The title of the book is the name of the main character, jonah. Commentary on jonah spurgeon commentary series spurgeons commentary on the bible. Outline of the book with questions for each section. The book of jonah is particularly interesting because, within the confines of a very short narrative, it describes a grandiose journey from one edge of the world to the other. 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. I am drawn to the book of jonah not only because i. Gilgulim, a jewish theology of reincarnation to make their arguments. 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. Please read our guideline on how to lead a bible study before starting. God loves jonah and shows himself to be the god of longsuffering and grace all throughout this book. Over the course of the story the prophet winds from one extreme to another, over sea and into desert. Unlike other old testament prophetic books, jonah is not a collection of the prophets oracles but primarily a narrative about the man. The book of jonah the new english translation net jonah tries to run from the lord 1.
In the book, jonah is repeatedly denoted as a third person, causing few to. Observations on the jonah iconography on the ossuary of. He was gods instrument to carry out gods will on earth. Jonah was already a successful prophet when the events of this book. Notice that gods pride is not wounded by jonah s bitter heart, shunning silence, andor irrational anger. The books of joel, obadiah, jonah, and micah the new international commentary on the old testament leslie c. The book of jonah is different from other prophetic books, as many have noted. A study guide by kay arthur and the staff of precept. New international version about the new international version the new international version was undertaken by an independent committee in after a general consensus that there was a need for a new, contemporary english translation of the bible. The only time the name of amos appears in the old testment is in the book of amos. How does the book of jonah fit into the larger story of the bible.
Commentary on the book of jonah relevant bible teaching. The book of jonah intended to be a hint to his own nation that he was also interested in other nations. In the old testament, the book of jonah is classified as prophesy. An overview of the books of exodus and leviticus, with a series of 20 questions for each of the 26 lessons in this free bible class book pdf file size. Record your observations in the margin as you read the passage. You will also remember how god provided jonah with a living submarine to get him back where he belonged. The book of jonah has been dated by normal chronologies to around 760 bc.
Allen as an amazon associate, if you use the link above, we receive a small percentage from qualifying purchases. Have you ever found yourself wanting to turn and run away rather than obey god. Then begin your observation by reading through each chapter again, this time slowly, looking for who wrote revelation and to. I was trying to put my teaching notes on the web for my students, and finally someone let me know a faster way to do it. The amazing power of god was illustrated by these miracles. Spurgeons bible commentaries commentary on the song of solomon spurgeon commentary series holman old testament commentary hosea, joel, amos, obadiah, jonah, micah spurgeons sermon notes. Jonah fourpage manuscript for the book of jonah ms word. Chapter 4 the book of jonah lake erie bible church pt ken reed 3 11. Commentary on the book of jonah jonah 1 1the word of the lord came to jonah the son of amittai saying, 2arise, go to nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me. Bible study practice the book of observation read the entire. However, to my knowledge this is the first attempt to present an overall literary analysis of the book as a whole. An outline is easy to make, when we follow the four chapters in which the book is divided. There are observation worksheets on jonah in the appendix so you can.
Jonah is traditionally credited as the author of the book named after him. Second, jonah is the most unprophetlike prophet in the prophetic writings. 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. By dissertation submitted to the faculty of the in partial. Questions for discussion jonah the living word library. If jonah wasnt included in the bible, we would have a much narrower view of gods intent for gentiles.
Jonah is the 29 th book of the bible, but chronologically, it comes before many of the earlier books in the christian canon. Principle approach studies in the book of jonah the. Jonah has only four chapters, which makes it easy to outline the book chapterbychapter. We no longer have to take mens word for what is or is not inspired, because we, having recovered the keys of knowledge v. The book concerns a mission which the prophet jonah was given to go to the ancient assyrians. The book of jonah is narrative history and a prophetic oracle. Key personalities include jonah, the captain and the ships crew and the people of nineveh. The book is anonymous, and there are no indicators elsewhere in scripture to identify the author. We read what the text says, perceiving how each word fits in sentences, how. Jonah fourpage manuscript for the book of jonah pdf. Occasionally supplementing questions with a few brief informational notes a.
He is disobedient and wholly uninterested in serving as a prophet. The book of jonah demonstrates the sovereignty of the almighty as he employs his creation to accomplish the divine plan. Observation worksheets to mark key words and phrases as we study together. In his thinking, how could god spare this spiritual and national enemy as he had. Chapter 4 the book of jonah lake erie bible church. Read through this weeks verses using both your observation. It is the 5th book of the minor prophets and the 10 th book of all 17 prophetic books. May we learn jonahs lesson as we study this short, little book. He chose to flee away from god rather than obey him.
After the debate is over, each student should share one sentence about what they think after hearing everyones arguments throughout the lesson. Jonah understands the lords character, his merciful history. The central purpose of the book of jonah is to reveal the attributes of god. First, unlike other prophetic books, jonah is primarily a narrative. Pdf although nearly everyone knows the story of the prophet jonah and the fish, most people would. Sasson notes that this type of paronomasia oracle ambiguity. This is a confession, a praise, a creed, and a summary of the psalm. Notice how jonah s irrational anger blinds him to what god is doing. The global message of jonah for today the message of jonah is an urgent call for the global church to extend to others the compassion they themselves have received. The book of jonah is interesting and unusual in several ways.
Without the parenthetical glosses we find in some other biblical. Life group leader resources on possible observations. 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. When god calls abraham to offer his son isaac as a sacrifice, abraham gets up early in the morning and goes, but when god calls jonah, jonah runs away. The book exemplifies the miraculous power and supremacy of god over his entire creation. We continued our journey through the book of jonah this sunday, and saw god. Dive into an intriguing tale of mercy in the book of jonah. Pdf commentary on the book of jonah samuel amirtharaj. The foundational source for the book was likely jonah s own telling of the story after his return from nineveh.
Observations on the jonah iconography on the ossuary of talpiot b tomb considering the recurrence of the fish iconography in jewish tombs and burial artifacts, it can be stated that it had a symbolic meaning for the jews of the period, and was adopted by the christians. It concerns a disobedient prophet who rejected his divine commission, was cast overboard in a storm and swallowed by a great fish, rescued in a marvelous manner, and returned to his starting point. The book of jonah is a book of the neviim prophets in the hebrew bible. Book of jonah, the fifth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, embraced in a single book, the twelve, in the jewish canon. I can put the outlines in pdf format and make them instantly available. The first thing to do is read through the first three chapters of the book of revelation at one sitting to get a general sense of this book. Jonah studies questions for four sessions anglican communion. 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. Jonah can be easily divided into four studies, one per chapter and offers a fun and challenging study of the book about this reluctant prophet. He knows the lord has been faithful to the israelites and to him as an individual. The others are about what god taught the people through the prophet and jonah is more about what the prophet himself is being taught.
Pdf the literary genre of the book of jonah researchgate. Jonah was embittered that things did not go his narrow provincial way. Assyria was northeast of palestine, located in the northern area of mesopotamia between the rivers euphrates and tigris, and in the area of what today is northern iraq. 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. The following structure is based on a careful analysis of the content of jonah in the hebrew text.
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