×

 "Is it Good for You to Be Angry?" Introduction to the Book of Jonah 

A Note of Gratitude

This edition of the book of Jonah was made possible thanks to generous grants of The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine through the Catholic Biblical Association in 2019, and The Donald D. Lynch Family Foundation.

BEST AISBL, the main contributors to this volume and its readers express their heartfelt thanks to them.

  • Under the direction of O.-Th. Venard o.p. and Łukasz Popko o.p.
  • Main Contributors (Besides the Former) : Isaac Alderman, Eric Trinka, Jordan Schmidt o.p., Rev. Erik Wagner
  • Other Contributors : Angela Parchen Rasmussen (Literature); Hannah Stork (Syriac); Jean-David Richaud (Islam).
  • With assistance, for chapter 2, from Sr. Agnès de la Croix (Beat.), Augustinus Aerssens o.p., Jakub Bluj o.p., Christopher Brannan o.p., Olivier Catel o.p., Bruno Clifton o.p., Anthony Giambrone o.p., Dominic Okoye o.p., Gianpaolo Pagano o.p., Jose Rafael Reyes Gonzalez o.p., Osvaldo Robles Segovia o.p., Kevin Stephens o.p., Jorge Vargas Corvacho o.p.
  • Chief Developer: Kevin Stephens o.p.

Suggestions for Reading

The annotations provided in this text are intended to introduce the reader to the breadth of the historical, artistic, linguistic, and theological reflections on the Book of Jonah. They can lead the reader through many different approaches to the story. An account as entertaining and deeply engaging as the Book of Jonah cannot be reduced to a single reading, but neither can one elaborate on all possibilities; choices must be made and many insightful and helpful readings must be excluded. The *Suggestions for Reading are just one path through the story.

The *Suggestions for Reading view the Book of Jonah as a theological discussion focused on God’s mercy. The text is a sophisticated thought-experiment rendered as historical fiction. Presented here is a scenario of extremes: a prophet, who resists God to the utmost, is sent to Nineveh, comparable to Sodom in iniquity. In turn, this sets the stage for a lesson on the magnitude of God’s mercy. The story engages Israel’s theological and textual tradition, drawing on deeply held beliefs and fundamental myths. Making statements about creation, cosmology, wisdom, and using entertaining narrative and rhetorical forms, the author promotes an expansive view of God’s mercy, using both the city and the prophet to engage the reader in this theological discussion. At the same time, the author is critical of another fundamental biblical tradition which holds a narrower view of God’s mercy, perhaps best epitomized by the character and text of Ezra.

While the author presents the reader with this theological back-and-forth, we are also led to question the role of knowledge and fear; specifically, who has knowledge and what does one fear? Although Jonah is often presented as a woeful figure, he always seems to have confidence amidst storms. He knows who God is: “I know that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, and abounding in love, and relenting from evil” (Jon 4:2). While Jonah knows these things, others in the story come to learn them. Even as the people around Jonah are fearful, he is fearless, even though (or, because) he professes to be a fearer of God.

As one reads through the story, even with its fantastical and exaggerated elements, this is not a comedy or a satire on the prophetic tradition. It engages and utilizes the prophetic tradition to make a theological point, without which the prophetic tradition is incomprehensible: God wants to relent from punishing.

Jonah’s representation in art, drama, music, and pedagogy testifies to its literary value. The massive amount of theological reflection on this short book by both Jews and Christians testifies to its rich theological content. The notes invite the reader to engage with Jewish reflections on penance, cosmologies of creation, and scripture, as well as joining Christians in their vast array of Christological typologies and theology of God’s redemption of all creation.

Plausible Literary Structures

Both the structure and the writing of Jonah are straightforward, perhaps in contrast to its less than straightforward plot twists and theology. The story’s narration (not including the poetic prayer of ch. 2) follows an unambiguous linear sequence, illustrating a journey upon which the reader must embark. The Hebrew is also straightforward with few ambiguities; waw-consecutives abound to delineate the way. Although the narrative moves ahead rapidly at times, only pausing now and then for conversation, the reader is often drawn by repetitions and allusions to reflect on events and moments that have already happened.

Traditional Divisions

The ancient manuscript tradition employs three paragraph demarcations to separate the narrative into three parts; these divisions suggest an approach to interpreting the book as a whole (cf. *tex2:9–10;4:3–4). Our additional subdivisions below are proposed for reader’s convenience.

