(יא) וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ה' לַדָּ֑ג וַיָּקֵ֥א אֶת־יוֹנָ֖ה אֶל־הַיַּבָּשָֽׁה׃ {ס} (א) וַיְהִ֧י דְבַר־ה' אֶל־יוֹנָ֖ה שֵׁנִ֥ית לֵאמֹֽר׃ (ב) ק֛וּם לֵ֥ךְ אֶל־נִֽינְוֵ֖ה הָעִ֣יר הַגְּדוֹלָ֑ה וּקְרָ֤א אֵלֶ֙יהָ֙ אֶת־הַקְּרִיאָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י דֹּבֵ֥ר אֵלֶֽיךָ׃ (ג) וַיָּ֣קׇם יוֹנָ֗ה וַיֵּ֛לֶךְ אֶל־נִֽינְוֵ֖ה כִּדְבַ֣ר ה' וְנִֽינְוֵ֗ה הָיְתָ֤ה עִיר־גְּדוֹלָה֙ לֵֽאלֹקִ֔ים מַהֲלַ֖ךְ שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת יָמִֽים׃ (ד) וַיָּ֤חֶל יוֹנָה֙ לָב֣וֹא בָעִ֔יר מַהֲלַ֖ךְ י֣וֹם אֶחָ֑ד וַיִּקְרָא֙ וַיֹּאמַ֔ר ע֚וֹד אַרְבָּעִ֣ים י֔וֹם וְנִֽינְוֵ֖ה נֶהְפָּֽכֶת׃ (ה) וַֽיַּאֲמִ֛ינוּ אַנְשֵׁ֥י נִֽינְוֵ֖ה בֵּֽאלֹקִ֑ים וַיִּקְרְאוּ־צוֹם֙ וַיִּלְבְּשׁ֣וּ שַׂקִּ֔ים מִגְּדוֹלָ֖ם וְעַד־קְטַנָּֽם׃ (ו) וַיִּגַּ֤ע הַדָּבָר֙ אֶל־מֶ֣לֶךְ נִֽינְוֵ֔ה וַיָּ֙קׇם֙ מִכִּסְא֔וֹ וַיַּעֲבֵ֥ר אַדַּרְתּ֖וֹ מֵֽעָלָ֑יו וַיְכַ֣ס שַׂ֔ק וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב עַל־הָאֵֽפֶר׃ (ז) וַיַּזְעֵ֗ק וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ בְּנִֽינְוֵ֔ה מִטַּ֧עַם הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ וּגְדֹלָ֖יו לֵאמֹ֑ר הָאָדָ֨ם וְהַבְּהֵמָ֜ה הַבָּקָ֣ר וְהַצֹּ֗אן אַֽל־יִטְעֲמוּ֙ מְא֔וּמָה אַ֨ל־יִרְע֔וּ וּמַ֖יִם אַל־יִשְׁתּֽוּ׃ (ח) וְיִתְכַּסּ֣וּ שַׂקִּ֗ים הָֽאָדָם֙ וְהַבְּהֵמָ֔ה וְיִקְרְא֥וּ אֶל־אֱלֹקִ֖ים בְּחׇזְקָ֑ה וְיָשֻׁ֗בוּ אִ֚ישׁ מִדַּרְכּ֣וֹ הָֽרָעָ֔ה וּמִן־הֶחָמָ֖ס אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּכַפֵּיהֶֽם׃ (ט) מִֽי־יוֹדֵ֣עַ יָשׁ֔וּב וְנִחַ֖ם הָאֱלֹקִ֑ים וְשָׁ֛ב מֵחֲר֥וֹן אַפּ֖וֹ וְלֹ֥א נֹאבֵֽד׃ (י) וַיַּ֤רְא הָֽאֱלֹקִים֙ אֶֽת־מַ֣עֲשֵׂיהֶ֔ם כִּי־שָׁ֖בוּ מִדַּרְכָּ֣ם הָרָעָ֑ה וַיִּנָּ֣חֶם הָאֱלֹקִ֗ים עַל־הָרָעָ֛ה אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר לַעֲשׂוֹת־לָהֶ֖ם וְלֹ֥א עָשָֽׂה׃ (א) וַיֵּ֥רַע אֶל־יוֹנָ֖ה רָעָ֣ה גְדוֹלָ֑ה וַיִּ֖חַר לֽוֹ׃ (ב) וַיִּתְפַּלֵּ֨ל אֶל־ה' וַיֹּאמַ֗ר אָנָּ֤ה ה' הֲלוֹא־זֶ֣ה דְבָרִ֗י עַד־הֱיוֹתִי֙ עַל־אַדְמָתִ֔י עַל־כֵּ֥ן קִדַּ֖מְתִּי לִבְרֹ֣חַ תַּרְשִׁ֑ישָׁה כִּ֣י יָדַ֗עְתִּי כִּ֤י אַתָּה֙ אֵֽל־חַנּ֣וּן וְרַח֔וּם אֶ֤רֶךְ אַפַּ֙יִם֙ וְרַב־חֶ֔סֶד וְנִחָ֖ם עַל־הָרָעָֽה׃ (ג) וְעַתָּ֣ה ה' קַח־נָ֥א אֶת־נַפְשִׁ֖י מִמֶּ֑נִּי כִּ֛י ט֥וֹב מוֹתִ֖י מֵחַיָּֽי׃ {פ}
