Ancestry
The tribal affinities of Jonah constitute a point of controversy; generally assigned to
AsherAsher , in the Book of Genesis, is the second son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the founder of the Tribe of Asher.Ashar is also a place in Israel.-Asher the son of Jacob:...
, he is claimed for
ZebulunZebulun was, according to the Books of Genesis and Numbers, the sixth son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Zebulun...
by R. Johanan on the strength of his place of residence (II Kings xiv. 24); these opinions were harmonized by the assumption that his mother was of Asher while his father was of Zebulun (Yer. Suk. v. 1; Gen. R. xcviii. 11; Yalḳ., Jonah, 550;
AbravanelThe Abravanel family is one of the oldest and most distinguished Jewish families of the Iberian peninsula; they trace their origin from the biblical King David...
's commentary to Jonah).
According to another authority his mother was the woman of Zarephath that entertained Elijah (ib.; Pirḳe R. El. xxxiii.). As this prophet, who was also of priestly descent, would have profaned himself if he had touched the corpse of a Jew, it was concluded that this woman, whose son (Jonah) he "took to his bosom" and revived, was a non-Jew (Gen. R. l.c.).
He received his prophetic appointment from
ElishaElisha is a prophet of the Hebrew bible. To many Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox he is known as Saint Eliseus; however, the standard English form of the name has been "Elisha," at least since the introduction of the Authorized King James Version...
, under whose orders he anointed
JehuJehu was king of Israel, the son of Jehoshaphat , and grandson of Nimshi. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 842 BC-815 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 841 BC-814 BC...
(II Kings ix.; Ḳimḥhi, ad loc.; and Tzemach Dawid). He is said to have attained a very advanced age (more than 120 years according to
Seder Olam; 130 according to
Sefer Yuchasin), while
Ecclesiastes RabbahEcclesiastes Rabbah or Kohelet Rabbah is an haggadic commentary on Ecclesiastes, included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot. It follows the Biblical book verse by verse, only a few verses remaining without comment. In the list of the old sedarim for the Bible four sedarim are assigned to...
viii. 10 holds that the son (Jonah) of the Zarephath widow never died. The "holy spirit" descended on him while he participated in the festivities of the last day of
SukkotSukkot is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei...
(Yer. Suk. v. 1, 55a). His wife is adduced as an example of a woman voluntarily assuming duties not incumbent on her, for she is remembered as having made the pilgrimage to
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
on the
regel ("holiday") ; Yer. 'Erubin x. 1, 26a;
Seder ha-Dorot; and
Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah).
Reason for flight
Jonah was induced to flee because, after having won his reputation as a true prophet ("one whose words always came true") by the fulfilment of his prediction in the days of
Jeroboam IIJeroboam II was the son and successor of Jehoash, , and the fourteenth king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, over which he ruled for forty-one years according to the 2 Kings . His reign was contemporary with those of Amaziah and Uzziah , kings of Judah...
. (II Kings xiv.), he had come to be distrusted and to be called a false prophet, the reason being that when sent to
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
to foretell its doom its inhabitants repented and the disaster did not come.
Knowing that the Ninevites also were on the point of repenting (
ḳerobe teshubah), he anticipated that among them, too, God would earn the reputation of being a false
GodIn Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title. It represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relation of God to the Jewish people...
, or His Shekinah, could not be found (Pirḳe R. El. x.; but comp.
Ibn EzraIbn Ezra was a prominent Jewish family from Spain spanning many centuries.The name ibn Ezra may refer to:* Abraham ibn Ezra , a Rabbi who lived in the eleventh and twelfth centuries...
's commentary).
The phrase in Jonah iii. 1, "and the word of God came unto Jonah the second time," is interpreted by Rabbi Akiba, however, to imply that God spoke only twice to him; therefore the "word of God" to him in II Kings xiv. 25 has no reference to a prophecy which Jonah delivered in the days of Jeroboam II., but must be taken in the sense that as at
NinevehNineveh , an "exceeding great city", as it is called in the Book of Jonah, lay on the eastern bank of the Tigris in ancient Assyria, across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, Iraq.-Geography:Ancient Nineveh's mound-ruins of Kouyunjik and Nabī Yūnus are located...
Jonah's words changed evil to good, so under Jeroboam, Israel experienced a change of fortune (Yeb. 98a).
When Jonah went to
JoppaJoppa is a Biblical name for the Israeli city of Yafo, otherwise known as Jaffa.Joppa can also refer to:-Locations:United Kingdom*Joppa, Edinburgh, in the eastern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland*Joppa, Ayrshire, on the outskirts of Ayr, Scotland...
he found no ship, for the vessel on which he had intended taking passage had sailed two days before; but God caused a contrary wind to arise and the ship was driven back to port (
ZoharThe Zohar is widely considered the most important work of Kabbalah, or . It is a mystical commentary on the Torah , written in medieval Aramaic...
