From the postbiblical period to this day, jews and christians, professors and non professors of. This problem does not directly concern certain constituent passages though there are also several di. Fundamentally has the opportunity to expand his selfidentity to include that of the unrighteous, unworthy of gods 6 ibid. The fluidity of christian theological understanding of the. However, to my knowledge this is the first attempt to present an overall literary analysis of the book as a whole. This work is an investigation of the literary style of the biblical book of jonah. Literary features the book of jonah is a literary masterpiece. One of the more popular narratives of the bible, jonah is included with the prophetic books of the old testament. While the story line is so simple that children follow it readily, the story is marked by as high a degree of literary sophistication as any book in the hebrew bible. The prophet jonah is best known for the storm at sea and his stay in the big fish which after three days. When a literary exegetical analysis was conducted of the book of jonah, it was indicated that the author of the book employed various literary and stylistic techniques that contributes to the unified structure of the book of jonah. Jonah slept in a place where he hoped no one would see him or disturb him. The foundational source for the book was likely jonah s own telling of the story after his return from nineveh. The book is not historical, but rather a folk tale with manifold entertaining elements, such as defecating birds, meddling fish, menacing demons, and disguised angels.
The book of jonah is filled with valuable information and timeless lessons. The book of jonah translated word for word and explained. The issue is complicated somewhat by the use of the. In order to write an analysis of the story, it is important to read the story two to three times. The analysis of the various imaginative genre classifications of the book of jonah shows that scholars have viewed the book as an allegory. The journal of hebrew scriptures jhs is glad to provide its readers a revised version of the papers that were presented at that meeting. We read nowhere in the book that jonah confessed his sin and received a new heart. Conversation analysis, literary criticism, and the book of jonah. Samuel saldivar the primary goal of this study is to discuss jonah s message in the light of the rest of scripture. The book of jonah in the context of postexilic theology of.
The literary buildup of the book of jonah as a diptych. A literaryexegetical and socialscientific analysis of. Specifically, i will explore how the book of jonah may be read as a type of folktale. Perhaps we could reflect upon a few of these matters. Pdf the literary genre of the book of jonah researchgate. While he has some good insights, too often his implied reader strangely sounds a lot like his satiring author. It differs from them in that while they for the most part contain prophetic discourses, with a minimum of narrative material, the book of jonah is mainly occupied with a narrative, and the prophetic message in it is almost incidental. In both approaches a rationalistic blindness is revealed to the meaning of the haggadah in the message of the bible. The book of jonah and biblical tragedy gordon college faculty. Beneath the surface, however, the book interacts with deep theological questions at the core of the human condition, questions that also find expressionwith various answers. The book of jonah the new english translation net jonah tries to run from the lord 1.
I used to think that god never gave reasons for what he does but now i am convinced that god always makes commentary to jonah rev. A literaryexegetical and socialscientific analysis of the. A literary, theological, and canonical analysis of the book of jonah. The literary structure and brevity of the book point to a unified work. Essays and criticism on book of jonah further reading. Next, the theological messages of the book will be developed under the guidance of the discoveries provided by the literary study. Conversation is a critical component of biblical prose, but also poses significant. By dissertation submitted to the faculty of the in partial. What is the books literary genrestyle parody, satire, humor, etc. Jonah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Historically, how was jonah classified in terms of. The analysis of the various imaginative genre classifications of the book of jonah shows that scholars have viewed the book as an allegory, parable, mashal, prophetic legend, midrash, novella, or.
The book of jonah focuses on israels prophetic role to the nations. Jonah research brief leaders list pastor mark driscoll. In a pair of articles on literary structure and the book of jonah, ernst wendland argues for what makes a chiasm valid, with a test case in the book of jonah. Here are some tips that will help you write a story analysis. My reading of jonah presupposes an artistic author, or editor, as composer of the book of jonah in its final form. First, we should note that this marvelous narrative has suffered the brunt of the critics barbs for a long while.
A literary look at nahum, habakkuk, and zephaniah richard patterson although the stool of proper biblical exegesis must rest evenly upon the four legs of grammar, history, theology, and literary analysis, too often the literary leg receives such short fashioning that the resulting hermeneutical product is left unbalanced. An expert in rhetorical criticism, trible not only identifies the literary devices present in the book of jonah. Literary analysis of the book of jonah indicates a number of features found in the. Seven episodes in jonah 7 jonah s lesson about compassion 4. Although often classified with the prophets, the book of jonah is not a prophetic book.