(ד) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ה' הַהֵיטֵ֖ב חָ֥רָה לָֽךְ׃ (ה) וַיֵּצֵ֤א יוֹנָה֙ מִן־הָעִ֔יר וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב מִקֶּ֣דֶם לָעִ֑יר וַיַּ֩עַשׂ֩ ל֨וֹ שָׁ֜ם סֻכָּ֗ה וַיֵּ֤שֶׁב תַּחְתֶּ֙יהָ֙ בַּצֵּ֔ל עַ֚ד אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִרְאֶ֔ה מַה־יִּהְיֶ֖ה בָּעִֽיר׃ (ו) וַיְמַ֣ן יְהֹוָֽה־אֱ֠לֹקִ֠ים קִיקָי֞וֹן וַיַּ֣עַל ׀ מֵעַ֣ל לְיוֹנָ֗ה לִֽהְי֥וֹת צֵל֙ עַל־רֹאשׁ֔וֹ לְהַצִּ֥יל ל֖וֹ מֵרָֽעָת֑וֹ וַיִּשְׂמַ֥ח יוֹנָ֛ה עַל־הַקִּֽיקָי֖וֹן שִׂמְחָ֥ה גְדוֹלָֽה׃ (ז) וַיְמַ֤ן הָֽאֱלֹקִים֙ תּוֹלַ֔עַת בַּעֲל֥וֹת הַשַּׁ֖חַר לַֽמׇּחֳרָ֑ת וַתַּ֥ךְ אֶת־הַקִּֽיקָי֖וֹן וַיִּיבָֽשׁ׃ (ח) וַיְהִ֣י ׀ כִּזְרֹ֣חַ הַשֶּׁ֗מֶשׁ וַיְמַ֨ן אֱלֹקִ֜ים ר֤וּחַ קָדִים֙ חֲרִישִׁ֔ית וַתַּ֥ךְ הַשֶּׁ֛מֶשׁ עַל־רֹ֥אשׁ יוֹנָ֖ה וַיִּתְעַלָּ֑ף וַיִּשְׁאַ֤ל אֶת־נַפְשׁוֹ֙ לָמ֔וּת וַיֹּ֕אמֶר ט֥וֹב מוֹתִ֖י מֵחַיָּֽי׃ (ט) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹקִים֙ אֶל־יוֹנָ֔ה הַהֵיטֵ֥ב חָרָֽה־לְךָ֖ עַל־הַקִּֽיקָי֑וֹן וַיֹּ֕אמֶר הֵיטֵ֥ב חָֽרָה־לִ֖י עַד־מָֽוֶת׃ (י) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ה' אַתָּ֥ה חַ֙סְתָּ֙ עַל־הַקִּ֣יקָי֔וֹן אֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹא־עָמַ֥לְתָּ בּ֖וֹ וְלֹ֣א גִדַּלְתּ֑וֹ שֶׁבִּן־לַ֥יְלָה הָיָ֖ה וּבִן־לַ֥יְלָה אָבָֽד׃ (יא) וַֽאֲנִי֙ לֹ֣א אָח֔וּס עַל־נִינְוֵ֖ה הָעִ֣יר הַגְּדוֹלָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֶשׁ־בָּ֡הּ הַרְבֵּה֩ מִֽשְׁתֵּים־עֶשְׂרֵ֨ה רִבּ֜וֹ אָדָ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־יָדַע֙ בֵּין־יְמִינ֣וֹ לִשְׂמֹאל֔וֹ וּבְהֵמָ֖ה רַבָּֽה׃
(1) The word of GOD came to Jonaha son of Amittai: (2) Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim judgment upon it; for their wickedness has come before Me. (3) Jonah, however, started out to flee to Tarshish from GOD’s service. He went down to Jaffa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went aboard to sail with the others to Tarshish, away from GOD’s service. (4) But GOD cast a mighty wind upon the sea, and such a great tempest came upon the sea that the ship was in danger of breaking up. (5) In their fright, the sailors cried out, each to his own god; and they flung the ship’s cargo overboard to make it lighter for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the vessel where he lay down and fell asleep. (6) The captain went over to him and cried out, “How can you be sleeping so soundly! Up, call upon your god! Perhaps the god will be kind to us and we will not perish.” (7) Those aboard said to one another, “Let us cast lots and find out on whose account this misfortune has come upon us.