Jonah 3:4-5

Jonah 3:4-When Jonah Began To Enter Nineveh, He Announced That At The End Of Forty Days, It Would Be Overthrown

The fourth scene in the book of Jonah appears in Jonah 3:1-3a, which records the Lord commanding Jonah a second time to go immediately to Nineveh in order to proclaim a message from Him to the Ninevites and this time the prophet obeys. Jonah 3:1-3a, “Now, a message from the Lord was communicated to Jonah, a second time, 2 ‘You must go immediately to Nineveh, that great city and then announce the proclamation for the benefit of her people, which I am about to tell you.’ 3a Consequently, Jonah went immediately to Nineveh according to the command from the Lord.” (My translation) This scene is transitional since in the previous scene we have Jonah either at sea, on board the ship or inside the stomach of the great fish but in the fourth scene, the prophet is back on dry land. He receives a message from the Lord a second time, which has him going to Nineveh and proclaiming a message from the Lord to that great city. Therefore, the narrative is resumptive as well as transitional. In this pericope, we do not see the Lord rebuking Jonah since the storm did that. Rather, we have simple reiteration of the command by the Lord, which speaks of His grace policy towards Jonah in that though he was worthy of death for disobeying the Lord, the Lord gives him a second chance, which teaches us that God is a God of the second chance. There is no mention of Jonah’s rebelliousness or disobedience in this scene since it has been forgiven by the Lord. To forgive means to give someone a release from the wrong that he has done to you. It means to give up any right of retaliation. At this point in the narrative Jonah has confessed his sin of disobeying the Lord and has repented. This is indicated by the statements in Jonah 3:3-4, which record Jonah obeying the Lord’s command to go to Nineveh and pronounce judgment against it. However, Jonah has not repented concerning his hateful attitude towards the Ninevites as indicated by the statements he makes to the Lord as recorded in Jonah 4:2-3. The fifth scene appears in Jonah 3:3b-10, which records Jonah proclaiming judgment against the city of Nineveh and in response the inhabitants of this great city believed in God and repent of their evil conduct. In Jonah 3:3b, the narrator describes Nineveh as belonging to God and an enormous city requiring three days to walk through. Jonah 3:3b, “Now, Nineveh is an enormous city belonging to God, a three days journey.” (My translation)

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Jonah 3:3b begins the fifth scene in the book of Jonah and contains a two-fold description of Nineveh. The first that Nineveh was an enormous city speaks of its immense size and that it belonged to God emphasizing the Lord’s sovereignty over the inhabitants of Nineveh who are one of Israel’s staunchest enemies. It is anticipating the faith of the Ninevites in God and their repentance towards Him. This is indicated by the events recorded in the rest of chapter in which the king of Nineveh and his subjects respond to Jonah’s message of judgment by exercising faith in God and repenting from their evil conduct. This first description continues the argument of the book of Jonah that God is sovereign over the Gentiles and not just the Israelites. It stresses with the reader that God seeks to save the Gentiles. He is the God of the Gentiles and not just the Jews as Paul writes in Romans 3:29. The second description that the city required a three days journey speaks of the amount of time it would take for Jonah to visit the whole district administered by Nineveh, which in the days of the prophet would include Sinjar-Calah-Dur- Sharrukin, i.e. the “Greater Nineveh” area. It would also refer to a diplomatic process or following the protocol of visit by a diplomat. Next, we will note Jonah 3:4, which records that when Jonah began to enter Nineveh, he announced that the city would be overthrown at the end of forty days. Jonah 3:1, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.’ 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. 4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’ 5 Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. 6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes. 7 He issued a proclamation and it said, ‘In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. 8 But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. 9 Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.’ 10 When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.” (NASU) Let’s look at verse 4.

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Jonah 3:4, “Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’” (NASU) wa), which is prefixed to the third person) ( וָ ) Then ” is the conjunction wa“ ,(khaw-lal) ( חָלַל ) masculine singular hiphil active imperfect form of the verb ḥā·lǎl “began .” It introduces a clause that indicates the time when the following clause occurs. The word is introducing a clause that records an event that occurred simultaneously with the event recorded in the clause that follows it. Therefore, it is introducing a clause that indicates when Jonah announced that Nineveh would be overturned at the end of forty days. A temporal clause beginning with an imperfect wa consecutive is often used in past narratives, which is the case in Jonah 3:4, which is a past time narrative. Therefore, this temporal clause introduced by the conjunction wa indicates that “when” Jonah began to enter the city of Nineveh one day’s walk, he announced “at the end of forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!” Therefore, we will translate the word “ when ” as the NET Bible does. “Jonah ” is composed of the masculine singular form of the proper noun yo-naw), which refers of course to the Northern Kingdom prophet) ( יוֹנָה ) yownah of Israel who served during the reign of Jeroboam II in approximately 793-753 B.C (2 Kings 14:25). His father was the son of Amittai and his home was in Gath- hepher, which is in Zebulun (Joshua 19:13) situated 2.5 miles northeast of Nazareth in. The word functions as the direct object of the verb nā·śā(ʾ). This word is of course the subject of the verb ḥā·lǎl, “ began ” and bô( ʾ), “ go .” The verb ḥā·lǎl is used in a temporal sense meaning “to begin” in the sense of initiating a process, which in our context, is the prophet Jonah proclaiming that Nineveh would be overthrown at the end of forty days. The verb frequently takes an infinitive construct with the preposition le as we have here in Jonah 3:4 and speaks of “beginning” to perform some action, which in our context is Jonah proclaiming that Nineveh would be overthrown after forty days. This verb is not just speaking of the moment Jonah entered the city of Nineveh rather it refers to his entire first day of walking through the city and proclaiming his message from the Lord. The hiphil stem is intransitive causative or ingressive meaning the verb does not take a direct object and describes its subject as exhibiting a state or quality or as entering into and remaining in a state or condition. Here it is used to describe Jonah as entering into the state of proclaiming that Nineveh would be overthrown at the end of forty days. The active voice means that Jonah, as the subject, performs the action of entering into this state. The imperfect tense is used of a past action from the perspective of the writer. It is used with the conjunction wa to form a temporal clause. We will translate the verb “ began .”

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Jonah 3:4, “Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’” (NASU) ” lamed), “ to) ( לְ ) To go through the city ” is composed of the preposition le“ bow), “ go ” and) ( בֹּוא ) (and the qal active infinitive construct form of the verb bô( ʾ beth), “ through ” and the articular feminine singular form of) ( בְּ ) the preposition be ”. aw-yar), “ the city) ( עִיר ) the noun îr The verb bô( ʾ) means “to enter” and is used with Jonah as its subject indicating that when Jonah began to “enter” the city of Nineveh, he proclaimed that the city would be overthrown at the end of forty days. Like the verb ḥā·lǎl, this verb does not refer to the moment Jonah entered the city of Nineveh but rather it refers to his entire first day of walking through the city. This is indicated by the expression that ”. one day’s walk “ ,( מַהֲלַ יוֹם אֶחָד ) follows it ʾě·ḥāḏ yôm m ǎ·h ǎlǎḵ The preposition le precedes the verb bô( ʾ) and together they form an infinitive construct that functions as the object of the verb ḥā·lǎl. This is customarily called a verbal complement indicating that the preposition le precedes the verb bô( ʾ) are completing the situation of the verb ḥā·lǎl or its thought. The active voice of the verb indicates that Jonah, as the subject, performs the action of entering Nineveh. The qal stem is fientive expressing an action that Jonah is performing. We will translate the verb “ to go .” The noun îr , “ the city ” refers of course to Nineveh as indicated by its articular construction, which is anaphoric indicating that Nineveh was mentioned in verse 3. The preposition be, “ through ” is terminative marking a location within an area. When used with a verb of motion, the object of this preposition can indicate a place toward which something moves in. Here the preposition is used with the verb bô( ʾ), which means “to enter” indicating that the preposition means “into.” This indicates that when Jonah began to enter into Nineveh, he proclaimed that the city would be overthrown by God at the end of forty days. The ESV, NIV and NET all interpret the preposition in Jonah 3:4 this way. Therefore, we will translate the prepositional phrase “ into this city .” ,(ekh-awd) ( אֶחָד ) One day’s walk ” is composed of the cardinal number ʾě·ḥāḏ“ yome), “ days ” and the) ( יוֹם ) one ” and the masculine plural form of the noun yôm“ ”. mah-lake), “ walk) ( מַהֲלָ ) masculine singular construct form of the noun mǎ·hǎlāḵ The noun mǎ·hǎlāḵ means “journey” since it refers to traveling a certain distance and in our context, it refers to the journey that Jonah took through Nineveh, which required three days to complete. The noun yôm is in the plural and means “days” referring to the daylight portion of a twenty four hour day in contrast to the night time and extends from the rising of the sun to its setting. The word is modified by the cardinal number ʾě·ḥāḏ, which is an ordinal number that means “one” and refers to one twenty-four period.

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one day’s “ ,( מַהֲלַ יוֹם אֶחָד ) So we will translate the expression ʾě·ḥāḏ yôm m ǎ·h ǎlǎḵ journey .” מַהֲלַ ) Now, as we noted in Jonah 3:3b, the expression šelō·š ěṯ y ā·mîm’ m ǎ·h ǎlǎḵ a three days’ journey ” first of all speaks of the amount of time it“ ,( שְׁשֶׁת יָמִים would take for Jonah to visit the whole district administered by Nineveh, which in the days of the prophet would include Sinjar-Calah-Dur-Sharrukin. Supporting this interpretation is that the phrase “the great city ” ( , 1:2; 3:2; 4:11) is the very same expression that appears in Genesis 10:11-12 that refers to Nineveh. Genesis 10:8, “Now Cush became the father of Nimrod (“rebel”); he became a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.’ 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.” (NASU) In this passage, the great city refers to the entire metropolitan area composed of Nineveh and the other cities. This would indicate that the phrase is to be understood in a semi-technical sense, meaning “Greater Nineveh.” Also, supporting the interpretation that the expression šelō·š ěṯ y ā·mîm’ m ǎ·h ǎlǎḵ a three days’ journey ” refers to the amount of time it would“ ,( מַהֲלַ שְׁשֶׁת יָמִים) take for Jonah to visit the whole district administered by Nineveh is that the city was approximately 60 miles in length and a traveler like Jonah could cover 20 miles a day, thus it would take him three days to cover the city of Nineveh and its surrounding district. As noted above, Lessing has some reservations about this interpretation stating that “the text of Jonah describes Nineveh as a ‘city,’ and Jonah is portrayed as going and sitting down outside of it (4:5). Moreover, the city’s population is stated in 4:11.” (Ibid) city” not“ ,( עִיר ) In response to this objection is must be noted that the noun ʿîr only can refer to a major population center enclosed by walls but it is also used of any population center ranging from a small unwalled hamlet or village to a large, walled city. (Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) Shultz writes that the word “refers to a permanent settlement without reference to size or claims.” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, page 664) The city’s population is indeed mentioned in 4:11. However, this number could reflect the entire population in the district administered by Nineveh, which in the days of the prophet would include Sinjar-Calah-Dur-Sharrukin. Also the fact that Jonah sat down outside the walls of the city does not refute the idea that a three

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 5 days was needed to traverse this district since this was walled city area contained the highest concentration of the population which Jonah wanted destroyed. Also, undoubtedly as Wiseman suggests, the expression šelō·š ěṯ y ā·mîm’ a three days’ journey ” refers to a diplomatic process“ ,( מַהֲלַ שְׁשֶׁת יָמִים) mǎ·h ǎlǎḵ or following the protocol of visit by a diplomat. To enter Nineveh, Jonah, like any other diplomat or emissary would have had to follow accepted protocol. The first day would mark Jonah’s arrival in the city, followed by a customary day of visiting, business, and rest; then the third day is for departure. This suggestion would accord with the ancient oriental practice of hospitality whereby the first day is for arrival, the second for the primary purpose of the visit and the third for return. The first and third days of Jonah’s visit would involve meetings and explanations, perhaps even formal hearings. As Stuart suggests Jonah “may even have presented gifts to city officials upon his arrival, as was the custom in the case of official state visits, though his contacts may have been less formal and less highlevel.” Therefore, Jonah did not simply stroll into Nineveh proclaiming judgment against its inhabitants but rather would have had to follow accepted protocol. This would explain why in Jonah 3:6-7 the king of Nineveh issued a proclamation to his subjects to repent. The king along with his political and military leadership would have been the first to hear of this message of judgment from the Lord. Now based upon this interpretation of the three days journey in Nineveh, the expression “ one day’s journey ” refers to Jonah’s entire first day of walking through the city, which would include meetings with the city’s officials including the presentation of gifts to the city’s dignitaries as Stuart points out. The New American Commentary writes, “Jonah’s arrival in Nineveh probably was dramatic. His clothing was no doubt different from the norm, his bearing gave evidence of a different lifestyle, and a possibly bleached skin color provided for much attention.” (The New American Commentary: Amos, Obadiah, Jonah; page 258) Lessing commenting on the Ninevites recognition that Jonah was a prophet of Yahweh, writes, “Prophets could cross cultural and ethnic boundaries and still be recognized. For example, Balaam steps over cultural boundaries and is still recognized by Israel as a prophetic figure (Numbers 22–24). Later the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar employs the Israelite Daniel to serve in his court (e.g., Dan 2:16). Of course, the messages of true prophets of the one true God differed radically from those of false Israelite prophets and their pagan counterparts. Nevertheless, the social functions, roles, and to a degree even the forms of prophetic speech were similar in antiquity throughout the Fertile Crescent. This helps us understand how the Ninevites promptly realize that a prophet is in their midst.” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah; page 296)

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Many scholars object to the historical reliability of this story because of the alleged language barrier between the Assyrians and Israel’s prophet Jonah indicating the unlikelihood that Jonah could communicate to the Ninevites. “However, if an Assyrian official could speak to the populace of Jerusalem in Hebrew in 701 b.c. (2 Kgs 18:26–28), there is no reason to doubt that a Hebrew prophet could speak to the populace of Nineveh in Aramaic, the lingua franca of the day, fifty years earlier.” (The New American Commentary: Amos, Obadiah, Jonah; page 258) Jack Sasson writes, “Hebrew narrative art hardly ever pauses to recognize language distinctions, and it does so only when it is important to the plot, for example, when Joseph is said to speak through interpreters so that his brothers cannot identify Hebrew as his native tongue [Gen 42:23]; or when Sennacherib’s chamberlain, who otherwise speaks Hebrew, is urged toward Aramaic, lest the Judeans understand what he says (Isa 36:4–11). Otherwise, everyone speaks perfectly gorgeous Hebrew: Pharaohs and Philistine kings turn to it when conversing with patriarchs; Babylonian and Persian dignitaries do so similarly when they address exiled Jews.” (Jonah; The Anchor Yale Bible, volume 24b; The Anchor Yale Bible; page 232; Yale University Press; New Haven and London) Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 3:4: “When Jonah began to enter into this city, one day’s journey…” Jonah 3:4, “Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’” (NASU) wa), which is prefixed to) ( וָ ) And ” is the temporal use of the conjunction wa“ the third person masculine singular qal active imperfect form of the verb qārāʾ kaw-raw), “ he cried out ” to form a temporal clause that corresponds to the) ( קָרָ א) previous temporal clause. The conjunction wa introduces a clause that records an event that occurs simultaneously with the event recorded in the previous clause. Therefore, this indicates that when Jonah began to enter the city of Nineveh one day’s walk, “at that time” he announced that Nineveh would be overthrown at the end of forty days. So the verb qārāʾ refers to an action that is contemporaneous with the action of the verb ḥā·lǎl in the preceding clause. There is no need to translate the conjunction wa , which is prefixed to the verb qārāʾ as “at that time” since this would be redundant since the conjunction prefixed to the verb ḥā·lǎl is translated “when .” The NET Bible follows suit. The verb qārāʾ is used with Jonah as its subject and means “to announce,” i.e. to make a public announcement of an impending event that will take place in Nineveh, namely its destruction. The imperfect tense is used of a past action from the perspective of the writer. It is used with the conjunction wa to form a temporal

