5–17 Moby Dick: Sermon on Jonah Although the film adaptation of Moby Dick (1956) must necessarily be trimmed to a reasonable length, a significant amount of time is given to Father Mapple’s sermon given to the whalers (cf. Literature Jon 1:3a). Father Mapple (played by Orson Welles) exhorts the sailors to bravery: “Delight is to him, who, against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, stands forth his own inexorable self.”

1:1–2:1; 2:10 Use in Lectionary →RML: Monday, Week 27 in Year I.

10c fleeing Targumic Expansion

• →Tg. Jon. "fleeing before he would prophesy in the name of the Lord."

The Targumist consistently inserts references to prophecy.

10c he had told them Art of Telling: Ellipsis of Details The narrator implies that Jonah had told the sailors more information than was conveyed in his earlier answer. →Jenson (2008, 54) suggests that this necessary information was omitted in Jonah's reply to sharpen the focus of his answer on the essential details.

2,3a,10c face Leitwort

• The face of Yhwh is mentioned thrice at Jon 1:2–3a,10c.

God calls Jonah because the wickedness of the Ninevites has ascended before God’s face; Jonah then tries to flee from before the face of God.

10–13 RHETORIC Concentration of kî-Clauses Clauses introduced by the Hebrew particle kî can have various meanings and functions. Such clauses appear nine times throughout Jon 1 and three occur at the conclusion of Jon 1:10, having the effect of an anaphora:

• kî yādᵉ‘û “for they knew”—causal;
• kî…hû’ bōrē^aḥ “that he was fleeing”—introducing an object clause;
• kî higgîd “for he had told them”—causal.

This three-fold repetition of kî-clauses is often explained as a later interpolation from an early marginal note (Textual Criticism Jon 1:10c). Considering the broader context of Jon 1:10–13, the series of kî-clauses expands significantly—from three to seven occurrences. Within this broader context a clear rhetorical structure and purpose can be discerned (cf. →Trible 1994, 142).

• The first three kî-clauses found in Jon 1:10 exhibit a repeated deictic function: they point out the sailors’ new knowledge about Jonah, a summation of Jonah’s behavior (flight), and a terse indication of Jonah’s self-report.
• The subsequent kî-clause (Jon 1:11) emphasizes the activity of the sea (“for [kî] the sea continued to become more stormy”) followed by a pair of deictic kî-clauses in Jon 1:12 that explain Jonah’s knowledge of the situation.
• The series concludes in Jon 1:13 with another example of an emphatic kî-clause, again emphasizing the activity of the sea like a refrain.

The series of kî-clauses in Jon 1:10 and its accompanying shift to narratival explanation may therefore be explained in two ways.

• First, the shift to narratival explanation permits rhetorical emphasis on the storms activity.
• Second, as →Simon (1999) suggests, the shift to narrative explanation can convey “the sailors’ consciousness” of the situation’s gravity (“For the men knew,” Jon 1:10) prior to Jonah’s (“For I myself know,” Jon 1:12). So, while the narrative highlights the storm’s actions, Jonah’s interior state recedes into the background.

1:10–2:7 Use in Lectionary

• →CPL: Friday in Pasha Week, 12^th Hour, 2^nd Reading. 

7–12 Calvin's Summarizing Prayer: Jonah as Negative Moral Example

• →Calvin Prael. proph. min. "Grant, Almighty God, that as thou urgest us daily to repentance…grant that we might not grow stupid in our vices, nor deceive ourselves with empty flatteries, but that each of us may, on the contrary, carefully examine his own life, and then with one mouth and heart confess that we are all guilty, not only of light offenses but of such as deserve eternal death, and that no other relief remains for us but thine infinite mercy, and that we may so seek to become partakers of that grace which has been once offered to us by thy Son, and is daily offered to us by his Gospel."

1:2–3:8 Leitwort "Call Out": Jonah as a Story about "Calling" The verb qr’, “to call, to cry out,” occurs eight times within the story.

Main Theme?

"Calling," with all its polysemous qualities (speaking in the name of God—proclamation—and speaking to God—prayer), is a significant theme of the story.

Structural Repetition

Its occurrences reveal the basic structure of the narrative.