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. (8) They said to him, “Tell us, you who have brought this misfortune upon us, what is your business? Where have you come from? What is your country, and of what people are you?” (9) “I am a Hebrew,” he replied. “I worship the ETERNAL, the God of Heaven, who made both sea and land.” (10) The men were greatly terrified, and they asked him, “What have you done?” And when the men learned that he was fleeing from GOD’s service—for so he told them— (11) they said to him, “What must we do to you to make the sea calm around us?” For the sea was growing more and more stormy. (12) He answered, “Heave me overboard, and the sea will calm down for you; for I know that this terrible storm came upon you on my account.” (13) Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to regain the shore, but they could not, for the sea was growing more and more stormy about them. (14) Then they cried out to GOD: “Oh, please, ETERNAL One, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not hold us guilty of killing an innocent person! For You, O ETERNAL One, by Your will, have brought this about.” (15) And they heaved Jonah overboard, and the sea stopped raging. (16) The men feared GOD greatly; they offered a sacrifice to GOD and they made vows. (1) GOD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah; and Jonah remained in the fish’s belly three days and three nights. (2) Jonah prayed to the ETERNAL his God from the belly of the fish. (3) He said:
In my trouble I called to GOD,
Who answered me;
From the belly of Sheol I cried out,
And You heard my voice. (4) You cast me into the depths,
Into the heart of the sea,
The floods engulfed me;
All Your breakers and billows
Swept over me. (5) I thought I was driven away
Out of Your sight:
Would I ever gaze again
Upon Your holy temple? (6) The waters closed in over me,
The deep engulfed me.
Weeds twined around my head. (7) I sank to the base of the mountains;
The bars of the earth closed upon me forever.
Yet You brought my life up from the pit,
My ETERNAL God! (8) When my life was ebbing away,
I called GOD to mind;
And my prayer came before You,
Into Your holy temple. (9) They who cling to empty folly
Forsake their own welfare, (10) But I, with loud thanksgiving,
Will sacrifice to You;
What I have vowed I will perform.
Deliverance is GOD’s! (11) GOD commanded the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon dry land. (1) The word of GOD came to Jonah a second time: (2) “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it what I tell you.” (3) Jonah went at once to Nineveh in accordance with GOD’s command.
