Meaning More than They Say: The Conflict between Yhwh and Jonah

Interpretations of the book of Jonah regularly focus on the prophet's explanation of his flight in 4.2 and Yhwh's explanation of the qiqayon in 4.10–11 to illuminate the main characters' conflict. However, neither speech is particularly explanatory. Additionally, closer examination of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Barrett, Rob 1966- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage 2012
In: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Year: 2012, Volume: 37, Issue: 2, Pages: 237-257
Further subjects:B qal wahomer
B direct speech
B qiqayon
B Jonah
B Nineveh
B Irony
B argumentum a fortiori
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Parallel Edition:Electronic
Description
Summary:Interpretations of the book of Jonah regularly focus on the prophet's explanation of his flight in 4.2 and Yhwh's explanation of the qiqayon in 4.10–11 to illuminate the main characters' conflict. However, neither speech is particularly explanatory. Additionally, closer examination of Jonah's words is suggested by his ironic and self-implicating speech elsewhere in the book. Yhwh's logic relating the qiqayon to Nineveh is also far from transparent. The reader is left to work out the nature of their conflict. In this article it is argued that the book focuses less on Yhwh's relationship with Nineveh than on pressing Jonah to recognize Yhwh's compassion for him, and that he is the only one in the entire world of the book that is unresponsive to Yhwh.
ISSN:1476-6728
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0309089212466464