Jon 1:1–2:9 (M-1:1–2:10): Jonah’s Insubordination, Descent, and Restoration
  • Jon 1:1–3: God Commissions and His Prophet Flees: God Surprises the Prophet; Jonah Surprises the Reader
  • Jon 1:4–6: The Storm Rages: Jonah and the Sailors React to the Storm
  • Jon 1:7–16: Attempt to Save the Ship: The Sailors Learn to Fear God
  • Jon 1:17: A Fish Swallows a Prophet…and His Entire Story?
  • Jon 2:1–9 (M-2:1–10): Jonah Prays from the Belly of the Fish
  • Jon 2:10 (M-2:11): Jonah Vomited Out on the Ground: His Restoration Provokes Theological Reflection
Jon 3:1–4:3: Jonah’s Lateral Movement, Preaching, and Impact
  • Jon 3:1–3a: God Commissions His Prophet Again
  • Jon 3:3b–5: Jonah Preaches and Ninevites Believe: Minimal Effort Generates an Immediate Response
  • Jon 3:6–10: Nineveh’s King Orders Repentance: Creation Repents and God Relents
  • Jon 4:1–4: God’s Mercy and His Prophet’s Disappointment: Competing Views of Mercy
Jon 4:5–11: God Teaches Jonah the Tale’s Lesson

Each of the three movements starts with a divine utterance or order and ends with a clearly identified poetic utterance of Jonah’s, except for the last one: instead, the reader is left with an unanswered question posed by none other than God himself!

Alternative Propositions
Two Units

→Trible 1994 divides the book into two major sections (ch. 1–2 and ch. 3–4) that parallel one another:

  • The opening (Jon 1:1–3) is echoed in the repetition of God’s call (Jon 2:1–3).
  • Jon 1 and Jon 3 are about Jonah and Gentiles, while Jon 2 and Jon 4 are about Jonah and God.
  • Likewise, based on an analysis of vocabulary and style, one can divide Jonah into two units: Jon 1 and 3, and Jon 2 and 4.
  • Other parallelisms: the sailors of Jon 1 can be likened to the Ninevites of Jon 3; the captain of the ship of Jon 1 can be likened to the king of Nineveh of Jon 3.
Four Units
  • Each chapter includes unique prayers, protective acts of God, stunning/miraculous events, etc.

See further →Sasson 1990; →Limburg 1993; →Jenson 2008.

A Shaped Narrative

Whatever one’s opinion regarding the historicity of the person of Jonah or of this particular story, its form has been shaped by a skilled author.

The annotations provided in this text are intended to introduce the reader to the breadth of the historical, artistic, linguistic, and theological reflections on the Book of Jonah. They can lead the reader through many different approaches to the story. An account as entertaining and deeply engaging as the Book of Jonah cannot be reduced to a single reading, but neither can one elaborate on all possibilities; choices must be made and many insightful and helpful readings must be excluded. The *Suggestions for Reading are just one path through the story.

1. Text

These annotations describe the text as a linguistic and literary object. Following a stepwise logic that proceeds from small linguistic units to large ensembles present in the text, they begin with the material reality of the writing itself (*Textual Criticism) and continue to the point of determining the *Literary Genre of the book as a whole.

Translation

Main Principles

In general two large families of translations can be distinguished: those that strive for fidelity and those that strive for clarity. The former strive to be transparent to the language of the original text, while the latter strive above all to produce the most limpid and immediately comprehensible translation possible. The Septuagint, for example, belongs to the first: it so adheres to the Hebrew that it is often obscure. The translations in collections such as Budé or Sources chrétiennes belong to the second group, prioritizing clarity and readability in their translations. While adhering to the original text, The Bible in Its Traditions tries to find a balance between these two aims of fidelity and clarity: translation cannot be done mechanically, but rather, it is an art that requires finesse. A general tendency among the vast majority of Bible translations is to ‘explain,’ ‘interpret’ or ‘smooth over’ the difficulties inherent in the translated text. Distinctively, The Bible in Its Traditions transmits the difficulties as they are found in the original texts themselves. Our underlying principle in translating is ‘neither more obscure, nor clearer than the original.’

