What Is the Book of Jonah?

The book of Jonah is found among the Twelve Prophets, but unlike the other classical prophetic books, which are largely prophetic speeches, it contains only a few words spoken by the prophet. It is, rather, a story about a prophet named Jonah, son of Amittai (also mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25), who reluctantly accepts a mission to go to Nineveh to warn about the city’s impending destruction. The Ninevites (unlike the Israelites and the Judahites elsewhere in the Bible) heed the warning and repent, and are thereby spared destruction, much to the consternation of the prophet.

The fictional nature of the book is evident. Jonah is not set in any historical context; he is not connected with any king of Israel or Judah. Prophets do not regularly go on foreign missions. The foreigners are Ninevites and are never called Assyrians; they do not resemble the historical Assyrians. Most incredible is that Jonah spends three days inside a large fish. The message of the book has been debated, and perhaps all the possibilities are right. The book instructs us about the role of the prophet (not to predict the future, but to bring about repentance), the power of repentance, and God’s concern for foreign nations, not only for Israel.