Many modernBible scholars suggest the Book of Jonah is fictional,[3][4][5][6] and at least partially satirical.[7][8] Most scholars consider the Book of Jonah to have been composed long after the events it describes due to its use of words and motifs exclusive to postexilicAramaic sources.[9][10] The character of Jonah son ofAmittai may have been based on the historical prophet of the same name who prophesied during the reign of KingAmaziah of Judah, as mentioned in2 Kings.[11]
Although the creature that swallowed Jonah is often depicted in art and culture as a whale, the Hebrew text uses the phrase "large fish". In the 17th century and early 18th century, the species of the fish that swallowed Jonah was the subject of speculation bynaturalists, who interpreted the story as an account of a historical incident. Some modern scholars offolklore, on the other hand, note similarities between Jonah and other legendary religious figures, like the Indian yogiMatsyendranatha "Lord of the Fishes", theSumerian kingGilgamesh, and the Greek heroJason.
Jonah is the central character in the Book of Jonah, in whichGod commands him to go to the city ofNineveh to prophesy against it "for their great wickedness is come up before me,"[12] but Jonah instead attempts to flee from "the presence of the Lord" by going toJaffa (sometimestransliterated asJoppa orJoppe). He sets sail forTarshish.[13] A huge storm arises and the sailors, realizing that it is no ordinary storm,cast lots and discover that Jonah is to blame.[14] Jonah admits this and says that if he is thrown overboard, the storm will cease.[15] The sailors refuse to do this and continue rowing, but all their efforts fail, and they eventually throw Jonah overboard.[16] As a result, the storm calms and the sailors offer sacrifices to God.[17]
After being cast from the ship, Jonah is swallowed by a large fish, within the belly of which he remains for three days and three nights.[18] While in the great fish, Jonah prays to God in his affliction and commits to giving thanks and to paying what he has vowed.[19] God commands the fish to vomit Jonah out.[20]
God again commands Jonah to travel to Nineveh and prophesy to its inhabitants.[21] This time he travels there and enters the city, crying, "In forty days Nineveh shall be overthrown."[22] After Jonah has walked across Nineveh, the people begin to believe his word and proclaim a fast.[23] The king of Nineveh puts onsackcloth and sits in ashes, making a proclamation which decrees fasting, the wearing of sackcloth, prayer and repentance.[24] God sees their repentant hearts and spares the city at that time.[25] The entire city is humbled and broken, with the people (and even the livestock)[26][27] wearing sackcloth and ashes.[28]
Displeased by this, Jonah refers to his earlier flight to Tarshish while asserting that, since God is merciful, it was inevitable that God would turn from the threatened calamities.[29] He leaves the city and makes a shelter, waiting to see whether or not the city will be destroyed.[30] God causes a plant (in Hebrew akikayon) to grow over Jonah's shelter to give him some shade from the sun.[31] Later, God causes a worm to bite the plant's root and it withers.[32] Jonah, exposed to the full force of the sun, becomes faint and pleads for God to kill him.[33]
But God said to Jonah: "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?" And he said: "I do. I am angry enough to die." But the LORD said: "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight, and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"
Illustration of Jonah being swallowed by the fish from theKennicott Bible, folio 305r (1476), in theBodleian Library, Oxford
The Book of Jonah (Yonah יונה) is one of the twelveminor prophets included in the Hebrew Bible. According to one tradition, Jonah was the boy brought back to life byElijah the prophet in 1 Kings.[34][35] Another tradition holds that he was the son of thewoman of Shunem brought back to life byElisha in 2 Kings[36][37] and that he is called the "son ofAmittai" (Truth) due to his mother's recognition of Elijah's identity as a prophet in 1 Kings.[38][37] The Book of Jonah is read every year, in its original Hebrew and in its entirety, onYom Kippur – the Day of Atonement – as theHaftarah at the afternoonmincha prayer.[39][40] According toRabbi Eliezer, the fish that swallowed Jonah was created in the primordial era[41] and the inside of its mouth was like asynagogue;[41] the fish's eyes were like windows[41] and a pearl inside its mouth provided further illumination.[41]
According to theMidrash, while Jonah was inside the fish, the fish told him that its life was nearly over because soon theLeviathan would eat them both.[41] Jonah promised the fish that he would save them.[41] Following Jonah's directions, the fish swam up alongside the Leviathan[41] and Jonah threatened to leash the Leviathan by its tongue and let the other fish eat it.[41] The Leviathan heard Jonah's threats, saw that he wascircumcised, and realized that he was protected by theLord,[41] so it fled in terror, leaving Jonah and the fish alive.[41]
