah to deliver a message to Nineveh.
• Liturgical readings for Yom Kippur stress repentance and mercy; Christian traditions use it for Good Friday and Easter typology.
Key People
1.Questioning God’s Mercy ( 4:1–11 )
a. Jonah’s experience in the belly of the whale provides him with a unique opportunity to seek a unique deliverance, as he repents during this equally unique retreat. God Spares Nineveh(Jonah 3:10)
- "When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them."
12.
It combines elements of historical narrative with parabolic teaching.
Structure and Content
• Author: Jonah son of Amittai• Total Verses: 48
• Total Words: Hebrew ≈ 678 / KJV ≈ 1,321 / ESV ≈ 1,277 / NIV ≈ 1,240
• Total Chapters: 4
• First Word: וַיְהִי (vay-hi) – “And it came to pass”
• Last Word: רַבָּה (rab-bah) – “many”
• Longest Chapter: Chapter 1 (17 verses)
• Shortest Chapter: Chapters 2 & 3 (10 verses each)
• Divisions:
- Jonah 1 – Flight, Storm, and Casting into the Sea
- Jonah 2 – Prayer from the Fish and Deliverance
- Jonah 3 – Renewed Commission and Nineveh’s Repentance
- Jonah 4 – Jonah’s Anger and the LORD’s Lesson
Firsts and Origins
• First prophetic book focused entirely on God’s compassion toward a Gentile city.God then resolved to put him into another fish where he would be less comfortable. He is a historical personage; for, according to II Kings xiv. Just as Jonah brought the truth of God regarding repentance and salvation to the Ninevites, so too does Jesus bring the same message (Jonah 2:9; John 14:6) of salvation of and through God alone (Romans 11:36).
Practical Application: We cannot hide from God.
What He wishes to accomplish through us will come to pass, despite all our objections and foot-dragging. Although debated by scholars, the prophet Jonah himself is traditionally listed as the author.
Historical Context: Jonah’s mission to Nineveh occurred during the reign of Jeroboam II (793-753 BC) in the northern kingdom of Israel.
The phrase in Jonah iii.
God sees their repentance and relents from bringing the destruction He had threatened (Jonah 3:5-10).
3. Before its appearance Jonah was tortured by the heat and by insects of all kinds, his clothes having been burned by the heat of the belly of the fish; he was tortured again after the worm had caused the gourd to wither. Therefore this fish had so large a mouth and throat that Jonah found it as easy to pass into its belly as he would have found it to enter the portals of a very large synagogue (ib.).