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 7 clause. The active voice of the verb indicates that the subject, Jonah performs the action of announcing that Nineveh would be overthrown at the end of forty days. The qal stem is fientive expressing an action that Jonah is performing. We will translate the verb “ he announced .” Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 3:4: “When Jonah began to enter into this city, one day’s journey, he announced…” ,(wa) ( וָ ) And said ” is composed of the epexegetical use of the conjunction wa“ which is prefixed to the third person masculine singular qal active imperfect form aw-mar), “ saying ” to form a clause that explains the) ( אָמַר ) of the verb ʾā·mǎr previous clause identifying for the reader specifically what Jonah announced to the Ninevites. Like the verb qārāʾ, the verb ʾā·mǎr refers to an action that is contemporaneous with the action of the verb ḥā·lǎl in the preceding clause. Therefore, we will translate the word “ specifically .” The verb ʾā·mǎr means “said” with the statement to follow providing the content of what Jonah said to the Ninevites. The qal stem of the verb is fientive expressing an action on the part of Jonah. The active voice indicates that Jonah as the subject performs the action of speaking to the Ninevites. The imperfect tense speaks of this action of the prophet as taking place in past time from the perspective of the writer. It is used with the conjunction wa to form an epexegetical clause. Therefore, we will translate the verb “ he said .” Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 3:4: “When Jonah began to enter into this city, one day’s journey, he announced, specifically he said…” Jonah 3:4, “Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’” (NASU) The message from the Lord that was delivered by Jonah to the Ninevites is only composed of five words in the Hebrew. Undoubtedly, this short message was repeated over and over by Jonah. The message gives no reason for the destruction. However, the repentance by the Ninevites indicates that their collective conscience convicted them, not to mention the Holy Spirit as well. There was no explicit call for repentance. However, the fact that the message declared there would be an interval of forty days before the city was overthrown implied a call for repentance on the part of the Ninevites. If the Lord wanted to destroy the city, He did not need to have Jonah issue this proclamation to the citizens of Nineveh. So it was assumed by the audience that the Lord wanted the citizens of this wicked city to repent from their sinful conduct. Why would the Lord wait forty days to destroy Nineveh if He was determined to do so? So the forty days left room for repentance by the Ninevites. So this proclamation from the Lord delivered by Jonah to the Ninevites was taken by the Ninevites as an invitation to repentance.

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Therefore, this proclamation in Jonah 3:4 is not a prophecy but rather a warning thus refuting those who contend that this was a false prediction. It was a warning implying the condition of repentance. The book of Jonah does not say that this is a prophecy. Jeremiah 18:7-8 helps us to understand what was taking place in Jonah 3:4. Jeremiah 18:7, “There are times, Jeremiah, when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom. But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong, I will cancel the destruction I intended to do to it.” (NET) ode), which is a constituent adverb that has to do) ( עֹוד ) Yet ” is the adverb ʿôḏ“ with duration or continuation in a temporal sense (Waltke-O’Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax). It appears 116 times in the Hebrew Bible and has two primary categories of meaning relating to action: (1) durative action (2) repeated action. Often the adverb means “still” or “yet” suggesting an action or state continuing for a duration of time. In Jonah 3:4, the word “denotes limited temporal continuation (BDB 728 s.v. a; Gen 29:7; Isa 10:32)” and means “at the end of” as indicated by the.1 עוֹד expression “ forty days ” (NET Bible). The NET Bible writes, “Tg. Jonah 3:4 rendered it as ‘at the end of [forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown].’” Some translate the word “yet” thus making the statement “yet in forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown.” Either way, both interpretations indicate an interval of time before a future event. The forty days would allow time for repentance. This is exactly how the Ninevites would understand the proclamation since if God simply wanted to destroy the city, He would not have had Jonah issue this proclamation. “Forty days ” is composed of the masculine plural form of the cardinal number ar-baw-eem), “ forty ” and the masculine singular form of the) ( אַרְ בָּעִים ) ʾǎ r·bā·ʿ îm ”. yome), “ days) ( יוֹם ) noun yôm Though in the singular, the noun yôm means “days” since numbers greater than ten normally take the singular form though English requires the plural. The noun is referring to the daylight portion of a twenty four hour day in contrast to the night time and extends from the rising of the sun to its setting. The word is modified by the cardinal number ʾǎ r·bā·ʿ îm , which is an ordinal number that means “forty” and refers to forty twenty-four period. The period of forty days was in effect a period of grace allowing time for the Ninevites to repent. Stuart writes that the term ʾǎ r·bā·ʿ îm “is a term which is often used in the sense of ‘a good many’ or ‘dozens.’ It does not necessarily connote a literal forty, i.e., one more than thirtynine (cf. Num 13:25; Josh 4:13; Judg 3:11; 5:8; 13:1; etc.). Its association with time for purging, in the OT at least (e.g., the wandering in the wilderness for forty years which eliminated the unfaithful; the forty days of rain which began the flood and thus eliminated the wicked; the forty years of Egypt’s

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 9 desolation prior to its restoration, in Ezek 29:11–16, etc.), and at least once with fasting (Deut 9:18, 25; cf. Matt 4:2) might reflect a similar association elsewhere in the ancient Near East (cf. also 1 Kgs 19:8; Exod 24:18; Num 13:25). To the original Israelite/Judean audience the multiple implications of ‘forty’ would be heard; to Jonah they would be evident.” (Stuart, D. (2002). Vol. 31: Word Biblical Commentary: Hosea-Jonah. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated) Here in Jonah 3:4, the term ʾǎ r·bā·ʿ îm refers to a literal “forty” as indicated by the adverb ʿôḏ, which denotes limited temporal duration indicating that the Lord has set a specific period of forty days in which the Ninevites can repent and if not, the city would be overthrown. Also, the sequential use of the conjunction wa , ,(nee-nev-ay) ( נִינְוֵה ) (which follows it and is prefixed to the proper noun nî ·newē(h “Nineveh” indicates that the city would be overthrown after forty days. The number forty in Scripture is used in relation to testing. This is how it is used in Genesis 7:17 in relation to the flood in the days of Noah. It is used of Moses on Mount Sinai in Exodus 24:18. In 1 Kings 19:8, Elijah traveled forty days and forty nights to Mount Horeb. The Lord was in the desert being tempted by Satan forty days in Matthew 4:2. wa), which functions as a marker of a sequence of closely) ( וָ ) And ” is the wa“ related events indicating that immediately after arriving in Nineveh, Jonah was to announce judgment against the inhabitants of that great city. This word denotes that at the end of the forty days, “then” Nineveh would be overthrown. These two words form a disjunctive clause that is terminative indicating that Nineveh would be overthrown at the end of forty days. We will translate the word “ then .” ( נִינְוֵה ) (Nineveh ” is the feminine singular form of the proper noun nî ·newē(h“ (nee-nev-ay), which was one of the capitals of the Assyrian Empire and was located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River in northeastern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, in the area of the city of Mosul). “Will be overthrown ” is the feminine singular niphal passive participle form of haw-fak), which is ambiguous since it can signify) ( הָפַ) the verb hā·p̄ ǎḵ “judgment, a turning upside down, a reversal, a change, a deposing of royalty, or a change of heart.” The word should be rendered “to be changed” or “to be overturned” to reflect this ambiguity. Therefore, Jonah’s message from the Lord can be interpreted by the Ninevites as “at the end of the forty days Nineveh will be destroyed” or “at the end of the forty days Nineveh will have a change of heart.” This ambiguity is indicated by the fact that the Lord said He would do this at the end of forty days, which as we noted left room open for repentance. If the Lord was determined to destroy the city, He would not have given the Ninevites a warning. The warning implied that the Lord would relent if the Ninevites repented. The Lord didn’t need forty days to muster up the power and resources to destroy

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 10 the city since He could do it immediately. So the Lord told Jonah that Nineveh would be changed, turned upside down but whether for good or evil, he did not know and neither did the Ninevites. This adds to the irony of the book of Jonah. In Jonah 1:2, the Lord told Jonah to announce judgment against it. The ambiguity of hā·p̄ ǎḵ in Jonah 3:4 indicates that the Lord is attempting to give Jonah a little more information than he would like. The Lord intends to judge the city of Nineveh if they don’t repent and if they do repent, He will relent. This of course, Jonan knew about the Lord and hated. Jonah forgot that he benefited from this aspect of the Lord’s character and nature and grace policy. Stuart makes this insightful comment on this message from the Lord to the Ninevites, he writes, “In Assyrian the full sentence would be rendered adi arbât ūmē ninua innabak , as simple and as ambiguous as the Hebrew. The ambiguities would be threefold. First, as this word was passed around among the populace, it would not automatically be clear whether Jonah had warned only the enclosed city (alninua) or the entire district ( ninuaki ) that it would be overthrown by God. Second, the people might wonder whether the mention of ‘forty days’ was to allow time for or simply to assure that the divine judgment repentance, was not far off. Third, by nature Heb. /Assyrian ab āku carries a certain ambiguity. The term can signify an overthrow, a judgment, a turning upside down, a reversal, a change, a deposing of royalty, or a change of heart (Wiseman, TynB 30 [1979] 49). In other words, Jonah’s words in Assyrian, just as in Hebrew, could mean both ‘In forty more days Nineveh will be overthrown’ and ‘In forty more days Nineveh will have a change of heart’ (cf. Good, Irony in the OT, 48–49). It must be remembered that these words are not what Jonah composed, but are exactly what Yahweh told him to say (3:2). The alert hearer/reader who would catch the ambiguity would begin to sense what 3:5 then reports. Jonah’s message mentioned ‘forty days.’ In spite of its potential ambiguity, this must have seemed to many Ninevites to be an invitation to repentance, giving hope that they and their city or land might not be destroyed.” (Stuart, D. (2002). Vol. 31: Word Biblical Commentary: Hosea-Jonah. Word Biblical Commentary. Page 489; Dallas: Word, Incorporated) Undoubtedly, based upon Jonah’s reaction to Nineveh’s repentance as recorded in Jonah 4:2-3, Jonah felt that he was delivering a message of doom to the Ninevites. However, the Lord had other plans. He intended to overthrow the city in the sense of giving them a change of heart. So the verb means that Nineveh was going to be overturned, either in the sense of being destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah or have a change of heart by discontinuing their sinful conduct as a nation. Lessing has this excellent comment on this verb, he writes, “Two additional First, passages in which this verb . הָפַ points must be made about the meaning of refers to the destruction of a city are indissolubly linked in the OT with the

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,Jonah is echoing this earlier , הָפַ destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. By using devastating judgment of Yahweh upon non-Israelite cities. It then aids in characterizing Nineveh as an exceedingly wicked city, thereby making its is used in Gen 19:25, 29 to הָפַ repentance all the more remarkable. The Qal of refer to Yahweh destroying Sodom and Gomorrah (and in Gen 19:21, where he promises not to destroy Zoar, whence Lot flees). In those contexts, it is a synonym destroy’ (Gen 19:13–14, 29). Sodom became the archetype of wickedness‘ , שָׁחַת of because of the abomination of homosexuality (Gen 19:4–11). God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah became a type of the eschatological judgment for all could be understood in different הָפַ ,unbelievers, especially the depraved. Second ways. Jonah likely would have understood his message to be one of impending doom of the sort that befell Sodom, and the Ninevites clearly took it as a warning that they would perish (see Jonah 3:9). However, this verb also can refer to a radical reversal from one extreme to another, including a change of heart. For Qal imperfect] for , וַיַּהֲפֹ֩ ] example, Moses states that ‘Yahweh your God turned you the curse [of Balaam] into a blessing, because Yahweh your God loves you’ (Deut 23:6 [ET 23:5]; similar is Neh 13:2). It refers to a radical change of heart in Saul (the Qal in 1 Sam 10:9). It is used for a radical turning from sorrow to joy (Qal in Jer 31:13; Niphal in Esther 9:22) or evil speech to holy invocation (Qal in Zeph 3:9). The Niphal, which is in Jonah 3:4, refers to a radical change in God’s own heart, from anger to compassion for his people in Hos 11:8. Thus the wording of the sermon Yahweh spoke to Jonah (3:2), recorded by the author of the book (3:4), can be understood by us, the reading audience, in one of two ways. Probably this is part of the irony intended by the author. ‘Yet in forty days Nineveh is about to be changed’ could refer to its destruction like Sodom and Gomorrah or to its is הָפַ ,change from impenitent wickedness to repentance and faith. In this context a double entendre promoting either Law and judgment, or Law and Gospel. Either way, Nineveh will be changed! This gives Jonah’s oracle a tautological nature: whether the city disregards the warning and is destroyed or repents and is spared, his oracle will come true. Pseudo-Philo acknowledges this double entendre when he writes about the conversion of the Ninevites: ‘The city has truly been overturned, as it was proclaimed, but in its hearts and not its walls. It is no longer the same city.’ The two possible meanings of the verb allow for the fact that Yahweh seeks a change in the people’s hearts (see 3:9–10), while Jonah longs for their destruction (see 4:1, 5). Jonah’s distress in chapter 4 is partly because he does not realize that his sermon came true in the sense Yahweh intended. How ironic!’” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah; pages 282-283) The passive sense of the niphal stem means that the subject is in the state of being acted upon. This is specifically an incomplete passive since the agent is not indicated but the context of the book makes clear that the agent is the Lord.

