Job's mission was so successful that Nineveh remained a powerhouse--only now worshipping Yahweh--for 100 years. He became so beloved that they built a huge mausoleum for him when he died. It stood in the town, now called Mosul, until ISIS blew it up when they took the town 10 or so years ago.
Since he never returned to the Samarian court, the people of his hometown--not far from Nazareth--never knew what became of him. They all assumed--perhaps rightly--that he had abandoned Israel for the Northern Kingdom of Nineveh. For that reason, Nazareth had a bad name among the Hebrews — which is why Nathanael was so suspicious when the other disciples told him about Jesus of Nazareth.
I wrote more about this on my blog — if it's acceptable to post the link. I apologize if this is a problem, but the story is fascinating. https://www.michelleule.com/2022/07/05/jonah/
I read a great piece by Dale Moreau where he argues that the translation of fish is meant to conjure the chaos dragon. In the Septuagint they used ketos (used by Homer to describe the sea monster) rather than icthus (fish). The biblical connotations of this sea monster help illuminate the cosmic nature of Jonah’s journey - he was in the belly of Sheol. https://dalemoreau.substack.com/p/you-have-been-reading-jonah-wrong?r=7h69k&utm_medium=ios
For me, the idea that Jonah does not survive three days in the belly of the fish, but that the fish’s “jaws” is in fact the “jaws of death” (Jonah 2:3), is enlightening. So Jonah is not sitting at a desk in the belly of a whale like Geppetto in Pinocchio (where, incidentally, Pinocchio—in an allusion to Jonah—has his conversion experience and is transformed from a wooden boy into a boy of flesh and blood), but rather he composes his psalm in the realm of the dead.
When the fish spits Jonah out again, it is a resurrection. That is why Jesus interprets the sign of Jonah as pointing to his own death and resurrection (Matthew 12:40). Interestingly, by the way, the verb used in the Book of Jonah to describe the fish “swallowing up” Jonah (2:1) is the same one used in the “Little Apocalypse” of Isaiah to describe how God will swallow up death forever (Isaiah 25:8).
Beautiful piece.
My favorite book of the Bible. Unexpectedly humorous at the end (v 4:9)
One of my favorites you've done!
Great article! Thank you for the shout out.
We published a sister article to this one about why Jonah DIED in the whale... https://www.theascent.io/p/jonah-died-in-the-whale?utm_source=publication-search
Thank you Harrison!
Excellent take. I have a new appreciation for the story now. Thank you!
Thank you Ryan!
I love when someone takes a passage of Scripture I’ve read a hundred times and makes me realize I apparently had no idea what was going on
Job's mission was so successful that Nineveh remained a powerhouse--only now worshipping Yahweh--for 100 years. He became so beloved that they built a huge mausoleum for him when he died. It stood in the town, now called Mosul, until ISIS blew it up when they took the town 10 or so years ago.
Since he never returned to the Samarian court, the people of his hometown--not far from Nazareth--never knew what became of him. They all assumed--perhaps rightly--that he had abandoned Israel for the Northern Kingdom of Nineveh. For that reason, Nazareth had a bad name among the Hebrews — which is why Nathanael was so suspicious when the other disciples told him about Jesus of Nazareth.
I wrote more about this on my blog — if it's acceptable to post the link. I apologize if this is a problem, but the story is fascinating. https://www.michelleule.com/2022/07/05/jonah/
it’s also a challenge to Jonah and to all who, like him, would limit God’s grace to those they deem deserving.
Superb.
I read a great piece by Dale Moreau where he argues that the translation of fish is meant to conjure the chaos dragon. In the Septuagint they used ketos (used by Homer to describe the sea monster) rather than icthus (fish). The biblical connotations of this sea monster help illuminate the cosmic nature of Jonah’s journey - he was in the belly of Sheol. https://dalemoreau.substack.com/p/you-have-been-reading-jonah-wrong?r=7h69k&utm_medium=ios
aww i love this! thank you
Thank ypu for being honest about the trsnslation errors
Really, this made me laugh. All those small explanations and clarifications! I shall look up Jonah's mutterings while inside the fish.
Thank you for this nice piece on Jonah.
For me, the idea that Jonah does not survive three days in the belly of the fish, but that the fish’s “jaws” is in fact the “jaws of death” (Jonah 2:3), is enlightening. So Jonah is not sitting at a desk in the belly of a whale like Geppetto in Pinocchio (where, incidentally, Pinocchio—in an allusion to Jonah—has his conversion experience and is transformed from a wooden boy into a boy of flesh and blood), but rather he composes his psalm in the realm of the dead.
When the fish spits Jonah out again, it is a resurrection. That is why Jesus interprets the sign of Jonah as pointing to his own death and resurrection (Matthew 12:40). Interestingly, by the way, the verb used in the Book of Jonah to describe the fish “swallowing up” Jonah (2:1) is the same one used in the “Little Apocalypse” of Isaiah to describe how God will swallow up death forever (Isaiah 25:8).
Well, Hebrew divided up animals by habitat, so "fish" is the closest term we've got to the word that embraced all marine vertebrates including whales.
Super! J'aime cet extrait, et l'analyse est très pertinente !