Thematic Essay On The Book Of Jonah

The Book of Jonah is a special and interesting book in the Hebrew Bible. Unlike other eleven prophets’ books which focus on the prophecies from the Lord, the Book of Jonah is a book which focuses on the prophet himself. Jonah alone is the main human character in this book. The fours chapters are like four acts; together they tell a story about Jonah’s special travelling experience and portray the image of this running-away prophet. However, the Book of Jonah does not tell the readers about Jonah’s life before he receives the words from God about the great city of Nineveh; neither does it tell us what happens after God’s answer to Jonah’s question. Surely it does not necessary mean that what happened before the words come to Jonah and what happens
Since the Book of Jonah does not have details about the story background, nor does it have a complete ending, it is like an independent story that even without it would not affect much about the Israel’s history. Instead of a true story of Prophet Jonah, some scholars would regard it as a tale or a work of imagination to teach the Israel about God. The name “Jonah” means “dove” in Hebrew, and it is commonly accepted as the representation the “Jewish people as a whole”. It is possible that the Book of Jonah is a “symbolic writing” which only focuses on delivering the meaning of the story itself. Since the Book of Jonah is one of the twelve prophetic books, by using Jonah as a symbol of the Israel, I think the entire story of Jonah is the real prophecy in disguised in the Book of Jonah. The prophecy about the great city of Nineveh works as an instrument to show how Jonah responses to God’s commands and God’s mercy to gentiles. My thesis is that the Book of Jonah is a reminder of God’s love, patience and salvation towards the Israel and the gentiles through God’s consistent patience and mercy towards Jonah and the Nineveh city in the story of