Content provided in partnership with

Jonah's journey

Judaism, Summer, 1995 by David Zucker

JONAH IS A DIFFICULT CHARACTER, FIRST HE RUNS AWAY from God. Then, asleep, he is indifferent to the plight of his fellow shipmates. The prophet endures a strange, even bizarre voyage in the depths of the sea. When Jonah finally gets to Nineveh, he grudgingly delivers his prophetic message. He resents their repentance and finally is moody and irascible in his comments to God.

Thus the Biblical Jonah. Yet when we consider the many comments about Jonah found in aggadic sources, another picture emerges. Though there are exceptions, on the whole the "rabbinic Jonah" is portrayed in a more positive light.

Most Popular Articles in Reference: The importance of understanding organizational culture; Credit card attitudes and behaviors of college students; What factors attract foreign direct investment?; Libraries Need Relationship Marketing - mutual interest marketing concept, ...; How to set performance goals: employee reviews are more than annual critiques; More »

Finding different explanations or motivations for what a Biblical character does (often contrary to the plain meaning of the text) is not without rabbinic precedent. David Goldstein reminds us that the rabbis wanted to bring their congregations "nearer to the sacred text of Scripture by planting within [their] heart[s], through story and interpretation, a love of the personalities of the Bible, a greater realization of the ... teaching of God, and a deeper understanding of the destiny of Israel."(1) Thus it is not surprising to find Jonah a frequent visitor in midrashim from the first through the tenth centuries.(2)

The opening words of Jonah explain that God has called upon him to go to Nineveh "at once ... to proclaim judgment upon it; for their wickedness" has come to God's attention.(3) Unlike some of his predecessors including Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, Jonah does not pause to suggest to the Almighty reasons for not accepting this commission.(4) He rather turns and heads in the opposite direction. This suppression of prophecy does not go unnoticed in the rabbinic literature. In early texts, namely the Sifre to Deuteronomy as well as the Mekilta de Rabbi Ishmael,(5) both compiled by the end of the second century c.e., Jonah is severely criticized for his actions. The Mekilta explains that the prophet purposely withheld honor due to God while seeking honor for himself. For this transgression, God limits Jonah's prophetic message.(6)

In midrashim of a later age, primarily between the seventh and tenth centuries, a different view of Jonah prevails. Here, Jonah's repression of prophecy is effectively ignored and though God will make an object lesson of Jonah, the prophet is not reprimanded as in the earlier texts. Presenting Jonah in a more positive light may have countered his co-option by the early Christian church. In the Christian Scriptures there is reference to the "Sign of Jonah" which was understood by the Church as precedent for preaching among "despised Gentiles" or as prefiguring the Resurrection of Jesus.(7) Likewise the rabbis may have wished to counteract the Patristic teachings about Jonah. "The Church fathers accepted the Jewish interpretation but turned it against its authors." Ephraem Syrus (4th cent.), Theodore, Bishop of Mopsuestia (5th cent.), and Jerome (5th cent.), among others, used Jonah as a polemic against the Jews. "Nineveh believed, says Jerome, but incredulous Israel persists in refusing to acknowledge Jesus."(8) Jonah's shipwreck for Jerome suggests the Passion of Jesus who called the entire world to penitence: and in the name of Nineveh, Jonah as a type of Christ proclaims salvation to all the Gentiles.(9)

Another opportunity to explore Jonah's message was the result of its reading as the Haftorah for Yom Kippur afternoon. Presumably preachers in the synagogue expounded on the Jonah narrative. Midrashic collections like the narrative Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer and the homiletical Midrash Tanhuma, compiled between 640-900 c.e.,(10) reflect such habits of thought.

Whether it was to counteract Christian teaching and/for to bring their congregations "nearer to the sacred text of Scripture, new insights exploring Jonah's motivation became part of rabbinic tradition. They were not developed in systematic fashion. Nevertheless, viewing these writings as a collective whole, punctuated in a number of cases by wonderful ironies, certain issues emerge, which lead to ten ways of viewing Jonah.(11)

1. God's Presence Is Found Throughout the World

Jonah opts for a sea voyage to escape, explain the rabbis, because he assumes God is sovereign merely over heaven and earth, not the watery depths. He feels safe from divine retribution on the billowing waves.(12) He would soon learn the error of his ways. To teach those lessons to (and through) Jonah, no less a figure than God is co-opted by the rabbis to help facilitate the prophet's plan of escape. In one midrash collection it explains that the ship on which Jonah seeks to reach Tarshish had left port two days previously. What did the Holy One do? God causes a storm on the Mediterranean; the ship returns to shore. Seeing this come about, who could blame Jonah for assuming that this was a sign of divine approval, or at the very least, that his retreat from responsibility was not seen as a sign of divine disapproval?

Jonah's journey

Judaism, Summer, 1995 by David Zucker

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: Business

Most Popular Articles in Reference

Most Popular Publications in Reference