Satire in the book of jonah

New essays on specific themes, with links to related content within the site for further reading, are published throughout. He is the central figure of the book of jonah, in which he is called upon by god to travel to nineveh and warn its residents of impending divine wrath. Jonahassatire is a bit of a hobbyhorse of mine partly because its what the bible actually says and i think its. The purpose of this book is to show that god is a merciful and gracious god. Jonah, satire and literal interpretation theopolitical. So william whedbee,1 yvonne sherwood,2 and most recently mark biddle3 have highlighted some of the very funny images in jonah, such as that of a ship having a nervous breakdown. Jonah is not literal historyit is not a short story but an allegory, similar to the parables of jesus.

Dec 24, 2017 swifts political satire in book i and ii of gullivers travels. New essays on specific themes, with links to related content within the site for further reading, are published throughout the year. Therefore, they teach us that jonah is not a simple story of historical. The story of jonah as allegory, parable or history. Over the centuries many have argued for jonah to be read as ironic, a satire, comedy, and while we are not completely sold on the idea, it. Unlike other old testament prophetic books, jonah is not a collection of the prophets oracles but primarily a narrative about the man. The concluding interview between god and jonah, especially the question with which the book ends, further indicates that its purpose was didactic jonah was intended to serve as an object lesson, illustrating. Jonah 1 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Book of jonah is not jewish life but hebrew letters. Jonah is commanded to go east to nineveh but flees toward the westernmost possible point 1. Woodard literary analysis of the book of jonah indicates a number of.

Nov 12, 20 the book of jonah tells the story of a chauvinist jerk named jonah. Getting into jonah by seeing the books literary structures. A major literary debut, an epic tale of love, failure, and unexpected faith set in new york, amsterdam, and las vegas. You can find the best commentary on jonah for you using the tools on the right side. Oct 10, 2014 the book of jonah is satire on a certain type of persianera jew that was highly particularist in their views. Pdf teaching the biblical book of jonah as satire and comedy.

Its ironic that jonah ran away from god only to find god chasing him down. This is corrected copy prepared for a discussion by older adults of the biblical book of jonah yom kippur 57762015, based on an essay growing out of teaching jonah to collegeage undergraduates, most specifically for a senior capstone. All of these events are backwards in comparison with other prophetic books. Jonah was a prophet in the land of israel about 800750 bc. The second school of thought and the majority position in modern scholarship is that the story of jonah is a parable, arguing that the didactic nature of the book stresses the narrowness of nationalism, the universalism of god, or other various ideas that might comply well with a parable format bullock, 52. First, the book displays the sovereignty of god over all creation and all nations. Instead of finding a godly prophet who represents the lord with faithfulness, we find a wicked prophet who represents the sin of israel. Historically, this topic has not received much attention, but modern scholars generally agree that humor can be found in biblical texts. He is the central figure of the book of jonah, in which he is called upon by.

The tiny book of jonah is a great satire on the seer jonah. Jonahs satire second, the book of jonah is filled with satire. The book was not written to entertain but to indict politicians, scientists, philosophers and englishmen in general. The bible and humor is a topic of biblical criticism concerned with the question of whether parts of the bible were intended to convey humor in any style. In short, i think the book of jonah is meant to satirically critique a kind of selfish nationalism that hates its surrounding nations, an ethnocentrism displayed by some israelites like jonah, who want to see the outside world burn. I think the overwhelming theme of this opening chapter is irony. Here are some of the red flags that the book of jonah is an exaggerated satire3. The book of jonah is satire on a certain type of persianera jew that was highly particularist in their views. When jonah is read as a satire, with intentionally crafted elements of irony, mockery and dry humor. Calkins, on page 168 of his book, illustrates this with his list of allegorical meanings. Whats your opinion of the argument that the book of jonah. There is every reason to believe that this book was written by jonah himself. Humour, tragic laughter, jonah, trauma, satire, comedy a introduction several scholars have identified comedic elements in the book of jonah. Many scholars regard the book of jonah as an intentional work of parody or satire.

Gullivers travels has been described to be a great satiric masterpiece. From the belly of sheol i called for help, and you heard my voice. Raymond calkins in his book, the modern message of the minor prophets, writes. Swifts political satire in book i and ii of gullivers travels. As our church begins to study jonah, i share the outlines from his second article. The book of jonah tells the story of a chauvinist jerk named jonah. Marcus takes the different difficulties of the book running away, big fish, animals in sackcloth, etc and discusses how they are elements of satire.