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Therefore, this indicates that the city of Nineveh as the subject will be acted upon by the Lord through the message that Jonah proclaimed in the sense that it would result in the city being destroyed or repenting from its evil behavior. The participle form of this verb indicates an imminent future action indicating that it was imminent that Nineveh would be changed either for good or evil. Therefore, we can translate this verb “ will be overturned ” to reflect the ambiguity in the word. Completed corrected translation of Jonah 3:4: “When Jonah began to enter into this city, one day’s journey, he announced, specifically he said, ‘At the end of forty days, Nineveh will be overturned.’” To summarize our findings, Jonah 3:4 continues the fifth scene that ends in verse 10. This verse is a temporal clause that tells the reader that the Lord would overturn Nineveh at the end of forty days. This is a warning and not a prophecy or a decree since the forty days obviously implies to the Ninevites that the Lord wants them to repent since He could have destroyed them immediately without warning. The forty days leaves room open for repentance. This is also indicated by the fact that the verb hā·p̄ ǎḵ is ambiguous since it can signify “judgment, a turning upside down, a reversal, a change, a deposing of royalty, or a change of heart.” Therefore, Jonah’s message from the Lord can be interpreted by the Ninevites as “at the end of the forty days Nineveh will be destroyed” or “at the end of the forty days Nineveh will have a change of heart.” The Lord didn’t need forty days to muster up the power and resources to destroy the city since He could do it immediately. So the Lord told Jonah that Nineveh would be changed, turned upside down but whether for good or evil, he did not known and neither did the Ninevites. This adds to the irony of the book of Jonah. The Ninevites response to the message would determine the city’s destiny. This message from the Lord reflects the consequences of sin—a separation from God and the ominous threat of judgment. It conveys the great danger, which threatened the city. But it is also intended to produce something different than destruction, which is not only suggested by the outcome of the story, but is also implied by the words themselves. If God had intended to wipe out Nineveh, what reason was there for Him to tell the Ninevites about it, and then send Jonah to inform the people of Nineveh of His intention. God tells of judgment in advance so as to afford an opportunity for men to repent. The Lord’s desire was not to destroy the city of Nineveh but rather His will was to forgive them and show mercy to them even though they rebelled against Him. Jonah knew this about the Lord and did not like it. The graciousness of the Lord in forgiving sin and the compassion of the Lord are the glory of God, which the Lord revealed to Moses in Exodus 33 and 34. Here

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 13 in dealing with the Ninevites, the Lord had a perfect opportunity to express His glory. Exodus 33:18, “And Moses said, ‘Show me your glory.’ 19 And the Lord said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before your face, and I will proclaim the Lord by name before you; I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.’” (NET) Exodus 34:5, “The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name. 6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, 7 keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.’” (NET) There are many examples in the Scriptures of divine mercy being expressed towards different individuals and nations throughout history. The Lord even promised mercy upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if there were at least ten righteous human beings in those cities and yet there weren’t except for Lot and his family (Gen. 18:26). Lot and his family were recipients of God’s mercy (Gen. 19:16). Ezra and the Jews returning from their Babylonian captivity were also beneficiaries of the Lord’s mercy (Ezra 9:13). The Lord was time and time again merciful to the rebellious Exodus generation (Neh. 9:17, 31; Ps. 78:38). His mercy has been, is and will be expressed towards every believer in every dispensation who executes the Lord’s plan for their dispensation (Ps. 103:11). The Lord expressed His mercy towards the Exodus generation when they were slaves to Pharaoh and the Egyptians (Ex. 3:7). His compassion will be expressed towards Israel in the future when they will be regathered from throughout the entire world and restored as client nation to God during the Millennium (Deut. 30:3). The Lord expressed His mercy towards Israel in the past by sending prophets to warn them of the impending fifth cycle of discipline if they did not confess their sin and repent of their evil behavior (2 Ch. 36:15). David acknowledged and expressed in his song that God had merciful to him (Ps. 30:1-3; Ps. 86:15; 103:1-14). He is always merciful towards those who are humble and respect Him by joyfully executing His plan (Ps. 34:18-20). David expresses in song that God is merciful towards those who are merciful (Ps. 41:1-3). The Lord has been merciful towards those who’ve accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior (Ps. 107:19-22). The Lord was merciful to King Hezekiah of Israel and allowed him to live another fifteen years (Is. 38:15-20). The Lord through the prophet Jeremiah

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 14 promised that He would be compassionate to Israel if she turned from her spiritual adultery (Jer. 12:15). As he watched the nation of Israel being led captive into their Babylonian captivity, Jeremiah prophesied that the Lord would be compassionate again and bring them back from the captivity (Lm. 3:32). The Lord has always been compassionate to Israel though she had not recognized it this fact (Ho. 11:4). The Lord promised that He would have compassion upon them and provides a Savior Who would pay for their sins (Mi. 7:19). Now, the question arises as to why the Ninevites would even receive Jonah and listen to his message in the first place. First of all, he was a very famous prophet in Israel. He would undoubtedly have been known not only by the Assyrians but also the entire Middle East at that time since his prediction that Israel’s borders would enlarge came to pass. 2 Kings 14:25 records that Jonah lived during the reign of Jeroboam II in approximately 793-753 B.C. 2 Kings 14:23-25, “In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and reigned forty-one years. He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher.” So according to 2 Kings 14:23-25 Jonah lived when Jeroboam II of the northern kingdom of Israel was king. The Prophet Jonah’s prediction that Israel’s boundaries would extend under Jeroboam II came true. Therefore, Jonah was the most prestigious prophet of his day. Another reason why the Ninevites would give Jonah a hearing was that the Assyrian nation was in a period of upheaval and dissension at that time. The Bible Knowledge Commentary states, “Jeroboam II, in whose reign Jonah prophesied, was the most powerful king in the Northern Kingdom (cf. 2 Kings 14:23-29). Earlier the Assyrians had established supremacy in the Near East and secured tribute from Jehu (841-814 B.C.). (On the atrocious nature of the Assyrians, see the comments on the Book of Nahum.) However, after crushing the Arameans, the Assyrians suffered temporary decline because of internal dissension. In the temporary setback of Assyrian imperialistic hopes, Israel’s Jeroboam was able to expand his nation’s territories to their greatest extent since the time of David and Solomon by occupying land that formerly belonged to Aram (northeast toward Damascus and north to Hamath).” (Volume 1, pages 1461) The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, “The major power in the Middle East during Jonah’s time in the early eighth century B.C. was Assyria, of which

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Nineveh was a major city. Since the ninth century the Assyrians had been sending savage military expeditions west into Syria-Palestine. When Jonah prophesied, however, Assyria was in a weakened state, making possible the expansion of Jeroboam II in Samaria and Uzziah in Judah.” (Pages 941)

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Jonah 3:5-The Ninevites Believe In God And Declare A Fast And Put On Sackcloth From The Greatest To The Least

We continue with our study of Jonah chapter three by noting verse 5. By way of review, the fourth scene in the book of Jonah appears in Jonah 3:1-3a, which records the Lord commanding Jonah a second time to go immediately to Nineveh in order to proclaim a message from Him to the Ninevites and this time the prophet obeys. Jonah 3:1-3a, “Now, a message from the Lord was communicated to Jonah, a second time, 2 ‘You must go immediately to Nineveh, that great city and then announce the proclamation for the benefit of her people, which I am about to tell you.’ 3a Consequently, Jonah went immediately to Nineveh according to the command from the Lord.” (My translation) This scene is transitional since in the previous scene we have Jonah either at sea, on board the ship or inside the stomach of the great fish but in the fourth scene, the prophet is back on dry land. He receives a message from the Lord a second time, which has him going to Nineveh and proclaiming a message from the Lord to that great city. Therefore, the narrative is resumptive as well as transitional. In this pericope, we do not see the Lord rebuking Jonah since the storm did that. Rather, we have simple reiteration of the command by the Lord, which speaks of His grace policy towards Jonah in that though he was worthy of death for disobeying the Lord, the Lord gives him a second chance, which teaches us that God is a God of the second chance. There is no mention of Jonah’s rebelliousness or disobedience in this scene since it has been forgiven by the Lord. To forgive means to give someone a release from the wrong that he has done to you. It means to give up any right of retaliation. At this point in the narrative Jonah has confessed his sin of disobeying the Lord and has repented. This is indicated by the statements in Jonah 3:3-4, which record Jonah obeying the Lord’s command to go to Nineveh and pronounce judgment against it. However, Jonah has not repented concerning his hateful attitude towards the Ninevites as indicated by the statements he makes to the Lord as recorded in Jonah 4:2-3. The fifth scene appears in Jonah 3:3b-10, which records Jonah proclaiming judgment against the city of Nineveh and in response the inhabitants of this great city believed in God and repent of their evil conduct. In Jonah 3:3b, the narrator describes Nineveh as belonging to God and an enormous city requiring three days to walk through. Jonah 3:3b, “Now, Nineveh is an enormous city belonging to God, a three days journey.” (My translation)

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Jonah 3:3b begins the fifth scene in the book of Jonah and contains a two-fold description of Nineveh. The first that Nineveh was an enormous city speaks of its immense size and that it belonged to God emphasizing the Lord’s sovereignty over the inhabitants of Nineveh who are one of Israel’s staunchest enemies. It is anticipating the faith of the Ninevites in God and their repentance towards Him. This is indicated by the events recorded in the rest of chapter in which the king of Nineveh and his subjects respond to Jonah’s message of judgment by exercising faith in God and repenting from their evil conduct. This first description continues the argument of the book of Jonah that God is sovereign over the Gentiles and not just the Israelites. It stresses with the reader that God seeks to save the Gentiles. He is the God of the Gentiles and not just the Jews as Paul writes in Romans 3:29. The second description that the city required a three days journey speaks of the amount of time it would take for Jonah to visit the whole district administered by Nineveh, which in the days of the prophet would include Sinjar-Calah-Dur- Sharrukin, i.e. the “Greater Nineveh” area. It would also refer to a diplomatic process or following the protocol of visit by a diplomat. Jonah 3:4 records that when Jonah began to enter Nineveh, he announced that the city would be overthrown at the end of forty days. Jonah 3:4, “When Jonah began to enter into this city, one day’s journey, he announced, specifically he said, ‘At the end of forty days, Nineveh will be overturned.’” (My translation) This verse continues the fifth scene that ends in verse 10 and is a temporal clause that tells the reader that the Lord would overturn Nineveh at the end of forty days. This is a warning and not a prophecy or a decree since the forty days obviously implies to the Ninevites that the Lord wants them to repent since He could have destroyed them immediately without warning. The forty days leaves room open for repentance. This is also indicated by the fact that the verb hā·p̄ ǎḵ is ambiguous since it can signify “judgment, a turning upside down, a reversal, a change, a deposing of royalty, or a change of heart.” Therefore, Jonah’s message from the Lord can be interpreted by the Ninevites as “at the end of the forty days Nineveh will be destroyed” or “at the end of the forty days Nineveh will have a change of heart.” The Lord didn’t need forty days to muster up the power and resources to destroy the city since He could do it immediately. So the Lord told Jonah that Nineveh would be changed, turned upside down but whether for good or evil, he did not known and neither did the Ninevites. This adds to the irony of the book of Jonah. The Ninevites response to the message would determine the city’s destiny. This message from the Lord reflects the consequences of sin—a separation from God and the ominous threat of judgment. It conveys the great danger, which threatened the city. But it is also intended to produce something different than

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 18 destruction, which is not only suggested by the outcome of the story, but is also implied by the words themselves. If God had intended to wipe out Nineveh, what reason was there for Him to tell the Ninevites about it, and then send Jonah to inform the people of Nineveh of His intention. God tells of judgment in advance so as to afford an opportunity for men to repent. The Lord’s desire was not to destroy the city of Nineveh but rather His will was to forgive them and show mercy to them even though they rebelled against Him. Jonah knew this about the Lord and did not like it. The graciousness of the Lord in forgiving sin and the compassion of the Lord are the glory of God, which the Lord revealed to Moses in Exodus 33 and 34. Here in dealing with the Ninevites, the Lord had a perfect opportunity to express His glory. Exodus 33:18, “And Moses said, ‘Show me your glory.’ 19 And the Lord said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before your face, and I will proclaim the Lord by name before you; I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.’” (NET) Exodus 34:5, “The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name. 6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, 7 keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.’” (NET) There are many examples in the Scriptures of divine mercy being expressed towards different individuals and nations throughout history. The Lord even promised mercy upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if there were at least ten righteous human beings in those cities and yet there weren’t except for Lot and his family (Gen. 18:26). Lot and his family were recipients of God’s mercy (Gen. 19:16). Ezra and the Jews returning from their Babylonian captivity were also beneficiaries of the Lord’s mercy (Ezra 9:13). The Lord was time and time again merciful to the rebellious Exodus generation (Neh. 9:17, 31; Ps. 78:38). His mercy has been, is and will be expressed towards every believer in every dispensation who executes the Lord’s plan for their dispensation (Ps. 103:11). The Lord expressed His mercy towards the Exodus generation when they were slaves to Pharaoh and the Egyptians (Ex. 3:7). His compassion will be expressed towards Israel in the future when they will be regathered from throughout the entire world and restored as client nation to God during the Millennium (Deut. 30:3).

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The Lord expressed His mercy towards Israel in the past by sending prophets to warn them of the impending fifth cycle of discipline if they did not confess their sin and repent of their evil behavior (2 Ch. 36:15). David acknowledged and expressed in his song that God had merciful to him (Ps. 30:1-3; Ps. 86:15; 103:1-14). He is always merciful towards those who are humble and respect Him by joyfully executing His plan (Ps. 34:18-20). David expresses in song that God is merciful towards those who are merciful (Ps. 41:1-3). The Lord has been merciful towards those who’ve accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior (Ps. 107:19-22). The Lord was merciful to King Hezekiah of Israel and allowed him to live another fifteen years (Is. 38:15-20). The Lord through the prophet Jeremiah promised that He would be compassionate to Israel if she turned from her spiritual adultery (Jer. 12:15). As he watched the nation of Israel being led captive into their Babylonian captivity, Jeremiah prophesied that the Lord would be compassionate again and bring them back from the captivity (Lm. 3:32). The Lord has always been compassionate to Israel though she had not recognized it this fact (Ho. 11:4). The Lord promised that He would have compassion upon them and provides a Savior Who would pay for their sins (Mi. 7:19). Next, we will note Jonah 3:5, which records the Ninevites believing in God and humbling themselves from the least to the greatest of them by declaring a fast and putting on sackcloth. Jonah 3:1, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.’ 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. 4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’ 5 Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.” (NASU) wa), which is prefixed to the third person) ( ו ) Then ” is the conjunction wa“ ,(aw-man) ( אָמַן ) masculine plural hiphil active imperfect form of the verb ʾā·mǎn “believed ” and functions as a marker of result. It indicates that the Ninevites believed in God “as a result” of the prophet Jonah proclaiming to them that they would be overturned at the end of forty days. Therefore we will translate the conjunction “ consequently ” since the Ninevites’ faith in God was the direct consequence of the message Jonah delivered to them from the Lord. “The people of Nineveh ” is composed of the masculine plural construct form en-oshe), “ the people ” and the feminine singular form of) ( אֱנוֹשׁ ) of the noun ʾĕ nôš ”. nee-nev-ay), “ Nineveh) ( נִינְוֵה ) (the proper noun nî ·newē(h

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Of course, the proper noun nî ·newē(h) refers to one of the capitals of the Assyrian Empire and was located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River in northeastern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, in the area of the city of Mosul). This is the fifth and final time that the noun ʾĕ nôš appears in the book of Jonah. In each instance the word emphasizes the weakness, mortality and impotence as human beings reminding the reader of man’s transience and his dependence upon the omnipotent, transcendent God. This word is a reminder to the reader that man is impotent in comparison to God who is omnipotent. Thomas McComiskey writes, “The basic meaning of ʾĕnôš is “man” in the sense of ‘mankind.’ The word can refer to an individual only in the most general sense (e.g. “blessed is the man who does this” [Isa 56:2]) and thus lacks the specificity of ʾîš . It is used mainly in the poetic material. The verbal root of ʾĕnôš is uncertain. If it is a derivation of ʾānaš ‘to be weak, sick,’ the basic emphasis would be on man’s weakness or mortality, a connotation permitted by some contexts, particularly those that emphasize man’s insignificance (e.g., Ps 8:4 [H 5]; Job 7:17). The word may be derived from a different root ʾns unattested in Hebrew but found in Arabic and Ugaritic. It has the connotation of friendliness or sociality in Arabic and the similar concept of companionability in Ugaritic. If derived from this root the basic emphasis of ʾĕnôš would be on man as a social being. While it is true that the word frequently emphasizes man’s frailty and humanness, these concepts may derive from the theological framework in which the ancient Hebrews viewed mankind and not necessarily from an inherent root meaning. The word frequently has a general sense and its usage in parallelism with other general terms for man such as ʾādām (Ps 73:5), bĕnêʾādām (Ps 144:3), and its use in association with ‘land of the living’ (Job 28:13) would seem to argue for derivation from the unattested ʾnš . The stress would then be on man as he comprises the human race.” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, page 59) In Jonah 1:10, 13 and 16, the word refers to the crew of the ship that Jonah hired to take him to Tarshish and emphasizes their weakness, mortality and impotence as human beings reminding the reader of man’s transience and his dependence upon the omnipotent, transcendent God. In Jonah 3:5, the word is used of the Ninevites and like the crew, the word emphasizes Ninevites’ weakness, mortality and impotence as human beings reminding the reader of their transience and dependence upon the omnipotent, transcendent God to show them mercy. It emphasizes to the reader that by exercising faith in God, the Ninevites are acknowledging their weakness, mortality and impotence as human beings and their total dependence upon the mercy of the omnipotent, transcendent God. This word is a reminder to the reader that the Ninevites are impotent in comparison to the omnipotent God. We will translate the word “ the people .”

