1:1-3

Jonah 1:1-A Message From The Lord Is Communicated To Jonah

Jonah 1:1 records that a message from the Lord was communicated to the prophet Jonah. The content of the message is revealed in Jonah 1:2. Jonah 1:1, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 ‘Arise, go to the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.’” The in the original Hebrew text begins with the conjunction waw ( ) (wa), which is prefixed to the qal masculine singular third person active prefixed (imperfect) sequential form of the verb hayah ( ) (haw-yaw), “ came .” Hebrew narratives usually are introduced by this verb form without a grammatical subject, which can be translated “now it happened” or “now it came to pass.” It is much like the English “once there was” or “once upon a time.” This Hebrew construction that begins the book of Jonah also begins other historical books in the Hebrew canon such as Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, Ruth and Esther. Narratives in other prophetic books of the are often introduced by this construction but with Jonah, it actually introduces an entire narrative about Jonah. It is not unusual for the first sentence of the book of Jonah to begin with a waw since the vast majority of all independent clauses in Hebrew narrative to do so. Many translations translate waw here in Jonah 1:1 in an introductory sense meaning “now” (ESV, NRSV, RSV, AMP, KJV, NKJV, ASV, AV). We will do the same. The verb hayah in Jonah 1:1 is used to demonstrate that the message Jonah communicated to the Ninevites originated from the Lord. The context indicates that we can translate it “communicated” since the Lord is doing just that in that the Lord is communicating to Jonah the message He wants delivered to the Ninevites. This is a qal impersonal construction involving an experience describing a circumstance in the life of Jonah. This is a qal stative describing a circumstance in the life of Jonah. The imperfect tense of the verb expresses an event that took place in the past, which continued for a period of time when God commissioned Jonah to go to the Ninevites. We will translate hayah , “ was communicated .” The formula “ Now the word of the Lord came to…” ( ) (wayhî dĕbar yhwh ʾel ) appears frequently in the Old Testament, especially in Jeremiah and Ezekiel where it describes a message from the Lord being delivered to a prophet of (Jeremiah 1:4, 11, 13, 16:1; Ezek. 3:16; 6:1; 7:1). This expression does not open any other Old Testament book, only Jonah. It appears many times opening an episode in a larger book (1 Samuel 15:10; 1 Kings 6:11; 16:1; 21:17,

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Ministries 1

28; 2 Chronicles 11:2; Isaiah 38:4; Jeremiah 29:30; 32:26; 33:19, 23; 34:12; 35:12; 37:6; Zechariah 7:8). The expression “ the word of the Lord came to Jonah ” emphasizes with the reader that Jonah received divine authority to proclaim a message of judgment for the city of Nineveh. “The word of the Lord ” ( ) appears 250 times in the Old Testament and is composed of the masculine singular form of the common noun in the construct state debar ( ) (daw-bawr), “ the word of ” and the masculine singular proper noun Yahweh ( ) (yeh-ho-vaw), “ the Lord .” It is used the majority of the time in the Old Testament to refer to a Word spoken by Yahweh to a prophet as a technical expression for the prophetic word of revelation and is the formula that gives the prophetic books of the Old Testament their distinctiveness. This expression in the Old Testament also is an earmark of inspiration indicating that what the prophet is communicating to people in writing is inspired by the Holy Spirit and is a revelation of God’s will. 2 Peter 1:20, “Above all, you do well if you recognize this: No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination, 21 for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (NET Bible) Therefore, we can see that the book of Jonah does not begin with a title as most of the prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos and Obadiah but rather it begins with God’s self-revelation to Jonah. It emphasizes that Jonah was commissioned by the Lord to go to the Ninevites and speak a message of judgment against the city of Nineveh. In Jonah 1:1, the noun debar means “message” referring to what Yahweh said to the prophet Jonah. The content of this message is related in verse 2. The exact manner in which Jonah received this message is not given. God chose to speak to His prophets in various ways whether through dreams or direct communication or through a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:9-13) or through a whirlwind (Job 38) or earthquake. This noun debar is the subject of the verb hayah indicating that the message from the Lord as the subject is performing the action of being communicated to Jonah. The proper noun Yahweh , “Lord ” is the personal name of God emphasizing that He is the redeemer of mankind and is used in His relationship to His covenants or contracts with men whereas Elohim emphasizes the transcendent character of God. So the term Yahweh , “ Lord ” is used alone in Jonah 1:1 and not Elohim , “ God ” or Yahweh Elohim , “ Lord God .” This is significant since the term Yahweh , “Lord ” is the covenant-keeping personal name of God used in connection with

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 2 man’s salvation and emphasizing the personal relationship that Jonah had with the Lord and the personal attention and revelation that Jonah was receiving from God. This is emphasizing the “immanency” of God meaning that He involves Himself in and concerns Himself with and intervenes in the affairs of men whereas Elohim , “ God ” emphasizes the transcendent character of God. Because the ancient Hebrews wrote only consonants, not vowels, the pronunciation of words and names was passed down by the parents to the children. Throughout Old Testament times people used the name Yahweh freely. When the rabbis began to add their traditions about 300 B.C. they noted that the Third Commandment forbids misusing the name of Yahweh (Ex. 20:7). Therefore, they decided it was too holy to pronounce so they quit pronouncing the name. Whenever they came to the name ( YHWH ), sometimes called the Sacred ) in Scripture, they read ‘ adhon , “ Lord .” In time, everyone forgot how to pronounce the name. In the sixth and seventh centuries after Christ, Jewish scholars of tradition (Masoretes) added vowel marks to the Hebrew to help them remember the traditional pronunciation. Wherever they came to YHWH , they put vowel marks to remind them to read ‘adhon , “ Lord ” unless the verse had ‘ adhon YHWH . Then they put vowel marks to remind them to read ` elohim , “ God .” Later, some European scholars wrote JHVH instead of YHWH . Then about 1220 A.D. some of them took the vowels for “Lord ” (modified by Hebrew grammatical rules) and put them with JHVH to come up with Jehovah , which is not a real name, for it has the consonants of a proper name and the vowels of a title. Therefore, in Jonah 1:1, we have the term Yahweh , “ Lord ” employed under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in order to emphasize God’s concern for the human race and that He intervenes in the affairs of men on planet earth. This word emphasizes where the message to Jonah “originates from.” “To Jonah ” is composed of the preposition al ( ) (al), “ to ,” whose object is the masculine singular form of the proper noun yownah ( ) (yo-naw), “ Jonah .” The Hebrew proper name yônâ ( ) means “dove.” Jonah does not live up to his name since with respect to Nineveh, he was a “hawk” in that he wanted God to make war against Nineveh and not peace. The prophet’s home was in Gath-hepher, which is in Zebulun (Joshua 19:13) situated 2.5 miles northeast of Nazareth in Galilee (Note the error of the enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ in John 7:52). He was a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel, whose predecessors were Elijah and . Hosea and Amos would likely have been Jonah’s contemporaries. Jonah is the only Old Testament prophet to attempt to go AWOL and run from performing his duty as a prophet of God. He was one of four Old Testament prophets whose ministries were referred to by the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Mt. 12:41;

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 3

Lk. 11:32). The others were Elijah (Mt. 17:11-12), Elisha (Lk. 4:27) and Isaiah (Mt. 15:7). His ministry had some parallels to his immediate predecessors, Elijah (1 K. 17- 19; 21; 2 K. 1-2) and Elisha (2 K. 2-9; 13) who ministered to Israel and also were called to Gentile missions in Phoenicia and Aram. He was a contemporary of both Amos and Hosea who were sent by the Lord to the nation of Israel to warn them of the impending fifth cycle of discipline upon the northern kingdom of Israel. Assyria was the nation used by God to execute His judgment upon the northern kingdom of Israel. The prophecies of Amos and Hosea were fulfilled in 722 B.C. when Sargon II carried the northern kingdom into captivity (2 K. 17). These prophecies of Amos and Hosea may explain Jonah’s reluctance to preach in Nineveh, the Assyrian capital. He feared he would be used to help the enemy that would later destroy his nation. :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.” The following kings of Assyria were contemporaries of Jonah and Jeroboam II (ca. 786–746 BC): (1) Adad-nirari III (810–783) (2) Shalmaneser IV (782–773) (3) Assur-dan III (772–755) (4) Assur-nirari V (754–745). 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. The proper name yownah , “ Jonah ” is the object of the preposition al , which marks the prophet Jonah as the recipient of this message from the Lord. It indicates that this message from the Lord for the Ninevites is being directed toward the prophet Jonah. We will translate this prepositional phrase “ to Jonah .” “The son of Amittai ” is composed of the masculine singular construct noun ben ( ) (ben), “ the son of ” and the masculine singular form of the proper noun ”. amit-tay), “ Amittai) ( א ) Amittay ,( א ) ” Jonah 1:1 and 2 Kings 14:25 identified Jonah as “ the son of Amittai whose name means “truthful/faithful.” The proper noun Amittay is a genitive of

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 4 relation indicating that the kinship relationship between Jonah and Amittay . The construct noun ben is an epexegetical genitive describing Jonah’s relationship to Amittay . Lessing writes, “The Hebrew phrase ‘son of’ frequently expresses a category: a ‘son of valor’ (1 Sam 14:52) is a ‘valiant man.’ Conversely, a ‘son of iniquity’ (Ps 89:23 [ET89:22]) is an ‘iniquitous man.’ Jonahs lineage may be a wordplay on that kind of usage of ‘son.’ If so, Jonahs lineage, by analogy, may imply that he should be a ‘son of faithfulness/truth.’ Quite often in Hebrew narrative when a relational epithet is attached to a character, the narrator is telling us something substantial without recourse to explicit commentary. For example, Michal oscillates between being the wife of David and the daughter of Saul (1 Sam 25:44; 2 Sam 6:16). Tamar, most painfully, is identified as the sister of Ammon when he rapes her (2 Sam 13:10–11). So here, the irony of Jonah’s relationship with his father is that the prophet will abandon ‘faithfulness’ at the first opportunity and will speak the ‘truth’ in chapter 3 only under duress, and even then not fully understanding the character of Yahweh, whose Word he proclaims. (His lack of understanding and resentment at the enormity of Yahweh’s grace become obvious in chapter 4.) The first of many ironies is now before us. These ironies contribute to the book’s satire of Jonah and those who, like him, would restrict Yahweh’s grace only to their own people.” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah, pages 65-66) “Saying ” is composed of the preposition le ( ) (le) and the qal active infinitive construct form of the verb amar ( ) (aw-mar), “ saying ,” which together introduce direct discourse. It functions as a discourse switch cue, noting the shift from narrative discourse to hortatory discourse. It could be translated “saying” or not at all, with quotation marks indicating the beginning of the speech, which the NET Bible and NIV do. Corrected translation of Jonah 1:1, “Now, a message from the Lord was communicated to Jonah, the son of Amittai.” In Jonah 1:1, we have introduced to the reader the principle characters, namely, the Lord and Jonah. These two function in the narrative as protagonist and antagonist. All the other human characters in the narrative are unnamed with the exception of course, of Jonah’s father, Amittai. These unnamed characters are foils to emphasize the relationship between Jonah and the Lord. Interestingly, the word of the Lord begins the narrative and ends it. Therefore, the book of Jonah is concerned with the effects and consequences of the word of the Lord.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 5

Jonah 1:2-The Lord Commands Jonah To Announce Judgment Against Nineveh Because Of Its Wickedness

