Jonah 1

About Jonah.

The Book of Jonah

Purpose

To recount a story of the far-reaching scope of God’s sovereignty (power and authority to rule) and salvation

Author

Unknown

Date

Around 755 BC

Setting

A time when Assyria’s influence in Israel had temporarily decreased, likely during the reign of Jeroboam II

The book of Jonah is well known for its amazing events, but its main purpose is to teach us about God. Through Jonah’s experience, God (the all-powerful Creator) shows that he judges wickedness. But God also gladly shows mercy to people who repent, even to those we may think do not deserve mercy.

Setting

Jonah was a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel during the rule of Jeroboam II. Jeroboam II ruled from 793 to 753 BC. This was a time of political success but spiritual darkness. Even though Jeroboam did evil in God’s sight (see 2 Kings 14:23–24), Israel’s borders expanded, just as Jonah had predicted (2 Kings 14:25). Israel became nearly as large as it had been during the days of David and Solomon (see 1 Kings 8:65). During this time, great national pride was growing in Israel.

At the same time, Nineveh was an important city in the Assyrian Empire. Assyria had become very powerful in earlier years. King Shalmaneser III of Assyria ruled from 858 to 824 BC. He expanded Assyria’s control into Palestine. Assyrian records say that Shalmaneser fought against King Ahab of Israel and other kings at the battle of Qarqar in 853 BC (1 Kings 17:1–22:53).

But during the reigns of Jehoash (798–782 BC) and Jeroboam II (793–753 BC), Assyria became weaker because of poor leadership and resistance from other nations. Jonah likely preached in Nineveh during this weaker period, around 755 BC.

Years after Jonah’s visit, Assyria became powerful again under Tiglath-pileser III. He ruled from 744 to 727 BC. In 722 BC, Assyria destroyed Samaria and ended the northern kingdom of Israel. About one hundred years later, the prophet Nahum of Judah announced that Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire would soon be destroyed because of their great wickedness. The Babylonians destroyed Nineveh in 612 BC. This shows that the repentance that followed Jonah’s preaching did not last.

Summary

The book of Jonah has two main parts.

Chapters 1–2 describe Jonah’s first response to God’s command to warn Nineveh about coming judgment because of its wickedness. Instead of going to Nineveh, Jonah boarded a ship and traveled in the opposite direction (1:3). God sent a violent storm to discipline him. The pagan sailors tried desperately to satisfy whichever god they thought was angry. Eventually, Jonah was identified as the cause of the trouble and was thrown into the sea. Then God calmed the storm.

In an ironic turn, the pagan sailors worshiped God while Jonah appeared to be heading toward death. But God planned to save Jonah. A great fish swallowed him, and inside the fish, Jonah apparently repented (chapter 2). After three days and nights, the fish released Jonah onto dry land.

Chapters 3–4 describe God’s second command for Jonah to preach in Nineveh. This time Jonah obeyed. The people of Nineveh repented after hearing Jonah’s warning (chapter 3). God did not bring the judgment Jonah had announced (3:10).

Again, there is irony in the story. Jonah became angry because God showed mercy to Israel’s enemies. Jonah moved from anger to despair (chapter 4). God used a plant to teach Jonah another lesson. The plant quickly grew to give Jonah shade and then quickly died.

The book ends suddenly with God asking Jonah a question: Should God not care about a great city like Nineveh and want its people to receive mercy instead of judgment?

Author

The book does not name its author. The title comes from the main character, Jonah. Jonah himself or one of his associates may have written it.

Genre

Unlike most prophetic books, Jonah is mainly a story rather than a collection of prophecies. Some people have argued that the book is fictional because it includes miracles. Others have described it as a parable or teaching story. However, the book presents itself as a real historical account (see 1:1). It is best understood as historical narrative that also teaches important truths about God.

Meaning and Message

Jonah is different from the other prophetic books because it tells how God sent a prophet to Assyria, Israel’s enemy, and how many people repented as a result.

Jonah learned a lesson that all Israel needed to learn: "Salvation is from the LORD!" (2:9). God alone decides whom he will save. People who have received God’s mercy should not try to prevent others (even their enemies) from receiving that same mercy (see chapter 4).

The book also teaches that salvation and judgment are connected to God’s rule over all things. God saved the sailors by calming the storm. He saved Jonah from drowning by sending the fish. There is no place, even deep in the sea, where God cannot rescue people. In the same way, there is no nation beyond God’s power either to judge (3:4, 9) or to save from judgment (3:10; see Jeremiah 18:7–10).