• The first divine mandate (Jon 1:2) is that Jonah “calls out against Nineveh.” Since he himself is disobedient to this divine call, the order is echoed by the sailors (Jon 1:6): “Get up! Call out!” When Jonah still does not follow this order of calling, it is the sailors who “called out” to YHWH (Jon 1:14).
• It is only in the innards of the fish that Jonah follows their example and calls out to YHWH (Jon 2:2 [V-2:3]).
• After that turning point, God repeats his first order (Jon 3:2), and Jonah accomplishes his mission (Jon 3:4). As a result, the people of Nineveh “called for a fast” (Jon 3:5) and their own king orders them to “call out” to YHWH (Jon 3:8).

3–16 Ships and Seafaring in the ANE  Water travel was practiced in the ANE at least as early as 10,000 B.C. Given the likely deterioration and decomposition of ships over millennia, little survives that could be excavated, and the best information comes from artistic renderings.  

Attestations

• The best preserved example of an ancient boat is that of Cheops/Khufu, which was excavated near the Giza pyramids. See →Wachsmann 1998, 219.

History

• The earliest boats were towed or punted; the earliest evidence for sails dates to around 3500 B.C.
• By 2500 B.C., there is ample evidence of long distance seafaring, which likely gave rise to developments in mathematics and astronomy.
• Egyptian maritime interests were concerned with imports, whereas the Phoenicians developed colonies throughout the Mediterranean basin.
• Solomon is said to have partnered with Hyram of Tyre to build a fleet to sail out of Ezion-Geber (near present-day Aqaba) on the Red Sea (1Kgs 9:26–28; 10:11,22; 2Chr 8:18; 9:21).
• By the Persian period, sea-going vessels tended to be shallow, being 10–18 m long, having a width of 1/3 the length, and employing rounded hulls and single sails. They were able to transport up to 250 tons. As we see in Jonah, these ships were often fully or partially decked—since Jonah is able to go below deck—and tended to follow the coastline, suggested by the fact that the sailors hoped to be able to row back to shore.

A Boat from Jonah's Era

• The Ma‘agan Michael Ship, discovered off the coast of Ma‘agan Michael, Israel, in 1985, is a unique example of a Levantine ship built in the same era that Jonah was composed. In fact, it is the oldest extant ship from the era of Persian dominance in the ANE. At 12.5 m long and 4 m wide it bore a single sail and was likely maintained by a crew of 4–6 sailors as it plied the open waters of the Mediterranean. At the time of its demise, it was carrying a cargo of Greek blueschist stone, used primarily for roofing. Today the boat is on display at Haifa University’s Hecht Museum.
• At the same museum, one can consult a model of an 8^th c. Phoenician merchant ship after an Assyrian relief from the palace of Sargon at Khorsabad.

Here, Prof. E. Nantet explains maritime archaeology to the contributors to this edition of Jonah (July 7^th, 2019). Part of the retrieved blue stones of the cargo is displayed on the ground.

1:4–2:10 TYPOLOGY Jonah and Noah The two best known nautically themed stories of the OT exhibit structural and thematic similarities.

Plot

• God sees the wickedness (rā‘â) of human beings: the evil’s scope is more universal in Genesis (Gn 6:5; Jon 1:2).

• Forty days: the duration of the storm (Gn 7:17) and the grace period until God’s judgment (Jon 3:4).

• Sacrifice: Noah, the sailors (Jon 1:16), and Jonah (Jon 2:9) offer sacrifices in response to God’s salvation from the waters (Gn 8:20–21).

Characters and Actors

• Animals: God’s concern for animals is ambiguous in Genesis, for, on the one hand, he saves the animals from the flood, but, on the other hand, he then gives them to Noah and his descendants to eat (Gn 7:2–3). His solicitude for animals in Jonah seems clearer (Jon 4:11). Incidentally, the presence of animals in these two stories may account for why they are the two most popular stories for biblical children’s literature (cf. →Introduction §3.13).

• Large populations: Noah’s story emphasizes the multitude of people on the earth (Gn 6:1), while Jonah’s notes the immensity of Nineveh’s population (Jon 1:2; 4:11).

• Dove: Noah releases a dove to check whether the floodwaters have receded (Gn 8:8), and Jonah’s name means “dove” (Jon 1:1).

Motifs

• Power over creation: divinely ordained storms prevail over the face of the earth (mountains, etc.; cf. Gn 7:19) and threaten Jonah’s ship (Jon 1:4).

• Salvation from water: God rescues our two protagonists from the waters of chaos by commanding Noah to build an ark (Gn 6:14) and the sea-monster to swallow Jonah (Jon 1:17).

