The oldest palaces are at Nimroud, which was probably the original site. The second time Jonah heard the voice of the Lord telling him to go to Nineveh and preach the words that should be given him to say, and this time he obeyed. That this was really Jonah's view, is proved by Luther from the fact that God reproves his displeasure and anger in these words, "Should I not spare Nineveh?" Jonah. What does Jonah 4:11 mean by people who cannot tell their right hand from their left. Jonah is portrayed as a recalcitrant prophet who flees from Gods summons to prophesy against the wickedness of the city of Nineveh. God then instructed the fish to vomit Jonah onto the land. More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! Each of these sections are further divided into more specific time periods for ease of study. This is the reason why he is said to have prayed."). (Compare 3:4 with 3:10.). Al-ken, therefore, sc. He didn't want to go to Nineveh because he knew the power of God's Word. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. The Lord called Jonah to go to the great Assyrian city of Nineveh to pronounce judgment on it. In the first instance, Jonah did not answer God (or his answer wasn't recorded). ", An Eastern would the more naturally think of the circumference of a city, because of the broad places, similar to the boulevards of Paris, which encircles it, so that people could walk around it, within it . Jonah, not yet abandoning his hope of seeing the city punished, makes for himself a hut outside the walls, and waits there to see the issue. Jonah may be compared to Simon Peter on one occasion: In Joppa, God called Jonah, a Hebrew prophet, to minister to the Gentiles. Jonah preached in the city of Nineveh , the place he tried not According to Jewish tradition, Jonah was the son of the widow of Zarephath whom Elijah raised from the dead (1 Kings 17:8-24). 785 B.C., from the land of Zebulun in northern Israel. The Pontus Pilate inscription, discovered at Caesarea Maritima in 1962, provides historical evidence of a key player in the crucifixion of Jesus. A scroll fragment from the Dead Sea (4Q559) confirms this short chronology. Jonah is read every year by the Jews on the Day of Atonement Yom Kippur. 26 Jun 2023 15:27:52 When and where? 2. 12:38-41; 16:4; Lk. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. This works out as approximately 215 years of wandering in Canaan and 215 years of oppression in Egypt. 2). As given in Exodus chapter 6, Levi, who lived 137 years, had a son called Kohath, who lived 133 years, and a daughter, Jochebed. Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. Jonahs journey is a great reminder that it is important to be true to oneself, and to always be willing to take risks. This alone is the correct view. This puts the date somewhere between 757 and 763 BC , so if you said Jonah went to Nineveh in 760BC you would be fairly close. Herodotus variously reckons a days journey at about eighteen or twenty-three miles (v. 53, iv. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Jonah was swallowed by a whale and became a Jonah fish. In our series on the Old Testament book of Jonah we will go on a journey with the prophet as he responds to God's call to go and speak God's message to . Jonah or Jonas, son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible from Gath-hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BCE.Jonah is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, which details his reluctance in delivering God's judgement on the city of Nineveh.Subsequently he returns to the divine mission after he is swallowed by a large sea creature and then released. Jonah went to Nineveh in the year Jonah went to Nineveh. If Levi, Kohath, and Amram were also 75 when their sons were bornand Moses was 80 at the time of the Exodusthat makes a span of 305 years for the Jewish oppression, minus Levis age when he went down into Egypt, which was 49. Jacob went down into Egypt in the year 2238 AC and, for our purposes, we will place the Exodus 215 years later in the year 2453 AC. 790 BC. How many years was it from Jonah to Jesus? Jonah failed God the first time, but was allowed a second chance and succeeded (compare 1:2, 3 with 3:1-3). Preparation. Jonah prophesied to Nineveh but he wasn't happy about it (Jonah 4:1). The Old Testament book of Jonah is a remarkable story perhaps best known for the stubbornness of a prophet, the great fish that swallows and then regurgitates Jonah, the conversion of the whole city of Nineveh, and the rapid growth and death of a gourd. to go. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Lots are cast, and Jonah confesses that it is his presence on board that is causing the storm. The story of Jonah includes seven episodes, with the first three paralleled by the second three. Are you predicting when Christ will return? The life and death of Jesus, the apostles, the Reformation, and the final events of earths history. The Great Storm ( Acts 27:13-26) 4 Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart. Pesachim, fol. To understand this, consider an event that would transpire some seven centuries later in northern Israel: And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, reached the city this time. whale, and in the end, he did go. We assume then that Jacob was 71 when he fled to Haran. mode of transport at the time. Dr. Edwin R. Thiele, in The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, establishes the year 931 BC as the date when Rehoboam began to reign. correctly observes, that "when he reflected upon the greatness of the threat, he imagined that something might possibly occur after all." But this correction is so closely connected with Jonah's departure from the city and settlement to the east of it, to wait for the final decision as to its fate (Jonah 4:5), that we cannot possibly separate it, so as to take the verbs in Jonah 4:5 as pluperfects, or those in Jonah 4:6-11 as historical imperfects. He was an Israelite with strong prejudices, and on principle didn't believe in foreign missions. The Patriarchs. Jonah. Jonah is portrayed as a recalcitrant prophet who flees from God's summons to prophesy against the wickedness of the city of Nineveh. Jonah is known as the Jonah of the Bible.. Updates? What book comes after Jonah in the Bible. King of Nineveh: unnamed ruler who set the example to his people by confessing his own sin and calling upon God for forgiveness, 1. This is a great tool for Bible students and for Bible studies with friends and family. l. 2. p. 92. This was a time when Assyria was not a threat to Israel. In Joppa, God called Peter, a Hebrew apostle, to minister to the Gentiles. He prays for deliverance and is vomited out on dry land (ch. His narrative is part of a larger book, The Twelve, in the Jewish canon, and stands alone as the Book of Jonah in Christian scripture. There followed seven years of plenty and, in the second year of the famine, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers (Genesis 45:6), which would make him about 39. Hoping for disaster, he sits outside the city to await its destruction. All rights reserved worldwide. