Difference between revisions of "Overview – Sefer Yonah/0"
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− | Sefer Yonah itself provides no historical backdrop which would allow the reader to date it,<fn>Yonah is the only named character in the entire book, and no known historical events are mentioned or alluded to in the story.</fn> but Yonah is mentioned in one other place in Tanakh, Melakhim II 14:25 | + | <p>Sefer Yonah itself provides no historical backdrop which would allow the reader to date it,<fn>Yonah is the only named character in the entire book, and no known historical events are mentioned or alluded to in the story.</fn> but Yonah is mentioned in one other place in Tanakh, Melakhim II 14:25</p> |
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<category>Themes | <category>Themes |
Version as of 13:38, 25 August 2020
Overview – Sefer Yonah
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.
- 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 provides no historical backdrop which would allow the reader to date it,1 but Yonah is mentioned in one other place in Tanakh, Melakhim II 14:25