Jonah 1:1, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.’” Jonah 1:2 is embedded hortatory discourse-mainline. “Arise, go ” is the second person masculine singular qal active imperative form of the verb qum ( ) (koom), “ arise ” and the second person masculine singular qal active imperative form of the verb halak ( ) (haw-lak), “go .” The NET Bible has the following note on this construction, “The two imperatives without an intervening vav ( , qum lekh ; ‘Arise, go!’), form a verbal hendiadys in which the first verb functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal force: ‘Go immediately.’ This construction emphasizes the urgency of the command. The translations “Go at once” (NRSV, NJPS) or simply ‘Go!’ (NIV) are better than the traditional ‘Arise, go’ (KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV, NASB) or ‘Get up and go’ (NLT). For similar constructions with , see Gen 19:14–15; Judg 4:14; 8:20–21; 1 Sam 9:3.” Imperatives are mainline verb forms in hortatory discourse, which in general is meant to persuade the audience or alter the behavior of the audience. These two imperatives emphasize with the reader that Jonah is being ordered by the Lord to go to Nineveh and announce judgment against it. We have here a divine directive for a prophetic mission. The imperative mood of qum serves as an interjection to get the attention of Jonah before a command that follows. The imperative mood of halak is an imperative for command used of a positive command in the second person. The active voice indicates that the subject is to obey this command to go to Nineveh and announce judgment against it for its wickedness. The qal stem is fientive expressing an action that Jonah is to take. We will translate these two verbs, “ You must go immediately .” “To Nineveh ” is composed of the preposition al ( ) (al), “ to ,” whose object is the feminine singular form of the proper noun nî ·newē(h) ( ) (nee-nev-ay), “Nineveh .” The proper noun nî ·newē(h) appears 17 times in the , 9 of which occur in the book of Jonah (1:2; 3:2, 3 twice, 4, 5, 6, 7; 4:11). Nineveh 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). This noun appears in Genesis 10:11-12, which is the earliest mention of this city and describes the origin and the builder of the city, Nimrod.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 6

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.” After Jonah’s day it was made the capital of Assyria by Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.), the successor of Sargon II (722-705 B.C.) who destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The city of Nineveh was destroyed in 612 B.C. by the Medes and the Persians. Its great size is mentioned in :3 which states, “ Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days' walk .” Ancient Greek and Roman writers state that it was in the shape of a trapezium and was the largest city in the world in that day. The accounts of these ancient Greek and Roman writers have been confirmed by modern archaeological excavations. The NET Bible commenting on Nineveh writes, “ Nineveh was the last capital city of ancient Assyria. Occupying about 1800 acres, it was located on the east bank of the Tigris River across from the modern city of Mosul, Iraq. The site includes two tels, Nebi Yunus and Kouyunjik, which have been excavated on several occasions. See A. H. Layard, Nineveh and Its Remains ; R. C. Thompson and R. W. Hutchinson, A Century of Exploration at Nineveh ; G. Waterfield, Layard of Nineveh . Preliminary reports of limited excavations in 1987 and 1989 appear in Mar Šipri 1:2 (1988): 1-2; 2:2 (1989): 1-2; 4:1 (1991): 1-3. Also see D. J. Wiseman, “Jonah’s Nineveh,” TynBul 30 (1979): 29-51.” The New American Commentary: Amos, Obadiah and Jonah, “Nineveh was situated on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, opposite the modern city of Mosul, north of the city of Zab. It was an old city, dating back to approximately 4500 b.c., and one of the principal cities of ancient Assyria. According to Gen 10:11, the city was built by the “great hunter” Nimrod. It became an extremely important city in the reign of the Assyrian monarch Sennacherib (705–681 b.c.). During his reign he strongly fortified the city and for a time made it the capital of Assyria.” (Page 224) The Bible Knowledge Commentary writes, “The city of Nineveh was located on the east side of the Tigris River about 550 miles northeast of Samaria. That distance required a journey of more than a month, if Jonah traveled the normal distance of 15-20 miles a day. The great city was second in size only to Babylon. It was in modern-day Iraq opposite the modern town of Mosul. Nineveh was built by Nimrod (Gen. 10:11). After Jonah’s day, it became the capital of the Assyrian Empire under Sennacherib (705-681 b.c.), the successor of Sargon II (722-705 b.c.) who destroyed the Northern Kingdom. (volume 1, pages 1464)

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 7

Edwin Yamauchi writes, “NINEVEH Greatest of the capitals of the ancient Assyrian Empire, which flourished from about 800 to 612 b.c. It was located on the left bank of the Tigris River in northeastern Mesopotamia (Iraq today). Its remains are represented by two mounds named Quyundjiq (‘Many Sheep’) and Nebi Yunus (‘The Prophet Jonah’). Nineveh is first mentioned in the OT as one of the cities established by Nimrod (Gen. 10:9–12). It was the enemy city to which God called the reluctant Prophet Jonah in the eighth century b.c. The book of Jonah calls it “that great city” (1:2; 4:11) and “an exceeding great city” (3:3). The additional phrase “of three days’ journey” (3:3) has been rendered by the NIV: “a visit required three days.” The phrase could be an idiom that would refer to the first day for travel to, the second for visiting, and the third day for the return from a site. The phrase “more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left” (4:11) has sometimes been taken to refer to children, which would yield a population of 600,000. The area within the city walls, however, would not have contained more than 175,000. The final biblical references are from Nahum, who prophesied the overthrow of the ‘bloody city’ by the attack of the allied Medes and Chaldeans in 612 b.c. By 500 b.c. the prophet’s words (Nah. 3:7) ‘Nineveh is devastated’ (NASB) were echoed by the Greek historian Herodotus who spoke of the Tigris as ‘the river on which the town of Nineveh formerly stood.’ (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, page 1192) D. J. Wiseman writes that Nineveh was “a principal city, and last capital, of Assyria. The ruins are marked by the mounds called Kuyunjik and Nabi Yunus (‘Prophet Jonah’) on the river Tigris opposite Mosul, N Iraq. The Heb. nîn ewēh (Gk. Nineu ē; classical Ninos ) represents the Assyr. Ninu ā (Old Bab. Ninuwa ), a rendering of the earlier Sumerian name Nina, a name of the goddess Ishtar written with a sign depicting a fish inside an enclosure. Despite the comparison with the history of Jonah, there is probably no connection with the Heb. nūn, ‘fish’. According to Gn. 10:11 Nineveh was one of the N cities founded by Nimrod or Ashur after leaving Babylonia. Excavation 25 m down to virgin soil shows that the site was occupied from prehistoric times (c. 4500 B.C.). ‘ Ubaid (and Samarra) type pottery and pisie-buildings may indicate a S influence. Although first mentioned in the inscriptions of Gudea of Lagash who campaigned in the area c. 2200 B.C., the texts of Tukulti-Ninurta I (c. 1230 B.C.) tell how he restored the temple of the goddess Ishtar of Nineveh founded by Manishtusu, son of Sargon; c. 2300 B.C. By the early 2nd millennium the city was in contact with the Assyr. colony of Kanish in Cappadocia, and when Assyria became independent under Shamshi-Adad I (c. 1800 B.C.) the same temple of Ishtar (called E-mash-mash) was again restored. Hammurapi of Babylon (c. 1750 B.C.) adorned the temple, but the expansion of the town followed the revival of Assyr. fortunes under Shalmaneser I (c. 1260 B.C.), and by the reign of Tiglath-pileser I (1114–1076 B.C.) it was established as

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 8 an alternative royal residence to Assur and Calah. Both Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 B.C.) and Sargon II (722–705 B.C.) had palaces there. It was, therefore, likely that it was to Nineveh itself that the tribute of Menahem in 744 B.C. (2 Ki. 15:20) and of Samaria in 722 B.C. (Is. 8:4) was brought. Sennacherib, with the aid of his W Semitic queen Naqi’a-Zakutu , extensively rebuilt the city, its defensive walls, gates and water-supply. He built a canal leading 48 km from a dam on the river Gomel to the N, and controlled the flow of the river Khasr, which flowed through the city, by the erection of another dam at Ajeila to the E. He also provided new administrative buildings and parks. The walls of his new palace were decorated with reliefs depicting his victories, including the successful siege of Lachish. The tribute received from Hezekiah of Judah (2 Ki. 18:14) was sent to Nineveh, to which Sennacherib himself had returned after the campaign (2 Ki. 19:36; Is. 37:37). It is possible that the temple of Nisroch, where he was murdered, was in Nineveh. His account of his attack on Hezekiah in Jerusalem is recorded on clay prisms used as foundation inscriptions in Nineveh. Ashurbanipal (669-c. 627 B.C.) again made Nineveh his main residence, having lived there as crown prince. The bas-reliefs depicting a lion hunt (British Museum), which were made for his palace, are the best examples of this form of Assyr. art. The fall of the great city of Nineveh, as predicted by the prophets Nahum and Zephaniah, occurred in August 612 B.C. The Bab. Chronicle tells how a combined force of Medes, Babylonians and Scythians laid siege to the city, which fell as a result of the breaches made in the defences by the flooding rivers (Na. 2:6–8). The city was plundered by the Medes, and the king Sin-shar-ishkun perished in the flames, though his family escaped. The city was left to fall into the heap of desolate ruin which it is today (Na. 2:10; 3:7), a pasturing-place for the flocks (Zp. 2:13–15), which gives the citadel mound its modern name of Tell Kuyunjik (‘mound of many sheep’). When Xenophon and the retreating Gk. army passed in 401 B.C. it was already an unrecognizable mass of debris. At the height of its prosperity Nineveh was enclosed by an inner wall of c. 12 km circuit within which, according to Felix Jones’ survey of 1834, more than 175,000 persons could have lived. The population of ‘this great city’ of Jonah’s history (1:2; 3:2) is given as 120,000, who did not know right from wrong. This has been compared with the 69,574 persons in Calah (Nimrud) in 865 B.C., then a city of about half the size of Nineveh. The ‘three days’ journey’ may not necessarily designate the size of Nineveh (Jon. 3:3) whether by its circumference or total administrative district. It could refer to a day’s journey in from the suburbs (cf. 3:4), a day for business and then return. The Heb. translation by using nînew ēh in each case could not differentiate between the district (Assyr. ninua [ki ]) and metropolis ([ al ]ninu ā). There is no external evidence for the repentance of the people of Nineveh (Jon. 3:4–5), unless this is reflected in a text from Guzanu (Gozan) of the reign of Ashur-dān III when a total solar eclipse in 763 B.C. was

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 9 followed by flooding and famine. Such signs would be interpreted by the Assyrians as affecting the king who would temporarily step down from the throne (Jon. 3:6). Such portents, including an earthquake about the time of Jonah ben Amittai (2 Ki. 14:25), could well have made the Ninevites take the step commended by Jesus (Lk. 11:30; Mt. 12:41). (The New Bible Dictionary-Third Edition, pages 825-826) Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, “[NIN eh vuh]-ancient capital city of the Assyrian Empire, a place associated with the ministry of the prophet Jonah. The residents of this pagan city repented and turned to God after Jonah's preaching of a clear message of God's judgment (Jonah 3:5-10). Founded by Nimrod (Gen 10:8- 10), Nineveh was the capital of the great Assyrian Empire for many years. Its fortunes rose and fell as Babylonia and Assyria struggled with each other for the dominant position in the ancient world. During some periods Babylonia was stronger, while the Assyrians gained the upper hand at other times. In 612 B.C. Nineveh was destroyed, as prophesied by the Hebrew prophets, especially Nahum. Many scholars questioned the existence of Nineveh until its discovery by A.H. Layard and H. Rassam in 1845-1854. The site has now been excavated thoroughly. Occupational levels on the site go back to prehistoric times, before 3100 B.C. Some of the pottery indicates the city may have originated with the SUMERIANS. One of the exciting discoveries in this excavation was the great palace of the Assyrian King Sargon. Along with this find was a library of CUNEIFORM documents and many striking wall ornamentations. This clear evidence of Sargon's existence verifies the accuracy of the Book of Isaiah in the prophet's mention of this pagan king (Isa 20:1). The wall around the city indicated that Nineveh was about two kilometers (three miles) long and less than half that distance wide. The Hebrews, however, perhaps like other foreigners, included other cities under the name of Nineveh. An example from today would be our reference to New York, which is actually made up of a complex of many cities. Cities included in references to Nineveh were Calah, Resen, and Rehoboth-Ir. At the time of the greatest prosperity of Nineveh as described by Jonah, the city was surrounded by a circuit wall almost 13 kilometers (eight miles) long. This ‘great city’ (Jonah 1:2) would have had an area sufficient to contain a population of 120,000, as indicated by :11 and 3:2. Evidence for this is provided by Calah to the south, where 69,754 persons lived in a city half the size of Nineveh. As a result, it would have required a ‘three day's journey’ to go around the city, and a ‘day's journey’ would have been needed to reach the city center from the outlying suburbs, just as the Book of Jonah reports (Jonah 3:4). Several centuries before Jonah's preaching mission to the city, Nineveh became one of the royal residences of Assyrian kings. Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.) made it the capital of the Assyrian Empire to offset the rival capital of Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad), built by his father Sargon II (722- 705 B.C.). He greatly beautified and adorned Nineveh. The splendid temples,

