Jensens survey of the old testament adam 234

1. Name and family. The name Jonah
(Heb., Yonah) means “dove.” According to 2
Kings 14:25, he was the son of Amittai,1 and
his hometown was Gath-hepher. This tillage
was located about three miles northeast of
Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown.2 Recall that the
great prophet Jeremiah was also from a
small, little-known town, Anathoth (Jer 1:1).
2. Ministry as a prophet. Jonah probably
had the same general quali cations for the
o ce of prophet as the other prophets had.
Most of his character traits, revealed in the
narrative of his book, are not commendable
(e.g., disobedience and pouting). The story
of Jonah’s service to God underscores God’s
patience and willingness to work through
men despite their frailties.
The main purpose of the book of Jonah is
to show God’s gracious dealings with the
heathen Gentile city of Nineveh. God chose


Jonah to be His channel of communication
to them.

3. Jonah’s contemporaries. Chart 98 shows
Jonah and some of his contemporaries. Note
the following on the chart:
a) Elisha was Jonah’s predecessor. In fact,
Jonah may have been one of Elisha’s
disciples, learning much from this “man of

God.” Read 2 Kings 13:14-20 for the


account of Elisha’s death. Amos and Hosea
were Jonah’s successors.
b) Even though the book of Jonah is about
the prophet’s ministry to the foreign city of
Nineveh, Jonah was primarily a prophet of
Israel to Israel. However, God did not
choose to record in Scripture any details of
his homeland ministry beyond what we
learn from a passage in 2 Kings (see below).
c) Jeroboam II, the most powerful king of
Israel, reigned during all of Jonah’s public
ministry. Read 2 Kings 14:23-29 for a
summary of Jeroboam’s evil reign. Note the
reference to Jonah’s prophecy that
Jeroboam would regain Israel’s northern
boundaries from Syria. “God gave Israel a
last chance of repentance [14:26-27], seeing
whether prosperity would accomplish what
a iction had not.”3 When we study Amos
and Hosea we will see that Israel chose not


to return to God.
d) In a way, Jonah was an intermediary
between the Jewish world and the Gentile
world. Assyria was Israel’s main military
threat during Jonah’s ministry, although the

worst threat was yet to come ( fty years
later). Spiritually, Assyria was as idolatrous
as Israel. In light of this information, why
would Jonah not want to preach the
message of repentance to the Assyrian
Ninevites?
e) Only God knows what the relationship
between Assyria and Israel would have been
after Jonah’s preaching to Nineveh (chap. 3)
if Israel herself were right with God.
f) Note that Israel fell to Assyria only
about fty years after the close of Jonah’s
ministry. Do you think Jonah might have
had foreknowledge of this imminent
captivity?