It differs from them in that while they for the most part contain prophetic discourses, with a minimum of narrative material, the book of jonah is mainly occupied with a narrative, and the prophetic message in it is almost incidental. Professor settle listed several alleged inaccuracies contained in the book. During this time, an important event happened to israel. Jonah therefore is the only prophet of the ot revealing the grace of god towards the heathen.
First of all we may justifiably point out that the bible does not speak of a whale. For example, jonahs story helps us to see how even those with genuine faith can go astray. The bible tells us that god prepared a great fish which swallowed jonah. Most scholars agree that certain bible numbers have meaning. Macdonald, only chapter 2, jonahs very personal psalm from the belly of the great fish, is in the first person.
He was from gathhepher, just two and a half miles 4 km from nazareth, the town where jesus christ would grow up some eight centuries later. The book is replete with irony, wherein much of its humor lies. Jan 31, 2017 the insights tom has gained from memorizing the entire book of jonah and the great contributions they offer to bible students. There are various important matters in the book of jonah. Jonah was a prophet in the land of israel about 800750 bc. Contradictions, absurdities, and more kindle edition by conner, jonah david. This little roll of four short chapters has given rise to almost as much discussion and difference of opinion as the first four chapters of genesis.
You can find the best commentary on jonah for you using the tools on the right side. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. Jonah served as a prophet during the reign of king jeroboam ii of the tentribe kingdom of israel. Jonah or jonas, in the hebrew bible tanakhold testament, is a prophet of the northern kingdom of israel in about the 8th century bce. The prophet jonah learned from his mistakes true faith. But the book of jonah is not the only old testament book in which he is mentioned. The prophetic significance of this book not only lies in the short message in nineveh but also in the entire history of jonah described in his book. He knew they were bad and he wanted them to be punished for their mistakes. It is an important book to both religious traditions christianity and jewish. So he went down to joppa, found a ship which was going to tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to tarshish from the. It is incredible that one could be alive for three days in a fishs belly. Throughout the book, jonah is repeatedly referred to in the third person, causing some to search for. He is the central figure of the book of jonah, in which he is called upon by god to travel to nineveh and warn its residents of impending divine wrath. The word of the lord came to jonah and jonah refused.
In this final study of the book of jonah, you will learn what the book of jonah is all about. The only problem was that jonah didnt want to help the people there. There are still many jonahs in this generation, and this message is to enable us learn from the lessons from the bible story of jonah. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, lord, have done as you pleased. Jonah 1, new international version niv the bible app. This is because the story is not very favourable towards jonah. Instead, he sat outside the city in the shade of a bottlegourd plant and. Which direction did the scorching wind upon jonah come from. The issue is complicated somewhat by the use of the. Jonah david conner is an exchristian fundamentalist with a life long.
Written by the prophet jonah, son of amittai, around 785760 b. During the time of the minor prophets, the nation of israel had divided into two separate countries, each with its own government. Fifth in the canonical order of the minor prophets. Using human logic many so called scholars, have questioned the authenticity of the book of jonah, because they find it hard to believe a fish could shallow and man and the man live. How many of the citys inhabitants could not discern their left hand from their right hand. Although the author of jonah is never identified in the book itself, jonah himself has traditionally been identified as the author. The book makes no direct claim regarding authorship.
Now nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days journey. The book of jonah is the fifth book in the christian canons and the jewish tanakh. The book of jonah is an old testament story which tells about how the prophet jonah refused to follow the lord. A second critique of prophecy that jonah offers concerns unfulfilled. The earth is a flat disk in shape, like a dinner plate, and rests upon mountain pillars. One day god asked a man named jonah to go to a place called nineveh and tell the people living there to stop being bad. Commentary on the book of jonah jonah 1 1the word of the lord came to jonah the son of amittai saying, 2arise, go to nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me. Jesus actually identified himself with the prophets threeday sojourn in the belly of the great fish, noting it as a foreshadowing of his own death. Jonah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Jonahs experiences form the main contents and purpose of the book. In a prayer to yhwh jonah explained that he initially fled to tarshish in order to forestall this gracious outcome in nineveh because he knew of gods gracious character. Mar 16, 2019 written by the prophet jonah, son of amittai, around 785760 b. David guzik commentary on jonah 1, where jonah receives a call from god, but decides to. The most popular bible verses from jonah top verses bible.
The book of jonah is a book of the neviim prophets in the hebrew bible. Jonahs disobedience the word of the lord came to jonah the son of amittai saying, arise, go to nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me. He could not possibly mistake what god wanted him to do. And one of the synagogue readings for yom kippur is the book of jonah in hebrew, sefer yonah. We read nowhere in the book that jonah confessed his sin and received a new heart. At that, jonah got up and went to nineveh in accord with the word of jehovah. Jonah had forsaken the lord, resigning from his ministry as a prophet in israel.
The book of jonah is more than just a delightful story for children. It would be presumptuous to think that one could, in a brief article, speak the final word on the questions in debate. The name jonah means dove in hebrew, but jonahs character is anything but dovelike. Using the reading notes andor headings in your bible, make an outline of the narrative events in the book of jonah. So based on the date and message of the book of jonah, the view of this commentary is that jonah is the originator of the story, but it was passed down orally for several hundred years, being modified and changed over time, until it was eventually recorded by a later author who lived in judea. Book of jonah encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. All thats wrong with the bible and millions of other books are available for amazon. This did not mean, however, that jonah remained the same.