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 10 palaces, and fortifications made it the chief city of the Empire (2 Kings 19:36). In Sennacherib's day the wall around Nineveh was 40 to 50 feet high. It extended for 4 kilometers (2 1/2 miles) along the Tigris River and for 13 kilometers (8 miles) around the inner city. The city wall had 15 main gates, 5 of which have been excavated. Each of the gates was guarded by stone bull statues. Both inside and outside the walls, Sennacherib created parks, a botanical garden, and a zoo. He built a water-system containing the oldest aqueduct in history at Jerwan, across the Gomel River. To bring new water supplies to the city, he cut channels for 20 kilometers (30 miles) from the Gomel River at Bavian and built a dam at Ajeila to control the flooding of the Khosr river. In the years 1849-1851 archaeologist A. Layard unearthed the 71-room palace of Sennacherib. The mound also yielded the royal palace and library of Ashurbanipal, which housed 22,000 inscribed clay tablets. These tablets included Assyrian creation and flood accounts which furnished Old Testament scholars with valuable information for background studies on the Book of Genesis. It was to Nineveh that Sennacherib brought the tribute which he exacted from King Hezekiah of Judah (2 Kings 18:15). He also returned here after his campaign against Jerusalem and Palestine in 701 B.C. In 681 B.C. he was assassinated in the temple of Nisroch, which must have been situated within the city walls. Esarhaddon, the younger son and successor to Sennacherib, recaptured Nineveh from rebels in 680 B.C. Here he built a palace for himself, although he spent much time in his other residence in Calah. One of his twin sons, Ashurbanipal, returned to live mainly at Nineveh where he had been crown prince during his school days. It was during his last days and the years of his sons Ahsur-etil-ilani and Sin-shar-ishkun that Assyria's vassals revolted. At the same time the Medes, with the help of the Babylonians, sacked Ashur and Calah in 614 B.C. Two years later Nineveh fell to these combined forces. Nineveh was left in ruins (Nah 2:10,13) and grazed by sheep (Zeph 2:13-15), just as the Hebrew prophets of the Old Testament had predicted. Nineveh is such a large site that it will probably never be fully excavated. A modern village covers one of its larger palaces. A nearby mound, named ‘Mound of the Prophet Jonah,’ contains the palace of Esarhaddon. The popular tradition is that Jonah is buried beneath the mosque at Nebi Yunas.” (Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers) The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, “A famous and ancient city situated on the eastern bank of the Tigris River opposite the modern city of Mosul. The Bible names Nimrod as the founder of Nineveh (Gen 10:8-11). In 612 B.C. the ancient splendid city and capital of the Assyrian Empire was so completely obliterated, according to its prophesied decimation by Hebrew prophets, that it became like a myth until its discovery by Sir Austen Layard and others in the nineteenth century. The site has now been extensively excavated. Its occupational levels reach back as

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 11 far as prehistoric times. Excavated pottery indicates Sumerian origin. The actual walled city has been outlined to indicate an area three miles in length and less than a mile-and-a-half in breadth; the wall itself was eight miles in length. The Hebrews, however, perhaps like other foreigners, were in the habit of including other cities under the name Nineveh (Assyr. Nuna or Ninua). A modern comparison would be the complex of cities that constitute New York City. Such cities are Calah (which see), eighteen miles S; Resen, between Calah and Nineveh proper; and Rehoboth-Ir. The latter ‘must be Rebit-ninua, W of the capital, since the names are not only etymologically related but have the same meaning’ (W. F. Albright in O. T. Commentary, [1948], p. 138). The above-mentioned four places are catalogued in Gen 10:11-12 and Jonah 1:2; 3:2-7; 4:11 as constituting ‘the great city.’ Other suburbs such as Tarbisu and Dursharrukin (or Sargonsburg) added to the aggregate size of ‘Nineveh’ in the heyday of the Assyrian Empire. Nineveh occurs early in cuneiform records under the reigns of Gudea (twenty-first century B.C.) and Hammurabi (c. 1700 B.C.). After the twelfth century B.C. Nineveh became one of the royal residences of Assyria. Sargon II (722-702 B.C.) elevated it as the capital of the Assyrian Empire. Sennacherib (704-681 B.C.) greatly beautified and adorned the capital city. Splendid temples, palaces, and fortifications made it the chief city of the empire (2 Kings 19:36). Sennacherib built a massive wall forty to fifty feet high that extended for two-and-a-half miles along the Tigris and eight miles around the inner city. The defenses of the capital can still be traced. Sennacherib also built a water system containing the oldest aqueduct in history at Jerwan, across the Gomer River. Austen Layard did the first successful digging in 1847, uncovering the splendid royal residence of Sennacherib in 1849-51. He unearthed the seventy-one-room palace with walls lined with sculptured slabs. The remains of Nineveh are a silent witness to the glory of Assyria under Sennacherib and his successors Esarhaddon (681-669 B.C.) and Ashurbanipal (669-626 B.C.). The Kuyunjik Mound yielded not only the vast palace of Sennacherib but also the royal residence and famous library of Ashurbanipal in which were housed 22,000 inscribed clay tablets. These are important for their accounts of the creation and Flood and because they furnish scholars with invaluable background material for OT studies. An alliance of Medes, Babylonians, and Scythians destroyed Nineveh in August 612 B.C., after a two-month siege. This great victory was due in part to the releasing of the city's water supply and the inundation of the Koser River, dissolving the sun-dried brick of which much of the city was built. Nahum prophesied the fall of the "bloody city" (Nah; cf. Zeph 2:13-15). Nineveh is a site so huge that perhaps it never will be completely excavated. A modern village covers one of the larger palaces. Cemeteries that cannot be disturbed cover other areas. Excavators have to bore through thirty to forty feet of debris before Assyrian strata are reached. The nearby

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 12 mound of Nebi Yunus, that is, ‘Mound of the Prophet Jonah,’ contains the palace of Esarhaddon. The popular tradition is that Jonah is buried beneath the mosque at Nebi Yunas. (The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.) In Jonah 1:2, the proper noun nî ·newē(h) is the object of the preposition al , which indicates that the direction geographically that the Lord wants Jonah to travel. Ken Carson writes, “Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian empire. Hosea’s prophecies regarding Assyria’s conquest of Israel came about the same time as Jonah (Hosea 9:3). Furthermore, any astute political and military observer understood the threat that this great power to the north has on Israel’s security. Furthermore, at this time Israel’s military strength was on the rise and Assyria’s dominance was waning. Under King Jehu, Israel had been forced to pay tribute to Assyria, and now under Jeroboam II they had been able to throw off this oppressive tribute. Jonah is to proclaim to Nineveh that their wickedness had become known to God and that they faced His judgment if they did not repent. But to go to Nineveh to share God’s message would be like walking into the middle of the enemy’s camp. It would be like going to Moscow during the height of the Cold War and proclaiming that God would destroy the Soviet Union.” (Survey of the Old Testament: The Prophets-Jonah, Fall 2005; Grace Institute for Biblical Leadership, page 3) This journey from Gath-Hepher, Jonah’s hometown to Nineveh is approximately 500 miles, which would be a rugged journey. “The great city ” is composed of the articular feminine singular form of the noun îr ( ) (aw-yar), “ the city ” and the articular feminine singular form of the ”. ga-dol), “ great) ( ד ) adjective gadhol ;appears three times in the book of Jonah (Jonah 3:2 ד The expression 4:11). The adjective gadhol occurs 14 times alone in the book of Jonah (1:2, 4 twice, 10, 12, 16; 2:1; 3:2, 3, 5, 7; 4:1, 6, 11) and is the most frequent word in this book. It is used to describe not only Nineveh (3:2, 3; 4:11) but also men of distinction and social rank in the city of Nineveh (3:5, 7), a storm (1:4, 12), fish (2:1), Jonah’s anger (4:1), Jonah’s happiness (4:6). Here in Jonah 1:2, the adjective emphasizes the size of the city of Nineveh highlighting its importance so that just as is the size of the city, so is the magnitude of its wickedness (The JPS Bible Commentary: Jonah, page 4). In Jonah 3:3, the word is used in relation to Nineveh’s territory and in Jonah 4:11 with regards to its population. In Jonah 1:2, the articular construction of the noun îr indicates that this city is well-known to the reader and the articular construction of the adjective emphasizes that this city was superior to others in Jonah’s day due to its size and influence.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 13

The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible writes, that “At the time of its greatest prosperity, as well described by Jonah, Nineveh itself was enveloped by a circuit wall covering seven and three quarter miles in extent. This ‘great city’ had area sufficient to house a population of 120,000 (Jonah 1:2, 3:2). Evidence for this comes from the more southerly capital of Calah (Nimrud) where 69, 754 persons lived in a city half the size of Nineveh. It is probable that the whole district administered by Nineveh at this time encompassed a very wide area including the Sinjar-Calah-Dur-Sharrukin. Thus a ‘three day’s journey’ would be needed to traverse it and a ‘day’s journey’ to reach the city center from the outlying suburbs (Jonah 3:4). In Hebrew unlike Akkad, the writing does not distinguish between the metropolis itself ([ al ]Ninua ) and the general region ( ninua [ki ]).” (volume 4, page 443) ”. that great city “ ד We will translate the expression Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 1:1-2, “Now, a message from the Lord was communicated to Jonah, the son of Amittai, ‘You must go immediately to Nineveh, that great city…’”

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 14

Jonah 1:1, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me .’” “And ” is the wa ( ) (wa), which functions as a marker of a sequence of closely 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 once Jonah obeys the first command to go immediately to Nineveh, the Lord “then” wants him to announce judgment against the inhabitants of that great city. It indicates that the command it introduces for Jonah to announce judgment against the inhabitants of the great city of Nineveh follows sequentially the command to go immediately to Nineveh. We will translate the word “ and then .” “Cry against it ” is composed of the second person masculine singular qal qa-ra), “ cry ” and the preposition) ( א ) active imperative form of the verb qārāʾ ʾě l ( ) (al), “ to ” and the third person feminine singular form of the pronoun hî ʾ ”. it “ ,( א ) The root qārāʾ denotes primarily the enunciation of a specific vocable or message. In the case of the latter usage it is customarily addressed to a specific referent and is intended to elicit a specific response…Infrequently, qārāʾ denotes just an outcry (e.g. Ps. 147:9; Isa. 34:14). (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, page 810). The NET Bible has the following note of this expression in Jonah 1:2, they qara’ ) is ‘to call out; to ) א write, “ Heb ‘cry out against it.’ The basic meaning of cry out; to shout out,’ but here it is a technical term referring to what a prophet has to say: ‘to announce’ (e.g., 1 Kgs 13:32; Isa 40:2, 6; Jer 3:12; see HALOT 1129 ;[When used with the preposition ( ’al , ‘against’ [in a hostile sense .(8 א .s.v 826 s.v. 5.a), it refers to an oracle announcing or threatening judgment (e.g., 1 Kgs 13:2, 4, 32; BDB 895 s.v. 3.a). This nuance is reflected in several English versions: ‘Announce my judgment against it’ (NLT) and ‘proclaim judgment upon it’ (JPS, NJPS). Other translations are less precise: ‘cry out against it’ (KJV, NKJV, ASV, NASB, RSV, NRSV), ‘denounce it’ (NEB, REB). Some are even misleading: ‘preach against it’ (NAB, NIV).” In Jonah 1:2, the verb is employed with preposition al in a negative sense of making a proclamation against the great city of Nineveh and its inhabitants. He was to denounce it for its evil in the form of violence against other nations. This proclamation consisted in the announcement of destruction of the city of Nineveh and its inhabitants within a space of forty days of this proclamation according to Jonah 3:4. Jonah 3:1, “The Lord said to Jonah a second time, 2 ‘Go immediately to Nineveh, that large city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.’ 3 So Jonah went immediately to Nineveh, as the Lord had said. (Now Nineveh was