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“Believed ” is the third person masculine plural hiphil active imperfect form of ” beth), “ in) ( בְּ ) aw-man), “believed ” and the preposition be) ( אָמַן ) the verb ʾā·mǎn -el-o) ( אֱהִים) and the masculine plural form of the divine proper noun ʾělō·hîm heem), “ God .” The verb ʾā·mǎn is used with the Ninevites as its subject and ʾělō·hîm , “ God ” as its object and means “to have confidence in, to trust in.” This indicates that the Ninevites placed their confidence in God in the sense that they had confidence in not only in the message God relayed to them through the prophet Jonah but also that they were casting themselves upon the mercy of God to forgive them. When this word is used in the Old Testament in the hiphil stem as we have here, the most common object of belief in this stem is God (Genesis 15:6; 2 Kings 17:14; Isaiah 43:10) and is also used with Yahweh , “ Lord ” as its object (Exodus 14:31). Commenting on this verb in the hiphil stem, Jack Scott writes, “In the Hiphil (causative), it basically means ‘to cause to be certain, sure’ or ‘to be certain about,’ ‘to be assured.’ In this sense the word in the Hiphil conjugation is the biblical word for ‘to believe’ and shows that biblical faith is an assurance, a certainty, in contrast with modem concepts of faith as something possible, hopefully true, but not certain.” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, page 51) In Jonah 3:5, the verb ʾā·mǎn means that the Ninevites not only placed their absolute confidence in Jonah’s message that they would be changed or overturned in the sense of destroyed by God or changed in the sense that they would repent but also that they were casting themselves upon the mercy of God. The word does not refer to a mental assent to the existence of God since James 2:19 says that even the demons believe in God in that sense. Rather, the verb means that the Ninevites had absolute total confidence in Jonah’s message from the Lord in the sense that it expresses total assurance that Jonah’s message is true or would come to pass and that they were casting themselves upon the Lord in the sense of appealing to His mercy and grace. Lessing writes, “As with Abram and the people of Israel, the faith of the Ninevites here is far more than simply believing that Jonah’s prediction would come true. Neither is Nineveh’s belief in God simply an assent to the existence of Israel’s God or that he is the only God. As James says, ‘You believe that God is one. … Even the demons believe [that] and shudder’ (James 2:19). Rather, ‘the call’ from Yahweh (3:2) that Jonah preached (3:4) brought the Ninevites to saving faith in Yahweh, just as Jonah’s confession of Yahweh in 1:9 did for the sailors (see 1:16). When the Hiphil of refers to trusting or believing in humans, it almost always has a negative connotation. To ‘believe’ in the words of people is to be gullible and foolish (Prov 14:15; 26:25). Nor does God ‘believe’ or put absolute trust in his servants (Job 4:18; 15:15). Such statements of mistrust are reminiscent

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 22 of Jesus’ statement that he needs no witness from people because he knows what is in a person (Jn 2:25). However, when people ‘believe’ in God, as here, the Hiphil of with ‘denotes saying yea and amen to God’s Word as it was revealed to them by the prophet.’ To be sure, this indicates that the Ninevites believe God’s warning through the prophet Jonah. Yet as Desmond Alexander states, it goes farther: it ‘denotes more, however, than just believing what someone has said; it expresses the idea of trusting a person.’ Mere intellectual assent does not get at the real meaning. As Gerhard Ebeling notes, it involves declaring that God’s promise is true and valid. It is amazing that the narrator of Jonah uses this expression to describe the response to God by the Gentile Ninevites, who had been pagan enemies of Israel and her God. Now they do not merely assent to God’s existence, but take Jonah’s message to heart and believe God’s Word that within forty days they would be changed—either by being destroyed, or through repentance, faith, and being saved by God, which is the hope they express in 3:9. The very response of faith that Israel could not give without signs and wonders (Ex 4:9) or even refused to give despite miracles (Isaiah 7), the evil people of Nineveh give after the sermon of a reluctant preacher!” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah; pages 283-284) The noun ělō·hîm emphasizes the transcendent character of God and in particular His attributes of omnipotence, sovereignty and love. The word refers to the Lord’s complete sovereign power over creation as evidenced by the fact that He could destroy the city of Nineveh if they don’t in response to Jonah’s message from Him, repent. The word also pertains to the fact that Yahweh , the God of Israel and creator of heaven and earth, is a Savior God or in other words, God who delivers. This is indicated by the Ninevites humbling themselves as recorded in verses 6-9. The narrator uses ělō·hîm rather than Yahweh since he wants to emphasize that the Ninevites who were Gentiles were not members of the covenant nation of Israel. It is also used to emphasize that Yahweh is God, the only true God. This noun is the object of the preposition be which functions as a marker of the object of the Ninevites “confidence” or “trust” indicating the God was the object of the Ninevites confidence or trust. We will translate this prepositional phrase “ in God .” The hiphil stem of the verb ʾā·mǎn is causative meaning that the message that the Lord delivered to the Ninevites by Jonah “caused” them or persuaded or convinced them to place their absolute total confidence in the Lord. The active voice indicates that the Ninevites as the subject perform the action of the verb. The imperfect tense is used of a past action from the perspective of the writer. It is used with the conjunction wa to form a result clause. Therefore, we will translate this verb “ were persuaded to believe .”

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That the Ninevites faith in God was a “saving” faith or a faith that delivered them from eternal condemnation is indicated by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in Matthew 12:41. Matthew 12:38, “Then some of the experts in the law along with some Pharisees answered him, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41 The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them – and now, something greater than Jonah is here!’” (NET Bible) As we can see from the Lord’s comments, the people of Nineveh will in fact stand up at the judgment and condemn those Jews who rejected Him during His First Advent since they repented when Jonah preached to them. They repented in the sense that they trusted in the message that the Lord conveyed to them through the prophet Jonah. Further indicating that the Ninevites exercised saving faith in the Son of God, Yahweh is that the Lord would not have relented and withheld judgment if the Ninevites had not acted in faith. The question that arises is that why would the Ninevites even accept Jonah into their city? Why would they be willing to listen to an Israelite prophet in the first place? First of all, he was a very famous prophet in Israel. He would undoubtedly have been known not only by the Assyrians but also the entire Middle East at that time since his prediction that Israel’s borders would enlarge came to pass. 2 Kings 14:25 records that Jonah lived during the reign of Jeroboam II in approximately 793-753 B.C. 2 Kings 14:23-25, “In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and reigned forty-one years. He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher.” So according to 2 Kings 14:23-25 Jonah lived when Jeroboam II of the northern kingdom of Israel was king. The Prophet Jonah’s prediction that Israel’s boundaries would extend under Jeroboam II came true. Therefore, Jonah was the most prestigious prophet of his day.

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Another reason why the Ninevites would give Jonah a hearing was that the Assyrian nation was in a period of upheaval and dissension at that time. The Bible Knowledge Commentary states, “Jeroboam II, in whose reign Jonah prophesied, was the most powerful king in the Northern Kingdom (cf. 2 Kings 14:23-29). Earlier the Assyrians had established supremacy in the Near East and secured tribute from Jehu (841-814 B.C.). (On the atrocious nature of the Assyrians, see the comments on the Book of Nahum.) However, after crushing the Arameans, the Assyrians suffered temporary decline because of internal dissension. In the temporary setback of Assyrian imperialistic hopes, Israel’s Jeroboam was able to expand his nation’s territories to their greatest extent since the time of David and Solomon by occupying land that formerly belonged to Aram (northeast toward Damascus and north to Hamath).” (Volume 1, pages 1461) The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, “The major power in the Middle East during Jonah’s time in the early eighth century B.C. was Assyria, of which Nineveh was a major city. Since the ninth century the Assyrians had been sending savage military expeditions west into Syria-Palestine. When Jonah prophesied, however, Assyria was in a weakened state, making possible the expansion of Jeroboam II in Samaria and Uzziah in Judah.” (Pages 941) The New American Commentary writes, “Nineveh was in a time of national crisis. In the middle of the eighth century their sense of well being would have been extremely low as a result of famine, enemy attacks, and internal revolts. There was even a full eclipse of the sun in 763 b.c. Assyrians worshiped many gods and believed that a single careless act could offend one of them and cause serious trouble. This caused a great deal of religious uncertainty. As Walton explains, the people of Nineveh would have been looking eagerly for understanding of their situation from the omens. God had apparently been using these factors to prepare them to receive Jonah’s message. ‘Even if Jonah’s prediction was not the interpretation of omens that had been read prior to his arrival, it would be normal for the Assyrians to react to his message by checking the omens to see if they agreed.’” (Smith, B. K., & Page, F. S. (2001). Vol. 19B: Amos, Obadiah, Jonah (electronic ed.); page 263; Logos Library System; The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers) Stuart has an excellent comment regarding Nineveh’s willingness to believe in God and even listen to him in the first place, he writes, “What condition, then, could produce such fear and repentance, indeed, even the initial willingness to listen to a foreign prophet’s warning? We may never know for sure, since we cannot date the book precisely. But several reasonable possibilities exist. First we must note the fact that the king was affected by Jonah’s message. (Did Jonah have an official audience with someone in the court that first day, as formal diplomatic custom would have allowed?) From the evidence of Assyrian omen texts, we may

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 25 posit at least four situations which could move a king to action of the sort described in Jonah: (1) invasion of the land by an enemy; (2) a total solar eclipse; (3) famine conjoined with an epidemic; (4) a severe flood. Any of these could appear to be an evidence of divine wrath, predisposing an Assyrian king to look for deliverance lest his own position of authority be threatened (Wiseman, TynB 30 [1979] 44). If Jonah, in God’s timing, arrived at Nineveh during or immediately the reaction of the king—and citizenry—to ,( ו ) following one of these disasters the message God gave him would be far more believable than has otherwise been thought. A prophet like Jonah coming as it were out of nowhere and speaking in the name of ‘God’ (or even ‘Yahweh’ which the Assyrians would have then rendered generally as il [u], ‘God’) might, at the time of a substantial national crisis of a sort thought to be characteristic of God’s disfavor, have an impact far beyond anything imaginable under normal conditions. Invasion would not seem to be the issue here for Nineveh proper since there exists no evidence of any serious threat to Nineveh itself until 614 b.c., when the Babylonians began their long and ultimately successful conquest of Assyria and its empire. The fact that parts of the empire (e.g., Carchemish) had fallen already to the Urartians may, however, have engendered a sense among the populace that the military might of Assyria was failing (see below). A total solar eclipse is an even more substantial possibility. Just such an event occurred in the tenth year of the Assyrian King Aššur-dān III (773–756), on June 15,763 b.c. Aššur-dān III was, of course, a contemporary of Jeroboam II of Israel (793–753), during whose reign Jonah ben Amittai prophesied in the north (2 Kgs 14:25). For this to have occurred at the very same time the nation of Urartu was expanding its empire at the expense of Assyria cannot have been fortuitous for the confidence of the population. The Urartian King Argishti I forced repeated Assyrian retreats on the weak Assyrian kings Shalmaneser IV (783–774) and Aššur-dān III. Moreover, Argishti’s successor Sarduri II (755–735) continued to dominate Assyria in border wars throughout the reign of Aššur-dān’s successor Aššur-nirari V (755–746). Sometime during the years 760–750, major Assyrian possessions such as Commagene, Melitene, and even Carchemish were lost to Urartu. One could argue that a great, successful emperor like Tiglath-Pileser III (745–728) would be unlikely to have cared one whit about Jonah’s warnings. But what of a weak monarch such as Aššur-dān III, whose hold on the empire’s territories was shaky, whose personal power might therefore be waning, and who had just experienced the awesome religious terror of a total solar eclipse? How might he react to the blunt warning of a prophet who had traveled to Nineveh from the opposite end of the Fertile Crescent and arrived at a time of paramount trouble ( )? It must be remembered that an Assyrian king, as a syncretist, would hardly wish automatically to deny the validity of any god or any prophet. And does not an outsider often command far more respect than those with whom one regularly

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 26 deals—even in the case of prophets and other clergy (cf. Melchizedek and Abraham, Gen 14:17–24; Moses and Pharaoh, Exod 5–14; Balaam and Balak, Num 22–24; the Levite from Bethlehem and the Danites, Judg 17–18; etc.)? Wiseman provides translations of some of the relevant conditional warnings from the actual Nineveh versions of the Enuma Anu Enlil omen texts. These texts give predictions of what sorts of events may be expected to follow a solar eclipse, including: ‘the King will be deposed and killed and a worthless fellow seize the throne’; ‘the King will die, rain from heaven will flood the land. There will be famine’; ‘a deity will strike the King and fire consume the land’; ‘the city walls will be destroyed’ (TynB 30[1979] 46). Kings of the Assyrians took such omens seriously. They had substantial correspondence with prophets about them (A. L. Oppenheim, ‘Divination and Celestial Observation in the Late Assyrian Empire,’ Centaurus 4 [1969] 97–135) and in some cases even abandoned the throne to a substitute King of Nineveh (!) until the danger would pass (W. G. Lambert, AfO 18 [1957] 288–89; AfO 19 [1960] 199; S. Parpola, Letters from Assyrian Scholars, AOAT 5.1 [1970] nos. 26–30). Wiseman points out that solar eclipse omen texts mention not only the king, but animals, and the land as a whole, in their specifications of those on whom the divine wrath indicated in the eclipse might fall. This, of course, comports remarkably with the decree issued by the king (3:7, 8). An earthquake would also constitute an event predisposing a king to worry about his security. Earthquakes ( rībū) were, in Assyrian religion, evidence of divine wrath. Assyrian kings required reports on earthquakes to be made to the royal court. Of special interest for the study of Jonah is a record of an earthquake in the month of Siwan in the reign of an Aššur-dān. It cannot be deduced from the text whether this is Aššur-dān III, the contemporary of Jeroboam II, or not (Wiseman, TynB 30 [1979] 48). If it were the same Aššur-dān during whose reign a solar eclipse also occurred, his readiness to resort to sackcloth and ashes might be even more understandable. Famine also, especially if accompanied by an epidemic of any sort, could, according to the omen texts, indicate divine displeasure and therefore tend to produce a climate in which repentance was possible. The general fasting prescribed in the king’s decree (v 7) may even have proved remarkably convenient if, in fact, food supply was already a problem. Flooding, which tends to contaminate water supplies and thus cause disease as well as interrupt food production, may also have brought on famines, in light of the significance given to floods in the omen texts. Whatever the possible cause, the Assyrian eponym lists for the years of Aššur-dān III’s reign (773–756) contain several references to famine (Assyrian mutanu) either lasting from 765 to 759 b.c. or at least recurring during that seven year period (whether the famine was constant or intermittent is not clear from the eponym lists; cf. Wiseman, TynB 30 [1979] 50). The result was a succession of rebellions against Aššur-dān III’s leadership in various cities in