Versification

In presenting the biblical text, The Bible in its Traditions forgoes standard punctuation and layout, preferring instead to follow the advice of Jerome and the example of certain late antique manuscripts. To facilitate comprehension, Jerome recommends that the biblical text be laid out per cola et commata, that is, not as a continuous column of text, but broken up according to logical rhetorical units. Examples of this practice can be seen in a number of late antique and medieval manuscripts, as well as the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft’s edition of the Vulgate. Dispositio per cola et commata richly enhances the meaning of the text. For example, it makes it possible to reduce punctuation to a strict minimum—if not to do away with it altogether—and to reproduce, in the target language, certain intentionally polysemic constructions present in the original language. It also produces rhythmic effects of acceleration or deceleration in narrative and in discourse. Thus, as far as possible, an effort will be made to divide the text according to the Vulgate in its present reference edition.

1.1 – Textual Criticism: Largely Unified Textual Tradition

This rubric comments on the diversity of extant texts for a given biblical passage. Our translation already includes the variants found in the most influential ancient translations, indicating the primary traditions of interpretation over the course of the text’s reception and transmission. In turn, the notes here in *Textual Criticism present secondary variants.

Edition Consulted

As with most of the Hebrew scriptures, the Masoretic Text of Jonah exhibits a unified and carefully transmitted textual tradition.

For this volume, we have used the following edition of the Masoretic Text:

  • Elliger Karl and Rudolph Wilhelm (eds.), Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 5th ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1997.

For the sake of brevity, we shall refer to the above edition as “M.” Likewise “G” corresponds to the LXX and “S,” to the Peshitta (for editions thereof, see below §3.1).

Qumran

Fragments from Qumran allow us to trace divergent readings with respect to orthography (e.g. Textual Criticism Jon 1:7e; Textual Criticism Jon 2:5a) and grammar (Textual Criticism Jon 1:8a), with a small number of potential stylistic variants, such as Textual Criticism Jon 2:6c. The Qumrani witness to Jonah is contained in the following edition:

  • Fuller Russel (ed., trans.), “The Twelve,” in Ulrich Eugene, Cross Frank Moore, et al. (eds., trans.), Qumran Cave 4. X: The Prophets (DJD XV), Oxford: Clarendon, 1997, 221–318.

On the other hand, other ancient witnesses to the Hebrew text, like Mur88 are invaluable for grasping the most ancient divisions of the text (Textual Criticism Jon 2:9f; 4:3f). We have employed the following edition thereof:

  • Benoit P, Milik O.J. T., de Vaux R. (eds., trans.), Discoveries in the Judaean Desert II: Les Grottes de Murabba'â (DJD II), Oxford: Clarendon, 1961, 190–191.

Emendations

Our commentary mentions most of the emendations commonly proposed by modern commentators (*tex3:4), yet in every case, they are neither compelling nor necessary.

Versions

The divergent readings in G do not suggest a significantly different Hebrew original (Vorlage). With the possible exception of some variants (eg., “Hebrew” [M] vs. “servant” [G] at Jon 1:9; “forty” [M] vs. “three” [G] at Jon 3:4), these variations can be explained as interpretations proposed by ancient translators. 

1.2 – Vocabulary

Here, semantic comments bearing on the most important words and phrases are concisely presented. If necessary, the text’s lexical (literary, theological, technical, etc.) field is characterized, a date for the vocabulary is suggested, and the Hebrew verbal roots or Greek radicals are analyzed. The meanings of proper names or of idiomatic expressions are given, and if need be, other biblical usages of the same term are cited. The hapax legomena (terms that appear only once in the given corpus) are indicated.

Certain aspects of the vocabulary of Jonah are worth noting. Some help to identify its date, while others can contribute to a better understanding of the style and biblical genre of Jonah.

Maritime Terminology

The Book of Jonah is full of nautical and maritime vocabulary. Some are general words repurposed for the telling of this story, while others appear to be technical terms that are rarely, if ever, found elsewhere in M. Examples include:

Cosmological Vocabulary of Jonah’s Prayer

In Jonah’s prayer of Jon 2:2–9, the sea becomes a figure for Sheol (Jon 2:2). Even nāhār (“river”) may have some mythological connotations (Vocabulary Jon 2:3a). Mention of tᵉhôm (“the primordial deep”; Vocabulary Jon 2:5a), qiṣbé hārîm (“the roots of the mountains”), and bᵉrîaḥ (“the bars of the Earth”; Vocabulary Jon 2:6ab) place this poem in the world of ancient cosmology.

