It was asked of God: what is the punishment for a sinner? By checking this box I consent to the use of my information provided to receive the Common Grounder enewsletter. These scholars understand Jonah’s protest as a rejection of the very idea of repentance. Jonah’s stark silence at the end of the book reflects the gulf between God and himself. There is a further challenge in being absolutely committed to God, while still respecting moral people who espouse different beliefs. A biblical name, it is derived from the element 'yonah' meaning dove. His work has been in large and entrepreneurial companies like Deloitte, IBM, QuickArrow, and Corepoint Health. Jonah substituted “renouncing punishment (ve-niham al ha-ra’ah)” for “faithfulness (ve-emet).” Jonah’s God of truth would not spare pagans, yet God Himself had charged Jonah with a mission to save pagans! He had influenced others for the better and had attained a deeper level of understanding of God and of his own place in this world. Rashi, Kara, and R. Eliezer of Beaugency. 148-161. Alternatively, Ben-Menahem (, For further analysis of the interrelationship between Joel, Jonah, and Exodus 34, see Thomas B. Dozeman, “Inner Biblical Interpretation of Y-H-W-H’s Gracious and Compassionate Character,”. The Ninevites, on the other hand, effected one of the greatest repentance movements in biblical history. Hitler’s plans collapse. Why should Jonah alone have fled from his mission? [10] In this vein, Elyakim Ben-Menahem notes that Jonah’s usage of Ivri in 1:9 is fitting, since he was contrasting himself with pagans. After waiting three days inside the fish, Jonah finally prayed to God. Some of the cartoons' artists sent courtesy copies of their work to Dr. Morgan. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Plus, Jonah comes with a ready-made nursery-decorating motif. [12] Cf. From this point of view, there is a fundamental struggle between God on the one hand and wisdom and prophecy on the other. He also is the author of The Lord! Jonah did not care about the outstandingly ethical behavior of the sailors nor the impressively penitent Ninevites. It is about accepting God’s grace as an individual but then not being hypocritical or hyper-critical when others gain it. The importance of story grows in how we lead and live. The individual self-righteousness overpowers us, sometimes; however, we should understand the grace of God and how it works for us as well as for others. The Book of Jonah appears to have a self-contained message that transcends its historical context.[4]. For millennia, great interpreters have scoured the Book of Jonah’s forty-eight verses for their fundamental messages. The story of Jonah is simple. To paraphrase God’s response: You, Jonah, wanted to die for the highest of ideals. She replied, Misfortune pursues sinners (Prov. He should have explicitly offered repentance as an option, instead of proclaiming the unqualified doom of the Ninevites. . That is why I fled beforehand to Tarshish. Rather than obey God’s directive, Jonah elected to martyr himself on behalf of his people. He thought that Yahweh was too merciful to the heathen oppressors. Here are 4 ways to make your work more meaningful to those around you. Rashi explains that the books were bound together in one scroll because each was so short that some might get lost if not combined into a scroll of greater size. A whale swallows him. (1:9-10). . Time for higher standards for leadership bloggers. Morgan's Charges . Through Jonah’s decisions, actions, and thoughts, we gain the lessons of grace and purpose. “…everything’s bigger than expected. It was asked of prophecy: what is the punishment for a sinner? [13] Ibn Ezra counters that Jonah specifically stayed near Nineveh so that he would be ready to go with a second command. [10] See, e.g., Gen. 39:14, 17; 40:15; 41:12; 43:32; Exod. (Rashi on Jon. [6] Elyakim Ben-Menahem, Da’at Mikra: Jonah, in Twelve Prophets vol. “A tribal mindset is marked by an unbalanced patriotism. Remarkably, the captain sounds like a prophet when addressing Jonah— “How can you be sleeping so soundly! He had a vital role to play in allowing God’s mercy to be manifest. Perhaps the god will be kind to us and we will not perish” (1:6)—while Jonah sounds like the inattentive audience a prophet typically must rebuke. When Jonah finally does speak in the text, the narrator divides the prophet’s words between a direct quotation and narrative: “I am a Hebrew! 'Laocoon, 1938.' “Until we see God-sent storms as interventions and not punishments, we’ll never get better; we’ll only get bitter. He begged for death, saying, “I would rather die than live.” Then God said to Jonah, “Are you so deeply grieved about the plant?” “Yes,” he replied, “so deeply that I want to die” (4:8-9). 