Jonah
“Dove”
Summary
A Hebrew prophet, son of Amittai, who was sent to preach repentance to Nineveh but initially fled from God's command, was swallowed by a great fish, and became a sign of Christ's death and resurrection.
☩Identity and Commission
Jonah, whose name means 'dove,' was the son of Amittai and a native of Gath-hepher in the territory of Zebulun. He prophesied during or before the reign of Jeroboam II (c. 793-753 BC), predicting the restoration of Israel's borders from the entering of Hamath to the sea of the Arabah—a prophecy fulfilled through Jeroboam's successful military campaigns. This makes Jonah among the earliest of the writing prophets and places him in a time of political revival in Israel, even as Assyria, represented by Nineveh, loomed as a future threat. When commanded to go to Nineveh to cry against its wickedness, Jonah knew from God's character that repentance might avert judgment, and his patriotism could not bear the thought of the enemy city being spared.
☩Flight and Divine Pursuit
Instead of going northeast to Nineveh, Jonah fled westward to Joppa and boarded a ship bound for Tarshish, attempting to flee 'from the presence of the Lord.' God sent a violent storm that terrified the pagan sailors, who cast lots to discover whose sin had caused the calamity. The lot fell on Jonah, who confessed he was fleeing from Jehovah, the God who made sea and land. At his own instruction, they cast him into the sea, which immediately grew calm—causing the sailors to fear Jehovah greatly and offer sacrifices to Him. Thus even in his disobedience, Jonah became an instrument of witness to Gentiles.
☩The Great Fish and Deliverance
God prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah, and he remained in its belly three days and three nights. From this living grave, Jonah cried to the Lord, acknowledging that 'salvation is of the Lord.' His prayer echoes the Psalms, recognizing that though cast into the depths, God had brought up his life from the pit. The fish vomited Jonah onto dry land, and the command to go to Nineveh came a second time. This miraculous preservation became, in Christ's own words, 'the sign of the prophet Jonah'—a type of His own burial and resurrection after three days. The pagan fish-god worship of the region may have prepared the Ninevites to receive one delivered from the sea in such a manner.
☩Nineveh's Repentance and Jonah's Anger
Nineveh was 'an exceeding great city,' requiring three days' journey to traverse. Jonah proclaimed: 'Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.' Remarkably, from the king to the least of the people, Nineveh repented in sackcloth and ashes, even clothing their animals, and God relented of the threatened destruction. But Jonah was greatly displeased—not from wounded pride, but from national concern that Israel's oppressor would be spared. God taught him through a gourd that grew overnight and withered, asking whether He should not have pity on a city of 120,000 persons who could not discern right from left, besides much cattle. The book ends with this divine question, leaving readers to ponder God's compassion for all peoples.
Related Verses24 mentions
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Jonah," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Jonah," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.James Hastings (ed.), "Jonah," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).
- 4.George Morrish, "Jonah," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 5.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Jonah," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).