The medieval Jewish scholar and rabbiAbraham ibn Ezra (1092–1167) argued against any literal interpretation of the Book of Jonah,[42] stating that the "experiences of all the prophets except Moses were visions, not actualities."[42] The later scholarIsaac Abarbanel (1437–1509), however, argued that Jonah could have easily survived in the belly of the fish for three days,[43] because "after all, fetuses live nine months without access to fresh air."[44]
Teshuva – the ability to repent and be forgiven by God – is a prominent idea in Jewish thought. This concept is developed in the Book of Jonah: Jonah, the son of truth (the name of his father "Amitai" in Hebrew meanstruth), refuses to ask the people ofNineveh to repent. He seeks the truth only, and not forgiveness. When forced to go, his call is heard loud and clear, and the people of Nineveh repent ecstatically, "fasting, including the sheep," and the Jewish text is critical of this.[45] The Book of Jonah also highlights the sometimes unstable relationship between two religious needs: comfort and truth.[46]
Twelfth-century Jewish rabbi and explorerPetachiah of Regensburg visited Jonah's tomb during his visit to the Holy Land, and wrote: "There is a beautiful palace built over it. Near it is a pleasure garden wherein all kinds of fruit are found. The keeper of the pleasure garden is a Gentile. Nevertheless, when Gentiles come there he gives them no fruit, but when Jews come he gives them a friendly reception, saying, Jonah, son of Amittai, was a Jew, therefore it is due to you to partake of what is his, and then gives to the Jews to eat thereof." Petachiah did not provide details about the exact location of the tomb.[47]
In the Book of Tobit
Jonah is mentioned twice in the fourteenth chapter of theVaticanus version ofdeuterocanonicalBook of Tobit,[48] the conclusion of which finds Tobit's son, Tobias, rejoicing at the news of Nineveh's destruction byNebuchadnezzar andAhasuerus in apparent fulfillment of Jonah's prophecy against the Assyrian capital.[48][49] TheCodex Sinaiticus version of the book, which is longer and aligns more closely with theDead Sea Scrolls, refers toNahum instead of Jonah, as well asCyaxares instead of Nebuchadnezzar and Ahasuerus.[50] This more reliable version of the story is the basis for most modern translations.[51]
In his frescoThe Last Judgment, Michelangelo depicted Christ below Jonah (IONAS) to qualify the prophet as his precursorChrist rises from the tomb, alongside Jonah spit onto the beach
39He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.41The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here."
In Luke,Jesus makes a reference to Jonah in an eschatological prophecy, after a woman in the crowd suddenly exclaims, "Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked" (Luke 11:27 - King James Version):
29And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, "This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.30For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.31The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.32The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.33No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.34The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.35Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.36If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light."
Christian theologians have traditionally interpreted Jonah as atype for Jesus Christ.[65] Jonah being in swallowed by the giant fish was regarded as a foreshadowing ofJesus's crucifixion[66] and Jonah emerging from the fish after three days was seen as a parallel for Jesus emerging from the tomb after three days.[66]Saint Jerome equates Jonah with Jesus's morenationalistic side,[67] and justifies Jonah's actions by arguing that "Jonah acts thus as a patriot, not so much that he hates the Ninevites, as that he does not want to destroy his own people."[67]
Other Christian interpreters, includingSaint Augustine andMartin Luther, have taken a directly opposite approach,[68] regarding Jonah as the epitome of envy and jealousness, which they regarded as inherent characteristics of the Jewish people.[69] Luther likewise concludes that thekikayon (plant) represents Judaism,[70] and that the worm which devours it represents Christ.[71] Luther also questioned the idea that the Book of Jonah was ever intended as literal history,[72] commenting that he found it hard to believe that anyone would have interpreted it as such if it were not in the Bible.[72] Luther'santisemitic interpretation of Jonah remained the prevailing interpretation among German Protestants throughout early modern history.[73]J. D. Michaelis comments that "the meaning of the fable hits you right between the eyes",[69] and concludes that the Book of Jonah is a polemic against "the Israelite people's hate and envy towards all the other nations of the earth."[69]Albert Eichhorn was a strong supporter of Michaelis's interpretation.[74]