Rare Words

Some hapax legomena occur at crucial moments in the story. They grab the reader’s attention and demonstrate the author’s creativity and stylistic sensibilities.

There are also some words that are known from other biblical texts as key words. They place the Book of Jonah within the same literary canon and are also important for exegesis.

Late Biblical Hebrew

The use of Hebrew vocabulary derived from or influenced by Imperial Aramaic suggests that Jonah employs Late Biblical Hebrew (LBH) and Biblical Aramaic. Although the limited corpus of classical Hebrew prevents from knowing with certainty whether these words and phrases predate the Persian period, it is likely that the Hebrew of Jonah was influenced by Imperial Aramaic. Hence it was likely composed in the post-exilic period (see § 2.1 below). For example, the following words or expressions from Jonah are typically considered specimens of LBH:

For more examples of LBH in Jonah see →Sasson 1990, 22.

1.3 – Grammar

From phonetics to morphology and syntax, this rubric describes the most salient grammatical traits in the text, highlighting other possible translations or untranslatable nuances suggested by the grammar of the text in its original language.

1.4 – Literary Devices

In this rubric the stylistic, rhetorical, poetic or narrative devices that make up the richness of the edited text are identified by name. When necessary, their importance is explained. The text is analyzed according to the literary approaches most adapted to the genre: ancient and modern rhetoric, prosody and narrative, as well as stylistics and the study of enunciation.

The story combines hyperbole, exaggeration, and surprise to present the reader with over-the-top events and characters. Sailors prefer to save the life of a stranger over their valuable cargo and their own lives. The storm, the city and, of course, the fish, are all oversized. Events can occur at a rapid pace and directions can be changed on a dime. Even if the story is not to be characterized as a comedy or farce, there are outlandish moments (see §1.5, Comedy or Tragedy? below).

Repetition is an important device in the author’s toolbox. According to Trible, “repetition provides the backbone for discerning structures and meanings.” Sometimes translations hide or forge repetition. If your translation must deviate from faithfully conveying repetition, inform the reader (→Trible 1994, 102–103).

1.5 – Literary Genre

It is impossible to interpret a text properly without determining its genre. This rubric attempts to identify the literary genre or subgenre of the text (or of a portion of the text when the genre of text as a whole cannot be directly determined). Fixing the genre helps to apprehend both the milieu in which the text might have been written and, in turn, its impact on the text’s meaning when interpreted in its original historical context.

The author chose a relatively obscure prophetic figure from the past to be the main character of his story (Literary Devices Jon 1:1). Some elements suggest that we are dealing with yet another prophetic book. We find the common prophetic formula (Jon 1:1; 3:1) declaring that the word of the Lord, dᵉbar-Yhwh, “happened to” Jonah, a phrase that is ubiquitous in the former and latter prophets (Literary Genre Jon 1:1). Similarly the divine order to “call out” (qārā’) is commonly addressed to the prophets and explains the origin of their mission (Biblical Intertextuality Jon 1:2; 3:2b). Nevertheless, not only do we not hear anything of his prophecies, but in a surprising twist, the supposed prophet proves to be more problematic than his addressees.

Comedy or Tragedy?

In turn, elements of Jonah have long struck readers as unique and even strange when viewed alongside other narratives in the Hebrew Bible.

Attention to elements of the text that strike readers as comedic or farcical has led to a lively scholarly discussion on the intentions underlying their use, including two interrelated sets of questions about the genre of the book and literary devices employed within.

  • Some interpreters have argued that the text is a tragedy with moments of comic relief sprinkled judiciously throughout (→Sasson 1990).
  • Others have interpreted the entire book as comedy, parody or farce. Still other readers reject both stances, arguing that comedy contradicts the narrative direction of the text. Moreover, Jonah’s gravity is evidenced by its venerable association with Yom Kippur (→Miles 1975).
  • Those in favor of interpreting the book as wholly or partially comedic retort that Jonah’s association with Yom Kippur actually supports their side. On the one hand, comedy has always been an apt response to tragedy, and on the other hand, God’s forgiveness transforms tragedy into comedy, as Yom Kippur gives way to the joyous (and messianic) season of Sukkot (→Whedbee 1998, 192–193). Likewise, through her work on “tragic laughter,” →Claassens 2015 has shown that laughter can be a transformative form of engagement with trauma. In the context of Jonah, comedic elements may be means of coping with the claim that God can be merciful to Ninevites despite the atrocities committed by the Assyrians.
Caution

