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Prophecy throughout the old and new testament
Paper timeline of the old testament
Prophecy throughout the old and new testament
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The book of Jonah is an adventurous story of a prophet chosen by God to go preach denouncement to a heathen nation. With the exception of stating that Jonah is the son of Amittai, the book itself fails to reveal any background information. Nevertheless, a plorthea of scholars have attempted to provide us with some insight to the, who, when, where, and what of the book. This paper will utilize four scholarly commentaries in a quest to determine the author or authors of the book, the time when it was written, the original audience it spoke to, the occasion, the historical, social and cultural context in which it was written. It will also address the historical, social and cultural context of the book and that of the pericope of 3:1 – 10. …show more content…
The paper will first analyze each commentary’s position of the topics. After examining the views of each commentator, we will then draw our own conclusion. AUTHOR Out of the four commentaries that informs this paper; only one vaguely discusses authorship of Jonah. According the Stuart, the Prophet Jonah, mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25 could possibility be the writer. However, it is improbable that Jonah was the author since the narrative portrays Jonah in a negative light. Self-deprecation in writing was not found at that time . Although the other commentators, Sasson, Stuart and Trible, do not address authorship, they do concur that the book is the product of one author. Their position stems from the belief that although the book is composed of heterogeneous elements, it functions as a unified whole. It is heterogeneous because; with the exception of the psalm in chapter two, the chapters consist of self-contained narratives. According to Trible, these narratives originated from different traditions. The inclusion of the psalm among the narrative is also a cause of heterogeneousness. There are numerous thought on how the psalm came to be included in the narratives, which will not be discussed here since it does not gain us an insight to authorship. There no information to allow for an attempt identify the author of Jonah. To do so would be based on pure speculation since, thus far, no evidence has been uncovered to draw a legitimate hypothesis. However, Sasson, Stuart, and Trible make a good case for the one author theory, which we tend to agree with. Jonah may be comprised of self-contained stories, yet, the stories make sense in the context of the whole book. For example, the chapter that contains the dialogue between God and Jonah can only be understood in the context of the preceding chapter, which allows us to gain an insight to why Jonah was anger. DATE There is no information contained within the book of Jonah that allows for anchoring the book to a specific time in history. Nor is there information pertaining to when the book was written. Nevertheless, scholars have attempted to place the narrative and the writing of the text in a specific time in Israel’s history. Some of the proposed dates for when it was written are based on the reference to Jonah in 2 Kings; a reference to the book of the twelve in the Wisdom of ben Sirah; the mention of Jonah in the book of Tobit; the dependency of Jonah on Jeremiah and Joel; and on the literacy and linguistic features in the book. Although there is no concrete evidence that can be used to date Jonah, there is general consensus that there is appealing evidence that places the writing of the book within an approximate six centuries range. These assumptions are made based on the mention of the prophet Jonah son of Amittai during the reign of Jeroboam II, king of Israel, in the book of 2 Kings 14:23-25. This gives the beginning date for the book no earlier than the beginning of the 8th century. Since the “book of the twelve,” which is a reference to the twelve Minor Prophets, are mentioned in the Wisdom of Sirach 49:10, the book had to be composited before the 3rd century. With such a wide time frame for the dating of the book, the book could have been written during the pre-exile, exile or postexile period of Israel’s history. Working within the constraints of this vast time period, scholars have taken on the quest to pinpoint when the book was written.
There are those of the thought that Jonah is postexilic period literature. One reason for this theory is the assumption that Jonah depends on Jeremiah and Joel. Jonah and Jeremiah share similar concepts. Jonah and Joel use similar words. Garland and Longman does not mention this theory. Sasson, Stuart, and Trible reject this theory. Similar concepts do not constitute “dependency of concepts.” There are similar concepts throughout the Old Testament. Likewise, the use of similar words is not an indication of Jonah’s dependency on Joel. There are a few scholars who propose Jonah was a source for …show more content…
Joel. Another feature scholar used to place the dating of the book in the post-exilic period, is the Aramaic influence on the text. All the commentators cited in this paper agree that this stance does not hold true. The basis for the proposal is that Aramaic influence did not infiltrate Jewish literature until the post-exilic period. However, according to Garland and Longmann, there is evidence that support Aramaic influence on Israelite culture as far back as 701 BCE. It is difficult to pinpoint the dating for the composition of Jonah.