John Calvin andJohn Hooper regarded the Book of Jonah as a warning to all those who might attempt to flee from the wrath of God.[75] While Luther had been careful to maintain that the Book of Jonah was not written by Jonah,[76] Calvin declared that the Book of Jonah was Jonah's personal confession of guilt.[76] Calvin sees Jonah's time inside the fish's belly as equivalent to the fires ofHell, intended to correct Jonah and set him on the path of righteousness.[77] Also, unlike Luther, Calvin finds fault with all the characters in the story,[76] describing the sailors on the boat as "hard and iron-hearted, likeCyclops'",[76] the penitence of the Ninevites as "untrained",[76] and the king of Nineveh as a "novice".[76] Hooper, on the other hand, sees Jonah as thearchetypaldissident[78] and the ship he is cast out from as a symbol of the state.[78] Hooper deplores such dissidents,[78] decrying: "Can you live quietly with so many Jonasses? Nay then, throw them into the sea!"[79] In the eighteenth century, German professors were forbidden from teaching that the Book of Jonah was anything other than a literal, historical account.[72]
Jonah (Arabic:يُونُس,romanized: Yūnus) is the title ofthe tenth chapter of theQuran. Yūnus is traditionally viewed as highly important inIslam as aprophet who wasfaithful toGod and delivered His messages. Jonah is the only one ofJudaism's Twelve Minor Prophets to be named in the Quran.[80] InQuran 21:87[81] and68:48, Jonah is called Dhul-Nūn (Arabic:ذُو ٱلنُّوْن; meaning "The One of the Fish").[82] In 4:163 and 6:86, he is referred to as "an apostle of Allah".[82] Surah 37:139–148 retells the full story of Jonah:[82]
And verily, Jonah was among the messengers. [Mention] when he ran away to the laden ship. Then (to save it from sinking) he drew straws (with other passengers). He lost and was thrown overboard. Then the whale engulfed him while he was blameworthy. Had it not been that he (repented and) glorified Allah, He would certainly have remained inside the Fish till theDay of Resurrection. But We cast him onto the open (shore), (totally) worn out, and caused a squash plant to grow over him. We (later) sent him (back) to (his city of) at least one hundred thousand people, And they believed, so We allowed them enjoyment for a while.
Jonah trying to hide his nakedness in the midst of bushes;Jeremiah in the wilderness (top left);Uzeyr awakened after the destruction of Jerusalem.Zubdat al-Tawarikh, Ottoman miniature, 1583.[83]
Jonah is also mentioned in a few incidents during the lifetime ofMuhammad.Quraysh sent their servant,Addas, to serve him grapes for sustenance.[84] Muhammad asked Addas where he was from and the servant replied Nineveh. "The town of Jonah the just, son ofAmittai!" Muhammad exclaimed. Addas was shocked because he knew that the pagan Arabs had no knowledge of the prophet Jonah.[84] He then asked how Muhammad knew of this man. "We are brothers," Muhammad replied. "Jonah was a Prophet of God and I, too, am a Prophet of God." Addas immediately accepted Islam and kissed the hands and feet of Muhammad.[84]
One of the sayings attributed to Muhammad, in the collection ofImam Bukhari, says that Muhammad said "One should not say that I am better than Jonah".[85][86][87][88] Umayya ibn Abi al-Salt, an older contemporary of Muhammad, taught that, had Jonah not prayed to Allah, he would have remained trapped inside the fish until Judgement Day,[88] but, because of his prayer, Jonah "stayed only a few days within the belly of the fish".[88]
The ninth-century Persian historianAl-Tabari records that, while Jonah was inside the fish, "none of his bones or members were injured".[88] Al-Tabari also writes that Allah made the body of the fish transparent, allowing Jonah to see the "wonders of the deep"[89] and that Jonah heard all the fish singing praises to Allah.[89]Kisai Marvazi, a tenth-century poet, records that Jonah's father was seventy years old when Jonah was born[88] and that he died soon afterwards,[88] leaving Jonah's mother with nothing but a wooden spoon, which turned out to be acornucopia.[88]
Nineveh's current location is marked by excavations of five gates, parts of walls on four sides, and two large mounds: the hill of Kuyunjik and hill of Nabi Yunus.[90] Amosque atop Nabi Yunus was dedicated to the prophet Jonah and contained a shrine, which was revered by both Muslims and Christians as the site of Jonah's tomb.[91] The tomb was a popular pilgrimage site[92] and a symbol of unity to Jews, Christians, and Muslims across the Middle East.[92] On July 24, 2014, theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) destroyed the mosque containing the tomb as part of a campaign to destroy religious sanctuaries it deemed to beidolatrous.[93][92] AfterMosul was taken back from ISIL in January 2017, an ancient Assyrian palace built byEsarhaddon dating to around the first half of the 7th century BCE was discovered beneath the ruined mosque.[92][94] ISIL had plundered the palace of items to sell on theblack market,[92][94] but some of the artifacts that were more difficult to transport still remained in place.[92][94]
Jonah and the sea monster, from Christian artwork in Roman catacombs at the end of 2nd century A.D. From right to left: Johah jumps off the ship, where a sea monster waits; he is eaten (or spit out) by that sea monster; Johah rests on the beach after release from the monster's belly. The sea monster drawn by the Roman Christians resembles ahippocampus.
