Jonah is one of the most famous stories in the Bible and I suspect the most read of all the 12 prophetic books. In part because unlike the rest of the prophets The Book of Jonah is a narrative and because the main character gets swallowed by a great fish. It also stands out because it is not a story that is concerned with Israel and the Jews but instead the focus is the Assyrians and the great city of Ninevah.

Author & Date

Jonah probably lived during the reign of Jeroboam II of Israel (793-753 BC) based on the reference to Jonah in 2 Kings 14:25. The date of the book itself, as along with most things in the academy, is greatly debated but it is not at all unreasonable that it was at least initially developed close to the time of the prophet’s life. We don’t know for sure that the prophet himself wrote the story (and some think it is in a sense a historical fiction – with a story being told using a historical character) but then again he might have.

Outline

Chapter 1: Jonah receives his call and runs away from it and he ends up in the stomach of a fish.
Chapter 2: Faced with the consequences of his disobedience, Jonah prays for deliverance and gets it.
Chapter 3: Jonah is called again and obeys, trudging off to Nineveh to call that great city to repentance. Which annoyingly for Jonah, it does.
Chapter 4: Jonah continues to show off his good side and is angry at God for showing them the compassion he thinks they don’t deserve. God gives him an object lesson in things he doesn’t deserve involving worms and sunburn. The end.

Key Verses

…for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”

Jonah 4:2

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Here is my friend James Thackeray of Grace Church taking a look at Jonah.

Sources

• McConville, Gordon. Exploring the Old Testament: Prophets. London: SPCK, 2002.
• Longman, Tremper. Daniel-Malachi. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids  Mich.: Zondervan, 2009.
• Allen, Leslie. The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah. Grand Rapids  MI: Eerdmans, 1976.
• https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/jonah/