Jonah (Person)

Biblical Account

Jonah was the son of Amittai and came from Gath-hepher. 2 Kings 14:25 records that he prophesied the restoration of Israel's borders during the reign of Jeroboam II, king of the northern kingdom of Israel. His life is recounted chiefly in the Book of Jonah (chapters 1–4).

• Flight (chapter 1): God commands Jonah to go to Nineveh, the great city of Assyria, and cry against it. To escape this command, Jonah boards a ship at Joppa bound for Tarshish. When a great storm arises at sea, he acknowledges that he is its cause and tells the sailors to throw him into the sea, and he is eventually cast overboard. A great fish prepared by God then swallows him, and he remains in its belly three days and three nights.
• Prayer (chapter 2): Jonah prays from the belly of the fish, and the fish vomits him out onto dry land.
• Proclamation (chapter 3): Receiving the command a second time, Jonah goes to Nineveh and cries, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown" (Jonah 3:4). The king and the people fast and repent, and God relents from the disaster He had intended to bring.
• Complaint (chapter 4): Jonah becomes angry at this decision. God uses a gourd that grows up in a single day and then withers to teach Jonah, asking whether it is not right to spare Nineveh, a city of more than sixscore thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left. The book ends with this question, without recording Jonah's reply.

Significance Within Scripture

Jonah is a unique figure in the Old Testament in that he was a prophet sent to a Gentile nation. In the New Testament, Jesus refers to him directly. In Matthew 12:39–41, Jesus tells those seeking a sign that no sign will be given them but "the sign of the prophet Jonas": as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. This saying is commonly interpreted as referring to Jesus' death and resurrection. The same passage also notes that the people of Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching. Similar sayings appear in Matthew 16:4 and Luke 11:29–32.

Interpretation and Debated Issues

• Historicity: Conservative denominations and scholars who emphasize biblical inerrancy read the Book of Jonah as a record of actual events, citing as a principal reason the fact that Jesus referred to Jonah as a real person. Some scholars and progressive traditions, on the other hand, regard the book as a narrative composed to convey a lesson, with its message centering on God's mercy toward the Gentiles.
• The whale story: The story is popularly told as "Jonah in the belly of the whale." The text of Jonah, however, speaks only of a "great fish" and does not identify its kind. The term "whale" became established through some translations and popular retellings.
• Meaning of the ending: Because the book ends with God's question rather than with Jonah's response, a widely known interpretation holds that the question is ultimately addressed to the reader.

In the Korean Church

The story of Jonah is frequently taught in Sunday school and in children's Bible storybooks. In preaching, it is often used to address themes such as obedience to or flight from God's call, repentance, and God's compassion that embraces even enemies. Sermons emphasizing missions also frequently cite the fact that Jonah was sent to a Gentile city.