• Sin and Forgiveness: depending on how one interprets Gn 6:3, God either gives humanity 120 years to repent—during which time, it is said, Noah exhorts repentance—or he simply chooses Noah and his family alone to be saved. At any rate, no one else has repented and joined Noah by the time the storms begin. Apart from the ark, all of humanity and animal life is destroyed in the flood (Gn 7:21–23). In the Book of Jonah, on the other hand, God’s call to conversion is wildly successful (Jon 3:10). Why God acts differently is unambiguous if one accepts the traditional interpretation that Noah spent 120 years calling for repentance. The Ninevites repented and found mercy, whereas the men of Noah’s time failed to repent. If, however, God does not call for repentance through Noah, we can wonder why the same offer of mercy is not made in the story of Noah.

7–16 The Sailors Learn to Fear God The contrast between Jonah and the sailors is developed in these verses around the themes of fear and knowledge. In response to their perilous situation, the sailors seek knowledge through the casting of lots (Ancient Cultures Jon 1:7b).

• Jonah is not terrified of the storm, the sea, or even death.
• The sailors, who do not fear God in this way, are terrified of everything around them, for they do not know the outcome. They could be cursed for murder, they could be saved, or they could die. By the end of the pericope, the sailors learn the fear of God from Jonah and from the sea.

Because Jonah has said so little, his motivations remain unclear. Is his demand to be hurled into the sea suicide? Is he giving his life for the sailors? Is he certain that he will be saved from the sea?

Sailors

In a state of fear, the sailors seek knowledge—first from lots and then from Jonah. The information they receive further terrifies them. Instead of following his instructions, the sailors try to return to shore since they are afraid of incurring guilt for murder (Jon 1:14). Their fear of nature eventually gives way to fear of God, which they demonstrate through actions typical of sailors in the ancient world: making sacrifices and taking vows (Historical and Geographical Notes Jon 1:3–16).

Jonah

Jonah knows a great deal more than the sailors: who he is, who God is, the cause of the storm, and how to end it. The author continues to draw on biblical language: Jonah identifies himself as a Hebrew and a fearer of God, associating himself with such exemplars of obedience as Abraham (Gn 22:12), the Hebrew midwives (Ex 1:17 ), and the wisdom authors (Prv 1:7; 9:10; Sir 1:14; Vocabulary Jon 1:9b; Ancient Cultures Jon 1:9b). In response to the sailors’ questions, Jonah expresses what he knows, and what any reader of Scripture knows: that God (Yhwh) is the creator of the earth and sea. His surprising directive to the sailors—to hurl him into the sea—indicates his prophetic knowledge (like other prophets, Jonah just knows what to do: Biblical Intertextuality Jon 1:1f; Biblical Intertextuality Jon 1:9b,13a; 2:10). Though he possesses knowledge about God, Jonah does not appear to understand what it means; his actions contradict his claim that he is a fearer of God.

The Sea

The inanimate sea, formerly operating in the background as a creature acted upon by God, now takes center stage in the narrative. In response to the sailors’ attempts to return to the shore, it rages more and more fiercely. Finally, the sea calms when the sailors hurl Jonah into the sea. Thus, the sea participates in teaching the sailors to fear God (Ancient Cultures Jon 2:1–9; Biblical Intertextuality Jon 2:3a,5a).

10c For the men Hypothesis in Redaction History: Interpolations? 

Yes

A three-fold series of subordinate clauses introduced by kî concludes the verse: “For the men…that from…for he.” These are often thought to be later interpolations that at one time served as a marginal note and later came to be inserted into the text (cf. discussion in →Wolff 1986; →Simon 1999). Support for such a claim is as follows:

• Jon 1:8, another significant textual variant, is likely an interpolation;
• some chronological incongruity (the exclamation of the men’s concern precedes their knowledge of its cause);

• stylistic awkwardness in the shift from the direct speech of the sailors to the narrative explanation of the kî-clauses (“For the men…that from…for he had told them”): the sailors’ questions would seem to demand a response from Jonah in direct speech rather than the narrator’s intrusion.

No

• The abrupt shift from direct speech to narrative can be defended as an intentional rhetorical technique (see Literary Devices Jon 1:10c). Likewise early rabbinic commentary often incorporates multiple successive (and even nested) subordinate clauses for explanatory means.
• Although the narrative describes the fear of the men (Jon 1:10a) and their response “What is this you have done?” (Jon 1:10b) prior to expositing their knowledge, “For the men knew” (Jon 1:10c), similar flashbacks are found elsewhere in late biblical narrative (e.g., Est 3:3-5; Neh 8:8-9).
• The absence of textual variants for Jon 1:10 renders the claim of interpolation circumstantial.

