The book of Jonah is different than most of the other prophetic books. Although Jonah is a prophetic book, it is written mainly in narrative form. All the chapters, with the exception of chapter two are written in narrative form. In chapter three of the book, the author used a variety of literary devices to move the plot of the narrative along. In this paper I will examine the literary form and features; discuss any important grammatical points; and perform the triangulation method on three words using the NRSV, NIV and NAS Bibles in order to determine which of the three translations used the best English word in place of the original Hebrew word. I will then discuss what I have learned from this literary analysis of chapter three.
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The parable concept is based on various comparisons. For example, “One view holds that Jonah represents recalcitrant Israel compared to Nineveh, which represents the receptive nations of the world.” However, Jonah is too long to be a parable. Furthermore, the final chapter of Jonah does not conclude like a parable. Parts of Jonah have been classified as Satire. Satire exaggerates and makes sport of reality using a number of devices, such as irony. Satire is used in the Bible and other ancient Near East documents. Longman and Garland propose that there is a slight use of satire in the book of Jonah
Other scholars view Jonah as midrash. Stuart argues against this view by stating, “For Jonah to be convincingly identified as a midrash, it would need to be demonstrated that the story was composed to serve as an illustrative explanation of something taught elsewhere in the OT.” The four genres discussed above are just a small fraction of the numerous types of genre that has been assigned to the narratives of Jonah. However, Jonah does not fall into any one type of genre. (The Anchor Bible does not address the literary …show more content…
The first word to be examined is the Hebrew word “dabar,” in verse six, which has been translated in the NRSV as news, in the NIV as warning and in the NAS as word. The Strong’s list a number of definitions for the Hebrew word. Upon first observation of the pericope, the NIV’s transition of the Hebrew word into warning appeared to be the most appropriate, after all, Jonah had informed the Ninevites of God’s impending judgment. However, among the long list of definitions for the Hebrew word, nothing comes close to meaning warning. The NRSV translated the Hebrew into the English word news. The NRSV uses the English word news twenty-seven times in the OT. However, in none of these instances is it used in reference to a word or message from the Lord. Therefore, it is concluded that the best overall translated English is in the NAS, which translated it as word. The NAS used it this way two other times in the pericope (vv. 1,3). In each instance, it refers to the word of God. In verse one, God’s word came to Jonah, in verse 3 Jonah acted on God’s word, and in verse 6, God’s “word reached the king.” In verse eight of the NRSV, the king of Nineveh instructs the people to “cry mightily to God.” In the NIV, they are told to” call urgently on God” and in the NAS they are told to “call on God earnestly.” The Hebrew word for the three italicized words is “chozqah.” The Strong’s definitions for the Hebrew word are;
The parable concept is based on various comparisons. For example, “One view holds that Jonah represents recalcitrant Israel compared to Nineveh, which represents the receptive nations of the world.” However, Jonah is too long to be a parable. Furthermore, the final chapter of Jonah does not conclude like a parable. Parts of Jonah have been classified as Satire. Satire exaggerates and makes sport of reality using a number of devices, such as irony. Satire is used in the Bible and other ancient Near East documents. Longman and Garland propose that there is a slight use of satire in the book of Jonah
Other scholars view Jonah as midrash. Stuart argues against this view by stating, “For Jonah to be convincingly identified as a midrash, it would need to be demonstrated that the story was composed to serve as an illustrative explanation of something taught elsewhere in the OT.” The four genres discussed above are just a small fraction of the numerous types of genre that has been assigned to the narratives of Jonah. However, Jonah does not fall into any one type of genre. (The Anchor Bible does not address the literary …show more content…
The first word to be examined is the Hebrew word “dabar,” in verse six, which has been translated in the NRSV as news, in the NIV as warning and in the NAS as word. The Strong’s list a number of definitions for the Hebrew word. Upon first observation of the pericope, the NIV’s transition of the Hebrew word into warning appeared to be the most appropriate, after all, Jonah had informed the Ninevites of God’s impending judgment. However, among the long list of definitions for the Hebrew word, nothing comes close to meaning warning. The NRSV translated the Hebrew into the English word news. The NRSV uses the English word news twenty-seven times in the OT. However, in none of these instances is it used in reference to a word or message from the Lord. Therefore, it is concluded that the best overall translated English is in the NAS, which translated it as word. The NAS used it this way two other times in the pericope (vv. 1,3). In each instance, it refers to the word of God. In verse one, God’s word came to Jonah, in verse 3 Jonah acted on God’s word, and in verse 6, God’s “word reached the king.” In verse eight of the NRSV, the king of Nineveh instructs the people to “cry mightily to God.” In the NIV, they are told to” call urgently on God” and in the NAS they are told to “call on God earnestly.” The Hebrew word for the three italicized words is “chozqah.” The Strong’s definitions for the Hebrew word are;