Peter van t riet a dove to the land of war the book of jonah translated. The book of jonah, the great refusal, and the great fish and what it meansthe psalm. When a literary exegetical analysis was conducted of the book of jonah, it was indicated that the author of the book employed various literary and stylistic techniques that. The book of jonah demonstrates the scope of gods mercy as he receives other nations and the mediatorial role israel was to fulfill. Our paper writers are able to help you with all kinds of essays, including application essays, persuasive essays, and so on. The word of the lord came to jonah and jonah refused. The prophetic significance of this book not only lies in the short message in nineveh but also in the entire history of jonah described in his book. Sleeping christians stay away from the work of the lord jonah slept while there was a prayer meeting up on the deck. The book of jonah the book of jonah is one of the old testament books of the minor profits. The last chapter of the book of jonah, like the last chapters of most books, not only. The correct way to begin story analysis is by mentioning the story synopsis in your own. Starting with a detailed analysis of word usage repetition of words and phrases, the structure of individual chapters and of the book as a whole, the use of quotations from elsewhere in the bible, it examines the relationship between these elements and the ideas the story itself conveys. Analysis of the book of jonah essay 2162 words bartleby. Doc literary analysis of the book of jonah alex sasha.
Jonah is the central character in the book of jonah, in which god commands him to go to the city of nineveh to prophesy against it for their great wickedness is come up before me, but jonah instead attempts to flee from the presence of the lord by going to jaffa and sailing to tarshish. Set in the reign of jeroboam ii 786746 bc, it was probably written in the postexilic period, some time between the late 5th to early 4th century bc. Allusions in rabbinic literature to the biblical character jonah, the unwilling prophet on whom the book of jonah centers, contain various expansions, elaborations and inferences beyond what is presented in the text of the bible itself. The book has been read as an allegory, using fictional figures to symbolize some other reality. Conversation analysis, literary criticism and the book of jonah 9780567425935 by raymond f. It tells of a hebrew prophet named jonah son of amittai who is sent by god to prophesy the destruction of nineveh but tries to escape the divine mission. Notice that these two questions are completely independent and the answer of one need not affect the answer of the other. Literary structure chiasm, chiasmus of book of jonah. First, jonah s literary features will be discussed in order to. The other bleat, to which i wish to draw attention, concerned the principle that the miraculous does not. Nevertheless, focus on the whale highlights the genre.
In these few remarks, i examine persons application of linguistic methodology to conversation in jonah. A literary, theological, and canonical analysis of the. An overview of the discourse structure of jonah the structural outline presented below is only partialin two respects. The following structure is based on a careful analysis of the content of jonah in the hebrew text. The author analyses the various conversations that occur between the characters in the jonah narrative and the conversation that occurs between the text and its readers. No wonder that it attracted the attention of many scholars and commentators throughout the ages.
Jonah as a generic crux interpretum the little book of jonah confronts bible commentators and critics alike with a rather large hermeneutical crux. The goal is to determine historical study, discover literary analysis, and describe theological formulation what the text meant to its original audience and to explicate what it means today. Typically, what is at the center of the majority of these arguments is jonah s psalm found in chapter 2. This did not mean, however, that jonah remained the same. Seven episodes in jonah 7 jonahs lesson about compassion 4. An exposition of its ancient social values by jomari schader a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree. Jonah, ruth, and esther cliffsnotes study guides book. The study ends with an analysis of the history of the interpretation of the book of jonah, demonstrating how the structures of adjacency pairs in the narrative have been successfully and unsuccessfully interpreted. This study aims for the former but uses the apparatus of modern literary criticism and applies anthropological constructs which may be helpful in this regard. The book of jonah preface those of you who are familiar with the story of jonah and the whale know that jonah hopped a ship heading in the opposite direction when god commanded him to. Sep 01, 1991 a technical academic volume that attempts to bring together conversation theory with a study of the book of jonah.
Jonah and the whale almost serves as a cipher or cliffsnotes kind of summary for the book, despite the facts that 1 the book never calls the animal in question a whale but simply a fish or big fish, and 2 the fish episode is hardly what the book of jonah is primarily about. The title of the studysalvation belongs to the lordcomes directly from jonah 2. The book of jonah comes from the old testament and is grouped with the minor prophets. Analysis of the book of jonah essay 2162 words 9 pages. Relating jonah to ancient hebrew tragedy suggests a broader, more sophisticated expression. Nonetheless, the book has a profound message the author intends to convey to its readers which this study will uncover. This paper attempts to achieve its objective by proposing a literary analysis of jonah 1. The book of jonah is a book of the neviim prophets in the hebrew bible. Moreover, with regard to the question of the literary unity of the book of jonah, its important to consider in which way the various chapters tie in with their use of the same hebrew stems. The book is anonymous, and there are no indicators elsewhere in scripture to identify the author. The literary and historical aspects of the book of jonah tell an intriguing. Pdf the literary character of the book of jonah peter. The literary devices used and the artistic structure.