One must take caution when identifying humor in an ancient text: just because some element of a text is funny to a modern reader does not mean that it was humorous in the text’s original cultural context. One must read with a sensitivity to the cultural differences between our epoch and that of the ancients.Sasson warns of a tendency among interpreters to find humor which the text itself does not substantiate (→Sasson 1990, 331). At the same time, the whole book need not be humorous for it to be classified as comedy. Likewise, seriousness, darkness, and tragedy are not necessarily antonyms of humor, but can also be catalysts and vehicles for it. Adequate readings of the text will account for these humorous elements. Exceptional readings will evaluate them through comparative study of the text in its various contexts of authorship and reception.

Comparative Approach

One strategy that can assist readers in discerning humor or farce in the text of Jonah is to evaluate its structure as a prophetic text in light of similar biblical forms.

The text’s structure follows generic conventions for prophetic texts in the Hebrew Bible; however, the narrative energy of the book turns on satirical and subversive appropriations of those norms. This is nowhere more apparent in the book than in the motif of the prophetic call. Any reader familiar with the conventions of prophetic literature will quickly recognize the unsettling nature of Jonah’s negative response to the Lord’s call which sets the tone for the rest of the text (Jon 1:1–3). →Whedbee 2009 has explored the tension between disobedience (Jon 1:1–2:10) and obedience (Jon 3:1–4:11) cultivated through the text’s two-part structure. He pushes this paradoxical relationship further through readings that illuminate uses of space throughout the book, noting that Jonah’s obedience and disobedience become recognizable to the reader primarily through the matrix of space and place. Although Yhwh’s person and presence know no boundaries in the text, consonance or dissonance between divine will and Jonah’s will are intelligible through widening and closing gaps of physical space. Hence the book plays on the comedy of Jonah’s absurd attempts and consistent inability to escape the domain of the Lord. The comedy presses on further in the Lord’s provision of a fish to save Jonah. Even the one who wishes to escape prophetic call through death will not be granted his desire. The tragedies of Jonah’s disobedience and self-loathing become laughable affairs in light of a God who will not permit flight, but instead provides deliverance from Jonah’s tragedies of self and service and delivery (even if absurdly so by means of a vomiting fish) to the site of his original call.

2 – Context

Ever since the 19th c. the phenomena of the past have been analyzed according to the categories of time, space and culture. Such an approach makes it possible to reconstitute—at least approximately—the original resonances of past human discourse that have been preserved in writing of various forms. The biblical text is no exception. The notes herein quote or summarize ancient sources in the usual editions and translations, the bibliographical references of which appear as an annex to the volume.

2.1 – History and Geography: Dating Jonah

The text and its contents are situated in their historical frame. It is necessary to assess the text’s importance during the period in which it was written and, at the same time, to understand the period in which its narrative is supposed to have taken place. These guidelines are more complex if the text has undergone several compilations and rewritings before reaching its canonical status.

Determining the date of Jonah is challenging due to limited and difficult data.

Historical Clues?

Traditionally dated to the Neo-Assyrian period, significant evidence has pointed most scholars to a date in the later Persian period. Evidence for dating the book of Jonah falls within three basic categories: narratival/rhetorical, source-critical, and linguistic (cf. →Jenson 2008, 29–30). Treating these categories in this order takes us from the traditional one to the date accepted by most scholars.

  • The narrative of Jonah famously presents Jonah’s mission to Nineveh, the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, which suggests a date of dating the narrative to the 8th c. BC. Of course, the date of a text’s narrative is not necessarily identical with that of its composition. At minimum, the reference to Nineveh provides a terminus post quem [date after which] the Book of Jonah must be dated.