8-9. Jonah was not caught up in the details of this specific prophecy; rather, he was protesting the very existence of repentance, preferring instead that God mete out immediate punishment to sinners. From Granger - Historical Picture Archive. We all remember it from our early Sunday School classes, almost a cartoon-like story with a lesson of do what God wants to you to do or, a negative version, don’t disobey God. 13:21). Rashi, Kara, and R. Eliezer of Beaugency. Additionally, there is no mention of. Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels. [7] Simon, JPS Bible Commentary: Jonah, introduction pp. Aside from downplaying the role of the sailors in chapter 1, Uriel Simon sidesteps Jonah’s prayer by contending that it was not an original part of the story. Activate Leadership: Aspen Truths to Empower Millennial Leaders, Five Practices to Enhance Your Problem-Solving Mindset. Ibn Ezra and Radak believe that Jonah was contrasting himself with the sailors who had made vows in 1:16. This realization tortured him to the point of death. Jonah - Meaning of Jonah. Through social media or just more awareness, we gravitate toward good stories. Of the twelve, Joel is the most difficult to date, and we will discuss him in the fourth chapter on the Twelve Prophets. There is a paradoxical recognition that the closer one comes to God, the more one becomes conscious of the chasm separating God’s wisdom from our own. The name Jonah is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "dove". How, then, can you expect to understand God’s attributes? See further discussion and critique of the aforementioned views in Uriel Simon, See further critique of Simon in David Henshke, “The Meaning of the Book of Jonah and Its Relationship to Yom Kippur,” (Hebrew). Some of these characters have "real names," and take on various roles in the teleplays, although in the earlier adventures they appeared as themselves, showing some of their real-life situations. In contrast, Malbim believes that Jonah rebelled even as he walked through the wicked city. Deliverance is the Lord’s! Name: Jonah Meaning of name: Dove Ancestry and family life: Unknown (Except that his father was a man named Amittai) When and where he lived: Jonah lived in Israel during the 8th century B.C.He prophesied there (2 Kings 14:25) and eventually in Assyria. View. Jonah’s perceived dissimilarity to the pagan sailors is the main emphasis of chapter 1. ג וַיָּ֚קָם יוֹנָה֙ לִבְרֹ֣חַ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֑ה וַיֵּ֨רֶד יָפ֜וֹ וַיִּמְצָ֥א אֳנִ 207-223. Finally, the conference excusing itself in this manner is so much garbage. 4:2), Jonah substituted “renouncing punishment (, God added a surprising variable when explaining His sparing of the Ninevites. 3-4, Ben-Menahem adds that chapter 1 is arranged chiastically and Jonah’s proclamation in v. 9 lies at the center of that structure, further highlighting its centrality to the chapter. (Exod. We expect God’s grace in our own lives but not necessarily in the lives of others. 18:4, 20). Jonah als Jungenname ♂ Herkunft, Bedeutung & Namenstag im Überblick Alle Infos zum Namen Jonah auf Vorname.com entdecken! In chapter 1, Jonah was indeed Abarbanel’s Ivri—a prophetic hero of true faith contrasting himself with pagans, and an avaryan—a sinner against God. Writer Zach Morgan reflects on the lessons he’s learned during his tenure with Thin Difference. Your email address will not be published. 'Old Reliable!' It was asked of wisdom: what is the punishment for a sinner? THE MEANING OF THE BOOK OF JONAH [1]. This interpretation seems to lie close to the heart of the book. And should I not care about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not yet know their right hand from their left, and many beasts as well!” (4:10-11). This Low comic from the Evening Standard in September 1938 shows a group of unfolding crises in Europe and the rest of the world, lining up behind Hitler. God Is Patient With Jonah lfwas1007 options. We get disappointed when someone is not punished as we think they should be. JONAH - "Jonah, one of the most celebrated of the Old Testament prophets, earned his fame just as he did God's disfavor by disobeying the Deity. Some difficult circumstances you’re facing right now may well be a God-sent storm of mercy intended to be his intervention in your life.” (p.57). It is a story we should understand and apply in our communities today, where irrational words and actions are driving tribal passions instead of the mission of God’s grace and the gospel of Jesus Christ. He doesn’t do what God wants him to do, sailing away in a different direction. Unlike their insincere (in Jonah’s opinion) vows, Jonah intended to keep his vow to serve God in the Temple. 163-172. . The power of God’s word and grace can change the direction of one life as well as many, many lives.