, Ḥayye Sarah). At this Jonah rejoiced, regarding it as indicating that his plan would succeed, and in his joy he paid his passage-money in advance, contrary to the usual custom, which did not require its payment until the conclusion of the voyage. According to some he even paid the full value of the ship, amounting to 4,000 gold denarii (Yalk., l.c.; Ned. 38a). But all this happened to teach him the fallacy of his conclusion that God could be evaded (Yalk., l.c.; and
RashiShlomo Yitzhaki, better known by the acronym Rashi , , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of the first comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh .Acclaimed for his ability to present the basic meaning of the text in a...
, ad loc.), for the contrary wind affected his ship only; all others on the sea at that time proceeded uninterruptedly on their courses.
The ship
The storm which overtook Jonah is quoted as one of three most noteworthy storms (Eccl. R. i. 6). After the sailors' prayers to their idols, as well as their efforts to turn about and lighten the ship, had proved futile, the crew finally was compelled to believe Jonah's statement that this calamity had befallen their craft on his account, and assented to his petition to be thrown overboard. Praying that they might not be held accountable for his death, they first lowered him far enough for the waters to touch his knees. Seeing that the storm subsided, they drew him back into the ship, whereupon the sea at once rose again. They repeated this experiment several times, each time lowering him deeper, but taking him out again, and each time with the same result, until finally they threw him into the sea (Yalk., l.c.).
Fish
The fish which swallowed Jonah had been created in the very beginning of the world in order to perform this work (
ZoharThe Zohar is widely considered the most important work of Kabbalah, or . It is a mystical commentary on the Torah , written in medieval Aramaic...
, Wayaḳhel; Pirke R. El. x.; see also Gen. R. v. 5). Therefore this fish had so large a mouth and throat that Jonah found it as easy to pass into its belly as he would have found it to enter the portals of a very large
synagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer....
(ib.). It had eyes which were as large as windows, and lamps lit up its interior. According to another opinion, a great
pearlA pearl is a hard, generally spherical object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and...
suspended in the entrails of the fish enabled Jonah to see all that was in the sea and in the abyss.
The fish informed Jonah that he was to be devoured by
LeviathanLeviathan , is a sea monster referred to in the Hebrew Bible .The word leviathan has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature...
. Jonah asked to be taken to the monster, when he would save both his own life and that of the fish. Meeting Leviathan, he exhibited the "seal of
AbrahamAbraham is the founding patriarch of the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Midianites and Edomite peoples, as described in the book of Genesis. He is widely regarded as the patriarch of Jews, Christians, and Muslims....
," whereupon the monster shot away a distance of two days. To reward him for this service the fish showed Jonah all the wondrous things in the ocean (e.g., the path of the Israelites across the
Red SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez,...
; the pillars upon which the earth rests).
Thus he spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, but would not pray. God then resolved to put him into another fish where he would be less comfortable. A female fish quick with young approached the male fish in which Jonah was, threatening to devour both unless Jonah were transferred to her, and announcing her divine orders to that effect. Leviathan confirmed her story at the request of both fishes, and then Jonah was ejected from one fish into the over-filled belly of the other. Cramped for room and otherwise made miserable, Jonah finally prayed, acknowledging the futility of his efforts to escape from God (
PsalmsPsalms is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim.-Etymology:...
cxxxix.). But he was not answered until he had promised to redeem his pledge to capture Leviathan. As soon as God had his promise, He beckoned to the fish and it spat out Jonah upon the dry land, a distance of 968 parasangs.
When the crew of the ship saw this they immediately threw away their idols, sailed back to
JoppaJoppa is a Biblical name for the Israeli city of Yafo, otherwise known as Jaffa.Joppa can also refer to:-Locations:United Kingdom*Joppa, Edinburgh, in the eastern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland*Joppa, Ayrshire, on the outskirts of Ayr, Scotland...
, went to
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
, and submitted to circumcision, becoming Jews (Yalk., l.c.; Tan., Wayikra, ed. Stettin, 1865, pp. 370 et seq.; see also Pirke R. El. x.).
In the
ZoharThe Zohar is widely considered the most important work of Kabbalah, or . It is a mystical commentary on the Torah , written in medieval Aramaic...
(Wayakhel) it is related that the fish died as soon as Jonah entered, but was revived after three days. When Jonah was thrown into the sea his soul immediately left his body and soared up to God's throne, where it was judged and sent back. As soon as it touched the mouth of the fish on its way back to the body, the fish died, but was later restored to life. The fish's name is given in
Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah as
cetos ("whale").
The fate of Jonah is allegorized in the Zohar (
VayakhelVayakhel, VaYakhel, Va-Yakhel, Vayak’hel, Vayak’heil, or Vayaqhel is the 22nd weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the 10th in the Book of Exodus...
) as illustrative of the soul's relation to the body and to death. There is the assumption that Jonah is identical with the Moshiach ben Yosef.
The
gourdA gourd is a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae, or a name given to the hollow, dried shell of a fruit in the Cucurbitaceae family of plants of the genus Lagenaria...
of Jonah was enormous. Before its appearance Jonah was tortured by the heat and by insects of all kinds, his clothes having been burned by the heat of the belly of the fish; he was tortured again after the worm had caused the gourd to wither. This brought Jonah to pray that God should be a merciful ruler, not a strict judge (Pirke R. El. x.; Yalk. 551).