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Assyria until 758 b.c. when peace again prevailed, and Aššur-dān III moved to Gozan temporarily.” (Stuart, D. (2002). Vol. 31: Word Biblical Commentary: Hosea-Jonah; pages 491-492; Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated) Since the First Advent of Christ, the object of saving faith is the Lord Jesus Christ who fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of a Savior for not only Israel but the entire world. He was the object of faith in the Old Testament since He is the Yahweh and ělō·hîm of the Old Testament. He is the object of faith to be delivered from eternal condemnation and receive justification during the church age and the dispensations to follow right up to the end of human history. In order to be delivered from eternal condemnation, the sinner must make the non-meritorious decision “to trust” or “place one’s absolute confidence in” the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ and His substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the Cross in order to receive the gift and imputation of divine righteousness resulting in justification. He is the object of faith for salvation and justification since His spiritual death on the Cross as an impeccable person redeemed sinful mankind from the slave market of sin, satisfied the demands of a holy God that human sin be judged, reconciled the entire human race to God and fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law. He is also the object of faith for salvation and justification since His physical death dealt with the problem of man’s sin nature, which is the source of personal sin. That He is the object of faith is indicated in Romans 3:22 and 26. Romans 3:19, “Now, we know for certain that whatever the Law says, it speaks for the benefit of those under the jurisdiction of the Law in order that each and every mouth may be silenced and in addition all the unsaved inhabitants of the cosmic system may be demonstrated as guilty in the judgment of God. 20 Because each and every member of sinful humanity will never be justified in His judgment by means of actions produced by obedience to the Law for through the Law there does come about an awareness of the sin nature. 21 But now, independently of seeking to be justified by obedience to the Law, the righteousness originating from God is being manifested at the present time while simultaneously being attested to by the Law and the Prophets. 22 Namely, the righteousness originating from God through faith in Jesus who is the Christ for the benefit of each and every person who does believe for there is, as an eternal spiritual truth, absolutely no distinction . 23 For each and every person has sinned consequently, they are always failing to measure up to the glory originating from God 24 with the result that they might, as an eternal spiritual truth, be undeservedly justified based upon His grace by means of the redemption, which is by means of the spiritual death of Christ who is Jesus 25 whom God the Father offered publicly as a

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 28 propitiatory gift through faith by means of His blood in order to demonstrate His righteousness because of the deliberate and temporary suspension of judgment of the sins, which have taken place in the past on the basis of the tolerance originating from the character and nature of God the Father . 26 Correspondingly, in relation to the demonstration of His righteousness during this present distinct period of history, that He Himself is, as an eternal spiritual truth, inherently righteous, even while justifying anyone by means of faith in Jesus.” (My translation) Faith is a non-meritorious system of perception. There are three forms of perception: (1) Empiricism: Trusting in one’s experiences in life to make decisions. (2) Rationalism: Trusting in one’s intellect to make decisions in life. (3) Faith: Trusting in the authority of another to make decisions in life. When a person believes in Jesus Christ as his Savior he is in effect trusting in the authority of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit, which declare the Person and Work of Jesus Christ as the object of faith for salvation. Our faith is the only system of perception that God will accept because it is compatible with His grace policy. Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (NASU) The believer is saved based upon the merits of Christ and His death on the Cross. Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (NASU) Therefore, the expression “ who believes ” refers to making the non-meritorious decision to trust or place one’s complete confidence in the Person of Jesus Christ for salvation. Then the apostle Paul notes the universal nature of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ with the phrase “ to the Jew first and also to the Greek .” This phrase demonstrates that God desires all men to be saved and that Christ died for all men, which theologians call the “unlimited atonement.” 1 Timothy 2:4, “God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (NASU) 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (NASU) 1 John 2:2, “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” (NASU)

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1 Timothy 4:10, “For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” (NASU) Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (NASU) The expression “ to the Jew first and also to the Greek ” does “not” mean that every Jew must be evangelized before the gospel can be presented to the Gentiles but rather means that the Jews were elected by God as noted by Paul in Romans 9- 11. Also, this expression “ to the Jew first and also to the Greek ” places the Jew on equal footing with the Gentile with respect to the need for salvation. Romans 3:10, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE.” (NASU) In Romans 1:16, the apostle Paul reveals three principles: (1) The effect of the gospel is salvation. (2) The extent of the gospel is that it is for all men. (3) The condition attached to the gospel is faith in Christ. Romans 1:17, “For by means of it, the righteousness originating from God is as an eternal spiritual truth revealed from faith to faith.” (NASU) In Romans 1:17, the noun dikaiosune means, “ righteousness ” and refers to the righteousness of Christ since Paul writes that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God and in Romans 1:3-4 he writes that the gospel message centers upon the Person of Christ. The righteousness of Christ refers to the character of Christ having perfect integrity in the sense that His character is perfectly sound, perfectly adhering to the will of God, which is upright, honest, perfectly whole, undiminished, sound, unimpaired and in perfect condition. The righteousness of Christ refers to the character of Christ having perfect virtue in the sense that His character is perfect moral excellence, goodness, and His conduct is conformed perfectly to the will of God. “Of God ” is the noun theos (qeov$ ), which is a genitive of source indicating that the righteousness referred to in Romans 1:17 “originates” from God and was “not” of human origin. The righteousness of God refers to the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ since the gospel centers upon the Person of Christ according to Romans 1:3-4 and the gospel message reveals the righteousness of God according to Romans 1:17. Therefore, the genitive of source theos indicates that the righteousness referred to in Romans 1:17 “originates” from God and is in fact the second member of the Trinity, the incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ who is the object of faith. “Is revealed ” is 3 rd person singular present passive indicative form of the apokalupto ( a)pokaluvptw ) (ap-ok-al-oop-to), which is a compound word

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 30 composed of the preposition apo ( a)pov), “from” and the verb kalupto ( kaluvptw ), “to conceal, hide.” Interestingly and surprisingly, the result of combining these two words is that apokalupto means the exact opposite, “to reveal, disclose, uncover.” So thus far, we can see that the righteousness of God in the Person of the impeccable, incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ is revealed by means of the communication of the gospel. “From faith ” is composed of the preposition ek ( e)k ), “ from ” and the genitive feminine singular form of the noun pistis ( pivsti$ ) (pis-tis), “ faith .” The preposition ek , “ from ” is a marker of the extent of time from a point in the past whereas the noun pistis , “ faith ” is a genitive of time and together, they emphasize time with emphasis upon the beginning. Therefore, the prepositional phrase ek pisteos , “ from faith ” emphasizes that by means of the communication of the gospel, the righteousness of Christ was revealed in the believer the moment he accepted Jesus Christ as His Savior since at that moment God the Father imputed the righteousness of His Son to him (See Romans 4). “To faith ” is composed of the preposition eis ( ei)$ ), “ to ” and the accusative feminine singular form of the noun pistis ( pivsti$ ) (pis-tis), “ faith .” The preposition eis, “ to ” is a marker of continuous extent of time up to a point whereas as the noun pistis , “ faith ” is an accusative of measure or extent of time and together, they emphasize the extent of time. Therefore, the prepositional phrase eis pistin , “ to faith ” emphasizes that by means of the communication of the gospel, the righteousness of Christ is revealed in the believer “after” salvation when he appropriates by faith the teaching of the gospel that he has been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ (Romans 6:11-23; 8:1-17; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:5-17). It also emphasizes that the righteousness of Christ is revealed in the believer when he receives a resurrection body at the rapture of the church, which completes the Father’s plan to conform the believer into the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29). Therefore, in Romans 1:17, the expression dikaiosune gar theou en auto apokaluptetai ek pisteos eis pistin , “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith ” indicates that by means of the communication of the gospel, the righteousness of Christ is revealed in the believer in three stages: (1) Positionally, at the moment he exercises faith in the gospel message and trusts in Jesus Christ as his Savior. (2) Experientially, after salvation when the believer exercises faith in the gospel message that he has been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ. (3) Ultimately, when he receives his resurrection body at the rapture of the church.

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“Faith ” is the genitive feminine singular form of the noun pistis ( pivsti$ ) (pis- tis), which refers to the non-meritorious system of perception of placing one’s “trust” or “confidence in” Jesus Christ as one’s Savior. There are three forms of perception: (1) Empiricism: Trusting in one’s experiences in life to make decisions. (2) Rationalism: Trusting in one’s intellect to make decisions in life. (3) Faith: Trusting in the authority of another to make decisions in life. Faith is the only system of perception that God will accept because it is compatible with His grace policy. Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (NASU) The believer is saved and receives the forgiveness of his sins-past, present and future based upon the merits of Christ and His death on the Cross. 1 John 2:12, “I am providing information in writing at this particular time for the benefit of all of you, little children in view of the fact that for the benefit of all of you, your sins have been forgiven-past, present and future on the basis of His merit.” (My translation) Therefore, the noun pistis “ faith ” refers to making the non-meritorious decision to trust or place one’s complete confidence in the Person of Jesus Christ for salvation. Faith demonstrates itself by obedience to the commands of God. The command that the unbeliever must obey in order to receive eternal salvation is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is illustrated by Paul when talking to the Philippian jailor. Acts 16:27, “When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!’ 29 And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out, he said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ 31 They said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” (NASU) “Believe ” is the verb pisteuo , which is in the imperative form meaning that it is a command and the word means to “trust, place complete confidence in” the Person of Christ in order to receive the gift of eternal life. So the object of the sinner’s faith at the moment of conversion is the Lord Jesus Christ and the object of his faith after conversion is the written Word of God. Faith for the Christian is trusting in the authority of the Word of God in order to govern one’s life. Faith is obedience to God’s commands and is the positive

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 32 response to God’s commands and acting upon those directions. The Bible never separates faith from obedience. Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” (NASU) Unbelief on the other hand is disobedient and is the negative response to God’s commands and as a result the failure to act upon God’s commands. Hebrews 3:12, “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.” (NASU) After salvation the believer is to walk by means of faith in the Word of God. 2 Corinthians 5:7, “for we walk by faith, not by sight.” (NASU) Galatians 3:11, “Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, ‘THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.’” (NASU) Hebrews 10:37, “FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. 38 BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.” (NASU) Just as the Christian received the Lord Jesus as his Savior by exercising faith in Him for eternal salvation, so after salvation he is to live by the same principle of faith (Compare Ephesians 2:8-9 with Colossians 2:5-7). The principle of faith operates quite simply: (1) God speaks and we hear His Word. (2) We trust His Word and act on it no matter what the circumstances are or what the consequences may be. The circumstances may be impossible, and the consequences frightening and unknown but we obey God’s Word just the same and believe Him to do what is right and what is best. Hebrews 11:1-3 gives a definition of faith and also a description of the nature of faith or in other words, what faith does and how it works. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the men of old gained approval. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” (NASU) Faith is the positive response and obedience to God’s commands and prohibitions and acting upon those directions whereas unbelief on the other hand is disobedient and is the negative response to God’s commands and as a result the failure to act upon God’s commands. A Christian’s faith is based upon trusting in the authority of the Scriptures in order to govern his life and is a non-meritorious system of perception. The object of the Christian’s faith at the moment of salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ and the object of his faith after salvation is the written Word of God. In order for the

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Christian to please God and gain His approval he must trust in the authority of the Scriptures to govern his life (See Hebrews 11:6). Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (NASU) Fellowship with God is based upon a moment-by-moment walk of faith in the Lord. Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the {life} which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (NASU) Faith in the Word of God is the way to victory over the enemy, Satan. 1 John 5:4, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith.” (NASU) In fact, the believer is commanded to take up for himself the shield of faith. Ephesians 6:16, “In addition to everything, I solemnly charge all of you to take up for yourselves your shield, which is your faith because that will enable all of you to extinguish all the flaming arrows originating from the evil one.” (My translation) The believer acquires faith through hearing the communication of the Word of Christ. Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (NASU) Answered prayer requires faith and is thus an expression of confidence in God’s ability to meet one’s need (Matt. 8:10; Luke 7:9; Matt. 9:22; Mark 5:34; Luke 8:48; Matt. 9:29; 17:20; Luke 17:5; Mark 9:29; Matt. 21:22; Mark 11:24; 1 John 3:21-22; James 1:5-8; 5:15). True faith regards what has been requested as one’s own possession even though the request has not been received. Faith is an attitude toward God, in which the believer considers God to be faithful who will perform all that which He is promised in His Word. This attitude is illustrated in Philippians 1:6. Philippians 1:6, “ I am confident of this very same thing, namely that, the One (God the Holy Spirit) who began in all of you a good work that is divine in character, will completely finish it up to the day of Christ who is Jesus.” (My translation) The great Old Testament saints were men and women who lived by this principle of faith. Hebrews 11:1-3 gives a definition of faith and also a description of the nature of faith or in other words, what faith does and how it works. Hebrews 11 lists many individuals who express faith in God by being obedient to His Word, thus God bears witness to them in His Word…what an honor. They

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 34 honored God by trusting in His promises, thus God honors them. These individuals are summarized in Hebrews 12:1 as the “ so great a cloud of witnesses .” Hebrews 11:4-40 is devoted to a summary of the lives and labors of great men and women of faith who lived in Old Testament dispensations, Abraham being one of them and his wife Sarah as well. In each instance, you will find the same elements of faith: (1) God spoke to them through His Word. (2) They responded to His Word and obeyed God. (3) God bore witness about them. The Lord will test the believer’s faith after salvation in order to produce endurance in them. James 1:2, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance 4 and let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (NASU) The Lord rewards the believer after his faith has been tested. James 1:12, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (NASU) This principle is illustrated in the life of Abraham who is called the father of the believer’s faith (Romans 4). Abraham was a man of faith. He was saved by faith and he walked with God by means of faith in Him. Romans 4:1, “Therefore, what is the conclusion that we are forced to with respect to Abraham’s experience, our forefather with respect to genealogical descent? 2 For instance, if-and let us assume that it’s true for the sake of argument that Abraham was justified by means of meritorious actions, then, he does possess a reason for boasting but never in the judgment of God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham had absolute confidence in (the Son of) God. Consequently, for his benefit, it was credited and regarded as righteousness.’ 4 But for the benefit of the one who does work hard, his compensation is never considered at any time as a gift but rather, what is due. 5 On the other hand, for the benefit of the one who does not work hard but does exercise absolute confidence in the One who, as an eternal spiritual truth, justifies the ungodly, his faith is, as an eternal spiritual truth, credited and regarded as righteousness. 6 In fact, in the same way, David also describes the blessing that produces a happiness in the person that is divine in quality for the benefit of whom God (the Father) as an eternal spiritual truth credits (divine) righteousness independently of meritorious actions. 7 Spiritual benefits belong to those whose crimes have been fully pardoned and whose failures to measure up have been covered. 8 A spiritually prosperous man, whose personal sin the Lord, as an eternal spiritual truth, absolutely never ever takes into account. 9 Then is, as an eternal spiritual truth, this blessing

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 35 that produces a happiness that is divine in quality upon the circumcised, or also upon the uncircumcised? For we contend, ‘Faith was credited and regarded as righteousness for the benefit of Abraham.’ 10 In what condition then, was it credited, at the point of time when he was circumcised, or when uncircumcised? By no means, when circumcised but rather, when uncircumcised. 11 In fact, he had undergone the distinguishing mark, namely, circumcision as confirmation of the righteousness, that is by means of faith, which he had when uncircumcised in order that he himself might, as an eternal spiritual truth, be the spiritual father over each and every person who does believe while uncircumcised so that righteousness might be credited to them for their benefit. 12 In addition that he himself might, as an eternal spiritual truth, be the spiritual father over the circumcision, not only with reference to those from the circumcision, absolutely not. But also, with reference to those who do imitate the example produced by our father Abraham’s faith, which he exercised when uncircumcised. 13 For the promise to Abraham or to his Descendant that he himself, as an eternal spiritual truth, would inherit the earth was, as an eternal spiritual truth, never by means of obedience to the (Mosaic) Law but rather by means of the righteousness produced by faith. 14 For, if-and let us assume that it’s true for the sake of argument, those who by means of obedience to the (Mosaic) Law are, as an eternal spiritual truth, heirs, then faith is useless and in addition, the promise is meaningless. 15 For, the Law, as an eternal spiritual truth, produces righteous indignation but where there is, at any time, the total absence of the Law, neither, is there, as an eternal spiritual truth, violation. 16 On account of the following, it (the promise of inheriting the world) is, as an eternal spiritual truth by means of faith as a source in order that it might be fulfilled in accordance with grace with the result that the promise is, as an eternal spiritual truth, guaranteed to each and every one of the descendants. Not only for the benefit of those descended from the jurisdiction of the Law, absolutely not but also for the benefit of those descended from Abraham’s faith who is, as an eternal spiritual truth, the spiritual father of each and every one of us. 17 (Just as it stands written for all of eternity, ‘I have appointed you to be the spiritual father of many nations.’) He is, as an eternal spiritual truth, the spiritual father of each and every one of us in the determination of God whom (God ) he ( Abraham ) had absolute confidence in, the One who, as an eternal spiritual truth, gives life to the dead ones and in addition, as an eternal spiritual truth, commands the non-existent to exist. 18 Who had absolute confidence upon the object of confident expectation contrary to human expectation with the result that he himself became the father over many nations according to that which is solemnly declared, ‘In this way, your