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 15 an enormous city – it required three days to walk through it!) 4 When Jonah began to enter the city one day’s walk, he announced, “At the end of forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!” (NET Bible) As Jonah knew full well, this proclamation of impending destruction of Nineveh and its inhabitants was designed by the Lord to elicit a response from the Ninevites, namely that they would repent. Jonah 3:10, “When God saw their actions – they turned from their evil way of living! – God relented concerning the judgment he had threatened them with and he did not destroy them. 4:1 This displeased Jonah terribly and he became very angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘Oh, Lord, this is just what I thought would happen when I was in my own country. This is what I tried to prevent by attempting to escape to ! – because I knew that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment.’” (NET Bible) So the expression ְ “announce judgment against her” emphasizes with the reader that Yahweh is the Lord of all the nations. He is sovereign over all the nations and holds them morally accountable. The term “sovereignty” connotes a situation in which a person, from his innate dignity, exercises supreme power, with no areas of his province outside his jurisdiction. As applied to God, the term “sovereignty” indicates His complete power over all of creation, so that He exercises His will absolutely, without any necessary conditioning by a finite will or wills. Isaiah 40:15, “Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.” Isaiah 40:17, “All the nations are as nothing before Him, they are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.” The apostle Paul also taught that the nations receive their time and place as a result of the sovereignty of God. Acts 17:22, “So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, ‘Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.’ 23 For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things 26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 16 might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us 28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ 29 Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. 32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, ‘We shall hear you again concerning this.’ 33 So Paul went out of their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.” Psalm 66:7, “He rules by His might forever; His eyes keep watch on the nations; Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.” The humanity of Christ in hypostatic union has been promoted by the Father as the supreme ruler of history as a result of His victory over Satan at the Cross. Colossians 2:9, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.” Philippians 2:5, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” 1 Timothy 6:13, “I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate 14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ 15 which He will bring about at the proper time -- He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords 16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 17

This language in Jonah 1:2 is reminiscent of that which was used in Genesis of the wickedness of the cities of the plan that were destroyed by fire and brimstone in Genesis 18:20-21. In Jonah 1:2, the imperative mood of qārāʾ is an imperative for command used of a negative command in the second person. The active voice of the verb indicates that the subject is to obey this command to go to Nineveh and announce judgment against it for its wickedness. The qal stem is fientive expressing an action that Jonah is to take. We will translate the verb “ announce judgment .” The preposition al means “ against ” since it functions as a marker of opposition with the implication of hostility toward an object. This preposition indicates the Lord hostility towards the inhabitants of the great city of Nineveh just as He was towards Sodom and Gomorrah. The pronoun hî ʾ means “ her people ” referring to the city of Nineveh and its inhabitants since it is in the feminine gender and functions as a synecdoche of container for contents, referring to the people of Nineveh. Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 1:1-2, “Now, a message from the Lord was communicated to Jonah, the son of Amittai, ‘You must go immediately to Nineveh, that great city and then announce judgment against it…’” Jonah 1:1, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.’” “For their wickedness ” is composed of the conjunction kî ( ), “ for ” and the feminine singular form of the construct noun rā·ʿā(h) ( ), “ wickedness ” and the third person masculine plural pronomial suffix hē·mā(h) ( ), “ their .” The conjunction kî means “because” since it functions as a marker of causation between two events. It presents the reason why the Lord is commanding Jonah to announce judgment against the inhabitants of the city of Nineveh. It is because of their wickedness that the Lord is commanding Jonah to announce judgment against it. This word also denotes emphasis. We will translate the word “ because in fact .” The construct noun rā·ʿā(h) means “evil” in the sense of that which is not morally good deserving of divine judgment with implication that the action is harmful to others in various ways. It describes the Ninevites as not being morally good with the implication that their actions and way of life is harmful and detrimental to the rest of the human race, which interacts with them. The pronomial suffix hē·mā(h) functions as a possessive pronoun indicating this wickedness or evil belongs to, namely the inhabitants of Nineveh. The New American Commentary: Amos, Obadiah, Jonah writes, “Archaeology confirms the biblical witness to the wickedness of the Assyrians. They were well known in the ancient world for brutality and cruelty. Ashurbanipal, the grandson of Sennacherib, was accustomed to tearing off the lips and hands of his victims.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 18

Tiglath-Pileser flayed victims alive and made great piles of their skulls. Jonah’s reluctance to travel to Nineveh may have been due to its infamous violence.” (Page 225) James E. Smith writes, “The name Nineveh struck terror into the hearts of all those living in western Asia in this period. The Assyrian records bear testimony against them. This citation from the annals of Ashur-nasirpal II is typical. I stormed the mountain peaks and took them. In the midst of the mighty mountains I slaughtered them; with their blood I dyed the mountain red like wool. With the rest of them I darkened the gullies and precipices of the mountains. I carried off their spoil and their possessions. The heads of their warriors I cut off, and I formed them into a pillar over against their city; their young men and their maidens I burned in the fire! … I built a pillar over against the city gates, and I flayed all the chief men who had revolted, and I covered the pillar with their skins; some I walled up within the pillar, some I impaled upon the pillar on stakes, and others I bound to stakes round about the pillar.” (Old Testament Survey Series: The Minor Prophets) The noun rā·ʿā(h) describes the inhabitants of the city of Nineveh as conducting their lives independently of God as expressed in their brutality and immoral degeneracy. Nineveh was well-known in the ancient Near East for the brutal atrocities it inflicted on its war captives. Its wickedness comprised, besides her idolatry, her inordinate pride (cp. Is. 10:5-19; 36:18-20), and her cruel oppression of the conquered nations in deporting the entire populace to distant lands (2 Kings 15:29; 17:6; Is. 36:16, 17), her inhuman warfare. Nineveh was also known for its idolatry. It had temples dedicated to the gods of Nabu, Asshur, and Adad. The Ninevites also worshipped Ishtar, a goddess of love and war. The crimes of the Ninevites are condemned by the Lord through the prophet Nahum. Nahum 3:1, “Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage; Her prey never departs. 2 The noise of the whip, the noise of the rattling of the wheel, galloping horses and bounding chariots! 3 Horsemen charging, swords flashing, spears gleaming, many slain, a mass of corpses, and countless dead bodies— They stumble over the dead bodies! 4 All because of the many harlotries of the harlot, the charming one, the mistress of sorceries, who sells nations by her harlotries and families by her sorceries. 5 ‘Behold, I am against you,’ declares the Lord of hosts; ‘And I will lift up your skirts over your face, and show to the nations your nakedness and to the kingdoms your disgrace. 6 I will throw filth on you and make you vile, and set you up as a spectacle. 7 And it will come about that all who see you will shrink from you and say, ‘Nineveh is devastated! Who will grieve for her?’ Where will I seek comforters for you? 8 Are you better than No-amon, which was situated by the waters of the Nile, with water surrounding her, whose rampart was the

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 19 sea, whose wall consisted of the sea? 9 Ethiopia was her might, and Egypt too, without limits. Put and Lubim were among her helpers. 10 Yet she became an exile, she went into captivity; Also her small children were dashed to pieces at the head of every street; They cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound with fetters. 11 You too will become drunk, you will be hidden. You too will search for a refuge from the enemy. 12 All your fortifications are fig trees with ripe fruit— When shaken, they fall into the eater’s mouth. 13 Behold, your people are women in your midst! The gates of your land are opened wide to your enemies; Fire consumes your gate bars. 14 Draw for yourself water for the siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Go into the clay and tread the mortar! Take hold of the brick mold! 15 There fire will consume you, the sword will cut you down; It will consume you as the locust does. Multiply yourself like the creeping locust, multiply yourself like the swarming locust. 16 You have increased your traders more than the stars of heaven— The creeping locust strips and flies away. 17 Your guardsmen are like the swarming locust. Your marshals are like hordes of grasshoppers settling in the stone walls on a cold day. The sun rises and they flee, and the place where they are is not known. 18 Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria; Your nobles are lying down. Your people are scattered on the mountains and there is no one to regather them. 19 There is no relief for your breakdown, your wound is incurable. All who hear about you will clap their hands over you, for on whom has not your evil passed continually?’” Jonah 1:1, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.’” “Has come before Me ” is composed of the third person feminine singular qal active perfect form of the verb ʿā·lā(h) ( ) (aw-law), “ has come ” and the preposition le ( ) (le) and the masculine plural suffixed form of the noun pā·ně(h) ,( א) before ” and the first person singular suffixed form of the pronoun ǎnî “ ,( ) “Me .” This expression in the Old Testament functions “idiomatically rather than literally (cf. Gen 4:10; 18:21; Lam 1:22, etc.) as a means of expressing the fact that a situation is extreme enough to gain the special attention of God. It implies nothing about God’s relative cognitive abilities. Yahweh thus announces to Jonah that his interest in the situation has been aroused to the point that he has chosen to do something about it. (Word Biblical Commentary, volume 31: Hosea-Jonah, page 449) , léfanay ) לְפָנָי The NET Bible writes, “ Heb ‘has come up before me.’ The term ‘before me’) often connotes ‘in the full cognitive knowledge of’ or ‘in the full II.4.a.(c); e.g., Gen 6:13; Isa 65:6; Jer פָּנֶה .mental view’ of someone (BDB 817 s.v

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 20

alah , ‘to ascend’) complements this’ ) עָלָה Lam 1:22). The use of the verb ;2:22 idea; it is sometimes used to describe actions or situations on earth that have ‘come up’ into heaven to God’s attention, so to speak (e.g., Exod 2:23; 1 Sam 5:12; 2 Kgs The point is that God .(8 עָלָה .Ps 74:23; Isa 37:29; Jer 14:2; see BDB 749 s.v ;19:28 was fully aware of the evil of the Ninevites. The verb ʿā·lā(h) means “to ascend, rise” in the sense of an object moving upward in a linear motion. The object is the extreme wickedness of the Ninevites ascending to the Lord in the sense of getting His special attention. The active voice of the verb indicates that the wickedness of the Ninevites as the subject performs the action of ascending into the presence of the Lord and getting His special attention. The qal stem is stative describing the state of God giving His special attention to the extreme wickedness of the Ninevites. The perfect tense of the verb describes a present state resulting from a previous completed action. The previous completed action is that of the practice of extreme wickedness by the Ninevites in past history and the present state is that of this wickedness getting the special attention of the Lord when Jonah received this commission. The preposition le is a marker of location indicating that the extreme wickedness of the Ninevites has ascended into the throne room of God in the sense that it has got the Lord special attention. The noun pā·ně(h) refers to being in the presence of the Lord indicating that the extreme wickedness of the Ninevites had reached the throne room of God in the sense that this evil had gotten His special attention. The pronomial suffix ǎnî refers of course to the Lord. Therefore, we will translate the causal clause ְ ְ , “ because their wickedness has come to my attention .” Completed corrected translation of Jonah 1:1-2, “Now, a message from the Lord was communicated to Jonah, the son of Amittai, ‘You must go immediately to Nineveh, that great city and then announce judgment against it because their wickedness has come to my attention.’” The New American Commentary: Amos, Obadiah, Jonah has the following comment, “Many people in the world today ignore God and assume that he also ignores them. Many believe that God set the world into motion and allows it to continue along unnoticed. This text portrays God as one who notices, as a God who is active, and as a God who takes sin seriously.” (Pages 226)

