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 discuss the fulfillment of his task 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. Click here to open an outline of the book's structure in the pane to the right. Press on the plus signs to expand.

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 – Chapters 1-2 detail Yonah's flight from his mission and its consequences, while Chapters 3-4 discuss the fulfillment of his mission and its aftermath. 
• 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 (click on Table 1 to the right), clearly dividing the book into two. The third verse of each unit is also somewhat parallel, but highlights the difference between the units. While at first Yonah "gets up" to flee from God (וַיָּקׇם יוֹנָה לִבְרֹחַ תַּרְשִׁישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵי י״י), later he "gets up" to obey God's word (וַיָּקׇם יוֹנָה וַיֵּלֶךְ אֶל נִינְוֵה כִּדְבַר י״י).
• Parallel structure – See Table 2 and the discussion below that there is also 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 or 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 3,² with Yonah acting as a minor character. In contrast, Yonah (and Hashem) is the central figure of Chapter 4.
• Location – Chapter three 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 Table 2 in the pane to the right.

• Openings of Chapters 1 and 3: – Each unit opens with Hashem's call to Yonah to rebuke Nineveh, with Yonah disobeying in one case and obliging in the other. As mentioned above, the parallel is strengthened through the almost verbatim language used in each verse.
• Body of Chapters 1 and 3 –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.³ As a result they, too, are saved.
• Body of Chapters 2 and 4 – These chapters are similarly parallel, but inversely so:
• Chapter 2 opens with a miracle as Hashem "appoints" a fish to swallow Yonah (potential death), yet allows him to survive. Yonah then prays, either expressing thanksgiving or petitioning Hashem for his deliverance.⁴ His unexpected survival teaches him a lesson: Hashem desires not his death but his obedience. He cannot escape his mission.
• In Chapter 4, too, Yonah prays, but here he expresses a desires for death rather than survival, complaining rather than thanking Hashem for his mercy. Hashem enacts a miracle, "appointing"⁵ a gourd to "save" Yonah, but then killing it.⁶  The unexpected removal of his salvation teaches Yonah a lesson: Just as he pitied and desired the survival of the gourd, Hashem has mercy on Nineveh and desires their survival.

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 The word Nineveh appears seven times in times in the chapter, highlighting its centrality.

³ Here, too, linguistic overlap strengthens the parallel. The captain of the boat tells Yonah: "קוּם קְרָא אֶל אֱלֹהֶיךָ אוּלַי יִתְעַשֵּׁת הָאֱלֹהִים לָנוּ וְלֹא נֹאבֵד".  The King of Nineveh similarly tells his people, "וְיִקְרְאוּ אֶל אֱלֹהִים.. מִי יוֹדֵעַ יָשׁוּב וְנִחַם הָאֱלֹהִים וְשָׁב מֵחֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ וְלֹא נֹאבֵד".

⁴ See above note that the prayer has been read in both ways by commentators.

⁵ The same verb form, "וימן", is used with regards to both the fish of Chapter 2 and the gourd/worm/wind of Chapter 4, connecting the two sets of miracles. As the root only appears 28 times in all of Tanakh (and only once more in this specific form), the choice appears to be an intentional allusion.

⁶ The miracle of the gourd is, thus, almost opposite that of the fish. 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.