Eliyahu and Yonah

Introduction

Eliyahu and Yonah are the only two prophets in all of Tanakh who successfully persuade their audience to repent and change their ways. Somewhat surprisingly, though, rather than rejoicing at their success, both emerge from the experience distraught to the point of requesting death.  What do the two prophets and the circumstances in which they find themselves have in common which leads them to such similar responses? How might each narrative shed light on the other? The page below will compare and contrast the story of the two figures, focusing on the narratives in Melakhim I 19 and Yonah 1 and 4.

Content Parallels

There are many content parallels between the Eliyahu and Yonah narratives:

• Prophetic success –  At Mt. Carmel, Eliyahu convinces Israel to turn back to Hashem and proclaim "י"י הוּא הָאֱ-לֹהִים".  Yonah similarly manages to prod the people of Nineveh to repent of their violence.¹ As mentioned, such prophetic success is rare and unique to them.
• Distress – Despite their success, both prophets are distressed after their mission is accomplished and request to die. Eliyahu requests of Hashem, "take my soul for I am no better than my ancestors (Melakhim I 19:4).  Yonah echoes, "take my soul for my death is better than my life" (Yonah 4:3).
• Flight – Melakhim 19 opens with Eliyahu fleeing from Izevel, and perhaps from his prophetic mission as a whole (Melakhim I 19:3). Sefer Yonah similarly opens with Yonah's flight, explicitly cast as an attempt to avoid his mission (Yonah 1:3).²
• Sitting under shade – En route to Chorev, Eliyahu sits under the shade of a Rotem tree.  After leaving Nineveh, Yonah sits under the shade of a Sukkah.
• Wakened from sleep – Eliyahu goes to sleep under the tree and is told by the angel to "get up" and continue his journey (Melakhim I 19:4).  Yonah falls asleep in the boat and is told by the captain to "get up" and cry to God (Yonah 1:6).³
• Forty days and fasting – Eliyahu walks for forty days to Sinai, fueled by but a single cake (Melakhim I 19:8). When told that Nineveh will be destroyed in forty days, the people fast (Yonah 3:4-5).
• Display of nature and strong winds – At Chorev Hashem relays His message to Eliyahu via a violent display of nature, beginning with a "great wind", then "רעש", then fire, and ending with a "small still voice" (Melakhim I 19:11-12). Hashem communicates with Yonah, too, via nature, at sea via a "great wind", and later via the קיקיון, worm, and a "רוּחַ קָדִים חֲרִישִׁית."‎⁴
• Double question, response, and sign  – Eliyahu is twice asked, "מַה לְּךָ פֹה אֵלִיָּהוּ" and twice responds, "קַנֹּא קִנֵּאתִי".  In between the two conversations Hashem reveals Himself in nature.  Yonah, too, is twice asked, "הַהֵיטֵב חָרָה לָךְ", once after he requests to die and once followed by a request to die.  Here, too, in between the two conversations, Hashem reveals Himself in nature.⁵
• Complaint – Both prophets are distraught regarding the outcome of their campaigns, leading them to complain to God.  Eliyahu comes to Sinai to accuse the nation, his words "קַנֹּא קִנֵּאתִי לַי״י " perhaps an implicit request that Hashem take vengeance on the nation.⁶ Yonah complains that Hashem was too merciful, upset that Hashem overturned the decree on NIneveh.
• Midrashic connections – Perhaps due to the associations mentioned above, Pirkei De Rabbi Eliezer33About Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer identifies Yonah as the boy revived by Eliyahu.

Literary Allusions

There are several linguistic parallels between the stories as well:

Analysis

There is not abundant linguistic overlap between the stories, but the uniqueness of a couple of the phrases and the shared context of the others might, nonetheless, make them significant:

• The two central phrases "קַח נָא אֶת נַפְשִׁי" and "וַיִּשְׁאַל אֶת נַפְשׁוֹ לָמוּת" appear no where else in Tanakh. The combination of the two unique phrases in close proximity, thus, beckons the reader to compare the narratives.
• There are only 3 cases in all of Tanakh in which a "רוּחַ גְּדוֹלָה" plays a role, in our two stories and in Iyyov 1:19.⁷
• Though several other characters also sit under trees/ shade in Tanakh,⁸ the shared context of longing for death is unique to these stories, making the parallel meaningful.
• The words "וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ קוּם" appear several more times in Tanakh, but our two stories are the only cases in which they are used in the context of awakening another from slumber.

Conclusions

Both stories leave the central question of the narrative unanswered.  What is the underlying reason for each prophet's complaint and distress? Why does Yonah not want Nineveh saved? What leads Eliyahu to accuse the nation, right after they have returned to God?  See Eliyahu at Chorev and Why Did Yonah Disobey Hashem.

• Problematic repentance – According to some, both prophets' despair related to the poor quality of their audience's repentance.  Eliyahu's words, "and they have left your covenant" imply that the nation's return to God in Melakhim I 18 was short-lived. Yonah, too, might have had reason to believe that Nineveh's return was insincere or transitory.
• Overly zealous – Others suggest that both Yonah and Eliyahu were overly zealous and not particularly forgiving of sin, leading them to accuse.