Save or Sack the City: The Fate of Jonah's Nineveh from a Spatial Perspective

This article revisits the fate of Nineveh in Jonah 3, drawing on a cognitive-stylistic analysis of the spatial conceptualization of the city. Building upon previous research that acknowledges a destructive aspect of the book of Jonah, the analysis of space builders (such as directional and locationa...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Vermeulen, Karolien ca. Ende 20. Jh./Anfang 21. Jh. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Sage [2017]
In: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Year: 2017, Volume: 42, Issue: 2, Pages: 233-246
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Bible. Jona 3 / Ninive
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
Further subjects:B Figure-Ground
B God's space
B Destruction
B Jonah
B Nineveh
B cityscape
B orientational metaphor
B Repentance
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:This article revisits the fate of Nineveh in Jonah 3, drawing on a cognitive-stylistic analysis of the spatial conceptualization of the city. Building upon previous research that acknowledges a destructive aspect of the book of Jonah, the analysis of space builders (such as directional and locational prepositions, motion verbs, but also keywords and stylistic devices) shows that the city is neither saved nor destroyed by God, but brought down by itself (or rather its people). The foregrounded Nineveh of the first lines of Jonah 3 turns into a Nineveh that functions as Ground. This stylistic overturning, in line with the prophecy in Jonah 3.4, fits the enemy city into a spatial framework controlled by God.
ISSN:1476-6728
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0309089216670551a