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 36 descendants will be.’ 19 In fact, without becoming weak with respect to his faith, after careful consideration and observation he was thoroughly aware of his own physical body as now being sexually impotent while already being approximately a hundred years of age as well as the impotence of Sarah’s womb. 20 Yet, with respect to the promise from (the Son of) God, he never permitted himself to doubt by means of unbelief but rather he permitted himself to be empowered by means of his faith while simultaneously giving glory to (the Son of) God. 21 Also, he was being fully assured that what He had promised to do in the future, He is also, as an eternal spiritual truth, able to fulfill. 22 Therefore, for this very reason, ‘for his benefit it was credited and regarded as righteousness.’ 23 Now, by no means was it written on behalf of him alone that it was credited for his benefit. 24 But also for our sake. For whose benefit, it is without a doubt, as an eternal spiritual truth, credited when we do exercise absolute confidence upon the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead ones 25 who has been delivered over to death because of our transgressions and in addition was raised because of our justification.” (My translation) There were seven great crises in the life of Abraham, which tested his love for the Lord, his faith in the Lord and his obedience to the Lord: (1) God commanded Abraham to leave behind his parents as recorded in Genesis 12:1 and Hebrews 11:8. (2) God commanded Abraham to live among the Canaanites as an alien (see Genesis 12:1-8; Hebrews 11:9-10). (3) Abraham’s faith was tested in that he had to choose between living in the land of Canaan, trusting that the Lord would take care of him even though there was a famine in the land or leave the land of Canaan and go to Egypt. (4) Abraham had to separate from his nephew Lot as recorded in Genesis 13:5-18. (5) God commanded Abraham to send away Ishmael whom he loved dearly as recorded in Genesis 17:18-21 and 21:12-14. (6) Abraham’s faith was tested in that he had to wait twenty-five years for the birth of Isaac and had to trust that God could deliver on this promise even though he and Sarah were biologically unable to have children together because of their advanced age (see Romans 4:18-22). In the epistle of James, James teaches his readers who were believers that Abraham demonstrated his faith by performing works and when he speaks of works, he is referring to actions that are produced by obedience to God’s commands. James clearly teaches in James 2:14-26 that Abraham’s obedience to God’s command to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac was a “work of faith,” which justified him before God. When he speaks of “ justified by works ” in this passage he means that Abraham’s obedience to sacrifice Isaac justified him before God in the sense that he met God’s approval.

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In James, to be justified by works does “not” mean that Abraham had to perform works to be justified before God in relation to his eternal salvation. This is substantiated by Paul’s teaching in Romans 4 where Paul teaches about justification in relation to eternal salvation meaning that Abraham was justified by his faith in Christ in the sense that he received eternal salvation through faith in Christ. Romans 4:1-3 is addressed to the Jew and Gentiles who were exposed to the Judaizers who taught that one receives eternal salvation by keeping the Mosaic Law. James 2:14-24 is addressed to believers challenging them to operated in faith “after” salvation and which faith is demonstrated by obedience to God resulting in good works that are approved by God. When James speaks of salvation he is referring to the believer’s deliverance experientially after salvation from the sin nature, the devil and his cosmic system whereas when Paul speaks of salvation he is referring to eternal salvation. Therefore, we see that James speaks of the “works of faith” in James 2 whereas as Paul speaks of the “works of the Law.” The “works of faith” speaks of works that the believer is to perform after salvation, which will be rewarded at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the Church (see Ephesians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15). The “works of the Law” speaks of an unbeliever attempting to be justified before God and receive eternal salvation by performing human works. James challenges the believer to obey God and put into practice the Word of God whereas as Paul is addressing those exposed to the teaching of the Judaizers, unbelievers who claim that eternal salvation is received by performing the works of the Law. James 2:14, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” (NASU) In the Bible, the term “ brethren ” is always used as a designation for believers and never unbelievers, thus James is addressing his readers as fellow believers in relation to their walk with God “after” salvation since they are already saved. Therefore, the term “ save ” is “not” a reference to eternal salvation but rather the believer’s “deliverance” after salvation from his sin nature, the devil and his cosmic system by obeying the Word of God. The term “ works ” is “not” a reference to working for one’s eternal salvation but rather it is a designation for obedience to God resulting in actions that benefit one’s fellow believer. James 2:15, “If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food 16 and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” (NASU)

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Remember, faith in God is demonstrated by obedience to God as was the case in Abraham obeying God in sacrificing Isaac. Therefore, in James 2:15-17, James teaches his readers that if they do not help their fellow believer who is destitute and in need of the essentials of life, then they are not operating in faith meaning they are disobeying God who commanded to love one another as yourself (Mark 12:28- 31). James 2:18, “But someone may well say, ‘You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’” (NASU) James teaches that a believer’s faith is demonstrated by his works and when he speaks of works, he is referring to his actions that benefit his fellow believer, and which actions are produced by obedience to God’s Word. James 2:19, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” (NASU) James teaches his readers that the demons believe that God is one but they do not produce actions that are the result of obedience to God. James 2:20, “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?” (NASU) Notice that James describes Abraham as “ our father ” thus he is referring to his readers and himself as believers, which Abraham of course was as well. Therefore, he is referring to the believer’s walk with God “after” salvation rather than addressing eternal salvation. Also, James teaches that Abraham was justified by his works. He then identifies what those works were, namely, the offering of Isaac his son on the altar, which was in obedience to God. Therefore, we can see that when James uses the term “works ” in this passage he is referring to a believer’s actions that are the result of obedience to God’s Word. When James uses the term “ justified,” he is “not” referring to justification in relation to eternal salvation but rather justification in the sense of approval by God for one’s obedience to Him. James 2:22, “You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected.” (NASU) James teaches that Abraham’s faith produced actions that were in obedience to God and which actions, he calls “ works .” When James uses the term “ perfected ” he means perfected in the sense of being accomplished. Therefore, James is teaching that as a result of Abraham’s actions in sacrificing Isaac, and which actions were in obedience to God, the goal of faith was accomplished. The goal of faith is obedience to God.

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James 2:23, “and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,’ and he was called the friend of God.” (NASU) James is quoting Genesis 15:6. As we noted when we studied Genesis 15:6, although, the New Testament writers employ Genesis 15:6 to teach that justification is through faith alone in Christ alone, it does “not” mean that Genesis 15:6 records the moment when Abraham first got saved. There at least three reasons for this. First of all, Abraham had already obeyed the Lord’s call to leave Ur and Haran (Acts 7:2-5; Gen. 12:1-5). Secondly, the Lord had entered into a covenant agreement with him as recorded in Genesis 12:1-3 and 15:4-5, which is something the Lord would never do with an unbeliever. Thirdly, the perfect tense of the verb ` aman , “ believed ” demonstrates that Abraham’s faith did “not” begin after the events recorded in Genesis 15:1-5 since it represents the state of Abraham trusting in the Lord, which flowed from his initial faith in the Lord the moment he got saved in Ur of the Chaldeans. James 2:24, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” (NASU) When James uses the term “ justified by works ” he means that a believer is justified before God in the sense that he is “approved” by God when he produces actions that are in obedience to God. This obedience demonstrates his faith in God and does “not” refer to justification in relation to eternal salvation. Abraham was a tremendous example for James’ readers to follow in that Abraham was approved by God because his attempted sacrifice of his beloved son Isaac was in obedience to God’s commands and which obedience demonstrated his faith. James is not attempting to describe for his readers how they can identify a so- called “genuine” believer but rather he is simply challenging his readers to obey God, which demonstrates their faith and benefits their fellow believer. The unbeliever must first be declared righteous by God through faith in Jesus Christ before God will approve of their obedience to His Word. For the believer, his obedience to the Word of God expresses his faith in the Lord. However, for the unbeliever, his obedience expresses his arrogance in that he seeks to be accepted by God or establish a relationship with God or be on a par with God, like Satan, based upon his own merits. The unbeliever can never have merit with God through obedience to His Word since God requires perfect obedience in order for a person to be declared righteous by Him. The unbeliever has no capacity to be perfectly obedient since he is under the dominion of the sin nature and Satan.

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The unbeliever can only be accepted by God or establish a relationship with God based upon the merits of the impeccable Person of Jesus Christ and His death on the Cross since God will only accept perfection. Exercising faith in Jesus Christ expresses the sinner’s acknowledgement that he has no merit with God and that Jesus Christ does have merit with God and that he can only be accepted by God based upon the merits of Jesus Christ and His death on the Cross. After exercising faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, the sinner now has the capacity to please God through his obedience to His Word since the sinner has acknowledged he has no merit with God and that he stands before God on the merits of Jesus Christ and His death on the Cross. The believer has the capacity to please God with his obedience since he received at salvation a new nature, the nature of Christ. Now, we have noted that obedience to God’s Word demonstrates one’s faith in the Lord. This is true of only the believer and not the unbeliever. The reason that the unbeliever’s obedience does “not” demonstrate his faith in the Lord is that he is seeking to have a relationship with God based upon his own merits rather than the merits of Jesus Christ. Whereas the believer’s obedience to the Word of God demonstrates his faith in the Lord since he is not attempting to establish a relationship with God based upon his own merits but rather has sought to establish a relationship with God based upon the merits of Jesus Christ and His death on the Cross. Therefore, obedience to God’s Word demonstrates faith only when the person has already established a relationship with God based upon the merits of Jesus Christ and His death on the Cross. Faith in Jesus Christ means that the sinner is seeking to establish a relationship with God based upon the merits of Jesus Christ and His death on the Cross. The object of the sinner’s faith, Jesus Christ has merit with God. When the sinner exercises faith in Jesus Christ, he is acknowledging that he has no merit with God and that Christ has all the merit with God. Therefore, God declares the sinner justified based upon the merits of Jesus Christ and His death on the Cross. The unregenerate Jews’ efforts to obey the Law were simply an attempt to establish a relationship with God and be accepted by Him based upon their own merits. Their attempt to obey the Law was an attempt to be justified by God based upon their own merits. Faith in the Lord is an acknowledgment by the sinner that he has no merit and the Lord has all the merit. Therefore, the sinner’s obedience to the Word of God is not a demonstration or an expression of his faith in the Lord “until” he has trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as His Savior, which is an acknowledgement that he has no merit with God. So now we can see that Abraham’s obedience to the Lord’s Word was an expression of his faith in the Lord since he had already acknowledged that he had

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 41 no merit with God. Thus, in conclusion, the sinner’s obedience has no merit with God until the sinner has acknowledged he has no merit with God to start with and this acknowledgment takes place when the sinner trusts in Jesus Christ as his or her Savior. The Bible never separates faith from obedience. Unbelief on the other hand is disobedient and is the negative response to God’s commands and as a result the failure to act upon God’s commands. Romans 1:1, “Paul, a slave owned by Christ who is Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel originating from God 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 concerning His Son, who was born as a descendant of David with respect to His human nature. 4 The One demonstrated as the Son of God by means of divine power with respect to a nature characterized by holiness because of the resurrection from the dead ones, Jesus Christ, our Lord 5 through whom we have received the spiritual gift of apostleship in order to bring about the faith, which produces obedience among all the Gentiles on behalf of His name.” (My translation) Noah demonstrated his faith in the Lord by his obedience to the Lord’s command to build the ark and so did Abraham when he obeyed the Lord’s command to leave Ur of the Chaldeans and go to a place that the Lord would show him in due time. Hebrews 11:7, “By means of faith, Noah, after having received a divine warning concerning the things which at the time were not yet seen, and having responding reverentially built an ark for the deliverance of his household through which (faith) he rendered the wickedness of the world more evident and censurable and as a result he became a possessor of divine righteousness because of his faith. 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” (My translation) Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 3:5: “Consequently, the people of Nineveh were persuaded to believe in God…” Jonah 3:5, “Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.” (NASU) wa), which is prefixed to the third person masculine plural) ( וָ ) And ” is the wa“ ”. kaw-raw), “ they called) ( קָרָ א ) qal active imperfect form of the verb qārāʾ The conjunction wa functions, as a marker of a sequence of closely related events, indicating that after placing their absolute confidence in the message that the Lord conveyed to them through Jonah, the Ninevites humbled themselves and called a fast and put on sackcloth from the least to the greatest of them. This word denotes that after having faith in God, “then” the Ninevites called a fast and put on

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 42 sackcloth from the least of them to the greatest of them. We will translate the word “then .” The verb qārāʾ means “to declare, proclaim” in the sense of making a public announcement of an event. Here it refers to the citizens of Nineveh “declaring” or “proclaiming” that all of them must fast and put on sackcloth as expression of humbling themselves before God, which demonstrates the genuineness of their faith in God and repentance since they volunteer to do this before the king decrees it (Jonah 3:7). The imperfect tense of the verb is used of a past action from the perspective of the writer. It is used with the conjunction wa to form a sequential clause. The active voice of the verb indicates that the subject, the Ninevites perform the action of the verb. The qal stem is fientive expressing an action that the Ninevites took in response to the Lord’s message through the prophet Jonah and as a result of their faith in what God said through Jonah that He would do. We will translate this verb “they declared .” tsome), which) ( צֹום ) A fast ” is the masculine singular form of the noun ṣôm“ refers to the act of depriving the body of nourishment. Kent Berghuis writes, “The Scriptures do not forbid fasting, and yet they curb improper applications of the practice. Nor does the Bible command fasting for all believers, although the practice is assumed as part of the human spiritual experience. The Bible mentions fasting from food in about fifty-nine contexts, depending on how strictly one limits the references. Of these, thirteen contain at least some negative associations or corrective teaching, while the other forty-six either are totally favorable toward fasting, give it at least tacit approval, or appear to assign it no moral connotation. The positive passages demonstrate that in general fasting is viewed favorably, as long as certain spiritual boundaries are in place. The dominant theme of the correctives is that fasting is meaningless if accompanied by hypocrisy or sin, and the ritual itself is less important than righteous attitudes and actions.” (Bibliotheca Sacra, volume 158, number 629; pages 87-88) Fasting was done for a variety of reasons. First of all it was done by nations as a sign of sorrow in the wake of a national tragedy (Judges 20:26; 1 Samuel 31:13; 1 Chronicles 10:12; 2 Samuel 1:12; 3:35); Esther 4:3; Jeremiah 14:1-12; Joel 1:14; 2:12-15). It was also done by individuals of course who experienced sorrow or suffering (1 Samuel 1:7-8; 20:34; Job 3:24; Psalm 42:3; 102:4; 107:17-18). Fasting was also a sign of repentance from national or corporate sins and was an act of seeking forgiveness from God as a nation (1 Samuel 7:6; Ezra 9:1-10:17; Nehemiah 9:1; Zechariah 8:16-19). Daniel and Nehemiah fasted individually over their nation’s corporate sin as a demonstration of humility and repentance (Daniel 9:3-14; Nehemiah 1:4-7).