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 21

Jonah 1:3-Jonah Disobeys The Lord And Boards A Merchant Ship At Joppa Heading To Tarshish

By way of review, Jonah 1:1 introduces to the reader the principle characters of the book of Jonah, namely, the Lord and Jonah who function in the narrative as protagonist and antagonist. All the other human characters in the narrative are unnamed with the exception of course, of Jonah’s father, Amittai. These unnamed characters are foils to emphasize the relationship between Jonah and the Lord. Interestingly, the word of the Lord begins the narrative and ends it. Therefore, the book of Jonah is concerned with the effects and consequences of the word of the Lord. Next, in Jonah 1:2a, we saw the Lord commanding Jonah to go immediately to the great city of Nineveh. This journey from Gath-Hepher, Jonah’s hometown to Nineveh is approximately 500 miles east, which would be a rugged journey. Then, in Jonah 1:2b, the Lord commands Jonah to announce judgment against the Ninevites because of their wickedness. Corrected translation of Jonah 1:1-2: “Now, a message from the Lord was communicated to Jonah, the son of Amittai, 2 ‘You must go immediately to Nineveh, that great city and then announce judgment against it because their wickedness has come to my attention.’” This evening we will study Jonah 1:3, which records Jonah disobeying the Lord’s command to go immediately to Nineveh and announce judgment against its inhabitants because of their wickedness. Instead of going to Nineveh, the prophet heads in the opposite direction and boards a merchant ship at Joppa heading to Tarshish. Jonah 1:1, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.’ 3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” “But ” is the disjunctive adversative use of the conjunction waw ( ) (wa), which is prefixed to the third person masculine singular qal active imperfect form of the verb qum ( ) (koom), “ rose up .” “Jonah ” is the masculine singular form of the proper noun yownah ( ) (yo- naw), which refers of course to the Northern Kingdom prophet 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 subject of the verb qum .

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 22

Although the verb form is a wayyiqtol , suggesting progression in the narrative, the context indicates that the verb qum stands in contrast to what has been previously stated in Jonah 1:1-2. Therefore, the conjunction waw is introducing a statement that presents a contrast with Jonah 1:1-2 since this statement records Jonah disobeying the Lord’s command to go immediately to Nineveh and announce judgment against that great city. Instead he flees to Joppa and boards a merchant ship heading in the opposite direction to Tarshish. The verb qum appeared in verse 2 where it was used in the imperative form of the Lord commanding Jonah to go to Nineveh. Here the word appears to form a wordplay setting up the reader to expect Jonah obeying the Lord’s command. However, the prophet does not go to Nineveh but in the exact opposite direction. Commenting on this, the NET Bible writes, “ Heb ‘he arose to flee.’ The phrase vayyaqam livroakh , ‘he arose to flee’) is a wordplay on the Lord’s ) ו ְֹ command ( , qum lekh ; “Arise! Go!”) in v. 2. By repeating the first verb the narrator sets up the reader to expect that Jonah was intending to obey God. But Jonah did not ‘arise to go’ to Nineveh; he ‘arose to flee’ to Tarshish. Jonah looks as though he was about to obey, but he does not. This unexpected turn of events creates strong irony. The narrator does not reveal Jonah’s motivation to the reader at this point. He delays this revelation for rhetorical effect until 4:2-3).” The fientive qal stem of the verb qum expresses an action that Jonah takes that stands in contrast to the Lord commanding him to go to Nineveh. The active voice indicates that Jonah as the subject performs the action of the verb. The imperfect tense is used of a past action from the perspective of the writer. Therefore, we will translate the expression wayyaqam yonah ( ), “However, instead, Jonah arose .” “To flee ” is composed of the preposition le ( ) (le) and the qal active infinitive construct form of the verb bā·rǎḥ ( ) (baw-rakh), which means “flee, run away, escape, i.e. make linear movement away from something.” Here it refers to Jonah “fleeing” to Tarshish to avoid going to the great city of Nineveh and announcing judgment against its inhabitants because he knew the Lord would not destroy them if they repented. The verb functions as an infinitive construct of purpose indicating the reason why Jonah arose. This verb is the object of the preposition le which indicates the purpose for Jonah arising. Lessing writes, “In Jonah every human action described by an infinitive construct verb form fails to accomplish the intention of its human subject, while every divine action described by the infinitive construct verb form comes to the evil he promised to do to them”) in“) ת fruition—with the sole exception of 3:10, which thus highlights Yahweh’s grace in deciding not to bring judgment upon Nineveh (“and he did not do it,” 3:10). This grammatical usage of infinitives

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 23 underscores two of the central ideas of the narrative. First, Yahweh’s will is done, and it is chiefly done in showing mercy to people like the Ninevites. Second, the plans of people are contingent upon Yahweh.” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah, page 69) The fientive qal stem of the verb bā·rǎḥ expresses an action that Jonah takes that stands in contrast to the Lord commanding him to go to Nineveh. The active voice indicates that Jonah as the subject performs the action of fleeing to Tarshish. We will translate this prepositional phrase “ in order to flee .” “To Tarshish ” is composed of the masculine singular form of the proper geographic noun tǎr·šîš ( ), which is traceable back to tart (uli ), an Iberian place-name, which occurs in Neo-Assyrian sources (Kur Tar-si-si) and in Greek Tartfssos. Tarshish was one of the coastal territories or islands west of Palestine. The identified Tarshish with Carthage but most locate it in Spain at the mouth of the Guadalquiver, which produced silver, iron, tin and lead (cf. Ezekiel 27:12). In Jonah 1:3, it is probably Tartessus in southern Spain, approximately 2,500 miles west of Joppa. Constable writes, “Tarshish was the name of a great-grandson of Noah through Noah's son Japheth and Japheth's son Javan (Gen. 10:1-4). From then on in the Old Testament the name describes both the descendants of this man and the territory where they settled (cf. 1 Kings 10:22; 22:48; 1 Chron. 7:10). The territory was evidently a long distance from Israel and on the Atlantic coast of southwest Spain (cf. 4:2; Isa. 66:19). It also contained mineral deposits that its residents mined and exported to Tyre and probably other places (Jer. 10:9; Ezek. 27:12). Since the Hebrew word tarshishu means smelting place or refinery, several such places on the Mediterranean coast bore this name. Therefore it is impossible to locate the exact spot that Jonah proposed to visit. The identification of Tarshish with Spain is very old going back to Herodotus, the Greek historian, who referred to a Tartessus in Spain. In any case, Jonah sought to flee by ship from Joppa on Israel's Mediterranean coast and to go to some remote destination that lay in the opposite direction from Nineveh. Joppa stood about 35 miles southwest of Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom. Nineveh lay about 550 miles northeast of Samaria.” (Constable, Thomas L., Notes on Jonah-2009 Edition, page 9; copyright 2009; Published by Sonic Light: http://www.soniclight.com/ ) ְ The NET Bible commenting on Tarshish, write, “The place-name (tarshish , ‘Tarshish’) refers to a distant port city or region (Isa 23:6; Jer 10:9; Ezek 27:12; 38:13; 2 Chr 9:21; 20:36, 37) located on the coastlands in the Mediterranean west of Palestine (Ps 72:10; Isa 23:6, 10; 66:19; Jonah 1:3; see BDB 1076 s.v. HALOT 1798 s.v. ְ E.a). Scholars have not established its actual ; ְ location (HALOT 1797 s.v. B). It has been variously identified with Tartessos in

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 24 southwest Spain (Herodotus, Histories 1.163; 4.152; cf. Gen 10:4), Carthage (LXX of Isa 23:1, 14 and Ezek 27:25), and Sardinia (F. M. Cross, ‘An Interpretation of the Nora Stone,’ BASOR 208 [1972]: 13-19). The ancient versions handle it variously. The LXX identifies ְ with Carthage/ ( karch ēdōn; Isa Ezek 27:12; 38:13). The place name ְ is rendered ‘Africa’ in ;14 ,10 ,6 ,23:1 the Targums in some passages (Tg. 1 Kgs 10:22; 22:49; Tg. Jer 10:9) and elsewhere as ‘sea’ (Isa 2:16; 23:1, 14; 50:9; 66:19; Ezek 27:12, 25; 38:13; Jonah 4:2). The Jewish Midrash Canticles Rabbah 5:14.2 cites Jonah 1:3 as support for the view that Tarshish = ‘the Great Sea’ (the Mediterranean). It is possible that does not refer to one specific port but is a general term for the distant ְ Mediterranean coastlands (Ps 72:10; Isa 23:6, 10; 66:19). In some cases it seems to mean simply ‘the open sea’: (1) the Tg. Jonah 1:3 translates ְ as ‘[he arose to flee] to the sea’; (2) Jerome’s commentary on Isa 2:16 states that Hebrew scholars in his age defined ְ as ‘sea’; and (3) the gem called II ְ , ‘topaz’ (BDB 1076 s.v.; HALOT 1798 s.v.) in Exod 28:20 and 39:13 is rendered ‘the color of the sea’ in Tg. Onq. (see D. Stuart, Hosea-Jonah [WBC], 451). The designation oniyyot tarshish , ‘Tarshish-ships’) referred to large oceangoing vessels’ ) ְ equipped for the high seas (2 Chr 9:21; Ps 48:8; Isa 2:16; 23:1, 14; 60:9; Ezek 27:25) or large merchant ships designed for international trade (1 Kgs 10:22; Chr 9:21; 20:36; Isa 23:10; HALOT 1798 s.v. E.b). The term ְ is 2 ;22:49 derived from the Iberian tart[uli] with the Anatolian suffix –issos /essos , resulting in Tartessos (BRL2 332a); however, the etymological meaning of ְ is uncertain (see W. F. Albright, ‘New Light on the Early History of Phoenician ְ Colonization,’ BASOR 83 [1941]: 21-22 and note 29; HALOT 1797 s.v. I A). The name ְ appears in sources outside the Hebrew Bible in Neo-Assyrian KURTar-si-si (R. Borger, Die Inschriften Asarhaddons [AfO], 86, §57 line 10) and Greek ( tart ēssos ; HALOT 1797 s.v. C). Most English versions render ,as ‘Tarshish’ (KJV, NKJV, ASV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, NIV, NEB, NJB ְ JPS, NJPS), but TEV, CEV render it more generally as “to Spain.” NLT emphasizes the rhetorical point: ‘in the opposite direction,’ though ‘Tarshish’ is mentioned later in the verse.” Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 1:3: “ However, instead Jonah arose in order to flee to Tarshish…” Jonah 1:3, “But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” “From the presence of the Lord ” is composed of the preposition min ( ) (meen), “ from ” and the preposition le ( ) (le) and the masculine plural construct