The book of Jonah also shows that God’s desire to save people from all nations existed long before Christ came. Israel was God’s covenant people (a people bound to him by a special agreement), but from the beginning God planned to bless all nations through Israel (see Genesis 12:3). God wants people everywhere to turn away from idols to know him, the God of heaven who created the world (Jonah 1:9; see 2 Peter 3:9).

Jonah 1:1-3

Jonah first refused the Lord's command to warn Nineveh about the judgment it faced due to its wickedness.

Jonah 1:1

Jonah, son of Amittai, came from Gath-hepher. This town was on the border between the tribal areas of Naphtali and Zebulun. He served the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II, from 793 to 753 BC (see 2 Kings 14:25).

Jonah 1:2

• By the time of Jonah, Nineveh already had a long history (see Genesis 10:12). It was an important city in the Assyrian Empire until it was destroyed in 612 BC (see Nahum 1–3). Nineveh’s ruins are across the Tigris River from the modern city of Mosul, Iraq.

• great city: See study note on Jonah 3:3.

Jonah 1:3

• Jonah tried to run away from the Lord, but he could not succeed. No one can escape God (Psalm 139:7–10) or disobey his will without facing consequences (Deuteronomy 8:5). Jonah's hesitation to go to Nineveh is understandable. Assyria was an enemy of Israel known for its violence (Jonah 3:8; see also Nahum 3:1–4). Jonah did not want these non-Israelites to have the chance to repent and be saved (Jonah 4:2).

• Joppa was an important port city on the Mediterranean coast (2 Chronicles 2:16; Ezra 3:7); it is now a suburb of modern Tel Aviv.

• Tarshish might have been the port city of Tartessos in Spain, meaning Jonah tried to flee as far as possible in the opposite direction from Nineveh. Tarsus in Asia Minor is another possibility. Some believe Tarshish refers to the sea or any destination reachable by sea.

Jonah 1:4

God's control over nature is a key theme in the book of Jonah (see Jonah 1:4, 9, 13–16, 17; 2:3, 10; 4:6–7).

Jonah 1:5-6

God may have caused Jonah to keep sleeping to show that the sailors' gods could not help (Jonah 1:6).

Jonah 1:7-8

• God permitted the use of lots for certain purposes, such as making decisions when people sought his will (see Leviticus 16:8; Joshua 18:6; 1 Chronicles 26:12–16; Acts 1:26). However, divination in general, as it was practiced throughout the ancient world, displeased the Lord because it sought guidance apart from him (Deuteronomy 18:9–13).

• who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us: In the ancient Near East, people often believed that disasters or bad events happened because a god was angry. They assumed that someone had caused offense and needed to be identified.

Jonah 1:9

• a Hebrew: See also Genesis 41:12; Exodus 1:15; 2:11.

• Jonah worshiped the Lord, who, unlike the sailors’ false gods, made and controlled the sea and land. Many believed different gods ruled specific areas and tasks. Calling God the God of the heavens likely showed this deity's superiority, as heaven is the highest realm. The Old Testament consistently states that the Lord is the one true God (see, for example, Deuteronomy 6:4), sometimes using language to show his superiority over false gods imagined by pagan peoples (see Psalm 95:3–5).

Jonah 1:12

Pick me up: Jonah’s calmness in giving this direction is surprising. But he was willing to face death peacefully rather than give the hated Assyrians a chance to repent.

Jonah 1:13-14

the men rowed hard: They knew Jonah had angered the Lord, but they worried the Lord would be angrier if they killed his prophet.

Jonah 1:16

feared: God's power over the stormy sea led the sailors to worship. Although sacrifices and vows were part of Israelite worship (for example, Psalm 116:17–18), the sailors likely did not fully convert from worshiping false gods. They probably added Israel's God to their list. This situation is deeply ironic. Pagan sailors showed respect and honor toward the Lord, while the Lord’s own prophet dishonored him. The prophet then seemed to sink into the sea and face death (compare study note on Jonah 2:8–9).

Jonah 1:17

• Some critics find it hard to believe that Jonah could survive inside a large fish. They challenge one of the book's main ideas, that God has complete control over nature. If God exists and created nature (Jonah 1:9, 16; see also Genesis 1:21), such a miracle is possible. The book treats the fish story as historical.

• The species of the fish is not specified, nor is it important for the story's meaning. Given God's power, the fish could have been specially created for this event. If God can perform miracles, Jonah's need for air and protection from digestion is not a problem (see Daniel 3:14–27). Some fish, like the whale shark, are large enough for this purpose, and similar events have happened in modern times.

• Jesus later mentioned Jonah's three days and nights in the fish to predict his own time in the grave (Matthew 12:39–41).

• The phrase appointed appears four times in the book, showing God's easy control over nature (Jonah 4:6, 7, 8).

Aquifer Open Study Notes © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.