Person the author analyses the various conversations that occur between the characters in the jonah narrative and the conversation that occurs between the text and its readers. Thus, the objective of this exposition paper is to understand jonah 1 in the light of the overarching theological message of the book. First, jonah \u27s literary features will be discussed in order to discern the major emphases within the book. A story analysis, as the name suggests, is a thorough analysis of the story. Among the books of minor profits, the book of jonah is very unique because jonah was the only prophet who is recorded as having run away from god. In the following excerpt, smith discusses the date of composition of jonah, the nature of its narrative. It has been proposed by some that the book of jonah was written for the yehudite elite, as a meant, by the author, for his audience to reflect critically on themselves. The book of jonah preface those of you who are familiar with the story of jonah and the whale know that jonah hopped a ship heading in the opposite direction when god commanded him to go preach to the ninevites. The author employs structure, humor, hyperbole, irony, double entendre, and literary figures like merism to.
Conversation analysis, literary criticism, and the book of jonah raymond f. Sleeping christians like to hide out among the church jonah slept in a place where he could not help with the work that needed to be done. The first is the historical setting of the writing of this book. Many critics however want to lower the book of jonah to an allegory, a parable or a legend because of the miracles described in it especially the appearing of the great fish devouring jonah. Its timeless art comes across the generations and millennia and touches. The book of jonah is also the only one that isnt a compilation of prophecies condemning the wicked and rewarding the righteous. The book of jonah is an example that will be used to determine if this particular story describes an accurate recount of history, or if it teaches the readers a lesson. Essays are the most common book of jonah literary analysis type of academic paper and sometimes, you are assigned just too many of them. The literary and historical aspects of the book of jonah tell an intriguing narrative. He then refines readerresponse theory especially that of wolfgang iser and provides a readerresponse commentary on the book. Fifth in the canonical order of the minor prophets.
The purpose of the book of jonah is to show gods people that his plan is exceedingly compassionate god is gracious and exceedingly certain god is sovereign. The meaning of the number of days mentioned in the book of jonah. The literary art of jonah by moshe pelli the book of jonah is one of the most fascinating books in the hebrew bible. An analysis of phyllis trible and jonah 3 by jacob rennaker phyllis tribles analysis of the book of jonah reveals a literarily complex work that carries a great deal of rhetorical force. In this absorbing volume, professor raymond person explores the role of conversation in narrative and critical analysis, specifically in the book of jonah. Top literary structures of the bible book of jonah pericope literary structure chiasm, chiasmus of book of jonah chiastic structure and concentric structure and parallel of each pericope 1 jonah tries to run away from god a1. Labat also included columns indicating the development of this symbol in his manual on. Literary analysis of jonah chiasmus in jonah has been noted by numerous biblical scholars. As our church begins to study jonah, i share the outlines from his second article. The title of the book is the name of the main character, jonah. The story, about a prophet named jonah, was written to criticize and rebuke the narrow spirit of nationalism that jonah observed among so many of the jewish people. Unfortunately, many christians thoughtlessly cast aspersions upon this important book in the canon of scripture without realizing that they are playing into the hands of the critics and innocently becoming the dupes of the skeptics.
Literary patterns, theological themes, and the genre of lukeacts. On the contrary, through a literary analysis, the lasting mes sage to humanity is heard loud and clear. Woodard literary analysis of the book of jonah indicates a number of features found in the ot tragedies about samson and saul, as well as the tragic narrative of adam and eve. Lewiss opinion, the literary genre of biblical books, in particular, the gospels. Concern for the salvation of all people, including ones enemies, is the proper attitude for people of god. Doc literary analysis of the book of jonah alex sasha m. Selected bibliography of the book of jonah related media.
Studying the book of jonah the study of jonah should be understood as a historical, literary, and theological discipline. Getting into jonah by seeing the books literary structures. Conversation analysis, literary criticism and the book of jonah the library of hebrew bibleold testament studies person jr. He affirms the necessity of examining conversation as one of the primary elements of all narratives, believing that understanding how conversation operates will lend greater understanding of the text. The artistic devices used and the structure of the story attest to. Typically, what is at the center of the majority of these arguments is jonahs psalm found in chapter 2. According to this interpretation, jonah is a symbol of israel in its.
Pdf the literary character of the book of jonah peter van. Although the author of jonah is never identified in the book itself, jonah himself has traditionally been identified as the author. This article contains chapter 2 of the book a dove to the land of war. A literaryexegetical and socialscientific analysis of the book of jonah. Literary genre type unlike the other minor prophets.