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Many believers in the Old Testament fasted while in intercessory prayer for others (2 Samuel 12:16-23; Nehemiah 1:8-10; Psalm 35:13; Daniel 6:18; 9:15-19) or when offering personal petitions (1 Samuel 1:7-11; Nehemiah 1:11; Psalm 109:21-24; Daniel 9:3; 10:1-3). Leaders prayed and fasted before battles (Judges 20:26; 1 Samuel 7:6; 2 Chronicles 20:3) and for relief from famine (Jeremiah 14:1- 12; Joel 1:14; 2:12-15) or for success in other areas (Ezra 8:21-23; Esther 4:16). The Lord Jesus Christ encouraged fasting as an aid to one’s personal devotion to God (Matthew 6:16-18). The first century apostolic church engaged in corporate fasting and prayer meetings (Acts 13:2-3). Fasting was used as an aid to experiencing God’s presence (Exodus 34:28; 1 Kings 19:8) and as an act of ceremonial public worship (Nehemiah 9:1; Esther 9:31; Isaiah 58:3; Jeremiah 36:6-9; Zechariah 7:3-5; 8:19). Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther initiated fasts even though the Mosaic Law did not require them. Easton’s Bible Dictionary has the following comment on fasting, they write, “Fast — The sole fast required by the law of Moses was that of the great Day of Atonement (q.v.), Lev. 23:26–32. It is called ‘the fast’ (Acts 27:9). The only other mention of a periodical fast in the Old Testament is in Zech. 7:1–7; 8:19, from which it appears that during their captivity the Jews observed four annual fasts. (1.) The fast of the fourth month, kept on the seventeenth day of Tammuz, the anniversary of the capture of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans; to commemorate also the incident recorded Ex. 32:19. (Comp. Jer. 52:6, 7.) (2.) The fast of the fifth month, kept on the ninth of Ab (comp. Num. 14:27), to commemorate the burning of the city and temple (Jer. 52:12, 13). (3.) The fast of the seventh month, kept on the third of Tisri (comp. 2 Kings 25), the anniversary of the murder of Gedaliah (Jer. 41:1, 2). (4.) The fast of the tenth month (comp. Jer. 52:4; Ezek. 33:21; 2 Kings 25:1), to commemorate the beginning of the siege of the holy city by Nebuchadnezzar. There was in addition to these the fast appointed by Esther (4:16). Public national fasts on account of sin or to supplicate divine favour were sometimes held. (1.) 1 Sam. 7:6; (2.) 2 Chr. 20:3; (3.) Jer. 36:6–10; (4.) Neh. 9:1. There were also local fasts. (1.) Judg. 20:26; (2.) 2 Sam. 1:12; (3.) 1 Sam. 31:13; (4.) 1 Kings 21:9–12; (5.) Ezra 8:21–23: (6.) Jonah 3:5–9. There are many instances of private occasional fasting (1 Sam. 1:7; 20:34; 2 Sam. 3:35; 12:16; 1 Kings 21:27; Ezra 10:6; Neh. 1:4; Dan. 10:2,3). Moses fasted forty days (Ex. 24:18; 34:28), and so also did Elijah (1 Kings 19:8). Our Lord fasted forty days in the wilderness (Matt. 4:2). In the lapse of time the practice of fasting was lamentably abused (Isa. 58:4; Jer. 14:12; Zech. 7:5). Our Lord rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocritical pretences in fasting (Matt. 6:16). He himself appointed no fast. The early Christians, however, observed the ordinary fasts according to the law of their fathers (Acts 13:3; 14:23; 2 Cor. 6:5). (Easton, M.

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(1996). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) C. Robert Marsh has the following comment, “The Bible describes three main forms of fasting. The normal fast involves the total abstinence of food. Luke 4:2 reveals that Jesus ‘ate nothing’; afterwards ‘He was hungry.’ Jesus abstained from food but not from water. In Acts 9:9 we read of an absolute fast where for three days Paul ‘did not eat or drink’ (HCSB). The abstinence from both food and water seems to have lasted no more than three days (Ezra 10:6; Esther 4:16). The partial fast in Dan. 10:3 emphasizes the restriction of diet rather than complete abstinence. The context implies that there were physical benefits resulting from this partial fast. However, this verse indicates that there was a revelation given to Daniel as a result of this time of fasting. Fasting is the laying aside of food for a period of time when the believer is seeking to know God in a deeper experience. It is to be done as an act before God in the privacy of one’s own pursuit of God (Exod. 34:28; 1 Sam. 7:6; 1 Kings 19:8; Matt. 6:17). Fasting is to be done with the object of seeking to know God in a deeper experience (Isa. 58; Zech. 7:5). Fasting relates to a time of confession (Ps. 69:10). Fasting can be a time of seeking a deeper prayer experience and drawing near to God in prevailing prayer (Ezra 8:23; Joel 2:12). The early church often fasted in seeking God’s will for leadership in the local church (Acts 13:2). When the early church wanted to know the mind of God, there was a time of prayer and fasting.” (Brand, C., Draper, C., England, A., Bond, S., Clendenen, E. R., Butler, T. C., & Latta, B. (2003). Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers. ) The New Manners and Customs of the Bible, “Fasting is the laying aside of food for a period of time when the believer is seeking to know God in a deeper experience. It is to be done as an act before God in the privacy of one’s own pursuit of God (Exodus 34:28; 1 Samuel 7:6; 1 Kings 19:8). The sole fast required by the law of Moses was that of the Great Day of Atonement in Leviticus 23:26– 32. It is called ‘the fast’ in Acts 27:9. The only other mention of a periodical fast in the Old Testament is in Zechariah 7:1–7; 8:19. During their captivity, the Jews observed four annual fasts: the fast of the fourth month, kept on the seventeenth day of Tammuz, the anniversary of the capture of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans; to commemorate also the incident recorded Exodus 32:19; the fast of the fifth month, kept on the ninth of Ab (Numbers. 14:27), to commemorate the burning of the city and temple (Jeremiah 52:12, 13); the fast of the seventh month, kept on the third of Tisri (2 Kings 25), the anniversary of the murder of Gedaliah (Jeremiah 41:1, 2); the fast of the tenth month (Jeremiah 52:4; Ezekiel 33:21; 2 Kings 25:1), to commemorate the beginning of the siege of the holy city by Nebuchadnezzar. There was, in addition to these, the fast appointed by Esther (Esther 4:16). Public national fasts on account of sin or to supplicate divine favor were sometimes held

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(1 Samuel 7:6, 2 Chronicles 20:3; Jeremiah 36:6–10; Nehemiah 9:1), as were local fasts (Judges 20:26; 1 Samuel 31:13; 2 Samuel 1:12; 1 Kings 21:9–12; Ezra 8:21– 23; Jonah 3:5–9). There are many instances of occasional fasting by individuals (1 Samuel 1:7; 20:34; 2 Samuel 3:35; 12:16; 1 Kings 21:27; Ezra 10:6; Nehemiah 1:4; Daniel 10:2, 3). Moses fasted forty days (Exodus 24:18; 34:28), as did Elijah (1 Kings 19:8). Jesus fasted forty days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2). Apparently the practice of fasting was lamentably abused (Isaiah 58:4; Jeremiah 14:12; Zechariah 7:5). Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocritical pretenses in fasting. The early Church often fasted in seeking God’s will for leadership in the local church (Acts 13:2). When the early Church wanted to know the mind of God, there was a time of prayer and fasting. Jesus Himself appointed no specific fast. The early Christians, however, observed the ordinary fasts according to the law of their fathers (Acts 13:3; 14:23; 2 Corinthians 6:5). (Freeman, J. M., & Chadwick, H. J. (1998). Manners & customs of the Bible (Rev. ed.].). North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos Publishers.) H.A.G. Belben has the following comment, “Fasting in the Bible generally means going without all food and drink for a period (e.g. Est. 4:16), and not merely refraining from certain foods. I. In the Old Testament: The Heb. words are ṣûm (verb) and ṣôm (noun). The phrase ‘ innâ nap ̄ šô (to afflict the soul) also refers to fasting. First, there were certain annual fasts. Thus the Hebrews fasted on the Day of Atonement (Lv. 16:29, 31; 23:27–32; Nu. 29:7). After the Exile, four other annual fasts were observed (Zc. 8:19), all of them, according to the Talmud, marking disasters in Jewish history. Est. 9:31 can be interpreted as implying the establishment of yet another regular fast. In addition to these there were occasional fasts. These were sometimes individual (e.g. 2 Sa. 12:22) and sometimes corporate (e.g. Jdg. 20:26; Joel 1:14). Fasting gave expression to grief (1 Sa. 31:13; 2 Sa. 1:12; 3:35; Ne. 1:4; Est. 4:3; Ps. 35:13–14) and penitence (1 Sa. 7:6; 1 Ki. 21:27; Ne. 9:1-2; Dn. 9:3–4; Jon. 3:5–8). It was a way by which men might humble themselves (Ezr. 8:21; Ps. 69:10). Sometimes it may have been thought of as a self-inflicted punishment (cf. the phrase ‘to afflict the soul’). Fasting was often directed towards securing the guidance and help of God (Ex. 34:28; Dt. 9:9; 2 Sa. 12:16–23; 2 Ch. 20:3–4; Ezr. 8:21–23). Fasting could be vicarious (Ezr. 10:6; Est. 4:15–17). Some came to think that fasting would automatically gain man a hearing from God (Is. 58:3–4). Against this the prophets declared that without right conduct fasting was in vain (Is. 58:5–12; Je. 14:11–12; Zc. 7). II. In the New Testament: The usual Gk. words are nēsteu ō (verb), and nēsteia and nēstis (nouns). In Acts 27:21, 33 the words asitia and asitos (‘without food’) are also used. As far as general Jewish practice is concerned, the Day of Atonement is the only annual fast referred to in the NT (Acts 27:9). Some strict Pharisees fasted every Monday and Thursday (Lk. 18:12). Other devout Jews, like Anna, might fast often (Lk.

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2:37). The only occasion when Jesus is recorded as fasting is at the time of his temptations in the wilderness. Then, however, he was not necessarily fasting from choice. The first temptation implies that there was no food available in the place he had selected for his weeks of preparation for his ministry (Mt. 4:1–4). Cf. the 40 days’ fasts of Moses (Ex. 34:28) and Elijah (1 Ki. 19:8). Jesus assumed that his hearers would fast, but taught them when they did so to face Godward, not manward (Mt. 6:16–18). When asked why his disciples did not fast as did those of John the Baptist and of the Pharisees, Jesus did not repudiate fasting, but declared it to be inappropriate for his disciples ‘as long as the bridegroom is with them’ (Mt. 9:14–17; Mk. 2:18–22; Lk. 5:33–39). Later they would fast like others. In Acts leaders of the church fast when choosing missionaries (13:2–3) and elders (14:23). Paul twice refers to his fasting (2 Cor. 6:5; 11:27). In the former passage voluntary fasting, by way of self-discipline, appears to be meant ( nēsteia ); the latter passage mentions both involuntary ‘hunger’ ( limos ) and voluntary going ‘without food’ (nēsteia ). The weight of textual evidence is against the inclusion of references to fasting in Mt. 17:21; Mk. 9:29; Acts 10:30; 1 Cor. 7:5, though the presence of these references in many mss in itself indicates that there was a growing belief in the value of fasting in the early church.” (Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996). New Bible dictionary (3rd ed.). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.) The fast proclaimed by the Ninevites in a corporate sense as recorded in Jonah 3:5-9 was as a demonstration of their faith in God and their repentance before Him and their desire for forgiveness from Him. Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 3:5: “Consequently, the people of Nineveh were persuaded to believe in God. Then, they declared a fast…” Jonah 3:5, “Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.” (NASU) wa), which is prefixed to) ( וָ ) And ” is the adjunctive use of the conjunction wa“ ( לָבַשׁ ) the third person masculine plural qal active imperfect form of the verb lā·ḇǎ š (leb-oosh), “ put on .” The conjunction wa is adjunctive and should thus be rendered “also” since it is used to introduce a statement that presents an “additional” action taken by the Ninevites in response to the message that the Lord had Jonah proclaimed to them. The verb lā·ḇǎ š means “to put on, to wear” or “to clothe” and in the qal stem as we have here the word indicates what a person is wearing or what they put on. Here the word is used of the Ninevites “putting on” or “wearing” sackcloth as a sign of repentance. The imperfect tense of the verb is used of a past action from the perspective of the writer. It is used with the conjunction wa to form an adjunctive clause. The active voice of the verb indicates that the subject, the Ninevites perform the action

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 47 of the verb. The qal stem is fientive expressing an action that the Ninevites took in response to the Lord’s message through the prophet Jonah and as a result of their faith in what God said through Jonah that He would do. We will translate this verb “they put on .” sak), which) ( שַׂק ) Sackcloth ” is the masculine plural form of the noun śǎ q“ refers to a rough clothe that was coarsely woven, usually from goat hair and then dyed. The citizens of Nineveh clothed themselves with sackcloth as a sign of repentance and that they were seeking forgiveness from God. The New American Commentary writes that sackcloth was “a coarse cloth most often made of goat’s hair, was the customary dress of the poor and those who were in mourning. In the Old Testament Jacob expressed his grief for the loss of Joseph and Job for his sad condition by putting on sackcloth (Gen 37:34; Job 16:15). Prophets often wore sackcloth, perhaps partly to associate themselves with the poor (who were being abused by the greed of the upper classes) but also as a sign of mourning for the sins of the people. As Walton explains, the normal response for Assyrians to news that the gods were offended would have been sacrifices, libations, supplications, and prostration. But it is well known that fasting was a symbol for the affliction of the soul or for intense mourning of the heart. Perhaps the Ninevites proclaimed a fast because of their knowledge that fasting was a Hebrew practice. Because this strange prophet was Hebrew, it would be best for them to join in a Hebrew ritual that exhibited mourning and contrition. As T. Kirk has said, ‘Great emergencies demand and justify the use of extraordinary methods. The peril was too awful and near for a moment’s delay.’ The Ninevites, intent on averting disaster, utilized every means possible to show contrition.” (Smith, B. K., & Page, F. S. (2001). Vol. 19B: Amos, Obadiah, Jonah (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary; pages 263-264; Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.) Lawrence Schiffman writes that “sackcloth, a dark-colored material of goat or camel hair used for making grain bags and garments. English ‘sack’ is derived from the Hebrew saq , via Latin saccus and Greek sakkos . Joseph’s brothers carried their money and their grain in sacks (Gen. 42:25), and the men of Gibeon met Joshua with worn-out sacks upon their sack animals (Josh. 9:4). A garment of sackcloth was uncomfortable and was therefore worn by those in mourning. Jacob ‘put sackcloth upon his loins’ when mourning for Joseph (Gen. 37:34). When national calamity threatened the destruction of the Jewish people in the book of Esther, the Jews lay in sackcloth and ashes, fasting, weeping, and lamenting (Esther 4:3). This material must have been inexpensive or of poor quality for ‘no one might enter the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth’ (Esther 4:1-3). The use of sackcloth continued for a very long time as it is still mentioned in 1 Macc. 2:14, 3:47 and in the nt (Matt. 11:21) as a sign of distress and repentance.” (Achtemeier,