The name jonah means dove in hebrew, but jonah s character is anything but dovelike. Aug 11, 2015 the gentle humor of this wonderful tale of the badtempered prophet is given full reign here. Pdf teaching the biblical book of jonah as comic satire. Go to the great city of nineveh and proclaim the message that i will give you. It concludes that the book of jonah is best described as a satirical challenge to theodicy of the exile. The name jonah means dove in hebrew, but jonahs character is anything but dovelike. Jul 16, 2019 somethings a little fishy about jonah. Through some supernatural events, god convinced him to obey and carry out the lords plan. It tells of a hebrew prophet named jonah son of amittai who is sent by god to prophesy the destruction of nineveh but tries to escape the divine mission. When the army of syria defeated the army of israel in war, it took some of israels land. The book begins with god telling jonah to go to the great city of nineveh. Nevertheless, to uncover the tragic qualities in the book of jonah, especially in light of the various genres attached to it, an explication close to plot summary is necessary. The book is replete with irony, wherein much of its humor lies.

Possible targets of this parody and the book s likely audience are discussed, and similarities with other biblical literature of the period are analysed. Death in life 5 all in all, commentary seems to move in one of at least two. Focus on jonah written by leading scholars, the focus on essays are designed to stimulate thought and to explore in depth topics of interest in the field of biblical studies. Mainstream bible scholars generally regard the book of jonah as fictional and often at least partially satirical, but the character of jonah may have been based on. Gently raise the sacred satire by common consent, a. So based on the date and message of the book of jonah, the view of this commentary is that jonah is the originator of the story, but it was passed down orally for several hundred years, being modified and changed over time, until it was eventually recorded by a later author who lived in judea during the postexilic time period, and was using the. Additionally, if the book of jonah is indeed a satire of jewish life and attitudes, then it is likely that the author would have used a contemporary enemy of the jews in his satire. Key personalities include jonah, the captain and the ships crew and the people of nineveh. The modernday jonah at the center of joshua max feldmans brilliantly conceived retelling of the book of jonah is a young manhattan lawyer named jonah jacobstein. I can see compelling arguments for it, but on the other hand, jesus does compare himself to jonah, but on the other other hand, jesus loves using stories that arent literally true in order to make a larger point or moral lesson, so this seems like a tricky one. Explication of a text is always more than mere plot summary. Satire is exaggerated reality, but is still based on reality. The point of jonah as a satire is a mockery directly of those jews of the time who reduced god to being a merely tribal deity and indirectly of all who would try to reject gods acceptance of those who do not deserve it. Verses 12 this book is a story about god and jonah.

While jonah eventually did what he was asked to do, the book closes with showing jonah as a bitter man. When the call of god came to him, jonah could not see beyond his own selfish desire for god to punish the assyrians. And in addition to his books propagandizing for a universalist view of a merciful god with a sense of humor, thats. Every other major and minor prophet focuses on the word the lord speaks through the prophet, and details of the prophets life and circumstances are generally tangential or nonexistent.

Book of jonah, the fifth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, embraced in a single book, the twelve, in the jewish canon. This is a satire written by one who lived in the transitional period between the seer and the prophet. Whats your opinion of the argument that the book of jonah is. Dive into an intriguing tale of mercy in the book of jonah. The book of jonah is a book of the neviim prophets in the hebrew bible. The book also makes frequent use of dramatic irony. I can see compelling arguments for it, but on the other hand, jesus does compare himself to jonah, but on the other other hand, jesus loves using stories that arent literally true in order to make a larger point. The overwhelming opening irony of jonah 1 the publicans. Mar 17, 2018 so in this post, let me introduce a few themes we will see again and againnamely, gods sovereignty, the book of jonahs satire, and the promise of second chances for sinners who repent and turn to god. Some critics have sought to interpret the book as a parable or allegory even claiming it to be a piece of satire, and not as an actual historical account. But he could not understand how god could love even foreign nations who did bad things. Background essay for a lay or undergraduate audience introducing or reinforcing the ideas 1 that even the bible might use the usually disreputable mode of satire, and insufficiently appreciated mode of comedy.

