Overview – Sefer Yonah/0

Overview – Sefer Yonah

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Structure of the Book

Sefer Yonah is a neatly structured book, dividing into two halves which are to some extent symmetrical in content, as illustrated in the Table in the pane to the right.

• Chapters 1-2 detail Yonah's flight from his mission and its consequences, while Chapters 3-4 detail his fulfillment of his mission and its aftermath.
• Each unit opens with Hashem's call and the prophet's disobedience or compliance.¹
• This is followed by a description of people in danger of destruction whose ensuing actions and cries to God lead to their salvation.
• Both units end with a focus on the prophet Yonah who prays (in one case for salvation, and in the other for death) and is answered with miraculous messages.

For further discussion of the book's structure, see Structure – Sefer Yonah.

Historical Background

Sefer Yonah itself does not provide enough information to allow the reader to place it within a larger historical framework.² However, many commentators³ associate Yonah with the Yonah b. Amitai mentioned in Melakhim II 14:25 who prophesied during the reign of Yerovam II. If so, Yonah prophesied at a time when Assyria was one of the strongest powers in the Ancient Near East.  Within just a few decades of Yerovam's reign, Assyria exiles Israel and decimates Judah.  Sefer Yonah, however, makes no mention of any of this.  It never even draws a connection between Nineveh and Assyria, suggesting that these facts are perhaps not crucial for a proper understanding of the book's main messages..

Themes

Repentance

I. Characters – Much of the book of Yonah touches in some way on the themes of second chances, repentance, and return to God. Each of the main characters embark on a process of change, though their degree of success is debatable:

• The Ninevites – The Ninevites' actions are perhaps the most obvious example of penitence in the book.  At first glance, the comprehensive nature of their repentance appears impressive. All join in fasting and donning of sackcloth: young and old, human and animal. Yet, the very inclusion of the animals who are incapable of reflection and change casts the sincerity of their repentance into question. See The Repentance of Nineveh for opposing evaluations of their deeds.
• Yonah – Yonah clearly changes his ways from Chapter 1 to Chapter 3, moving from disobedience to compliance. Yet, his distress over Hashem's saving of Nineveh in Chapter 4 makes one question whether this change in deed was also accompanied by a fundamental change in outlook.  Did Yonah sincerely repent and regret his initial actions or did he head to Nineveh from lack of other options, forced by the Word of God?  See discussion in Yonah's Prayer.
• The Sailors – Though the boatmen are not presented as having sinned and being in need of repentance,⁴ they, too, undergo a transformation in the story.   As the chapter advances, they move progressively closer to Hashem .  This is highlighted by the usage of the guiding word "ירא" in verses 5, 10 and 15. At first the sailors' fear leads them to pray to their foreign gods.  By the end of the chapter, they instead "fear Hashem exceedingly".  Use the Tanakh Lab to explore related forms of the word "ירא" and other guiding words which might shed light on the sailors' spiritual growth.
• The Nation of Israel – Though Israel is not mentioned anywhere in the book, RadakYonah 1:1About R. David Kimchi suggests that it was written to serve as chastisement to the nation.  Israel, who does not heed the words of  dozens of prophets, should learn from the Ninevites who change their ways after but one encounter! ⁵

II. What does it mean to repent? The book also raises the more fundamental question of what true repentance entails. 

• Deeds vs. Cries – The Ninevites express their remorse through outward signs of penitence, but also actively change their previous violent ways. What is the relative value of each?  What is the goal of external signs of submission?
• See Mishnah Taanit 2:1 which learns from Yonah 3:11, "וַיַּרְא הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם כִּי שָׁבוּ מִדַּרְכָּם הָרָעָה" that Hashem has no desire for fasting and sackcloth without change of behavior. 
• This theme that true change, not beating of fists, is what is desired by God, is prominent elsewhere in Tanakh as well. Compare our chapter with Yeshayahu 1 and 58.
• Man vs. God – Abarbanel claims that the people of Nineveh repented in the interpersonal sphere, but not in their beliefs, remaining idolatrous. He has Yonah question the effectiveness of such repentance, believing that return to God is the more fundamental of the two.  Abarbanel makes one question: Can one truly "return" if one does not believe in Hashem?  To what extent is repentance and aversion of punishment contingent on belief?

Mercy vs. Justice

• Chapter 3:11 implies that Hashem overturned the decree of destruction against Nineveh due to the people's repentance. Hashem's words to Yonah at the end of Chapter 4, in contrast, imply that the city was spared due to Hashem's mercy.⁶ Which was the real reason for the city's salvation? Was this an act of justice, as their deeds no longer deserved punishment, or was this an act of mercy?  See The Repentance of Nineveh.

II. What is the desired balance between mercy and justice?

• The Book of Yonah raises questions regarding the relative values of mercy and justice. 

II. A Book About Mercy

• R. Yehoshua ibn Shuaib writes that the purpose of the book of Yonah is to demonstrate Hashem's great mercy on all His creations. "באה נבואת יונה בן אמיתי להורות כי השם יתעלה רחמיו על כל מעשיו, ואפילו אומות העולם, כל שכן בישראל".  Do you agree with his assessment?  Where in the book does this theme come to the fore?

Providence

Characters

Yonah

The Sailors

The Ninevites

Theological or Philosophical  Issues

The book raises several theological issues:

• Prophetic infallibility – Does Hashem choose only messengers that will do His bidding exactly as commanded, or might they commit errors and sins as well? How can Yonah flee God's call? See Why Did Yonah Disobey Hashem?
• Repentance – How does repentance work? Does it serve to erase both sin and punishment, or only the former? The word "תשובה" implies a return; does this mean a return to Hashem or to one's own pre-sin status?⁷ Finally, does repentance that stems from fear of punishment have the same status as that which derives from simple recognition of right and wrong? See Why Did Yonah Disobey Hashem and The Repentance of Nineveh
• Forgiveness – What factors play a role in forgiveness? Must it be a response to change, or might it stem from mercy or love? Can forgiveness erase the need for any punishment?
• Prayer
• Providence vs. free will

Connection to Yom HaKippurim

¹ The parallel is emphasized by the use of almost verbatim language in 1:1-3 and 3:1-3.

² No known historical events are mentioned or alluded to in the story. The king of Nineveh is not named, making it impossible to identify him with any known figure.  Even Yonah is an unknown, as the text provides no identifying information about him besides his name.

³ See, for example, Ibn Ezra, Radak and Ibn Kaspi on Yonah 1:1.

⁴ The text makes it clear that it is Yonah's deeds, not theirs, which are responsible for the storm at sea.

⁵ See Tanchuma and others in its wake, that this itself was the reason that Yonah fled his mission.  Knowing that the Ninevites were likely to repent and thereby cast the intransigent Israel in a negative light for not doing the same, he tried to avoid relaying God's word.

⁶ See Abarbanel who notes this contrast in his fifth question on Yonah 3.

⁷ See Abarbanel discussed above.