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 25 form of the noun pā·ně(h) ( ) (paw-neh), “ before ” and the masculine singular proper noun Yahweh ( ) (yeh-ho-vaw), “ the Lord .” The proper noun Yahweh is the “Lord” is the personal name of God emphasizing that He is the redeemer of mankind and is used in His relationship to His covenants or contracts with men whereas Elohim emphasizes the transcendent character of God. So the term Yahweh , “ Lord ” is used alone in Jonah 1:3 and not Elohim , “ God ” or Yahweh Elohim , “ Lord God .” This is significant since the term Yahweh , “Lord ” is the covenant-keeping personal name of God used in connection with man’s salvation and emphasizing that Jonah was rejecting God’s authority over him and rejecting the personal relationship that Jonah had with God. It also reminds the reader of the “immanency” of God meaning that He involves Himself in and concerns Himself with and intervenes in the affairs of men whereas Elohim , “God ” emphasizes the transcendent character of God. Thus, it reminds the reader of the foolish of Jonah in that he is attempting to flee from the presence of God who is transcendent of His creation and creatures. The word is the object of the preposition min , which indicates a location or state from which something moves away from. Here it denotes that Jonah is attempting to move away from the presence of the Lord. The noun pā·ně(h) refers to being in the presence of the Lord and the preposition le is a marker of location indicating that Jonah is fleeing from the Lord’s presence. To stand in the presence of someone is often used in the sense of acting as one’s official minister. (Cp. Gen. 41:46; Deut. 1:38; 10:8; 1 Sam. 16:21f. 1 Kings 17:1; 18:15; 2 Kings 3:14, etc.) This phrase does not mean that Jonah was hiding from the Lord since Jonah knew full-well that God is omnipresent meaning that He is everywhere present but rather it means Jonah fled from his service-commission as a prophet which he received from the Lord Himself. To flee from His presence means that Jonah refused to serve the Lord in his office as prophet. He was in effect going AWOL meaning Absent Without Official Leave. The New American Commentary: Amos, Obadiah and Jonah write, “What does it mean, therefore, to go ‘away from the Lord’? In Gen 4:16 the expression (millipnê ) is used to describe Cain’s broken relationship with the Lord—his rebellion against the Lord and the Lord’s displeasure with him. D. Alexander suggests that we interpret the phrase in light of its use in the expression to “stand before [ lipnê ] the Lord,” which is an idiom used of being in the Lord’s service (cf. 1 Kgs 17:1; 18:15; Jer 15:19). ‘By fleeing from the Lord’s presence Jonah announces emphatically his unwillingness to serve God. His action is nothing less than open rebellion against God’s sovereignty.’” (Page 227)

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 26

James E. Smith writes, “To stand in Yahweh’s presence means to serve him. The language is derived from the custom that servants always stood in the presence of seated royalty. Thus the text intends to relate that Jonah was resigning his prophetic office. He no longer wished to serve as God’s messenger.” (Old Testament Survey Series: The Minor Prophets) The NET Bible writes, “ Heb ‘away from the presence of the Lord.’ The term ְ millifne , ‘away from the presence of’) is composed of the preposition ) ְ (léfanay , ‘in front of, before the presence of’) and ( min , ‘away from’). The term is used with ( barakh , ‘to flee’) only here in so it is ְ difficult to determine its exact meaning (HALOT 942 s.v. 4.h.ii; see E. Jenni, “‘Fliehen’ im akkadischen und im hebräischen Sprachgebrauch,” Or 47 [1978]: 357). The most likely options are: (1) Jonah simply fled from the Lord’s presence manifested in the temple (for mention of the temple elsewhere in Jonah, see 2:5, 8). This is reflected in Jerome’s rendering fugeret in Tharsis a facie Domini (‘he fled to Tarshish away from the face/presence of the Lord’). The term ְ is used in this sense with ( yatsa’ , ‘to go out’) to depict someone or something physically leaving the manifested presence of the Lord (Lev 9:24; Num 17:11, 24; cf. Gen 4:16). This is reflected in several English versions: ‘from the presence of the Lord’ (KJV, NKJV, RSV, NRSV, ASV, NASB) and ‘out of the reach of the Lord’ (REB). (2) Jonah was fleeing to a distant place outside the land of Israel (D. Stuart, Hosea-Jonah [WBC], 450). The term ְ is used in various constructions with to describe locations outside the land of Israel where Yahweh was not worshiped (1 Sam 26:19–20; 2 Kgs 13:23; 17:20, 23; Jer 23:39). This would be the equivalent ,(of a self-imposed exile. (3) The term ְ can mean ‘out of sight’ (Gen 23:4, 8 so perhaps Jonah was trying to escape from the Lord’s active awareness – out of the Lord’s sight. The idea would either be an anthropomorphism (standing for a distance out of the sight of God) or it would reflect an inadequate theology of the limited omniscience and presence of God. This is reflected in some English versions: ‘ran away from the Lord’ (NIV), ‘running away from Yahweh’ (NJB), ‘to get away from the Lord’ (NLT), ‘to escape from the Lord’ (NEB) and ‘to escape’ (CEV). (4) The term ְ can mean ‘in front of someone in power’ (Gen 43:33; HALOT 942 s.v. c.i) and ‘at the disposal of’ a king (Gen 13:9; 24:51; 34:10; 2 Chr 14:6; Jer 40:4; HALOT 942 s.v. 4.f). The expression would be a metonymy: Jonah was trying to escape from his commission (effect) ordered by God (cause). This is reflected in several English versions: ‘to flee from the Lord’s service’ (JPS, NJPS). Jonah confesses in 4:2–3 that he fled to avoid carrying out his commission – lest God relent from judging Nineveh if its populace might repent. But it is also clear in chs. 1–2 that Jonah could not escape from the Lord himself. sn Three times in chap. 1 (in vv. 3 and 10) Jonah’s voyage is described as an attempt to escape away from the Lord – from the Lord’s presence (and therefore

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 27 his active awareness; compare v. 2). On one level, Jonah was attempting to avoid a disagreeable task, but the narrator’s description personalizes Jonah’s rejection of the task. Jonah’s issue is with the Lord himself, not just his commission. The narrator’s description is also highly ironic, as the rest of the book shows. Jonah tries to sail to Tarshish, in the opposite direction from Nineveh, as if by doing that he could escape from the Lord, when the Lord is the one who knows all about Nineveh’s wickedness and is involved in all that happens to Jonah throughout the book. Compare Jonah’s explanation when talking with the Lord (see 4:2).” Therefore, we will translate the prepositional phrase milliphne y ehway ( ), “ from the commission of the Lord .” Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 1:3: “ However, instead Jonah arose in order to flee to Tarshish from the commission of the Lord…”

Jonah 1:3, “But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” “So ” is the epexegetical use of the conjunction the wa ( ) (wa), which explains further the previous statement that Jonah arose in order to flee to Tarshish from his service to the Lord. It presents further details regarding Jonah’s flight from his commission to the Lord. The statement introduced here by the conjunction tells us

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 28 that the prophet went to Joppa, found a merchant ship heading to Tarshish, paid the far and went down into the ship. Therefore, we will translate the word “specifically .” “He went down ” is the third person masculine singular qal active imperfect .yaw-rad), which means “to travel down to,” i.e) ( ד ) form of the verb yā·rǎḏ make linear action from a higher to a lower elevation. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, “The hill country of Palestine is flanked on the west by the Mediterranean Sea and on the east by the deep rift Arabah, far below sea level. Therefore about any place traveled in Israel is either up or down. Since Jerusalem is the geographical focal point, a traveler either ‘goes up’ ( ālâ) or ‘goes down’ (modern Hebrew ‘immigrant’ and ‘emigrant’). (Page 401) Therefore, the word in Jonah 1:3 suggests that Jonah traveled from Jerusalem, which is at a higher elevation, from which he received his marching orders in the Temple to the seaport of Joppa 34 miles northwest of Jerusalem. The NET Bible writes, “ Heb ‘he went down.’ The verb ( yarad , ‘to go down’) can refer to a journey that is physically downhill. This suggests that Jonah had started out from Jerusalem, which is at a higher elevation. He probably received his commission in the temple (see 2:4, 7 for mention of the temple). sn The verb ( yarad , ‘to go down’) is repeated four times in chs. 1–2 for rhetorical effect (1:3a, 3b, 5; 2:7). Jonah’s ‘downward’ journey from Jerusalem down to Joppa (1:3a) down into the ship (1:3b) down into the cargo hold (1:5) and ultimately down into the bottom of the sea, pictured as down to the very gates of the netherworld (2:7), does not end until he turns back to God who brings him ‘up’ from the brink of death (2:6–7).” The fientive qal stem of the verb yā·rǎḏ expresses an action that Jonah takes in going down to Joppa from the temple in Jerusalem that stands in contrast to the Lord commanding him to go to Nineveh. The active voice indicates that Jonah as the subject performs the action of going down to Joppa from the temple in Jerusalem. The imperfect tense is used of a past action from the perspective of the writer. “To Joppa ” is the feminine singular form of the proper geographic noun yā·p̄ ô ( ) (yaw-fo), which was the seaport of Jerusalem and corresponds to the modern , which is now a part of and is the place where Jonah found a merchant ship heading to Tarshish. Joppa is 34 miles northwest of Jerusalem and 58 miles south west of Gath-hepher, Jonah’s hometown. The NET Bible, “Joppa was a small harbor town on the Palestinian coast known as Yepu in the Amarna Letters (14th century b.c.) and Yapu in Neo-Assyrian inscriptions (9th-8th centuries b.c.). It was a port through which imported goods could flow into the Levant (Josh 19:46; 2 Chr 2:15 [16]; Ezra 3:7). It was never annexed by Israel until the Maccabean period (ca. 148 b.c.; 1 Macc 10:76). Jonah

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 29 chose a port where the people he would meet and the ships he could take were not likely to be Israelite. Once in Joppa he was already partly ‘away from the Lord’ as he conceived it.” Avraham Negev writes that Joppa was “a city in the territory of Dan, on the coast of the Mediterranean (Josh. 19:46), conquered by the Philistines and not included in Israelite territory. Solomon brought timber to Joppa from the Lebanon for building his Temple (2 Chr. 2:16) and cedar wood was also brought to the ‘sea of Joppa’ in the time of the Restoration (Ezra 3:7). Some scholars believe that the port referred to is that of Tell Qasile, east of Jaffa. The prophet Jonah sailed from Joppa to Tarshish (Jonah 1:3). One of the most ancient ports on the coast of Palestine, Joppa was conquered by Tuthmosis III in about 1468 bc. An ancient story tells that in order to capture it Egyptian soldiers were smuggled into the city in 200 baskets. There was still an Egyptian garrison there in the 14th and 13th centuries bc, when the city is mentioned in the El Amarna letters. In 701 bc Joppa was conquered by Sennacherib King of Assyria, who took it from Sidka, King of Ashkelon. In the Persian period it was given to the Sidonians, where it was known as Japho. In the days of the Ptolemies Joppa was granted autonomy, with the right to mint coins. In 144 bc the city was conquered by Simon Maccabaeus, who drove out the alien inhabitants and settled his soldiers there so that he could use it as an opening to the sea (1 Macc. 10:76; 12:33–4; 13:11; 14:5). Jewish sovereignty over Joppa was disputed for some time but the Jews held it de facto. So important was the city for the economy of the Hasmonean kingdom that Alexander Jannaeus struck a large series of coins with marine symbols to commemorate its conquest. With the decline of the Hasmonean kingdom and the subsequent conquest of Palestine by Pompey in 64 bc Joppa was rebuilt and detached from Judea. This was a great blow to the Judean economy, but in 30 bc Augustus returned it to Herod. Herod conferred the rights of a polis on the city, and it became the capital of a small district. After the destruction of the Second Temple the city was granted autonomy by Vespasian, with the title of Flavia loppe. Pliny (Nat. Hist. v, 13, 69) relates that the legendary snake Ceto was worshipped at Joppa; according to Greek mythology, it had threatened Andromeda’s life until she was rescued by Perseus. Joppa is mentioned several times in the New Testament. It was here that Tabitha, a disciple of Jesus, died and was revived by Peter (Acts 9:36 ff.) and also here that he saw his vision of the beasts (Acts 10:5 ff.). After the destruction of the Temple a large Jewish community, including famous scholars, lived in Joppa. It also served as an important commercial center. Tombstones of scholars and merchants, both from Palestine and from the Diaspora, were found in the local cemetery. Excavations in the ancient mound of Jaffa, which is situated east of the Turkish port, have revealed remains of fortifications and habitations of all periods from the Bronze Age to Byzantine and Arab times. Of great interest are the remains of