Nineveh was an enormously large city a three days’ walk across. (4) Jonah started out and made his way into the city the distance of one day’s walk, and proclaimed: “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (5) The people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast, and great and small alike put on sackcloth. (6) When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes. (7) And he had the word cried through Nineveh: “By decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal—of flock or herd—shall taste anything! They shall not graze, and they shall not drink water! (8) They shall be covered with sackcloth—human and animal—and shall cry mightily to God. Let everyone turn back from their own evil ways and from the injustice of which they are guilty. (9) Who knows but that God may turn and relent? [God] may turn back from wrathfulness, so that we do not perish.” (10) God saw what they did, how they were turning back from their evil ways. And God renounced the punishment that had been planned for them, and did not carry it out. (1) This displeased Jonah greatly, and he was grieved. (2) He prayed to GOD, saying, “O ETERNAL One ! Isn’t this just what I said when I was still in my own country? That is why I fled beforehand to Tarshish. For I know that You are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, renouncing punishment. (3) Please, ETERNAL One, take my life, for I would rather die than live.” (4) GOD replied, “Are you that deeply grieved?” (5) Now Jonah had left the city and found a place east of the city. He made a booth there and sat under it in the shade, until he should see what happened to the city. (6) The ETERNAL God provided a ricinus plant which grew up over Jonah, to provide shade for his head and save him from discomfort. Jonah was very happy about the plant. (7) But the next day at dawn God provided a worm, which attacked the plant so that it withered. (8) And when the sun rose, God provided a sultry east wind; the sun beat down on Jonah’s head, and he became faint. He begged for death, saying, “I would rather die than live.” (9) Then God said to Jonah, “Are you so deeply grieved about the plant?” “Yes,” he replied, “so deeply that I want to die.” (10) Then GOD said: “You cared about the plant, which you did not work for and which you did not grow, which appeared overnight and perished overnight. (11) And should not I care about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not yet know their right hand from their left, and many animals as well!”
(כג) בִּשְׁנַת֙ חֲמֵשׁ־עֶשְׂרֵ֣ה שָׁנָ֔ה לַאֲמַצְיָ֥הוּ בֶן־יוֹאָ֖שׁ מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֑ה מָ֠לַ֠ךְ יָרׇבְעָ֨ם בֶּן־יוֹאָ֤שׁ מֶֽלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ בְּשֹׁ֣מְר֔וֹן אַרְבָּעִ֥ים וְאַחַ֖ת שָׁנָֽה׃ (כד) וַיַּ֥עַשׂ הָרַ֖ע בְּעֵינֵ֣י ה' לֹ֣א סָ֗ר מִכׇּל־חַטֹּאות֙ יָרׇבְעָ֣ם בֶּן־נְבָ֔ט אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶחֱטִ֖יא אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (כה) ה֗וּא הֵשִׁיב֙ אֶת־גְּב֣וּל יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מִלְּב֥וֹא חֲמָ֖ת עַד־יָ֣ם הָעֲרָבָ֑ה כִּדְבַ֤ר ה' אֱלֹקֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבֶּ֗ר בְּיַד־עַבְדּ֞וֹ יוֹנָ֤ה בֶן־אֲמִתַּי֙ הַנָּבִ֔יא אֲשֶׁ֖ר מִגַּ֥ת הַחֵֽפֶר׃
The story of Jonah really does not seem to fit with the other eleven books of the Scroll of the Twelve: they are all the putative words of different prophets, whereas Jonah is a story about a prophet (Jonah hardly speaks at all), or about prophecy. Why was it written? Presumably as a way of asserting whar its auchor felt to be a great theological truth: God can change His mind; no divine decree is final. Moreover, it is significant that this parable involves the non-Israelite people of Nineveh: the point would seem to be that, if God's mercy was extended to this foreign people, indeed, to people who "do not even know their right hand from their left," how much more is He inclined to pardon Israel, if only it turns from evil with the same sincerity as the Ninevites.
Scholars are divided on the date of the book's composition, but its language seems to belong to the postexilic period. So too does Jonah's assertion that "I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land" (1:9) and the subsequent acceptance of that description by Jonah's ship-mates. At the same time, the story may not all be of one piece. A certain "Jonah son of Amitai," a prophet in the northern kingdom, is mentioned in passing in 2 Kings 14:25. The author of the book of Jonah may simply have adopted the name to suit his tale, but it is also possible that the origins of his book go back to legendary material about this figure, material that was once so well known as to have its hero accorded a brief mention in 2 Kings...