ManyBiblical scholars hold that the contents of theBook of Jonah are ahistorical.[4][103][104] Although the prophet Jonah allegedly lived in the eighth century BCE,[1] the Book of Jonah was written centuries later during the time of theAchaemenid Empire.[1][105] TheHebrew used in the Book of Jonah shows strong influences fromAramaic[1] and the cultural practices described in it match those of the Achaemenid Persians.[1][27] Some scholars regard the Book of Jonah as an intentional work ofparody orsatire.[7][8][106][107][108][109] If this is the case, then it was probably admitted into the canon of theHebrew Bible by sages who misunderstood its satirical nature[110][108][109] and mistakenly interpreted it as a serious prophetic work.[110][108][109]
He restored the border of Israel from the entrance ofHamath unto the sea of theArabah, according to the word of theLORD, theGod of Israel, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Jonah the son ofAmittai, the prophet, who was ofGath-hepher.
In a lecture delivered in 1978 and published in 1979, AssyriologistDonald Wiseman defended the plausibility of many aspects of the story, supporting "the tradition that many features in the narrative exhibit an intimate and accurate knowledge of Assyria which could stem from an historical event as early as the eighth century B.C.", concluding that "the story of Jonah need not be considered as a late story or parable".[114]
Modern restoration of theAdad gate at Nineveh in a photograph taken prior to the gate's total destruction byISIL in April 2016.[115] The Book of Jonah exaggerates the size of Nineveh far beyond what it actually was historically.[1][27]
The views expressed by Jonah in the Book of Jonah are aparody of views held by members of Jewish society at the time when it was written.[8][116][107] The primary target of the satire may have been a faction whomMorton Smith calls "Separationists",[117] who believed that God would destroy those who disobeyed him,[107] that sinful cities would be obliterated,[107] and that God's mercy did not extend to those outside theAbrahamic covenant.[117] McKenzie and Graham remark that "Jonah is in some ways the most 'orthodox' of Israelite theologians – to make a theological point."[107] Jonah's statements throughout the book are characterized by their militancy,[107][118] but his name ironically means "dove",[107][118] a bird which the ancient Israelites associated with peace.[107]
Jonah's rejection of God's commands is a parody of the obedience of the prophets described in other Old Testament writings.[119] The king of Nineveh's instant repentance parodies the rulers throughout the other writings of the Old Testament who disregard prophetic warnings, such asAhab andZedekiah.[109] The readiness to worship God displayed by the sailors on the ship and the people of Nineveh contrasts ironically with Jonah's own reluctance,[120] as does Jonah's greater love forkikayon providing him shade than for all the people in Nineveh.[120]
The Book of Jonah also employs elements ofliterary absurdism;[27] it exaggerates the size of the city of Nineveh to an implausible degree[1][27] and incorrectly refers to the administrator of the city as a "king".[1][27] According to scholars, no human could realistically survive for three days inside a fish,[1] and the description of the livestock in Nineveh fasting alongside their owners is "silly".[27]Some of these points are countered in the aforementioned lecture of Donald Wiseman.[114]
Though art and culture often depicts Jonah's fish as awhale, the Hebrew text, as throughout scripture,[citation needed] refers to no marine species in particular, simply saying "great fish" or "big fish". While some biblical scholars suggest the size and habits of thegreat white shark correspond better to the representations of Jonah's experiences, normally an adult human is too large to be swallowed whole. The development ofwhaling from the 18th century onwards made it clear that most, if not all, species of whale are incapable of swallowing a human, leading to much controversy about the veracity of the biblical story of Jonah.[124]