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 30 typical Hyksos fortifications and a gate of the Egyptian town of the Late Bronze Age, on the jamb of which a hieroglyphic inscription was found.” (The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land) Timothy Trammell writes, “Place-name meaning ‘beautiful.’ Situated on the Mediterranean coast, Joppa is located some 35 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Excavations have revealed that the city dates back at least to 1650 b.c. Originally Joppa was situated on a rocky hill just over 100 feet high, a hill that was just slightly beyond the coastline, forming a small cape. To the north stretches the Plain of Sharon, to the south the Plain of Philistia. The OT name for Joppa was Japho (or Jaffe or Yafo), the name the Israeli nation has chosen as the modern designation for the city. The Phoenician form of the term comes from the name Jafe, the daughter of Aeolus, god of the winds. Joppa is the only natural harbor on the Mediterranean between ancient Ptolemais and Egypt, and its facilities in biblical days were far less than outstanding. Reefs forming a roughly semicircular breakwater approximately 300 feet offshore made entrance from the south impossible. Entrance from the north was shallow and treacherous, but small vessels could navigate it. The earliest historical reference to Joppa is found in inscriptions on the walls of the temple of Karnak at Thebes (Luxor). Thutmose III, who p 945 ruled Egypt from 1490 to 1436 b.c., boasted of his conquest of the cities of Palestine; Joppa is one of those named. The Amarna Letters mention Joppa twice with observations about the beauty of her gardens and the skill of her workmen in leather, wood, and metal. When Canaan was conquered, the tribe of Dan received Joppa, but it never came firmly into Hebrew hands. The Philistines took the city, but David recaptured it. Solomon developed it into the major port serving Jerusalem. To Joppa rafts of cedar logs were floated to be transported to Jerusalem for Solomon’s splendid temple (2 Chron. 2:16). Phoenicia gained control of Joppa by the time of Jonah. As the prophet fled from God’s call, he caught a ship at Joppa for his well-remembered voyage toward Tarshish (Jon. 1:3). In 701 b.c. Sennacherib occupied the city, then, in turn, the Babylonians and the Persians. As it had been in Solomon’s day, Joppa became the port that received cedar logs from Lebanon, now for the rebuilding of the temple under the leadership of Zerubbabel. In 164 b.c. more than 200 Jewish citizens of Joppa were treacherously drowned by angry non-Jews. In retaliation Judas Maccabeus raided the city, burned the harbor installations, torching the anchored ships as well (2 Macc. 12:3–9). Joppa’s history is linked with several notable names during the years of Roman control. Pompey conquered it in 63 b.c., joining it to the province of Syria. Antony later gave the city to Cleopatra of Egypt. Augustus Caesar added it to the kingdom of Herod the Great. The NT records that Joppa was the home of Dorcas, a Christian woman known for her gracious and generous deeds. At her death the Christians of Joppa called for Simon Peter, who with the command ‘Tabitha, get up’ (HCSB), restored

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 31 her to life (Acts 9:36–41). Simon Peter remained in Joppa at the home of Simon the Tanner. At noon, while Simon Peter waited for a meal to be prepared, he prayed on the flat roof of the tanner’s house. In a trance Peter saw what seemed to be ‘a large sheet being lowered to the earth by its four comers’ (HCSB) and learned that the Gentile world was a fit audience for the gospel (Acts 10:9–16). Joppa is now annexed to the modern city of Tel Aviv, forming a part of the southern section of the largest city of Israel. Industrial, shipping, and residential complexes have been developed on this ancient site.” (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, pages 944–945; Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers; Brand, C., Draper, C., England, A., Bond, S., Clendenen, E. R., Butler, T. C., & Latta, B. 2003)

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 32

Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 1:3: “ However, instead Jonah arose in order to flee to Tarshish from the commission of the Lord. Specifically, he traveled down to Joppa…” Jonah 1:3, “But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” Not translated is the conjunction the wa ( ) (wa), which functions as a marker of a sequence of closely related events indicating the next action taken by Jonah after traveling down from the temple in Jerusalem to the seaport of Joppa, 35 miles northeast of Jerusalem. We will translate the word “ and then .” “Found ” is the third person masculine singular qal active prefixed imperfect maw-tsaw), which means “to) ( א ) (sequential) form of the verb mā·ṣā(ʾ) intentionally find” something after seeking and searching for it. Therefore, the word indicates that once Jonah arrived in Joppa he sought after and searched for a ship that was heading to Tarshish. The fientive qal stem of the verb mā·ṣā expresses an action that Jonah takes in finding a ship heading to Tarshish. The active voice indicates that Jonah as the subject performs the action of finding a ship heading to Tarshish. The imperfect tense is used of a past action from the perspective of the writer. We will translate the verb “ found .” ,(on-ee-yaw) ( א ) (A ship ” is the feminine singular for the noun ʾǒniy ·yā(h“ which denotes a merchant ship bound for Tarshish and is the direct object of the verb mā·ṣā. The New Bible Dictionary-Third Edition has the following comment, “The general Heb. word for ship, niyyâ , refers most commonly to seagoing merchant vessels (e.g. Pr. 31:14) which are often described as ‘ships of Tarshish’ (1 Ki. 22:48f.). Whether or not *Tarshish is to be identified with a geographical location such as Tartessus in S Spain or Tarsus in Cilicia or is thought to mean something like ‘ore-carrier’, the ship so described is a Phoenician long-range merchantman. Barnett ( Antiquity 32, 1958, p. 226) believes that the Phoenician transport vessels with round bows depicted on relief sculptures of Sennacherib (c. 700 B.C.) are ‘ships of Tarshish’, but the absence of sail makes this identification questionable. Phoenician shipping developed during the 2nd millennium B.C. and is known to us from Egyp. tomb paintings and from texts. The paintings reveal that, unlike contemporary Egyp. ships, Canaanite (early Phoenician) vessels were built with a keel and had a fence-like structure along the deck, which some believe acted as a lee cloth, while others believe that it barricaded the cargo. A document from Ras Shamra, c. 1200 B.C., refers to one of these merchantmen as having a cargo of 457,000 kg (450 tonnes) with no indication that it was at all unusual. Such a large

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 33 vessel had to rely on sail power and could be rowed only for brief periods in an emergency. The ship that Jonah embarked on at Joppa is called a sep ̄ înâ (Jon. 1:5), which may indicate that it was a large vessel with a deck, possibly similar to a Gk. merchantman painted on a cup of c. 550 B.C. It was manned by sailors, Heb. mall āḥîm (Jon. 1:5) and captained by one called ra ḇ ha ḥōḇēl (Jon. 1:6), the ‘chief pilot’. Smaller vessels were used by the Phoenicians for short-range cargo assignments. These vessels were paddled and were distinctive because of their high stem and stern posts, one of which bore the carved head of a horse and so they were naturally called hippos by the Greeks. An Assyr. relief sculpture, c. 710 B.C., depicts these vessels in a logging operation which was no doubt similar to that undertaken by King Hiram of Tyre for Solomon (1 Ki. 5:9). Another Heb. word for ship, ṣî, would appear to apply specifically to warships. This vessel is mentioned with a ‘galley with oars’, nî šayi ṭ (Is. 33:21), where it is stated that no such ship will approach Jerusalem when the city is at peace. These warships had streamlined hulls being built for speed and with a ram at the front. In order to shorten the vessel and increase its manoeuvrability without losing speed, the oarsmen, šāṭîm (Ezk. 27:8), were double-banked on each side. The Greeks were particularly skilful at fighting in these vessels, which may be referred to as the feared ‘ships of Kittim’ (Dn. 11:30; cf. Nu. 24:24). Because of their speed warships were particularly suited for delivering urgent messages over water (Ezk. 30:9; Thucydides 3. 49. 3).” (Pages 1095-1096) Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary commenting on ships that sailed during in the Eastern Mediterranean between 1000-500 B.C. write, “During this period the Phoenicians gained a reputation as the ablest of seamen and maritime traders. Their primary challenge came from the Greek world where merchantmen and war vessels controlled the northern Mediterranean shoreline and the Black Sea. The low sleek ‘hollow’ hull, with only a scant deck forward for the outlook and a slightly larger one aft for the captain and passengers, was constructed low and long primarily for speed. Several standard-sized galleys included the 20-oared dispatch and local transport, the 30-oared ‘triaconter’ galley, the 50-oared ‘penteconter’ for troop transport, and the 100-oared large transport. They were constructed of oak, poplar, pine, and fir, with the oars and masts of fir. A single, large-bladed steering car was replaced after 800 b.c. by double-steering oars that became standard thereafter. A single square sail on a mast amidships could be raised and lowered. Sails of sewn patches of woven linen were controlled with lines of twisted papyrus and leather. Other equipment included stern-mooring lines, stone anchors, punting poles, long pikes for fighting, and bags and jars for holding provisions. Screens along the sides could be closed during heavy weather. The introduction of the ram was a dramatic innovation that revolutionized ship construction. The pointed cutwater for puncturing the hull of the enemy vessel required construction with

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 34 heavier materials to withstand contact, especially in the bow area. The open or latticed bow area gave way to a cumbersome superstructure for sustaining the ram. This represented the first period of specialization in the construction and class of vessel—the open galley with a lighter hull for carrying dispatches and personnel and the galley with superstructure, including relatively high platforms as fighting stations at bow and stern, for combat. The invention of the two-banked galley soon followed to increase the number of rowers and the speed of the vessel without increasing the length and reducing the seaworthiness of its hull. The Phoenician shipwrights should be credited with many of these important innovations. The rigging for most war galleys during this period was standard—a single square sail amidships with a retractable mast. After 600 b.c. single-banked and double-banked galleys appear in all sizes up to 100 oars. The first Mediterranean merchant ships probably were oar driven. Plagued by calm waters during the summer months when maritime activity probably was at its peak, only oared ships could have provided the reliability and speed required for prompt delivery of merchandise. Later, as the volume of cargo grew, larger seaworthy sailing ships came into use. The merchantman was only slightly modified from the warship design to include a roomier and stronger hull and a sturdier mast for a bigger sail. Ultimately, however, the sailing ship with a rounded hull and a single square sail became the primary cargo ship from Phoenicia to Italy. (pages 1492-1493) “Which was going ” is the feminine singular qal active participle form of the bo), means “to head” in a particular compass direction in which) ( א ) (verb bô( ʾ the longitudinal axis of the ship points. The fientive qal stem of the verb expresses an action that this merchant takes in heading in the direction of Tarshish. The active voice indicates that this ship as the subject performs the action of heading in the direction of Tarshish. The participle form of the verb is functioning as a relative clause used to explain more about this ship that Jonah found. We will translate the word “which was heading in the direction of .” “To Tarshish ” is the masculine singular form of the proper geographic noun tǎr·šîš ( ) (tar-sheesh), which again is Tartessus in southern Spain, approximately 2,500 miles west of Joppa. Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 1:3: “ However, instead Jonah arose in order to flee to Tarshish from the commission of the Lord. Specifically, he traveled down to Joppa and then found a ship, which was heading to Tarshish…” Jonah 1:3, “But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord .”