And then there is the matter of the first two chapters. One theory is that the original story began in chapter 3, then chapter 1 was added to demonstrate that Jonah was an unwilling--and, hence, sincere--prophet: God called him, and he immediately hopped a ship for Tarshish to escape the divine call. This would be another, if extreme, example of a true prophet's initial refusal of the divine summons (just as in the cal narratives of Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah). So Jonah first flees God's mission, only to be cast overboard in a storm and thus forced to accept his mission, whereupon he arrives in Nineveh. But if that is the purpose of Jonah's fight, one must wonder why the book's author should have gone to such lengths. Surely Jonah could simply have turned down God's summons without actually trying to leave the country. And what sense did it make to have him swallowed by the big fish?
One theory is thus that the prayer that Jonah prays from the fish's belly in chapter 2 of the book may have actually played a role in shaping the preceding narrative. This prayer, it is not hard to see, is really no different from quite a few compositions in the book of Psalms -as a matter of fact, it is not a prayer but a hymn of thanksgiving, intended to be sung by or on behalf of someone who has recovered from serious illness or some other danger. Its language is thus intentionally vague and highly metaphorical:
"I called to the LORDD out of my distress, and He answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice.
You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all Your waves and Your billows passed over me..."
The idea of drowning as an image of helplessness and desperation is a commonplace in the book of Psalms...
It thus seems likely that Jonah's "prayer" in chapter 2 had been a psalm of thanksgiving long before it was part of the book of Jonah. Normally, according to scholars, what happens is that a later editor inserts such a preexisting hymn or psalm into a narrative. This is what scholars say about the songs found in Exodus 15, Deuteronomy 32, Judges 5, 1 Samuel 2, 2 Samuel 22, and elsewhere. The fact that there is often a disagreement between the song and the surrounding narrative* supports the idea that these songs were originally quite independent compositions that were inserted only later on. to But in the case of Jonah's prayer things may have been a little different.
Jonah's author, looking around for some dramatic way of having his hero refuse God's summons, thought of the words of a well-known hymn, in which the speaker says that God " cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas." If he had Jonah flee God's call by ship, that would certainly be a dramatic way of refusing his mission; then Jonah could be cast overboard, saved by God, and subsequently speak the words of this well-known hymn, thereby "becoming" the hymn's original author. Suddenly, all its water imagery-somewhat excessive, even in terms of the biblical convention-would have a context.
Logically, Jonah could have uttered the words of the hymn once he had safely drifted back to shore. But the hymn's phrase "out of the belly of Sheol I cried" was too tempting. After all, how could a drowning man cry out if he were already underwater and in Sheol? So perhaps the "belly of Sheol" was a way of designating some actual belly, the belly of a great fish that swallowed Jonah in the midst of the sea. It thus seems possible that the whole motif of Jonah being swallowed up by the fish was generated by this unusual phrase. Little matter--the great fish soon became the story's most memorable detail...
(א) סֵדֶר תַּעֲנִיּוֹת כֵּיצַד, מוֹצִיאִין אֶת הַתֵּבָה לִרְחוֹבָהּ שֶׁל עִיר, וְנוֹתְנִין אֵפֶר מִקְלֶה עַל גַּבֵּי הַתֵּבָה, וּבְרֹאשׁ הַנָּשִׂיא וּבְרֹאשׁ אַב בֵּית דִּין, וְכָל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד נוֹתֵן בְּרֹאשׁוֹ. הַזָּקֵן שֶׁבָּהֶן אוֹמֵר לִפְנֵיהֶן דִּבְרֵי כִבּוּשִׁין, אַחֵינוּ, לֹא נֶאֱמַר בְּאַנְשֵׁי נִינְוֵה, וַיַּרְא הָאֱלֹקִים אֶת שַׂקָּם וְאֶת תַּעֲנִיתָם, אֶלָּא (יונה ג) וַיַּרְא הָאֱלֹקִים אֶת מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם, כִּי שָׁבוּ מִדַּרְכָּם הָרָעָה. וּבַקַּבָּלָה הוּא אוֹמֵר (יואל ב) וְקִרְעוּ לְבַבְכֶם וְאַל בִּגְדֵיכֶם:
(1) What is the order of fast days? they remove the ark to the main city square and place burnt ashes upon the ark. And they also place ashes on the head of the Nasi, and on the head of the deputy Nasi, and each and every member of the community likewise places ashes upon their head. The eldest member of the community says to the congregation statements of reproof, for example: Our brothers, it is not stated with regard to the people of Nineveh: And God saw their sackcloth and their fasting. Rather, the verse says: “And God saw their deeds, that they had turned from their evil way” (Jonah 3:10). And in the Prophets it says: “And rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the Lord your God” (Joel 2:13).
