Sefer Yonah and the Sin of the Calf/0
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Sefer Yonah and the Sin of the Calf
Introduction
The story of Yonah and Nineveh recalls several aspects of the story of the Sin of the Golden Calf. Both narratives revolve around potential destruction of sinners and Hashem's ultimate decision to have mercy on the people and overturn the decree. Alongside these similarities, however, there are several key points of difference, mainly relating to the differing characters of the spiritual leaders of each story, Moshe and Yonah.
Content Parallels
The two narratives share the same (very general) storyline:
- Sin and declaration of punishment – In both stories, a nation/city finds itself close to destruction due to the severity of it sins.
- Prayer to overturn decree – In each case, a leader (Moshe / King of Nineveh) expresses a request that God nullify the decree and return from his wrath.
- 40 days of intervention / fasting – Nineveh is given forty days to change during which the people fast, don sack cloth and cry out to God. Moshe, similarly, spends forty days on Mt. Sinai, fasting and interceding on behalf of the people.
- Punishment averted – Both groups receive Divine mercy and Hashem "regrets" the evil He had planned.
- God's attributes – In both stories Hashem's attributes of mercy are highlighted. Hashem introduces them to Moshe on Mt. Sinai and in Sefer Yonah, the prophet tells Hashem that he has always known that Hashem is a "אֵ-ל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב חֶסֶד".
Literary Allusions
There are several almost verbatim parallels between the stories:
EN/HEע/E
| חטא העגל (שמות ל"ב-ל"ד) | ספר יונה (פרקים ג'-ד') |
| (לב:יב) שׁוּב מֵחֲרוֹן אַפֶּךָ וְהִנָּחֵם עַל הָרָעָה לְעַמֶּךָ. | (ג:ט) מִי יוֹדֵעַ יָשׁוּב וְנִחַם הָאֱלֹהִים וְשָׁב מֵחֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ וְלֹא נֹאבֵד. |
| (לב: יד) וַיִּנָּחֶם י״י עַל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לַעֲשׂוֹת לְעַמּוֹ. | (ג:י) וַיִּנָּחֶם הָאֱלֹהִים עַל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לַעֲשׂוֹת לָהֶם וְלֹא עָשָׂה. |
| (לד: ו) וַיַּעֲבֹר י״י עַל פָּנָיו וַיִּקְרָא י״י י״י אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת. | (ד:ב) כִּי יָדַעְתִּי כִּי אַתָּה אֵל חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב חֶסֶד וְנִחָם עַל הָרָעָה. |
Analysis
- Degree of similarity – There is a strong degree of similarity between the parallels. In two of the cases entire phrases are repeated in the same exact form, with only the order of two words being reversed.
- Distinctive phrases – The parallels are somewhat distinctive:
- Various forms of the phrase "וְשָׁב מֵחֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ" appear 13 times in Tanakh, but in only Shemot and Yonah is the phrase accompanied by the root "נחם".
- Variations of the phrase "נחם על הרעה" appear 11 times in Tanakh, but the full formulation " וַיִּנָּחֶם.. עַל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לַעֲשׂוֹת" is unique to these stories.
- Hashem's attributes of mercy are mentioned seven times in Tanakh. Tehillim 86:15 matches the version in Shemot (ending with "וֶאֱמֶת"), while the version in Yonah echoes that in Yoel 2:13 (ending with "וְנִחָם עַל הָרָעָה"). In the other three cases the attributes extend until the trait of "חסד".1
Points of Contrast
Despite the general similarity in plot discussed above, there are several important differences between the stories:
- Sins of Israel and Nineveh – While Israel sins in the realm of belief, turning away from Hashem to worship the calf, the sins of Nineveh are concentrated in the interpersonal realm, "הֶחָמָס אֲשֶׁר בְּכַפֵּיהֶם".
- Moshe and Yonah – Perhaps the most striking difference between the stories relates to the attitudes of Moshe and Yonah:
- Moshe ascends a mountain to speak with Hashem. Yonah descends to the seas to flee from Hashem.
- While Moshe desires the people's repentance and the overturning of the decree, Yonah actively opposes it.
- Moshe ask to be "erased" from Hashem's book if He does not forgive Israel (Shemot 32:32). Yonah, in contrast, requests death because Hashem has forgiven Nineveh (Yonah 4:3).
- Attributes of Hashem – When Yonah quotes the various attributes of Hashem, he ends with the fact that Hashem is "וְרַב חֶסֶד", replacing the final word of the verse in Shemot: "וֶאֱמֶת" with the phrase "וְנִחָם עַל הָרָעָה".2
