Jonah, Book of: This book professes to give an account of what actually took place in
the experience of the prophet. Some critics have sought to interpret
the book as a parable or allegory, and not as a history. They have
done so for various reasons. Thus:
1. some reject it on the ground that the miraculous element enters
so largely into it, and that it is not prophetical but narrative
in its form;
2. others, denying the possibility of miracles altogether, hold
that therefore it cannot be true history.
Jonah and his story is referred to by our Lord
(Matthew 12:39,40; Luke 11:29) a
fact to which the greatest weight must be attached. It is impossible to
interpret this reference on any other theory. This one argument is of
sufficient importance to settle the whole question. No theories devised
for the purpose of getting rid of difficulties can stand against such a
proof that the book is a veritable history.
There is every reason to believe that this book was written by Jonah
himself. It gives an account of
1. his divine commission to go to Nineveh, his disobedience, and
the punishment following
(Jonah 1:1-17)
2. his prayer and miraculous deliverance
(Jonah 2:1-10)
3. the second commission given to him, and his prompt obedience in
delivering the message from God, and its results in the
repentance of the Ninevites, and God's long-sparing mercy toward
them
(Jonah 3:1-10)
4. Jonah's displeasure at God's merciful decision, and the rebuke
tendered to the impatient prophet
(Jonah 4:1-11) Nineveh was
spared after Jonah's mission for more than a century. The
history of Jonah may well be regarded "as a part of that great
onward movement which was before the Law and under the Law;
which gained strength and volume as the fulness of the times
drew near.", Perowne's Jonah.