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 35

Not translated is the conjunction the wa ( ) (wa), which once again functions as a marker of a sequence of closely related events indicating the next action taken by Jonah after traveling down to Joppa and finding a ship heading to Tarshish. We will translate the word “ next .” “Paid ” is the third person masculine singular qal active prefixed (imperfect) .naw-than), which means “to pay” for i.e) ( ת ) sequential form of the verb nā·ṯǎ n compensate money for a particular service to be rendered. It refers to the price charged to transport a person. Here it refers here to Jonah paying for the services of this ship heading to Tarshish as well as its captain and its crew. The fientive qal stem of the verb expresses an action that Jonah takes in paying for the services of this ship and its captain and crew. The active voice indicates that Jonah as the subject performs the action of paying for the services of this ship and its captain and crew. The imperfect tense is used of a past action from the perspective of the writer. We will translate the verb “ he paid .” “The fare ” is the masculine singular suffixed construct form of the noun śā·ḵār ( ) (saw-kar), which has the basic idea of engaging the services of a person in return for pay. Here it does “not” speak of Jonah paying the “fare” needed to board the ship but rather it is used of hiring the services of the ship and its captain to get him to Tarshish. The concept of “hiring” someone for their services is the idea behind the word. Commenting on this, Cleon Rogers writes, “The basic idea of the word is engaging the services of a person in return for pay. The various contexts in which this verb appears adds the color to the meaning. It is used of hiring an army to help deliver one from his enemies (II Sam 10:6; II Kgs 7:6; I Chr 19:6; II Chr 25:6). The word appears in the Kilamuwa inscription as the king of Assyria (perhaps Shalmanassar III) was hired against the king of Damascus (ANET, p. 500). The word is used of hiring skilled workers for a particular job (II Chr 24:12; Isa 46:6) or counsellors for advice (Ezr 4:5). Leah “hires” the privilege of sleeping with her husband, Jacob, by giving Rachel the mandrakes of Reuben (Gen 30:16). Balaam is hired to curse Israel (Deut 23:5; Neh 13:2) and thereby becomes an example of false religious leaders who proclaim a message for money (Jude 11). God’s prophet preaches his truth and is not “for hire.” Prov 26:10 warns against hiring a fool for any kind of work. (The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, page 878). Commenting this Lessing writes, “Translations usually say that Jonah paid ‘the fare’ (RSV, NIV,NASB) or ‘his fare’ (NRSV, NEB, JB). However, according to Sasson, it wasn’t until Roman times that the ancient world had a specific word for ‘fare’—‘a charge for the purchase of space in an expedition, seagoing or otherwise.’ The idea expressed here is not that Jonah pays a fare, but rather that he hires or makes a payment for the services of the ship and its crew. The nuance

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 36 underscores the magnitude of Jonah’s action; he has financed an entire ship for his disobedience! Chapter 1 supports this. That Jonah has access to the ship’s ‘innermost recesses’ (1:5) makes sense if he has hired the entire boat. That also explains why the sailors hesitate to throw Jonah overboard (1:13–14) even after they discern that he has endangered the entire ship. Even the captain does not order Jonah off the ship, but merely asks him to pray (1:6).” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah, page 76) Not translated is the third person feminine singular form of the pronoun hî ʾ which means “her” since it is in the feminine form and is referring to the ship ,( א) Jonah found that was heading to Tarshish. Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 1:3: “ However, instead Jonah arose in order to flee to Tarshish from the commission of the Lord. Specifically, he traveled down to Joppa and then found a ship, which was heading to Tarshish. Next, he paid for her services…” Jonah 1:3, “But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” Once again, not translated is the wa ( ) (wa), which functions as a marker of a sequence of closely related events indicating the next action taken by Jonah after traveling down to Joppa and finding a ship heading to Tarshish and paying her fare. We will translate the word “ then .” “He went down ” is the third person masculine singular qal active prefixed yaw-rad), which this time) ( ד ) imperfect) sequential form of the verb yā·rǎḏ) refers to Jonah “going down” to the galley of this merchant ship. It also indicates the second stage in Jonah’s downward journey of not refusing to obey the Lord’s command to go to Nineveh and announce judgment against it. The first stage was going down from Jerusalem to Joppa. The fientive qal stem of the verb expresses an action that Jonah takes in going down into the belly of the ship heading to Tarshish. The active voice indicates that Jonah as the subject performs the action of going down into the compartments below the deck of the ship heading to Tarshish. The imperfect tense is used of a past action from the perspective of the writer. “Into it ” is composed of the preposition be ( ) (be), “ into ” and the third person ”. it “ ,( א ) feminine singular form of the pronoun hî ʾ The pronoun hî ʾ means “her” referring of course to this ship bound for Tarshish. It is the object of the preposition be, which speaks of “entering” into the compartment below the deck of the ship. Then, he went “ ,( ד ) We will translate this expression wayyeredh bahh down into her .”

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 37

Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 1:3: “ However, instead Jonah arose in order to flee to Tarshish from the commission of the Lord. Specifically, he traveled down to Joppa and then found a ship, which was heading to Tarshish. Next, he paid for her services. Then, he went down into her…” Jonah 1:3, “But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord .” “To go ” is composed of the preposition le ( ) (le) and the feminine singular qal bo), which once again) ( א ) (active infinitive construct form of the verb bô( ʾ means “to head” in a particular compass direction in which the longitudinal axis of the ship points. “ To Tarshish ” is the masculine singular form of the proper geographic noun tǎr·šîš ( ) (tar-sheesh), which appears a third time emphasizing with the reader Jonah’s determination in heading in the opposite direction from which the Lord commanded him to go. The verb functions as an infinitive construct of purpose indicating the reason why Jonah paid for the services of this ship and its crew and captain. This verb is the object of the preposition le which indicates the purpose for Jonah paying for the services of this ship and its crew and captain. The fientive qal stem of the verb expresses an action that Jonah takes in heading in the direction of Tarshish. The active voice indicates that Jonah as the subject performs the action of heading in the direction of Tarshish. We will translate the word “ in order to head to .” “With them ” is composed of the preposition ʿim ( ) (eem), “ with ” and the third person masculine plural pronomial suffix hē·mā(h) ( ), “ them.” The pronomial suffix means “them” referring to the captain and the crew of this ship heading for Tarshish. It is the object of the preposition ʿim , which functions as a marker of association or accompaniment indicating that Jonah is going to accompany this crew and its captain to Tarshish. “From the presence of the Lord ” is composed of the preposition min ( ) (meen), “ from ” and the preposition le ( ) (le) and the masculine plural construct form of the noun pā·ně(h) ( ), “ before ” and the masculine singular proper noun Yahweh ( ) (yeh-ho-vaw), “ the Lord .” The proper noun Yahweh is the “Lord ” is the personal name of God emphasizing that He is the redeemer of mankind and is used in His relationship to His covenants or contracts with men whereas Elohim emphasizes the transcendent character of God. So the term Yahweh , “ Lord ” is used alone in Jonah 1:3 and not Elohim , “ God ” or Yahweh Elohim , “ Lord God .” This is significant since the term Yahweh ,

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 38

“Lord ” is the covenant-keeping personal name of God used in connection with man’s salvation and emphasizing that Jonah was rejecting God’s authority over him and rejecting the personal relationship that Jonah had with God. It also reminds the reader of the “immanency” of God meaning that He involves Himself in and concerns Himself with and intervenes in the affairs of men whereas Elohim , “God ” emphasizes the transcendent character of God. Thus, it reminds the reader of the foolish of Jonah in that he is attempting to flee from the presence of God who is transcendent of His creation and creatures. The word is the object of the preposition min , which indicates a location or state from which something moves away from. Here it denotes that Jonah is attempting to move away from the presence of the Lord. The noun pā·ně(h) refers to being in the presence of the Lord and the preposition le is a marker of location indicating that Jonah is fleeing from the Lord’s presence. Again, to stand in the presence of someone is often used in the sense of acting as one’s official minister. (Cp. Gen. 41:46; Deut. 1:38; 10:8; 1 Sam. 16:21f. 1 Kings 17:1; 18:15; 2 Kings 3:14, etc.). This phrase does not mean that Jonah was hiding from the Lord since Jonah knew full-well that God is omnipresent meaning that He is everywhere present but rather it means Jonah fled from his service- commission as a prophet which he received from the Lord Himself. To flee from His presence means that Jonah refused to serve the Lord in his office as prophet. He was in effect going AWOL meaning Absent Without Official Leave. This is the second time that this prepositional phrase appears in the verse emphasizing with the reader Jonah’s determination to disobey the Lord’s command to go immediately to Nineveh and announce judgment against its inhabitants. We will translate the prepositional phrase milliphne y ehway ( ), “ from the commission of the Lord .” Completed corrected translation of Jonah 1:3: “ However, instead Jonah arose in order to flee to Tarshish from the commission of the Lord. Specifically, he traveled down to Joppa and then found a ship, which was heading to Tarshish. Next, he paid for her services. Then, he went down into her in order to head to Tarshish with them from the commission of the Lord. ” Jonah 4:1-2 reveals that Jonah disobeyed the Lord because he knew full well that the Lord wanted him to issue a proclamation of impending destruction of Nineveh and its inhabitants in order to elicit a response from the Ninevites, namely that they would repent so He could not execute this judgment. Jonah 3:10, “When God saw their actions – they turned from their evil way of living! – God relented concerning the judgment he had threatened them with and he did not destroy them. 4:1 This displeased Jonah terribly and he became very angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘Oh, Lord, this is just

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 39 what I thought would happen when I was in my own country. This is what I tried to prevent by attempting to escape to Tarshish! – because I knew that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment.’” (NET Bible) The chiastic structure of this verse emphasizes Jonah’s determination to disobey the Lord’s command to immediately go to Nineveh and announcement judgment against its inhabitants because of their wickedness.

However, instead Jonah arose A in order to flee to Tarshish from the commission of the Lord B Specifically, he traveled down to Joppa C and then he found a ship D which was heading to Tarshish C’ Next, he paid for her services B’ Then, he went down into her A’ in order to head to Tarshish with them from the commission of the Lord,

So Jonah hated the Ninevites so much that he was willing to travel all the way across the Mediterranean Sea to get away from them. He is out of the “geographical” will of God meaning Jonah is not in the geographical location that the Lord has directed him to be in. He is out of this geographical will of God because he does not want the Ninevites to get saved. He has a great prejudice against the Ninevites and the nation of Assyria as a whole because they were a great enemy of Israel. You have to admire Jonah for his honesty. He is actually a great patriot. He hates the enemy, namely the Ninevites. Jonah’s absolute rejection of God’s directive is another instance of Jonah’s uniqueness as a prophet of God and where Moses and Jeremiah shrank from their assignments, Jonah flat out refuses. This command from the Lord to Jonah to go to the Ninevites would be tantamount to an American missionary being told to go to the Nazis, or the Iraqi’s or the Taliban in our day and age. So we can have compassion for Jonah here. He is a patriot but his view of the world is not God’s view of the world. Jonah is going against the “directive” will of God meaning he is disobeying a direct command from the Lord. The Lord is permitting Jonah to disobey Him, which is the “permissive” will of God. However, Jonah will soon experience the “overruling” will of God in that the Lord will “overrule” Jonah’s bad decision and will use a storm and a great fish to “overrule” his bad decision. Lessing writes, “With Jonah fleeing to Tarshish, the tension that will drive the narrative is now set. This raises two questions: (1) What will happen to a prophet who disobeys his God’s command and tries to ‘flee … away from the presence of

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 40

Yahweh’ (1:3)? (2) What will happen to Nineveh, the great, but wicked, city? The answers are provided as follows: • Scenes 2 (1:4–16) and 3 (2:1–11 [ET 1:17– 2:10]) deal with the first question. • Scenes 4 (3:1–3a) and 5 (3:3b–10) deal with the second question. • Scenes 6 (4:1–3) and 7 (4:4–11) are concerned with both questions.” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah, page 97)

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 41