Prophetic narrative · 4 chapters
Jonah
A reluctant prophet resists mercy for Israel’s enemies. The unanswered final question turns God’s compassion into a challenge for the reader.
Historical & literary context
Author unnamed. The story concerns Jonah son of Amittai and Nineveh, the major Assyrian city; the book’s composition date is debated.
Introduction and study notes are commentary, not Scripture.
The shape of the book
- 1 · Flight and storm
- 2 · Prayer from the fish
- 3–4 · Nineveh’s repentance and Jonah’s anger
A passage to begin with
Jonah 4:10-11
10But the LORD said, “You cared about the plant, which you neither tended nor made grow. It sprang up in a night and perished in a night. 11So should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well?”
Berean Standard Bible · Public domain
Read the full chapterThink it through
Whose repentance or restoration would you find difficult to welcome?