Rhetorical Clues: Intended Audience

Inasmuch as many scholars consider Jonah a fictional tale of some sort (e.g. parable, satire, parody), it need not have been composed in the 8th c. BC. Rhetorically speaking, Jonah exhibits a rigorous structure that ultimately directs Jonah “to make a right decision about past events,” namely, to bear his election as willed by God without resentment (→Trible 1994, 224). Recognizing that the target audience consisted of ancient Hebrews, the rhetoric of Jonah, therefore, invites readers to consider Jonah as a means of collectively processing past misfortune and trauma (e.g. the kind that would follow from foreign military occupation, conquest, deportation). Thus Jonah may signify the Hebrew people in exile—the exile is willed by God so that Israel might bear witness to the nations.

  • This clue leads us to place Jonah’s composition after one of ancient Israel/Judah’s collective traumas; this does not rule out Assyria’s occupation of Israel in the late 8th c. BC.
  • Alternatively, it may suggest a date following the 6th c. BC Babylonian occupation and exile.

Admitting the complexity of adjudicating a date for this (or any) text based on aesthetic and/or ideological data, one turns to its source-critical data.

Source Critical Data

Among sources that reference Jonah, few biblical books provide evidence.

  • Mention of a prophet Jonah, son of Amittai, appears in 2Kgs 14:25, during the reign of Jeroboam II. If this Jonah is responsible for the composition of the eponymous book, then the terminus post quem is again the 8th c. BC. 
  • Elsewhere, the Book of Sirach implicitly refers to the Book of Jonah (Sir 49:12 [G-49:10]), recommending a terminus ante quem [date before which] Jonah must have been composed) around the early 2nd c. BC. 
  • G-Tb 14:4 mentions Jonah’s prophecy against Media. This is lacking, however, in the Aramaic text and V, which follows the Aramaic.

Between these dates the text of Jonah may have interacted with pre-exilic (Nahum), exilic (Jer 1:8,11; 26:3,15), or post-exilic sources (Jl 1:13; 2:13–14). Interaction with literature, however, is not the same as determining dependence. At best, if Jonah interacted with the biblical sources of these periods, the possibility of moving the terminus post quem later remains open. Stronger evidence is needed: one must also consult linguistic data.

History of Hebrew Language

Linguistic evidence (cf. supra §1.2) moves the terminus post quem for Jonah to the Persian period (or later) and its terminus ante quem remains around the early 2nd c. BC.

2.2 – Ancient Cultures

A human being always lives with and among others. Every community obeys its own laws of common life, its rules of behavior, its ethics, what is permitted and what is forbidden. Knowing the culture or cultures of the author and of the people to whom he speaks allows today’s reader to gauge how much a text’s author and subjects are integrated into their surrounding cultures.

See the relevant notes.

2.3 – Ancient Texts

The library called “the Bible” did not emerge as an independent or autonomous cultural artifact. Like any text or literary collection, it originated within its own particular context: the Bible arose in and from a Near Eastern and Mediterranean milieu which conditioned its writing and reception.

Nota bene—the inscriptions adduced in this rubric of notes are sometimes cited according to commentaries rather than according to editions.

In this volume, the notes concerning ancient texts focus primarily on identifying locations and “characters” within the Book of Jonah in order to give the reader a fuller sense of the narrative’s setting.

  • For example, the city of Joppa has a long history and was well-known in the Levant: this can be inferred from its frequent mention in texts ranging from the annals of Sennacherib to the onomasticon of Eusebius.
  • Or again, in the Greek text, the sea monster (kêtos) is a mythic creature that appears in many different works from the Iliad to Andromeda.

In addition, there are several notes highlighting the mythopoetic language of Jonah’s prayer in ch. 2, including:

  • imagery and vocabulary that is similar to that of the Baal Cycle,
  • and general similarities to Greek literature and language.

3 — Reception

3.1 – Comparison of Versions

“Once has God spoken, twice have I heard” (Ps 62:11). The notes in *Comparison of Versions describe the wealth of meaning and interpretation contained in the Bible’s different textual traditions. Over and above the simple textual variants indicated in the rubric *Text, the major traditional witnesses often attest to creative interpretations in the text’s reception within different communities.

See →Jonah: Comparison of Versions.

3.2 – Biblical Intertextuality

These notes inventory the biblical passages that shed light on the text. While examining the biblical text from the point of view of the reader in a resolutely dialogical perspective, these notes describe the factual connections within the biblical corpus on a scale that goes from a simple word to the entire work, from the use of one simple expression to a complete narrative pattern, by way of a particular narrative motif, idea, story or practice. The traditional hermeneutic of intra-biblical “typology” and of the “fulfillment of the Scriptures” has its place here.