Contrary to Jon 1:8, if Jon 1:10 is an interpolation it must have occurred at the earliest stage of the text’s transmission, for the text does not appear to have been deemed sufficiently awkward to merit emendation throughout its history of transmission, as is evident from the absence of variants in ancient manuscripts. Depending on how late one dates Jonah, the series may be considered original. Interpolation is therefore unlikely.

7–15 Jonah Cast into the Sea in Early Christian Art

Catacombs

Decorative Motif

Typological Overtone

See further →Jonah: Visual Arts

1:1–4:11 Significance of the Names for God? Throughout Jonah readers find several names for God: YHWH (22x); ’Ēl/’Ĕlôhîm (13x); and YHWH ’Ĕlôhîm (4x).

• →Magonet (1983) suggests that the generic name is used in the context of punishment, whereas the Tetragrammaton is used in the context of mercy and forgiveness.
• →Sasson (1990, 17–18) charts their usage and concludes that the only sensible solution is to admit to no discernable pattern.

1–17 CALENDAR Feast of Jonah in the Eastern Orthodox Liturgy

Calendar

• The Greek Orthodox Church celebrates the Prophet Jonah's feast day on September 21^st (Synaxarion→ Greek Orthodox Calendar→).
• The Orthodox Churches in the Slavic tradition celebrate it on September 22^nd (Orthodox Church in America→).

Texts

Jonah is mentioned in the following places of the liturgy for the day:

• →Hôrologion to mega: Troparion antiphon for Jonah, "The memory of your Prophet Jonah, we celebrate today, O Lord. By his prayers we entreat you: O Christ God, save our souls!"—sung after the Our Father at Vespers or after the minor entrance at the Divine Liturgy.
• →Hôrologion to mega: Kontakion hymn for Jonah: "In the glorious entrails three days and nights, you show forth Christ's descent into Hades; for when He had freely suffered His saving Passion, He arose out of the sepulchre on the third day. Therefore, we honour you, O Prophet Jonah, as a type of Christ"—sung during Matins and after the Troparia of the Divine Liturgy.
• For the usage and placement of these texts, see the →Typikon.

1:1–4:11 Veracity of Jonah as a Miraculous Account

• →Luther Tischr. 3705 “The majesty of the prophet Jonah is surpassing. He has but four chapters, and yet he moved therewith the whole kingdom, so that in his weakness, he was justly a figure and a sign of the Lord Christ. Indeed, it is surprising that Christ should recur to this but in four words. Moses likewise, in few words describes the creation, the history of Abraham, and other great mysteries; but he spends much time in describing the tent, the external sacrifices, the kidneys and so on; the reason is, he saw that the world greatly esteemed outward things, which they beheld with their carnal eyes, but that which was spiritual, they soon forgot. The history of the prophet Jonah is almost incredible, sounding more strange than any poet's fable; if it were not in the Bible, I should take it for a lie; for consider, how for the space of three days he was in the great belly of the whale, whereas in three hours he might have been digested and changed into the nature, flesh and blood of that monster; may not this be said, to live in the midst of death? In comparison of this miracle, the wonderful passage through the Red Sea was nothing. But what appears more strange is, that after he was delivered, he began to be angry, and to expostulate with the gracious God, touching a small matter not worth a straw. It is a great mystery. I am ashamed of my exposition upon this prophet, in that I so weakly touch the main point of this wonderful miracle.”

1–11 Latin Poetic Retelling An ancient Latin poetic retelling of Jon 1 begins with a reference to the destroyed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah:

• →Ps.-Tertullian Jona 1-9 “After the living, aye-enduring death / Of Sodom and Gomorrah; after fires / Penal, attested by time-frosted plains / Of ashes; after fruitless apple-growths, / Born but to feed the eye; after the death / Of sea and brine, both in like fate involved; / While whatsoe’er is human still retains / In change corporeal its penal badge: / A city-Nineveh-by stepping o’er" (Post Sodomum et Gomorum viventia funera in aevum / Et cinerum senio signata incendia poenae / Et frustra solis oculis nascentia poma / Et pariter facti mortem maris et salis illic / Si quid homo est poenam mutati corpore servans / Paene alios ignes superi decusserat imbris / Urbs aequi iustique viam transgressa Ninive;  Comparison of Versions Jon 1:2;  Biblical Intertextuality Jon 1:2).