Even attempts to locate the book within the pre-exilic, exilic or postexilic period by various scholars have beenen to be a xxxxxx. With the exception of placing the writing between the eight century and third century BCE, none of the commentaries voice their opinions on the possible dating. Therefore, neither will we speculate on this topic. There seem to be no known method that has conclusively proven the date.
AUDIENCE
It is impossible to determine the intended audience of the book of Jonah without knowing when the book was written. This is evident by the fact that none of the commentaries directly discusses the topic. However, the intended audience is alluded to or assumed based on the proposed purpose for the writing. Hence, where applicable, the intended audience will be noted in the next section.
OCCASION/PURPOSE Even though it is hard to theorize the purpose for which Jonah was written without knowledge of when it was written, it is not impossible—The narrative itself can be used to hypothesize the purpose. As Stuart states, “At one time it was popular to assume that Jonah was written as a kind of universalistic treatise against the ridge, narrow reformist views of Ezra and Nehemiah.” This would mean that the intended audience was post-exilic Israel. However, Stuart disagrees with this outdated view. He uses several points to disprove this fallacy. First, Jonah does not mention anything in reference to the Ninevites being God’s chosen people, nor does the fact that the people of Nineveh repented and as a result God withheld judgement, meant they had become God’s chosen people. Second, none of the issues Ezra and Nehemiah were concerned with, such as, “the restoration of Pentateuchal ritual practices, were addressed in Jonah. Garland and Trible also conclude that the purpose of Jonah was not to teach universalism. According to Stuart, the purpose for the composition of the book is revealed in chapter four, wherein Jonah is angry with God for sparing Nineveh. The purpose was to show that one has the right to be angry with God when God chooses to display mercy and withhold judgement. Garland and Longman’s position is that the purpose of Jonah was to illustrate that the proper response to a prophetic pronouncement is repentance. And, repentance may affect the outcome of the pronouncement. This purpose would speak to an exile Israel. Similarly, Trible also examined the theory that proposes the book is about God’s response to the repentance of the Ninevites, thereby giving hope to the Israelites that God will do the same for them. However, Trible does inject that this is not a recurring theme throughout the book. It is limited to chapter three. Trible also notes that some scholars, like Clines and Craig, suggest Jonah does not have anything to teach (490). Sasson fails to mention a purpose for the book. Without knowing how far removed the writing of the text is from the events in the narrative, it is impossible to definitively state the purpose or occasion. Nevertheless, we make a case for a two-fold purpose. We propose that the purpose supplied by Garland and Longman seems to be the most plausible, especially when the focus is on chapter three and the repetition of the word repent. However, as Trible pointed out, the theme does not occur in the other chapters. Based on this point, there is no recurring theme throughout the book, therefore, the purpose could possibility be seen in the theme in chapter three and four. HISTORICAL /SOCIAL/CULTURAL CONTEXT Since Jonah the prophet, son of Amittai, is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, during the reign of Jeroboam II, king of Israel who reigned from 793 – 753 BC, the backdrop for the narrative is most likely eighth century BCE. Garland, Sasson and Stuart agree on this dating. During the reign of Jeroboam, Israel was extremely prosperous. In contrast, Assyria was politically weak. It was plagued by revolt, and rebellion. In addition, during this time the Assyrians had experience famine, plus an earthquake and an eclipse, which according to Stuart, were “dreaded major omens.” Nineveh was no threat to Israel during this period. Because of their political condition and their belief in omens, it is understandable why the city of Nineveh was inclined to believe the pronouncement of Jonah. Like the