Jonah's+Message+to+the+Assyrians

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 *  “40 days and Ninevah will be overthrown!” **

 “40 days and Ninevah will be overthrown” is the extent of Jonah’s message. Only five words long in Hebrew, Jonah’s message is slightly ambiguous because the Hebrew word for overthrow has two meanings. It can mean “to turn” like a reversal, change, or flip around which indicates a repentance or a change of heart. Equally, the word can also mean “destroy” as was used for the description of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah [i]. This similarity points to the justice that must be done to Ninevah for their wickedness [ii].  Forty days is a typical waiting period or test period in which Ninevah has the opportunity to repent. [iii] Jonah’s message was for judgment upon the Ninevites unless they repented in which case Ninevah would be turned upside down because of their repentance. Jonah leaves out any notion of repentance but Jonah and the Ninevites may have implied the condition “unless you repent.” [iv]  The words Jonah told the Ninevites is clearly stated but the details of this message to be declared by the Jonah not clearly specified for both his first calling and second calling. [v] Jonah’s ambiguity in revealing God’s message to him is probably because of his reluctance to preach the message to the Ninevites. All that is known to the reader is that the message is of great importance and comes from God to the Ninevites. [vi] The fourth chapter (Jonah 4:2) reveals that Jonah did not want to preach this message to the Ninevites because he knew God would show mercy to this city whom he desired to be destroyed. This could explain the brevity of Jonah’s message and the ambiguity in God’s message to Jonah. ** Interprtation of the Ninevites: Jonah sent from the fish god **

 Jonah’s arrival in Ninevah, having been in the belly of a fish, was a powerful sign to the Ninevites that Jonah came from God. They believed Jonah came from their sacred fish god. The root word for “Ninevah” can be traced to the Akkadian word // nūnu //which means fish. [vii] Another city with a similar name, Nina from the same root worshiped the fish goddess Nanshe. Likewise Ninevah must have also worshiped the fish goddess. Therefore Jonah’s presence in Ninevah after surviving three days and nights in the belly of a fish was enough proof for the Ninevites to believe that he was as sign from God. This became known as the sign of Jonah.  Because of their religious practices, the way in which Jonah came to the Ninevites was so shocking that it persuaded the population of Ninevah to listen to Jonah’s message and repent. [viii] Eugene Merrill argues it is unlikely Jonah’s miraculous deliverance was unknown because Jonah would have physical markings from being in a fish for so long and most likely had witnesses of his deliverance who then proclaimed his miraculous survival. The strength of Jonah’s sign to the Ninevites can be evidenced in Luke and Matthew’s mention of the sign of Jonah to be as powerful as the one Jesus would display. The power of the sign of Jonah is compared to that of Christ’s resurrection. [ix]  The king of Ninevah proclaimed a citywide repentance that sounds similar to that found in Joel 2:12-14. [x] It calls the people not only to an outward repentance but an inward repentance that would transform their actions. It also mirrors the question of desperate hope in their uncertainty of God’s change of heart based upon their change of heart [xi]. Jonah’s charge to share this message with the Ninevites, a Gentile nation, demonstrates God’s heart for the repentance of the Gentiles.  Bibliography Allen, Leslie C. 1976. // The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah //. Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans. Baker, David W. 1988. // Obadiah: An Introduction and Commentary //. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press. Merrill, Eugene. 1980. "The Sign of Jonah." // Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society // 23: 23-30.  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Nixon, Rosemary A. 2003. // The Message of Jonah: Presence in the Storm //. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Smith, Billy K. 1995. // Amos, Obadiah, Jonah //. [Nashville], TN: Broadman & Holman. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Stuart, Douglass. 1987. // Hosea-Jonah. //Waco, Texas: Word. Books.

[i] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">David W Baker, // Obadiah: An Introduction and Commentary // (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988), 121. Cf. Gen. 19:25, La. 4:5, Am. 4:11   [ii] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> Rosemary A Nixon, // The Message of Jonah: Presence in the Storm // (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 165 [iii] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> Leslie C Allen, // The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah // (Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans, 1976), 222 [iv] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> Billy K Smith, // Amos, Obadiah, Jonah // ([Nashville], TN: Broadman & Holman, 1995), [v] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> Ibid., 227, 258 [vi] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> Ibid., 258 [vii] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> Eugene Merrill. The Sign of Jonah. (// Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society //. March 1980), 26 [viii] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> Ibid, 29. [ix] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> Ibid. [x] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> Allen, // The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah //, 225. [xi] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> Nixon, // The Message of Jonah //, 170. media type="custom" key="7864917"

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