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. Jonah had no reason to be afraid of perishing with the city. Holman Old Testament Commentary: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah by Trent Butler. Omissions? In Joppa, Jonah boarded a ship to Tarshish, but the Lord had other plans for him and eventually got him to Nineveh where he belonged. (D) 7This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. It was a great city. St. Jerome ( circa 400 A.D.) also speaks of Gath-hepher as being situated two Roman miles from Sepphoris towards Tiberias. Both Jonah and Nahums ministries involved the same city Nineveh. Why did Jonah not want to go to Nineveh? God calls Jonah to prophesy to Nineveh. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle? (ch. The Timeline is divided into three major sections: The timeline begins with Adam in Eden, then on to Noah and the Flood and the birth of Israel through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Not Babylon alone was spoken of, of old, as "having the circumference of a nation rather than of a city.". What his word or his thought then was, he does not say; but it is evident from what follows: viz., that Jehovah would not destroy Nineveh, if its inhabitants repented. Jacob came down to Egypt when he was 130 years old (Genesis 47:9), which means that Joseph was born when Jacob was 91that is, in 2199 AC. 14. Jonah's statement is confirmed by heathen writers, who describe Nineveh as four hundred eighty stadia in circumference [Diodorus Siculus, 2.3]. Thus the prophet Jonah, like the Jews of the day, abhors even the idea of salvation for the Gentiles. This lineage identifies him with the Jonah mentioned in II Kings 14:25 who prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II, about 785 bce. (Note: Theod. Their son was Moses. Jonah escaped the whale by swimming away. He was one of four Old Testament prophets whose ministries were referred to by Jesus in the New Testament. The fourth chapter of Jonah along with 2 Samuel 11 are probably Scriptures two greatest examples proving the Bible is not a book edited by humans, but rather an unabridged account by God himself. As the expression in Jonah 4:1, which is appended to in Jonah 3:10, shows that Jonah did not become irritated and angry till after God had failed to carry out His threat concerning Nineveh, and that it was then that he poured out his discontent in a reproachful prayer to God (Jonah 4:2), there is nothing whatever to force us to the assumption that Jonah had left Nineveh before the fortieth day. Jonah preached repentance (God knew the city would turn to Him). If Joseph was born about 2199 AC, his older brother Levi must have been born about 2189 AC. Jonah, which predicts (in type form) the death and resurrection of Christ (compare Jonah 2 with Mt. 6. This was the cause, therefore, of his still remaining, viz., because he thought, that although the punishment from God had been suspended, yet his preaching had surely not been in vain, but the destruction of the city would take place. 12:38-41). Can I view the timeline on an iPad or other tablet? It's not written how Jonah got to As a stranger, he did not know the depth of Nineveh's repentance; besides, from the Old Testament standpoint he knew that chastening judgments often followed, as in David's case (2Sa 12:10-12, 14), even where sin had been repented of. 101), and the circuit of the irregular quadrangle composed of the mounds of Koujunjik, Nimrud, Karamless, and Khorsabad, now generally allowed to represent ancient Nineveh, is about sixty miles. Genesis 11:10 tells us that Shem was 100 years old two years after the Flood, which means he must have been born when Noah was 502. There is evidence that this is how the Jews understood this passage. SDA Bible Commentary Reference Series. He wants ours . And they threw the ship's cargo into the sea to lighten the load. The walls were a hundred feet high. Unlike other Old Testament prophetic books, Jonah is not a collection of the prophets oracles but primarily a narrative about the man. Jonah then becomes angry. Assuming hes correct, 1 Kings 11:42 tells us that Solomon reigned for 40 years, so his reign began in the year 971 BC, which means that his fourth year must have been the year 967 BC. The history of the Jewish nation, from Moses and the Exodus to King David and the prophets Daniel and Isaiah. Jonah was from Gath-heper of Zebulun (Josh. (Note: Calvin observes upon this: "He prayed in a tumult, as if reproving God. But the real fish story takes place in chapter 3. Jonah and the whale are about a man who is saved by a whale and learns a lot about life. see what would become of the cityThe term of forty days had not yet elapsed, and Jonah did not know that anything more than a suspension, or mitigation, of judgment had been granted to Nineveh. Herein we find another touchstone for our lives: aligning our desires with God's is always a process. How is it possible for mantle rock to flow? From Moses and the Ten Commandments to Joshua's entrance and Jewish expansion into the Promised Land. Like the Book of Ruth, which was written at about the same period, it opposes the narrow Jewish nationalism characteristic of the period following the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah with their emphasis on Jewish exclusivity. 4Jonah began by going a days journey into the city, proclaiming,(B) Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown. 5The Ninevites believed God. God chastises him for his attitude, and the book affirms that Gods mercy extends even to the inhabitants of a hated foreign city. The following is a list of sources used, among others, to create the timeline: No. As a stranger, he did not know the depth of Nineveh's repentance; besides, from the Old Testament standpoint he knew that chastening judgments often followed, as in David's case (2Sa 12:10-12, 14), even where sin had been repented of. God had plans to punish Nineveh decades earlier (Jon 3:4), but He had spared them when they repented before Him (Jon 3:10). What is the significance of Joppa in the Bible? In this passage Jesus taught that the fish God is looking to catch are sinful men, and the real fishermen are soul winners. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. We conclude that Japheth was the son born when Noah was 500 years old, Shem two years later, and Ham an unspecified period after that.