Irony exists in the gaps, between what we are told and what we are meant to understand. Its ironic that the pagan, nonchristian sailors told jonah to pray, when jonah was running away from god. Mar 16, 2018 in a pair of articles on literary structure and the book of jonah, ernst wendland argues for what makes a chiasm valid, with a test case in the book of jonah. It concerns a disobedient prophet who rejected his divine commission, was cast overboard in a storm and swallowed by a great fish, rescued in a marvelous manner, and returned to his starting point. The book was written to show that prophecy has a mission in the world. No, the book of jonah cannot be read as history fred clark. Through satire and compelling storytelling, the book of jonah reveals to readers why god is compassionate to evildoers. So keeping the rebellious jonah alive in a fish isnt any big challenge for god.

Jonah as satire is a bit of a hobbyhorse of mine partly because its what the bible actually says and i think its. While jonah eventually did what he was asked to do, the book closes with showing jonah as a. One of the more interesting books of the old testament is the book of jonah. No writer in the bible tells such a bad story about himself. Ackerman, all of whom argued for a reading of the book of jonah as satire or parody. It professes to give an account of what actually took place in the experience of the prophet jonah. Jonah s flat refusal to preach the word of the lord to the people of the wicked city of nineveh leads. We may expect god to destroy disobedient jonah, the pagan sailors, or the wicked ninevites, butsurprise. Pdf the literary genre of the book of jonah researchgate. The discussion of humour in the book of jonah points out that many scholars have recognised the use of irony, parody, and satire in the book. Pdf teaching the biblical book of jonah as satire and. If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice.

Stay connected amidst social distancing receive weekly scripture encouragement to share with family and friends. Jonah has only four chapters, which makes it easy to outline the book chapterbychapter. If thats the case, he must have had a moment of clarity after the events took place. Jan 22, 2011 when jonah is read as a satire, with intentionally crafted elements of irony, mockery and dry humor.

Jonah or jonas, in the hebrew bible tanakhold testament, is a prophet of the northern kingdom of israel in about the 8th century bce. The book of jonah is definitely one of those various ways. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click on download. Jonahis not literal historyit is not a short story but an allegory, similar to the parables of jesus. Aug 31, 2006 im now a firm believer in jonahs story.

Through satire and compelling storytelling, the book of jonah reveals to readers why god is compassionate to evildoers in the past and present age today. Our card highlights a moment in the book which has led some scholars to pronounce the book of jonah as an example of biblical humor. Here are some of the red flags that the book of jonah is an exaggerated satire 3. The book of jonah is narrative history and a prophetic oracle. The book of jonah is a subversive story about a rebellious prophet who. In a pair of articles on literary structure and the book of jonah, ernst wendland argues for what makes a chiasm valid, with a test case in the book of jonah. Anyway, the book of jonah has a classic comic happy ending, just not for jonah, in jonahs view of things. Jonah is the only prophet to ever preach to nonhebrews actually hes not called a prophet in his book, but thats clearly what hes protrayed as.

Its a strange book, so different from the other eleven minor prophets all 12 of the minor prophet books were on the same scroll, leaving many scholars to see them all as a single literary work. It is, by extension, a lampooning of all those who think they have some special ownership of gods love or salvation. Jonah is traditionally credited as the author of the book named after him. Also, from a satirical perspective, the closer to reality the satire is, the more effective it is, in terms of mannerisms, real people, and real words. The discussion of humour in the book of jonah points out that many scholars have recognised the use of irony, parody, and satire in the book, leading some to characterise it as satire. I dont know if satire is the right angle, but its clearly intended as something other than prophecy. Jonah is the only prophet to ever preach to nonhebrews actually hes not called a prophet in his book. Whats your opinion of the argument that the book of jonah is satire. Apr 12, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of jonah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Doc satire and cognitive dissonance in the book of jonah, in the. Book of jonah overview insight for living ministries. In this fourpart article series, well look at the book of jonah with four techniques in mind. It discusses four different prophecies which the author considers to be satire.

The main category for the book is satire the exposure of human vice or folly. Jonah s life, after all, is saved by a miracle, and we shall hear of him again for all this. The four elements of satire take the following form in the book of jonah. The main category for the book is satirethe exposure of human vice or folly. Nov 19, 2012 so based on the date and message of the book of jonah, the view of this commentary is that jonah is the originator of the story, but it was passed down orally for several hundred years, being modified and changed over time, until it was eventually recorded by a later author who lived in judea during the postexilic time period, and was using the.