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Major themes of book of jonah essay
The analysis of the book of Jonah
Analysis of the book Jonah
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It is thought that Jonah, the fifth of the Minor Prophets, lived during the reign of Jeroboam II, when the kingdom was divided. (Lockyer, 198) Although the Book of Jonah is quite short, just two and one-half pages, it is not short on themes. Because there are so many themes it is hard to classify or to determine its primary message. (Anchor 936 and New Interpreter's 490) These themes range from running away, praying, second chances, anger, and God's compassion and mercy, to name a few. The following will provide a brief explanation of each theme, previously mention, as it relates to the Book of Jonah.
The first theme, running away and its consequences can be found in Chapter 1:1-2:1. Jonah is called by God to go to Nineveh and preach because their wickedness has become a concern to God. Jonah's name means "dove" which in turn signifies "messenger". Ammitai is Jonah's father; Ammitai means truth, which is interpreted as the son of "truth". The interpretation here is that Jonah is a messenger of God's truth. (Hor) As a prophet and "messenger of God's truth" it is Jonah's responsibility to do as God has asked, yet Jonah chooses to run away and gains passage on a ship going to Tarshish. There are many possible answers as to why he ran away, but the reason is not revealed until chapter 4:3. However, even as Jonah flees from his responsibility the presence of God surrounds him in the form of a "violent tempest" or great wind. (New Interpreter's 494) This is God's indirect way of speaking to Jonah and causes the next set of events that begin the consequence.
Frightened by the storm the sailors start to throw the cargo overboard to lighten the load. One interpretation is that the sailors were trying to lighten the s...
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... Eugene. You Can Run, But You Can't Hide. http://www.sermoncentral.com/ sermon.asp?SermonID=43475&ContributorID=7251
Keck, Leander E. et al. "The Book of Jonah." The New Interpreters Bible, Volume VII. Nashville: Abingdon Press 1996
Leiter, Mark. How God Corrects a Bad Attitude. http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon. asp?SermonID=54054&ContributorID=5995
Lockyer, Herbert. All the Men of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House
Magonet, J. Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation. Ed. John H. Hayes. Nashville: Abingdon Press
Magonet, Jonathan. "Jonah, Book of." The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Eds. David Noel Freedman, et al. New York: Doubleday
The New American Bible. Catholic Bible Press. Nashville
Wilkins, Mike. Praying in the Belly of a Fish.
http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon central_pro/quick_save.asp?SermonID=47464
Not only does the book relate to the movement of the Israelites, but also to the legendary man who lead them: Moses. Christians, Jews, and Muslims consider Moses a great prophet. One reference to Moses comes when Uncle John puts Rose of Sharon’s baby in the river. This is much like the life of Moses, when he is sent down the Nile River as a child.
The Bible: The Old Testament. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Sarah Lawall et al. Vol 1. 7th ed. New York: Norton, 1999. 47-97.
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...
The Holy Bible. Ed. David R. Veerman, et al. New King James Version. Ilinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1994.
...yne A. The HarperCollins Study Bible New Revised Standard Edition . New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. 1645-1722. Print.
This essay will attempt to exegete, the passage of 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 by his name. First thing to remember is that Johan’ popularity is based on his story for being swallowed by a fish. Hayes holds the view that he was born in 009BC in Gath-Hepher a few miles north of Nazareth. He was the son of the prophet Amittai. It traditionally believed that God revealed to Jonah that he will allow Israel to add a great expanse of territory to its borders.
When I read the name of "Jonah," I was prompted to think of the character of the same name in the Bible who got swallowed by a whale in the Old Testament. While the character goes also by the name "John," I couldn't help but wonder if there was some similarity involved in this novel.
Thiessen, H. C. Introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966.
Collins, John J. A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007.
On an opposite note, Jonah was a man whom God called upon to become a prophet. Jonah refused because he didn't desire a life of servitude. Knowing that he had committed an ultimate sin, Jonah fled to the ocean, risking hundreds of crew members' lives, believing that God would not be able to follow. In the sea, Jonah was swallowed by God in the form of a whale In the whale's belly, he repented and prayed for forgiveness. He was spit up by the whale upon dry land and all was forgiven.
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.
Judisch, Douglas. "The Historicity of Jonah." Concordia Theological Quarterly 63.2 (1999): 144-157. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
Carson, D, & Moo, D. (2005) An introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Carson, D.A., and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. 2nd Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005.