See →Jonah: Biblical Intertextuality.

3.3 – Peritestamental Literature

Here are cited Jewish texts (written in Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic) of biblical inspiration from the so-called Second Temple period which have not been retained in the canon. These texts offer expressions, motifs, ideas, story-lines or practices that are parallel to the annotated text.

The Book of Jonah is not widely mentioned in peritestamental literature. There are, however, a few places where the figure of Jonah is mentioned within prayers as an example of God’s merciful action in the world (Peritestamental Literature Jon 1:1 ; Peritestamental Literature Jon 2:1–10). In addition, the language of Jonah’s prayer (Jon 2:2–9) is similar to prayers found in Qumran and elsewhere (Peritestamental Literature Jon 2:5a; Peritestamental Literature Jon 2:6c).

3.4 – Liturgies

The liturgy, the Gesamtkunstwerk that appeals to all the senses, describes itself as the actualization of a mystery outlined in the Scriptures, namely, human participation in the eternal, angelic worship of God. It manifests the unique context in which the Scriptures are received and understood in faith. In addition, many ritual texts are a mélange of Scripture. The notes under *Liturgy present the biblical text’s reception in the worship of the Synagogues, Christian Churches and ecclesial communities, both Western and Eastern. They describe the use of the annotated passage in lectionaries, rituals, and popular devotion.

Jewish Liturgy: Yom Kippur

On the Day of Atonement, a day of prayer and fasting, the full text of Jonah is read in the afternoon service (minḥâ). This is an ancient practice, as it is noted in the Babylonian Talmud. While the Talmud gives various reasons for this practice, it is most likely due to the book’s overriding theme of repentance (tešûbâ).

  •  →b.Ta'an. 15a “Scripture does not say of the people of Nineveh: ‘And God saw their sackcloth and their fasting,’ but: ‘and God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way’ (Jon 3:10); and in the prophets it is said, ‘rend your heart and not your garments.’”
Christian Liturgy

This volume has attempted to provide the reader with a sense of the most important ways that the Book of Jonah has had an impact on Christian liturgical prayer and art. In general, the figure of Jonah features more prominently in the prayers of the Greek Orthodox and Syriac Churches. The Syriac rite contains a special season dedicated to the memory of the Ninevites’ repentance, while in the Byzantine rite, the entire Book of Jonah is read during the Vesperal liturgy of Holy Saturday. Nonetheless, Jonah is represented quite extensively in liturgical art of Latin churches.

The liturgical notes in this volume identify the specific details from the story of Jonah that have continued to be reflected in Christian liturgies. These include the following.

  • Readings from the Book of Jonah that appear in the Lectionary of the Latin rite of the Catholic Church;
  • the “Jonah” pulpits and reliefs found in Catholic churches in Europe (Liturgies Jon 2:10);
  • the mention of Jonah in the prayers of both the Shimo (Syriac Book of Common Prayer) and the Hôrologion (Greek Book of Hours; Liturgies Jon 1:1–17;  Liturgies Jon 2:1–9;  Liturgies Jon 3:1–10);
  • the celebration of the Rogation of the Ninevites in the Syriac Church, which is perhaps the single greatest liturgical celebration of the Book of Jonah (Liturgies Jon 3:5–10).

3.5 – Jewish Tradition

The Bible in Its Traditions employs the Roman Catholic canon. The Jewish or Reformed reader will at times find certain references in the rubric *Biblical Intertextuality, which he or she would have expected to find under *Jewish Tradition. Likewise, the reception of the Scriptures by Jew→Jonah: Jewish Reception_ish liturgists, literary authors, visual artists, movie producers or composers has its place in the rubrics dedicated to these arts respectively.

See →Jonah: Jewish Reception

3.6 – Law

Though there are only a few notes about the story of Jonah under this rubric in this volume, the reader may find the invocation of the Book of Jonah in legal cases in the USA quite interesting. In particular the “trial of the century,” State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes (1925), otherwise known as the Scopes Monkey Trial, featured Jonah prominently (Law Jon 1:17a).

3.7 – Christian Tradition

From the Fathers of the Church and the medieval Doctors to the great authors of the Reformation and of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, the main Christian interpretations are cited here. The breadth of the corpus is such that the works considered to be commentaries on Jonah in the narrower sense will be given priority. The works that merely cite the text in passing will be indicated only in cases of exceptional importance because of their authority or their known consequences.