On Yom Kippur they read the portion of “After the death” (Leviticus 16), and they read as the haftara the portion of “For thus says the High and Lofty One” (Isaiah 57:14–58:14). And during the afternoon service they read from forbidden sexual relations (Leviticus 18). And they read as the haftara the book of Jonah.
לא אמר נחרבת כי נהפכת משמש שתי לשונות רע וטוב אם לא יעשו תשובה נחרבת , ואם יעשו תשובה אז נהפכת על אנשי נינוה קאי שיהפכו מרעה לטובה ויעשו תשובה.
It does say 'destroyed' because the term 'overturned' can be used in two different ways, bad and good. If they do not repent then they will be destroyed. If they do repent, then that which was proclaimed concerning the people of Nineveh will be “overturned.” For they turned over from bad to good and repented.
The book ends with YHWH’s rebuke. We are never told how Jonah responds, or even if he responds at all. Given that Jonah’s most common response in the book is silence, the ending may imply that here too he does not respond. If so, the message may be that even with all of YHWH’s work to teach Jonah, the lesson fails. For Jonah, there is no room for repentance, regret, contrition. If so, Jonah would be the anti-hero of the book which bears his name – perhaps even a zealot or an extremist.
Every possible means is used to return Jonah from his extreme ways, including teaching by example: the sailors repent; the people of Nineveh repent; the Deity appears as merciful and forgiving, Jonah’s position as caring about the plant but not the people is so morally untenable that he must see it. He was given every chance, and thus the failure is his rather than YHWH’s. But if YHWH’s message is lost on Jonah, it is not lost on the audience.
On the narrative level, YHWH’s didactic lesson is aimed at Jonah, but through telling this story, it is aimed at the readers as well. We, too, are meant to internalize the message: 1. God is universal; 2. God is merciful; 3. Repentance is possible.
ויהי דבר ה' אל יונה בן אמתי לאמר. ...ויש לשאול למה נכתבה נבואה זו בכתבי הקדש וכולה על נינוה שהיתה מאומות העולם ואין בו זכר לישראל ואין בכל הנביאים זולתה כמוהו ונוכל לפרש כי נכתבה להיות מוסר לישראל שהרי עם נכרי שאינם מישראל היה קרוב לתשובה ובפעם הראשונה שהוכיחם הנביא שבו בתשובה שלמה מרעתם וישראל מוכיחים אותם הנביאים השכם והערב ואינם שבים מרשעם ועוד להודיע הפלא הגדול שעשה האל יתברך עם הנביא שהיה במעי הדג ג' ימים וג' לילות וחי, ועוד שהקיאו הדג ועוד ללמד שהאל יתברך חומל על בעלי תשובה מאיזה עם שיהיו ומוחל להם וכל שכן כשהם רבים:
We should ask, why was this prophecy written in the Holy Scriptures? The whole thing is about Nineveh, which is a non-Israelite nation, and there is no mention of Israel at all. There is nothing like this anywhere in the Prophets!
We can explain that it was written to be a moral lesson to Israel: A foreign nation that is not a part of Israel was close to repentance and the first time that a prophet rebuked them they turned to a complete repentance from evil. And what about Israel, whom the prophets rebuke from dawn until dark, and still, they do not turn from their evil?