The audience of the book of jonah was the people of israel and all future readers of the bible and, typically, prophets issued warnings or gave instructions to the people of israel. Instead, he sat outside the city in the shade of a bottlegourd plant and pouted. No writer in the bible tells such a bad story about himself. Now the word of the lord came unto jonah the son of amittai, saying, kjv. It is one of trei asar the twelve prophets in the tanakh, and in christian tradition as oi dodeka prophetai or ton dodekapropheton, greek for the twelve prophets. But jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. The book depicts the larger scope of gods purpose for israel.
The god of the bible is a truly loving and forgiving god. Israel, the northern country consisting of ten tribes, and judah, the remaining two tribes in the south. Extensive verse by verse explanation, illumination and clarification of this prophetic book seen though the lens of middle east culture and the ancient near east. But this doesnt explain why god would let his original revelation get corrupted. This book of jonah, though it be placed here in the midst of the prophetical books of scripture, is yet rather a history than a prophecy. Jehovah had been patient and merciful with jonah, but jonah was not merciful with the people of nineveh. Amp then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. Literary characteristics unlike most other prophetic parts of the ot, this book is a narrative account of a single prophetic mission. Jonah free bible commentary in easy english easyenglish bible. A commentary on the book of jonah cooper abrams bible truth. Jonah, the book of definition and meaning bible dictionary.
Thus, repentance is not, as some allege, a mere sorrow for sin. A free bible study unit in easyenglish to show that god is sufficient whatever the problem. Commentary on the book of jonah relevant bible teaching. The most popular bible verses from jonah found 48 verses jonah 1. Gods mercy on the ninevites o context and genre are classified as folktale. The book of jonah is an amazing story about gods willingness to respond favorable to any and all who are willing to repent of their sins and turn to him. T he book of jonah is an old testament story which tells about how the prophet jonah refused to follow the lord. Go to the great city of nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.
In the midst of the obscure prophecies before and after this book, wherein. The book of jonah merely mentions a great fish jonahi, 17, and although the english version in matthewxii, 40 uses the word whale, the greek original has katoj, which is a general word meaning a huge seamonster. Even though it is one of the bibles shortest books just four chapters, jonah is packed with lessons for the youth of today. Through some supernatural events, god convinced him to obey and carry out the lords plan. When the army of syria defeated the army of israel in war, it took some of israels land. Commentary on the bible story of jonah deliverance sermons. The book of jonah recounts real events in the life and ministry of the prophet himself. It is the custom in some communities to ask a stranger to offer a commentarycalled a dvar torah. Aug 10, 2010 and one of the synagogue readings for yom kippur is the book of jonah in hebrew, sefer yonah. Jesus declared that the men of nineveh repented at the preaching of jonah mt. Background to the book of jonah sermon by johnny a. Jonah was one of only four writing prophets that jesus mentioned by name during his earthly ministry isaiah, daniel, and zechariah were the others. Book of jonah overview insight for living ministries. Here are a few examples by no means all, but perhaps most of what christian pharisees demand that we believe as inerrant fact.
A free bible commentary on the book of jonah in simple english. Nov 19, 2012 so based on the date and message of the book of jonah, the view of this commentary is that jonah is the originator of the story, but it was passed down orally for several hundred years, being modified and changed over time, until it was eventually recorded by a later author who lived in judea during the postexilic time period, and was using the. It tells of a hebrew prophet named jonah son of amittai who is sent by god to prophesy the destruction of nineveh but tries to escape the divine mission. The book is a critique of the israelite prophecy when it questions whether gods attention is focused narrowly on israelites, along with emphasizing gods goodness and willingness to forgive. The chapter divisions mark the natural divisions of the book. Had his reason been cowardice, though still wrong, it would have been. The book of jonah cannot be accepted as history settle, b4. But who then wrote the book and where do those intimate details of the story come from. And jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Dltks bible stories for children jonah and the big fish. Before you attempt to answer the questions below you should read these chapters in the bible and answer the questions at the end of each chapter found at the website answer the questions below and then click ok to send your answers. Commentary on the book of jonah by matthew henry old. Set in the reign of jeroboam ii 786746 bc, it was probably written in the postexilic period, some time between the late 5th to early 4th century bc. Now the word of the lord came to jonah son of amittai, saying amp.
Concern for the salvation of all people, including ones enemies, is the proper attitude for people of god. While jonah eventually did what he was asked to do, the book closes with showing jonah as a bitter man. Jonah 1, new american standard bible nasb the bible app. Since the text and audio content provided by blb represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not. Enemies of this book do not hesitate to take the ax to the very first word in it, affirming that, jonah is a fragment, the continuation of a larger work. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. The book of hosea consists of fourteen chapters, which was the record for a minor prophet until zechariah tied it a couple centuries later. Following the lead of the hebrew masoretic text, the title of the book is derived from the principal character, jonah. There was nothing wrong with the sailors being on the ship, but jonah had no business. Commentary on the bible story of jonah deliverance. Jonah flees from the lord the word of the lord came to jonah son of amittai. The blue letter bible ministry and the blb institute hold to the historical, conservative christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of scripture.