Faith & Reason Nexus

MEANING: “Dove”

AUTHOR: Unknown

TIME WRITTEN: Uncertain

POSITION IN THE BIBLE:

• 32nd Book in the Bible
• 32nd Book in the Old Testament
• 10th of 17 Prophetic Books (Isaiah to Malachi)
• 5th of 12 Minor Prophets (Hosea to Malachi)
• Followed by 34 books

CHAPTERS: 4
VERSES: 48
WORDS: 1,321

OBSERVATIONS ABOUT JONAH:

• Jonah was a prophet from Gath-Hepher, a village located about three miles north of Nazareth in lower Galilee, which is now known as Mashad.
• The Pharisees in John 5:52 were incorrect when they claimed that no prophet had arisen from Galilee.
• Jesus compared Himself to Jonah (Matthew 12:39-41), making Jonah unique among the prophets.
• Jonah’s story symbolically parallels the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
• Unlike other Old Testament books, Jonah focuses solely on a Gentile nation, Nineveh.
• Nineveh was a dominant world empire from approximately 900 to 60 B.C.
• From Jonah’s home, Assyria was to the northeast, Joppa to the southwest, and Tarshish (Spain) to the west.
• Jonah is the only Old Testament prophet whose ministry occurred entirely on foreign soil.
• Jonah was a contemporary of Jeroboam II of Israel (782-753 B.C.).
• The Book of Jonah is structured into four chapters:
• Chapter 1: Jonah flees from God
• Chapter 2: Jonah turns to God
• Chapter 3: Jonah follows God
• Chapter 4: Jonah anticipates God’s actions
• Nineveh’s willingness to repent might have been influenced by a plague in 765 B.C., a solar eclipse in 763 B.C., and another plague in 759 B.C.
• The repentance of Nineveh likely occurred during the reign of Ashurdan III (773-755 B.C.). Following their repentance, Nineveh remained a major city for another 150 years before being overthrown by the Babylonians in 612 B.C.