In Jonah 2:1 (1:17 in English translations), theHebrew text readsdag gadol[125] (דג גדול) or, in the HebrewMasoretic Text,dāḡ gāḏōl (דָּ֣ג גָּד֔וֹל), which means "great fish".[125][126] TheSeptuagint translates this phrase into Greek askētei megalōi (κήτει μεγάλῳ), meaning "huge fish".[127] InGreek mythology, the same word meaning "fish" (kêtos) is used to describe thesea monster slain by the heroPerseus that nearly devoured the PrincessAndromeda.[128]Jerome later translated this phrase aspiscis grandis in his LatinVulgate.[129] He translatedkoilia kétous, however, asventre ceti inMatthew 12:40:[130] this second case occurs only in this verse of theNew Testament.[131][132]
At some pointcetus became synonymous with "whale" (the study of whales is now calledcetology). In his 1534 translation,William Tyndale translated the phrase in Jonah 2:1 as "greate fyshe" and the wordkétos (Greek) orcetus (Latin) in Matthew 12:40[133] as "whale". Tyndale's translation was later incorporated into theAuthorized Version of 1611. Since then, the "great fish" in Jonah 2 has been most often interpreted as a whale. In English some translations use the word "whale" for Matthew 12:40, while others use "sea creature" or "big fish".[134]
Photograph of awhale shark, the largest known species of fish[135]Photograph of asperm whale, the largest toothed predator and one of the largest extant species of whales
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,naturalists, interpreting the Jonah story as a historical account, became obsessed with trying to identify the exact species of the fish that swallowed Jonah.[136] In the mid-nineteenth century,Edward Bouverie Pusey, professor of Hebrew atOxford University, claimed that the Book of Jonah must have been authored by Jonah himself[137] and argued that the fish story must be historically true, or else it would not have been included in the Bible.[137] Pusey attempted to scientifically catalogue the fish,[138] hoping to "shame those who speak of the miracle of Jonah's preservation in the fish as a thing less credible than any of God's other miraculous doings".[139]
The debate over the fish in the Book of Jonah played a major role duringClarence Darrow'scross-examination of William Jennings Bryan at the Scopes trial in 1925.[140][141][72] Darrow asked Bryan "When you read that ... the whale swallowed Jonah ... how do you literally interpret that?"[140] Bryan replied that he believed in "a God who can make a whale and can make a man and make both of them do what He pleases."[140][72] Bryan ultimately admitted that it was necessary to interpret the Bible,[140] and is generally regarded as having come off looking like a "buffoon".[141]
The largest of all whales –blue whales – arebaleen whales which eatplankton; and "it is commonly said that this species would be choked if it attempted to swallow aherring."[142] The largest of all fishes – thewhale shark — has a large mouth, but its throat is only four inches wide, with a sharp elbow or bend behind the opening, such that not even a human arm would be able to pass through it. Therefore, Jonah could not have been swallowed by a whale shark.[143]
Sperm whales, however, appear to be a different matter: They regularly eatgiant squid, so presumably one could swallow a human.[144] Similar to a cow, sperm whales have four-chambered stomachs.[144] The first chamber has no gastric juices but has muscular walls to crush its food.[145][146] On the other hand, it is not possible to breathe inside the sperm whale's stomach because there is no air (but probably methane instead).[144] A 2023 novel byDaniel Kraus explores the idea of a man surviving being swallowed by a sperm whale, but with an oxygen tank.[147]
InTurkish, "Jonah's fish" (yunus balığı) is the term used fordolphins.[148] A long-established expression among sailors uses the term "a Jonah" to mean a sailor/passenger whose presence on board brings bad luck and endangers the ship.[149] Later, this meaning was extended to "a person who carries ajinx, one who will bring bad luck to any enterprise."[150]
Joseph Campbell suggests that the story of Jonah parallels a scene from theEpic of Gilgamesh, in whichGilgamesh obtains a plant from the bottom of the sea.[157] In the Book of Jonah, aworm (in Hebrewtola'ath, "maggot") bites the shade-giving plant's root causing it to wither;[157] whereas in theEpic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh ties stones to his feet and plucks his plant from the floor of the sea.[157][158] Once he returns to the shore, the rejuvenating plant is eaten by a serpent.[157][159]