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P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary (1st ed.). San Francisco: Harper & Row.) The New Bible Dictionary “Sackcloth. A coarse cloth (Heb. śaq , Gk. sakkos , from which the Eng. word is derived), usually made of goats’ hair (Siphra 53b) and black in colour (Rev. 6:12). The same Heb. sometimes means ‘sack’ (e.g. Gn. 42:27), which was evidently made of this material. Sackcloth was worn as a sign of mourning for the dead (Gn. 37:34; 2 Sa. 3:31; Joel 1:8; Judith 8:5), or of mourning for personal or national disaster (Jb. 16:15; La. 2:10; Est. 4:1; 1 Macc. 2:14), or of penitence for sins (1 Ki. 21:27; Ne. 9:1; Jon. 3:5; Mt. 11:21), or of special prayer for deliverance (2 Ki. 19:1–2; Dn. 9:3; Judith 4:10; Baruch 4:20; 1 Macc. 3:47). The form of the symbolic sackcloth was often a band or kilt tied around the waist (1 Ki. 20:31–32; Is. 3:24; 20:2; 2 Macc. 10:25). It was usually worn next to the skin (2 Ki. 6:30; Jb. 16:15; 2 Macc. 3:19), and was sometimes kept on all night (1 Ki. 21:27; Joel 1:13). In one case it replaces a robe, presumably over other clothes (Jon. 3:6). Sometimes the sackcloth was spread out to lie on (2 Sa. 21:10; Is. 58:5), or spread out before the altar or on the altar (Judith 4:11). Palestinian shepherds wore sackcloth because it was cheap and durable (TB, Shabbath 64a). Prophets sometimes wore it as a symbol of the repentance which they preached (Is. 20:2; Rev. 11:3). According to Jon. 3:8 and Judith 4:10 even animals were clothed in sackcloth as a sign of national supplication. Wearing sackcloth for mourning and penitence was practised not only in Israel but also in Damascus (1 Ki. 20:31), Moab (Is. 15:3), Ammon (Je. 49:3), Tyre (Ezk. 27:31) and Nineveh (Jon. 3:5). Clothing with sackcloth is used figuratively of the darkening of the heavenly bodies in Is. 50:3.” (Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996). New Bible dictionary (3rd ed.). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press. ) Lessing writes, “Most of the biblical references to sackcloth are as garments worn by persons in a state of grief or mourning. For example, after Abner’s death, David instructs all the people to put on sackcloth and mourn (2 Sam 3:31). At the preaching of Ezra, all Israel puts on sackcloth and repents for the nation’s sins (Neh 9:1). As an article of clothing it denotes humiliation, mourning, and repentance—so much so that its removal is equated with joy: ‘You have turned my mourning into dancing for me; you have loosened my sackcloth and girded me in Ps 30:12 [ET30:11]). The donning of sackcloth is , ו ) ’joy often accompanied by sitting in ashes, as the king will do in Jonah 3:6, and/or fasting, as the people and animals do in 3:5, 7–8. Nineveh’s repentance manifests itself in a form that rivals even the most pious Israelite times of repentance. Not only the king, but all the people and even the livestock put on sackcloth and fast (Jonah 3:5–8). Jonah 3:8 is worded to suggest that just like the people, the livestock too covered themselves with sackcloth! In that way, the Ninevites’

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 49 penitence exceeds any recorded for Israel.” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah; page 285) Therefore, the citizens of Nineveh clothed themselves with sackcloth as a sign of repentance. They put on sackcloth to demonstrate they were seeking forgiveness from God and were changing their attitude and conduct towards God’s laws. Specifically, they were changing their attitude and conduct toward the inherent law written into their souls by God, which is basically the Ten Commandments (Romans 2:14-15). In relation to receiving eternal salvation, repentance is simply a change of attitude or a change of mind regarding Jesus Christ. It means to being going in one direction and to change your mind and go in the exact opposite direction. To receive eternal salvation, the only issue in repentance is Christ and not a person’s sin. In relation to receiving eternal salvation, the Scriptures never teach repentance of sins but of a change of attitude regarding Christ as one’s personal Savior. An individual’s personal sins are not an issue because they were all paid for at the cross by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word in the New Testament for repentance is the noun metanoia , which looks like this in the Greek metanoia and means “a change of mind.” The verb is metanoeo , “to change your mind, to change your attitude toward something.” Metanoia is found 24 times in the Greek New Testament and metanoeo is found 35 times. Metanoeo is a compound verb in the Greek, which means that it is composed of two Greek words. The first is meta meaning “change,” and the second is noeo , “mind,” therefore, the correct meaning of repentance is “to change one’s mind,” or “to change your attitude toward something.” Both words have absolutely nothing to do with feeling sorry for your sins. They have nothing to do with your emotions. There is another word in the Greek New Testament which has an emotional connotation and that is the verb metamelomai which looks like this in the Greek metamelomai meaning “to feel sorry, to regret, to feel sorrow.” Metamelomai is found 6 times in the Greek New Testament. The distinction between the two verbs metanoeo and metamelomai is obvious in the Greek New Testament. Metamelomai expresses a merely emotional change while metanoeo expresses a change of choice. It signifies nothing but regret resulting in feeling sorry while metanoeo deals with a change of mental attitude. Metanoeo concerns your volition and not your emotions. Since our English word is a translation of the Greek of the New Testament, we need to look at the original language. There are two New Testament Greek words which are translated “repentance” in the modern English translations: metanoia (and its verbal counterpart metanoeo ) and metamelomai . The former term is so translated fifty-eight times in the New

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Testament; the latter only six times. This study will be concerned primarily with metanoia . Metamelomai means, “to regret, change the mind” and may connote the idea of sorrow, but not necessarily. It is translated by “regret, change the mind, and feel remorse” in the NASB and NIV, and in all but one of the passages where it is used, the primary idea is a change of mind (cf. Matt. 21:29, 32; 27:3; 2 Cor. 7:8; Heb. 7:21). Metanoia , the primary word, without question, means “a change of mind.” It refers to the thinking of people who thought one thing or made one decision and then, based on further evidence or input, changed their minds. So, the basic sense is “a change of mind.” This is its meaning and use outside the New Testament and in the New Testament. It is a change of mind that leads to a different course of action, but that course of action must be determined by the context. In a context that deals with forgiveness of sin or receiving eternal life as a gift from God, the course of action is a change of trust because one now sees Jesus as the only means of salvation from sin. Let me illustrate this for you in the Scriptures and I’ll point out when each word is used. John the Baptist used the verb metanoeo . Matthew 3:2, “Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, ‘Repent (metanoeo , “change your mind”) , for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (NASU) What were John’s listeners suppose to change their minds about? Mark 1:14, “And after John had been taken into custody (put into prison), Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand (Jesus Christ the Savior is right in front of them.); Repent (metanoeo , “change your mind”) and believe in the gospel.” (NASU) They were to change their minds about Christ. They were unbelievers and they were to change their minds about Christ and believe in Him for salvation. They were to change their minds concerning the gospel, which is the “ power of God for salvation to everyone who believes ” (Rom. 1:16). Our Lord makes an interesting comment concerning the person who changes their mind about Christ and accepts Him as Savior. Luke 15:7, “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (metanoeo , “changes their mind about Christ and accepts Him as Savior”) , than over ninety-nine righteous persons (people who have accepted Christ as Savior) who need no repentance (metanoia , “change of mind about Christ”) .” (NASU)

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Luke 15:10, “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents (metanoeo , “changes their mind about Christ and believes in Him for salvation”) .” (NASU) So you can see that repentance has nothing to do with emotion but is a change of mind about Christ. Now, the first occurrence of metamelomai is in Matthew 21:29-32 in the parable of the two sons. In the parable, one son said to his father that he would go in the vineyard while the second son said he would not but then he metamelomai , felt badly, regretted not going and then went. The first son, who said he would go, but didn’t. Metamelomai occurs twice in this passage. It is found in verse 29 which the New American Standard translates as “ regretted ,” and it is found in verse 32 where it is translated “ remorse .” In Matthew 27:3, metamelomai is used in connection with Judas Iscariot, an unbeliever who betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 27:1, “Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death; 2 and they bound Him, and led Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate the governor. 3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him (Jesus) , saw that He (Jesus) had been condemned, he felt remorse (metamelomai , “he felt sorry”) and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests, 4 saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ But they said, ‘what is that to us? See that yourself.’ 5 And he (Judas) threw the pieces of silver into the sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.” (NASU) Judas felt sorry for his sin and yet he went to the Lake of Fire. We know that he went to hell because the Lord Jesus Christ said so Himself. John 17:12, “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name (God the Father’s) which You have given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished (the apostles and His disciples) but the son of perdition (Judas Iscariot) , that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” (NASU) Now, what is important to note is that Judas felt sorry for his sin for betraying the Son of God and yet he was not saved because of his emotions. The apostle Peter denied Christ three times and he felt sorry and wept. Matthew 26:75, “And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, ‘Before a cock crows Peter, you will deny Me three times.’ And he (Peter) went out and wept bitterly.” (NASU) Both men felt sorry for their sins, and yet one was saved and the other was not. Each committed a terrible sin, one was saved and the other was not. Emotion could not save Judas. Peter wept bitterly and yet his tears did not save him but rather his faith in Christ saved him.

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There is only one-way of salvation which excludes human works and emotion and that is to “ believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved ” (Acts 16:31; John 3:16, 36). Judas could have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ but did not. Peter did believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:13-16). The word metamelomai also occurs in 2 Corinthians 7:8 where the apostle Paul is talking about his first letter to the Corinthians in which he sharply rebuked the believers in Corinth, 1 Corinthians 7:8, “For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it (metamelomai ); though I did regret it (metamelomai) -for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while-9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance (metanoia , “a change of mind”) . For you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything though us. 10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a change of mind (metanoia ) WITHOUT REGRET (metamelomai ), leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” (NASU) This passage deals with confession of sin followed by obedience to the Word of God. Paul was talking to people who were believers. They had already believed in Jesus Christ as Savior and were saved forever. The repentance that Paul is talking about is the confession of sin and their recovery from that sin through obedience. This sin knocks them out of fellowship yet does not cost them their salvation. In relation to receiving eternal salvation, sin is never an issue in repentance according to the Scriptures but rather one’s attitude toward Jesus Christ is the issue. Psalm 103:10, “He (God) has NOT dealt with us (you and I ) according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” (NASU) John 1:29, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (NASU) Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin (sin nature) entered into the world, and death (spiritual) through sin (the sin nature) , and so death (spiritual) spread to all men (the entire human race) , because all sinned.” (NASU) 1 Corinthians 15:3, “For I (Paul) delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” (NASU) Galatians 1:3, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who (the Lord Jesus Christ) gave Himself for our sins , that He might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of God and Father.” (NASU)

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Hebrews 8:12, “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more .” (NASU) Hebrews 10:17, “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (NASU) 1 Peter 2:24, “And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin (sin nature) and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” (NASU) 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.” (NASU) 1 John 2:2, “He is the propitiation (satisfaction) for our sins, and not for ours only but for those of the whole world.” (NASU) 1 John 3:5, “He (the Lord Jesus Christ) appeared in order to take away sins (plural; personal sins of the entire human race)” (NASU) Revelation 1:4, “John to the seven churches in Asia (what is today western Turkey): Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven spirits who are before His throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead (1st to be resurrected), and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood.” (NASU) The only issue in repentance that the Scriptures teach is regarding the Person and Work of Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:13-20). The sins of the entire world-past, present and future were paid for by the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union at the cross. He paid for these sins with His voluntary substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths. Therefore, repentance in relation to the non-Christian with respect to receiving eternal salvation has nothing to do with a person’s sins but rather his attitude toward Jesus Christ. The issue in repentance is simply, “Will you change your mind about Jesus Christ and accept Him as your Lord and Savior?” Each person must decide for himself. Salvation is through faith alone in Christ alone and not more and nothing less (John 3:16-17, 36; Acts 16:31). Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 3:5: “Consequently, the people of Nineveh were persuaded to believe in God. Then, they declared a fast. Also, they put on sackcloth…” Jonah 3:5, “Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.” (NASU) ” meen), “ from) ( מִן ) From the greatest ” is composed of the preposition min“ ,(ga-dol) ( גָּדֹול ) and the masculine singular construct form of the adjective gadhol “the greatest ” and the third person masculine plural pronomial suffix hē·mā(h) ”. them “ ,( ־הֵמָה)

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wa), which is) ( וָ ) To the least of them ” is composed of the conjunction wa“ ad), “ to ” and the masculine) ( עַד ) not translated and then the preposition ʿǎḏ kaw-tawn), “the least of” the) ( קָטָן) singular construct form of the adjective qā·ṭān ”. them “ ,( ־הֵמָה) (third person masculine plural pronomial suffix hē·mā(h Each of these two adjectives forms a comparative superlative meaning a superlative in comparison to others among the citizens of Nineveh. The adjective gadhol is used to describe men of Nineveh who were of distinction and social rank. On the other hand, the adjective qā·ṭān refers to the antithesis meaning those who are considered the insignificant in the city of Nineveh, namely, the poor and disenfranchised. The pronomial suffix accompanying these two adjectives refers of course to the citizens of Nineveh. The preposition min is used in conjunction with the preposition ǎḏ in an inclusive sense meaning literally “from…to.” These two prepositions are used with reference to two extremes in Ninevite society implying every other individual in between. They form the figure of speech called “merism,” which is a form of synecdoche in which the totality or whole is substituted by two contrasting or opposite parts. Therefore, these two prepositional phrases name two extremes in Ninevite society and include everyone in between. wa) is not translated and is simply joining these two) ( וָ ) The conjunction wa prepositional phrases together. Completed corrected translation of Jonah 3:5: “Consequently, the people of Nineveh were persuaded to believe in God. Then, they declared a fast. Also, they put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.” The NET Bible writes, “Verse 5 provides a summary of the response in Nineveh; the people of all ranks believed and gave evidence of contrition by fasting and wearing sackcloth (2 Sam 12:16, 19–23; 1 Kgs 21:27–29; Neh 9:1–2). Then vv. 6–9 provide specific details, focusing on the king’s reaction. The Ninevites’ response parallels the response of the pagan sailors in 1:6 and 13–16.” Verse 5 is a result clause, which indicates that the Ninevites believed in God “as a result” of the prophet Jonah proclaiming to them that they would be overturned at the end of forty days. It indicates that the Ninevites’ faith in God was the direct consequence of the message Jonah delivered to them from the Lord. This passage reveals that the Ninevites were persuaded to place their absolute confidence in God because of Jonah’s message. Jonah’s message to them was that they would be overturned in the sense of destroyed by God or in the sense that they would repent. It does not simply not a mental assent to the existence of God since James 2:19 says that even the demons believe in God in that sense. Rather, the verb means that the Ninevites were not only heeding the warning that the Lord conveyed to them through Jonah but also that they were casting themselves upon the Lord in the sense of appealing to His mercy and grace.

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That the Ninevites faith in God was a “saving” faith or a faith that delivered them from eternal condemnation is indicated by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in Matthew 12:41. Further indicating that the Ninevites exercised saving faith in the Son of God, Yahweh is that the Lord would not have relented and withheld judgment if the Ninevites had not acted in faith. The question that arises is that why would the Ninevites even accept Jonah into their city? Why would they be willing to listen to an Israelite prophet in the first place? First of all, he was a very famous prophet in Israel. He would undoubtedly have been known not only by the Assyrians but also the entire Middle East at that time since his prediction that Israel’s borders would enlarge came to pass. 2 Kings 14:25 records that Jonah lived during the reign of Jeroboam II in approximately 793-753 B.C. The Prophet Jonah’s prediction that Israel’s boundaries would extend under Jeroboam II came true. Therefore, Jonah was the most prestigious prophet of his day. Another reason why the Ninevites would give Jonah a hearing was that the Assyrian nation was in a period of upheaval and dissension at that time. Jonah 3:5 records the Ninevites declaring a fast amongst themselves and putting on sackcloth. This was to demonstrate their faith in God and their repentance before Him as well as their desire to receive forgiveness from Him. This was done by every aspect of Ninevite society, from the greatest to the least. This repentance meant a change of attitude among the Ninevites. This was demonstrated by the Ninevites placing their confidence upon God in the sense of casting themselves upon the mercy of God whereas before they did not. It also involved a change of conduct, which is demonstrated by the fast and the putting on of sackcloth and abstaining from their previously wicked conduct.

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