other nations in ancient Mesopotamia, the Ninevites were polytheists. They believed in omens and would practice incantations in order to receive forgiveness from the god that was offended so as to avoid the misfortune or bad omen. They would also engage in “sacrifices, libations, supplication, and prostration.” On the other hand, fasting and donning sackcloth was not a common spiritual practice in Mesopotamia. CONTEXT The pericope under discussion is nicely placed between the narratives that contain how Jonah reacted to God’s command and how Jonah reacted to God turning from destroying the Ninevites. More importantly, these narratives show how God responded to Jonah. The first chapter of the book contains God’s original word to Jonah, which instructed him to preach against Nineveh. Jonah responded by running from God. God caused a storm to come, which threatened to destroy the ship that Jonah was traveling on. The sailors tossed Jonah overboard to calm the sea. God caused a large fish to swallow Jonah. In chapter two, Jonah prays to God and God delivered Jonah from the belly of the fish. In the pericope of chapter three, God repeated his command to Jonah. This time Jonah obeyed God and pronounced judgement against Nineveh. The Ninevites repented and after God saw how they repented, God changed his mind and did not destroy Nineveh. In the following chapter, Jonah responded to God’s change of mind towards the people of Nineveh with anger and asked God to let him die. Instead, God used a bush to provide shade for Jonah and later removed the bush. Jonah again responded with anger because God destroyed the bush. God pointed out to Jonah that God as more of a right to be concerned for the people of Nineveh than Jonah’s right to be concerned for the bush.
Specifically, it taught about how His mercy could not be restricted by a person’s preconceptions. Jonah was a prophet of God but was ruled by his unrelenting hatred towards sinners. Despite his loathing, God was more than capable of using him in the salvation of the corrupted. When Jonah was commanded by the Lord to preach to the Ninevites, he resisted. Nineveh was a pagan society and epitomized “everything evil that the Israelites hated” (MacArthur, Jonah 112), Seeing that his enemies would be forgiven if he delivered the message, Jonah fled from his duty. However, he would not be able to elude from the will of God and, after some precarious situations in the sea, would reluctantly prophesied to the Ninevites and inspired their faith in the Lord. This came to show that while “Jonah was filled with resentment … [and his] wrath was aroused, … the Lord [could still extend His] grace” (MacArthur, Jonah
In Vonnegut’s novel, readers can notice that there are numerous religious references such as names and terms throughout it. In the opening of the novel it can already be seen. Vonnegut starts his novel off with the narrator introducing himself, “Call me Jonah. My parents did, or nearly did. They called me John.” (Vonnegut 1). From this opening line you can already see a biblical reference, that reference being “Jonah”. The name Jonah derives from the Hebrew bible, it’s known to be the name of a prophet who disobeyed God. Already early on in the novel it can be seen that a parallel between religion and the post-war world which the story take place in are intertwining. It can be assumed that by the author uses of the reference Jonah, a disobedient prophet of god, that the novel also revolves around the theme of deception among people in society. Deception implicated among person to another can lead to creating destruction in society. If one such as a writ...
There is much debate over the historical accuracy of the Hebrew Bible and The Epic of Gilgamesh. Some claim that to understand a work of literature requires extensive knowledge of the background of this work. The contrary position is that a work of literature can be interpreted solely on it’s content. The meaning of the term classical literature is that it can be applied during any period of time, it is eternal. Yet the conditions surrounding the author might still be of interest to the reader, and of importance to the work. As with many cases, the truth is somewhere in between the two extremes. Both sides have valid arguments about the importance of historicity.