Campbell also noted several similarities between the story of Jonah and that ofJason in Greek mythology.[157] The Greek rendering of the name Jonah isJonas (Ἰωνᾶς), which differs fromJason (Ἰάσων) only in the order of sounds—bothos areomegas suggesting that Jason may have been confused with Jonah.[157] Gildas Hamel, drawing on the Book of Jonah andGreco-Roman sources—includingGreek vases and the accounts ofApollonius of Rhodes,Gaius Valerius Flaccus andOrphic Argonautica—identifies a number of shared motifs, including the names of the heroes, the presence of a dove, the idea of "fleeing" like the wind and causing a storm, the attitude of the sailors, the presence of a sea-monster or dragon threatening the hero or swallowing him, and the form and the word used for the "gourd" (kikayon). Hamel takes the view that it was the Hebrew author who reacted to and adapted this mythological material to communicate his own quite different message.[160]
^Tawfeeq, Dana Ford,Mohammed (24 July 2014)."Extremists destroy Jonah's tomb, officials say".CNN. Retrieved3 March 2024.Biblical scholars are divided on whether the tomb in Mosul actually belonged to Jonah. In the Jewish tradition, he returns to his hometown of Gath-Hepher after his mission to Nineveh. And some modern scholars say the Jonah story is more myth than history.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Lovelace, Vanessa (2021). "Jonah". In O'Brien, Julia M. (ed.).The Oxford Handbook of the Minor Prophets. Oxford University Press. pp. 449–460.doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190673208.013.34.A majority of scholars regard the book's composition as considerably later than the events it describes. They point first and foremost to language. Jonah includes words and motifs that are found only in postexilic biblical and nonbiblical Aramaic sources (for further discussion, see Wolff 1986). This includes, for example, seafaring words such as "mariner" (mallah) and "ship" (sefina) (1:5), "sailor" (hovel) (1:6), the phrase "on whose account?" (1:7, 12), and the ascription "God of heaven" (1:9; cf. Gen 24:7) which appear rarely in the Hebrew Bible (Ps 107 and Ezek 27) but are common in postexilic biblical and Imperial Aramaic sources. Hans Walter Wolff suggests that infrequency of certain vocabulary and phrases in Jonah can be accounted for by their limited use in specific contexts (Wolff 1986, 76), but the late biblical verbal constructions that are unique to Jonah support the argument that the book is postexilic.
^ Wolff, Hans Walter. 1986. Obadiah and Jonah: A Commentary. Translated by Margaret Kohl. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.
^"ISIS destroys 'Jonah's tomb' in Mosul".Al Arabiya. 25 July 2014.Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved28 July 2014.The radical Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group has destroyed shrines belonging to two prophets, highly revered by both Christians and Muslims, in the northern city of Mosul, al-Sumaria News reported Thursday. "ISIS militants have destroyed the Prophet Younis (Jonah) shrine east of Mosul city after they seized control of the mosque completely," a security source, who kept his identity anonymous, told the Iraq-based al-Sumaria News.
^ab"Archaeology and the Book of Jonah", delivered in January, 1978, published asDonald Wiseman (1979)."Jonah's Nineveh"(PDF).Tyndale Bulletin.30:29–52. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 12 January 2012.
^Huber, Walt; Huber, Rose (2013).How Did God Do It? A Symphony of Science and Scripture. Victoria, British Columbia: Friesen Press. p. 216.ISBN978-1-460-21127-4.The wordwhale is never used in the book of Jonah. The only biblical reference to "Jonah and the whale" appears in the New Testament in Matthew 12:40 (KJV & RSV). [...]Whale is not used in the other translations: TEV usesbig fish; NLT,great fish; and TNIV,huge fish"
Dunlap, Janine W.; Warren, Hillary (2013)."VeggieTales". In Woods, Robert H. (ed.).Evangelical Christians and Popular Culture: Pop Goes the Gospel. Vol. 1, Film, Radio, and the Internet. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger: An Imprint of ABC Clio.ISBN978-0313386541.
Sanders, E. P. (1993).The Historical Figure of Jesus. London, England, New York City, New York, Ringwood, Australia, Toronto, Ontario, and Auckland, New Zealand: Penguin Books.ISBN0-14-014499-4.
_-_Jonah_and_Jesus.jpg)
.jpg)
