Structure – Sefer Yonah/0

Structure – Sefer Yonah

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Overview

Sefer Yonah is a neatly structured book, dividing into two halves which are to some extent symmetrical in content. Chapters 1-2 detail Yonah's flight from his mission and its consequences, while Chapters 3-4 details his fulfillment of his mission and its aftermath.  Each unit opens with Hashem's call and the prophet's disobedience or compliance. 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 (first for salvation then for death) and is answered with miraculous messages.

Division into Units

I. First Mission Aborted (Chapters 1-2)
II. Second Mission Fulfilled(Chapters 3-4)

This division is supported by the following factors:

• Plot – The two units contain both contrasting and symmetrical content parallels:
• Chapters 1-2 describe Yonah's aborted mission and Hashem's lesson that one cannot flee from God. Chapters 3-4, in contrast, describe Yonah's fulfilling of his mission and Hashem's message regarding the importance of mercy.
• Each of the two units contains a secondary story regarding the near destruction of non-Israelites who are saved as they turn to God.
• Location – The first two chapters take place at sea, while the last two take place on land, in and around Nineveh.
• Characters – While Yonah and the sailors are the main characters of the first unit, Yonah and the people of Nineveh are the focus of the second.
• Parallel openings – Both units open with nearly identical language (וַיְהִי דְּבַר י״י אֶל יוֹנָה... לֵאמֹר: קוּם לֵךְ אֶל נִינְוֵה הָעִיר הַגְּדוֹלָה וּקְרָא עָלֶיהָ), clearly marking the book's division into two. The following verse of each unit is also somewhat parallel, but highlights the difference between the units. While at first Yonah "gets up" to flee (וַיָּקׇם יוֹנָה לִבְרֹחַ תַּרְשִׁישָׁה לִּפְנֵי י״י), later he "gets up" to obey (וַיָּקׇם יוֹנָה וַיֵּלֶךְ אֶל נִינְוֵה כִּדְבַר י״י).
• Parallel structure – See below that there is a symmetry in the overall structure of the two units, further supporting the division.

Subdivision of Unit I: First Mission

A. Near Destruction of Boatmen  (Chapter 1)
B. Miracles and Prayer (Chapter 2)

• Content – While the first chapter focuses on near destruction, the second highlights salvation.¹
• Location – Chapter 1 takes place on the boat, while Chapter 2 takes place in the body of the fish.
• Characters – The first chapter focuses on the interplay between the sailors and Yonah.  In contrast, Yonah is the sole character of Chapter 2.
• Genre – While Chapter 1 is written in prose, Chapter 2 is mainly poetry.
• Literary indicators – Chapter 2 is framed by the fish swallowing / releasing Yonah, clearly setting it off as a unit of its own.

Subdivision of Unit II: Second Mission

A. Near Destruction of Nineveh (Chapter 3)
B. Prayer and Miracle (Chapter 4)

• Content – While Chapter 3 highlights the repentance of Nineveh, Chapter 4 focuses on Yonah's reaction to it.
• Characters – The people of Nineveh are the focus of Chapter 3, with Yonah acting as a secondary character. In contrast, Yonah (and Hashem) is the central figure of Chapter 4.
• Location – Chapter three all occurs within Nineveh, while the events of Chapter 4 take place on the outskirts of the city.

Parallel Structure

The events and content of the two halves of the book are somewhat parallel as illustrated by the Sefer Outline to the right.

• Each unit opens with Hashem's call to Yonah to rebuke Nineveh (see above that the language of each is almost identical), with Yonah disobeying in one case and obliging in the other.
• Chapter 1 then describes the near destruction of the sailors on the boat, their crying out to God and attempts to save their fellow man (Yonah), and their ultimate salvation.This parallels Chapter 3 in which Nineveh is told of its impending destruction, leading the inhabitants to cry out to Elokim and make reparations to their fellow men. As a result they, too, are saved.
• Chapters 2 and 4 are similarly parallel, but stand in contrast to each other. 
• Chapter 2 opens with the miracle of Yonah being swallowed by the fish, yet surviving. The unexpected salvation  teaches Yonah that he cannot escape his mission, leading him to pray for his deliverance.²
• In Chapter four, too, Yonah prays, but for death rather than survival. Here, too, a miracle sends a message, as Hashem sprouts a gourd to protect Yonah but then kills it.³  The unexpected removal of his shade teaches Yonah to appreciate merciful acts.

¹ Commentators dispute the nature of Yonah's Prayer, with some reading it as a prayer of thanksgiving and others as a request for salvation. However, even those who read it as a petition, agree that the overall tone is positive as the prophet expresses his confidence in being saved.

² see above that it is not clear if he is thanking God or asking him to deliver him.

³ The fish and gourd miracles are set up as inverses of each other. Whereas Yonah had likely originally perceived the fish as a danger only to find it be a vehicle of salvation, he originally views the gourd as his salvation from the sun, only to find it useless.