In the book “The Art of Biblical Narrative” by Robert Alter, there is one chapter (Chapter 3) titled “Biblical Type-Scenes and the Uses of Convention” (Alter 47). Alter describes several different stories (but similar in some ways) in the Old Testament that can be difficult to interpret in today’s culture. Alter describes how reading any book (more specifically the Bible), requires use of conventions, which he describes as “… an elaborate set of tacit agreements between artist and audience about the ordering of the art work is at all times the enabling context in which the complex communication of art occurs” (Alter 47). In other words, an agreement of how the writing is done; it can be pretty complex as well. He states that there are stories in the Bible that have the same stories of narrative, but there are different characters, they often are told several times in the Bible. Alter uses several of examples, like how patriarch is driven by famine; or where someone is found and is invited to eat with them, or a betrothal (engagement) near a well/body
...e Biblical story weighs heavily on Joseph’s divine dream interpreting ability and the story it provides, focusing on the theme of God caring for His people and fulfilling his divine plan. The Qur’an appreciates this but sees it as a means to the end of the spread of faith to non-believers. The Christian and Jewish version of Joseph’s trials serves a greater literary purpose than the Qur’an’s version, advancing belief by showing God’s abilities and the way they may be manifested in others in order to fulfill his divine plan. However, the Qur’an expands upon the Biblical version by including additional plot points and explicitly portraying Joseph’s goals and how they align with Islamic theology. The accounts differ in functionality, but both are crucial to the holistic understanding of the story of Joseph and some of the fundamental differences between the religions.
This essay will attempt to exegete, the passage from Jonah chapter one. This is a common passage in the Old Testament known as the call of Jonah to Nineveh. It is widely believed that Jonah was a prophet of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, in about the 8th century BC. The available evidence seems fair to suggest that Jonah is the main character in the book named after his name. First thing to remember is that Johan’ popularity is based on his story of being swallowed by a fish.
Among Jewish peasantry at the time of Jesus were two distinct types of prophets: the action prophets, who "led sizable movements of peasants from the villages of Judea in anticipation of God's new, eschatological act of liberation," and the oracular prophets, who delivered oracles of either judgment or deliverance (185). The former, as illustrated by the case of Theudas, appea...
External evidence indicates the epic poem was written no earlier than 1060 and no later than the second half of the twelfth century with the generally accepted time begin 1098-1100 which coincides with the time of the First Crusade (Bur...
Robinson, B. A. (2008, March 30). Books of the Hebrew Scripture . Retrieved May 7, 2011, from Religious Tolerance: http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_otb3.htm
(4:6) After Jonah has sat down outside the city to see whether God would destroy it, God “appoints” מָנָהָ a plant to grow up over Jonah and his shelter to deliver him from רָָעָה. Many translate this as “trouble” or “distress,” but it seems most prudent to allow terms to remain consistent in meaning throughout the text.10 The best translation for the author‟s purpose seems to be “evil.” The author utilizes the repetition of the verbal root רָָעָה for an express reason, especially in Jonah 4. Though the term describes Nineveh, in 1:7, in 4:1 and 4:6 they describe
While Jeremiah is interpreted from many perspectives, some early Christian apologists proof-texted his words as an indication that the Jews had been cast aside by God because they had not remained faithful to Him and his Mosaic covenant. Jesus of Nazareth was the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophesies, so some claimed, and the Jews would remain shunned and doom...
Collins, John J. A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007.
The following paper examines a close reading of the figure of Moses in Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy with respect to the issue of why he is barred from entering the Promised Land of Canaan as well as in the Quran. Moreover, after considering the stories and character of Moses in these respective texts, I will then analyze the two accounts in order to examine their similarities and differences.
LaSor, W., Hubbard, D., Bush, F., & Allen, L. (1996). Old Testament survey: The message, form, and background of the Old Testament (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans
However, Bruce Theodore Dahlberg cites Robert Lowth, who had offered the following judgment relating to the Book of Malachi and its possible claims to a poetic style: Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are the only remaining prophets. The first of these is altogether prosaic, as well as the greater part of the second. . . The last of the prophetical books, that of Malachi, is written in a kind of middle style, which seems to indicate that the Hebrew poetry, from the time of the Babylonish captivity, was in a declining state, and, being past its prime and vigour, was then fast verging towards the debility of age. The Hebrew Bible (BHS) which is commonly used portrays the book in poetic format.