קום, נינוה - בית מלכות אשור והיא היום חריבה... ופירוש לאלקים, כי היו יראים השם הימים הקדמונים, רק עתה בימי יונה החלו לעשות רע, ולולי זה שהיו בתחילה אנשי השם לא היה שולח נביאו אליהם. והנה ראינו ששב תשובה גמורה אין כמוה ולא תמצא כתוב ששברו מזבחות בעלים, או גדעו פסילים והנה מזה נלמוד שלא היו עכו"ם.
Nineveh - the royal seat of Assyria, which is a ruin today...
The meaning of “to God” is that they were people who feared God going back to ancient times; only now, in the time of Jonah, they began to act wrongly. If it weren’t for the fact that they had been “people of renown” in early times, [God] would not have sent his prophet to them.
Now we have seen that they repented with full repentance, the likes of which is unprecedented. Moreover, you do not find any reference to their smashing the altars of their false gods, or breaking their statues. From this we learn that they were not idol worshipers.
The problem is that Jonah's story is told from God's point of view.
That's why the instructions seem so clear and why Jonah's behavior seems so odd. Putting ourselves in Jonah's position makes it easier to understand.
This is Jonah's version of the story.
Jonah began having odd and frightening dreams. He dreamed God wanted him to go to Nineveh to tell the people there to repent. Nineveh? The greatest military power of the age? Nineveh- no friend of the Jews? He thought he must be going mad. He tried to act sanely, tried a change of scenery.
Finally, after the miraculous storm, the stay in the fish's belly, Jonah is a defeated man. He tries to give in to this calling. People will jeer at him. The city will not be destroyed in forty days. Then Jonah will have proved to himself that the voices are only in his head. He will have proved that he shouldn't listen to the voices. He will be able to go home to ignore the voices even if they continue.
But the worst happens. The people listen to Jonah. Jonah is so frightened he runs away to the desert. He can never go home. He has really heard God's voice and can never live a normal life again.
From God's point of view, there was a very clear message of caring / rachmanut and an assurance that we can make mistakes and repent. From Jonah's point of view, there were only these confusing voices commanding him to do the oddest things. Here is a man who could have been the world's greatest prophet, but the job was too frightening.
We are so like Jonah and so unlike Moses. The thing we have to do might as well be in the heavens or across the seas. The commandments may be simple and in our mouths and in our hearts, but we don't know how to tell which are the true commandments and which are distractions.
…the trend of the service is now different. For we celebrate the magnificent stubbornness, the wilful blindness, the childish tantrums and consummate selfishness of the greatest Jewish prophet, Jonah. Greatest because he is the only one who actually succeeded in making his own contemporaries repent! Greatest because he is the most familiar, most absurd, most human and most Jewish - he is us!
Go to Nineveh, says God, and he's off to the other end of the world Tell your greatest enemy that God's love can reach him Jonah argues God's right to be so generous. He emits a grudging five words of warning from God - and worlds are overturned. Things get uncomfortable when his shade disappears and suddenly he is concerned about nature, preservation and ecology. He is exasperating and impossible and splendid and he is us!
Why is he read at Minchah? There are answers in the lessons he brings about the power of the decision to return to God. And there are warnings that fasting alone is meaningless, unless there is also the intention to change our ways. But Jonah also tells us about the world outside to which we are soon to return with its Ninevehs, those we fear from afar, those we help to create. He wrenches us out of ourselves to the world for which we bear responsibility. If we have burrowed into our Jewish consciousness in the morning, by evening we must re-experience what we share with all humanity, for we are called to live with two identities and two faces to our vocation…
At Minchah we are summoned back to face again that supreme balancing act that marks us as a people - ever marginal, inside and outside at one and the same time, ever torn, and yet ever seeking an inner security that does not come from outer success in the world or acceptance within the ghetto. Somewhere within us is the place where we have met God, and it is to that reference point that we return on this day. It is the fulcrum that can topple worlds, it is the still centre that sustains and nourishes a universe.
The world with its tasks awaits us. Now is the time to find that still centre before we enter it again. It is time for reconciliation.