See →Jonah: Christian Reception.

3.8 – Theology: How God Interacts with the World

Under this rubric the text’s multiform reception in the teaching tradition of the Councils and popes and in the writings of the great theologians in the history of Christianity are presented in their contexts. The notes are organized according to the classical distinctions in Latin theology (dogmatic theology, moral theology and spiritual or mystical theology, with all their necessary sub-categories), and as far as possible discussed in a chronological order.

See →Jonah: Theology.

3.9 – Mysticism

This rubric presents commentaries and amplifications on the writings by canonized saints and mystical authors (but not by religious poets, who appear under the rubric *Literature).

3.10 – Philosophy

This rubric aims to present a sort of philosophical Midrash on the margins of the Scriptures. The ways in which various philosophers use the biblical text in their own works (ever since their discipline declared its independence from theology) are recalled. The rubric also presents philosophical developments that are not necessarily directly linked to the biblical text at hand, but that can shed light on the reading together with other disciplines, such as theology and literature.

3.11 – Islam: The Prophet Yunus in Qur’anic Tradition

Jonah, known as Yunus, is the namesake of sura 10, which is an exhortation to the people of Mecca—and by extension, all unbelievers—to repent and return to the primordial one religion of mankind, namely the worship of the one God of Israel. Jonah is invoked as an exemplary predecessor.

The Story

Yunus’s narrative is related twice at length (→Qur’an 10:97–103; 37:139–48) and twice again more briefly (→Qur’an 21:87–88; 68:48–50).

The Character Yunus

He is found among lists of other prophets (→Qur’an 4:163; 6:86); fittingly, he is referred to as Dhu l-Nūn, “The Man of the Fish,” in popular Islam, and once in the Qur’an (→Vicchio and Birch 2008, 67).

The Teaching: Complete and Joyful Submission to the Will of Allah

Yunus boards a ship to flee from the call of Allah, but, like a fugitive slave, he brings bad luck. He is consequently thrown overboard and swallowed by the great fish. Upon repenting, however, he is cast upon a beach where a plant growsto shade him. He then goes to preach in Nineveh and a hundred thousand repen.

  • Abdullah Yusuf Ali (note 48 in →Qur’an, 414): the lessons are that no one should judge Allah’s wrath or mercy; Allah forgives the repentant no matter what, and his will cannot be opposed.

3.12 – History of Translations

See notes.

3.13 – Literature

The notes in *Literature explore non-biblical intertextuality, particularly in those literary works for which the biblical text was a major source of inspiration. The study of literary reception makes it possible to assess the text’s influence and the transformation of its understanding in the course of the cultural changes experienced by a given society. “Literature” will thus be understood not only in the sense of fine arts but also in a more sociological sense of literary production, even without any poetic claim: the works resulting from “contextual” approaches inspired by the “humanities” will have their place here.

See →Jonah: Literary Influence.

3.13 – Visual Arts

The biblical texts have been received non-verbally. This rubric gives an account of the main visual representations (drawings, paintings, sculptures) of the scenes and episodes recounted in the texts. As far as possible, the first known representation will be described, and the history of the representations is given according to periods and cultural areas, pausing at major works that are part of the culture of the 21st century.

See →Jonah: Visual Arts.

3.14 – Music

See notes and →Jonah: Music.

3.15 – Cinema

Besides the “Veggie Tales” animated movie for children (Cinema Jon 1:1–4:11), and the allusions embedded in famous scenes of Disney’s Pinocchio (Cinema Jon 1:17a), Jonah features in several movies either as a biblical book raising such topics as the nature of historical truth and faith in God, or just as a rich source of comic moments.

*

Nota bene—In the course of this introduction, we have noted several limitations and gaps in the present edition of the Book of Jonah. The reader will without doubt find others. Rather than distancing readers, may they stimulate readers to join us in our great project! The edition of Jonah and the inventory made of his reception in our cultures does not end with this printed book: it continues in the online laboratory, on the digital site of The Bible in Its Traditions (bibletraditions.org). Every suggestion for correction, every enrichment will be welcome. The progress will be made accessible on our digital scroll: scroll.bibletraditions.org.