Overview: God calls Jonah to preach to Nineveh, but Jonah refuses and runs away on a boat that he is later thrown over into the sea. Jonah was swallowed by a large fish and prayed for forgiveness, so God made the fish spit him out onto land. God once again sent Jonah to Nineveh where the people except the message and repent. Jonah is furious that they were saved and his prophecy of their distraction does not come true.
Behind the Text: When Nineveh is mentioned in the book of Zephaniah, that God will destroy the city. It is also mentioned in 2 Kings 19:36-37 and then paralleled Isaiah 37:37-38, mentioning one of Nineveh’s temples during the assassination of Senacherib. The best way to figure out the time of Nineveh is to go off of what …show more content…
After Jonah preaches to Nineveh, he does not rejoice, he is angry that they have been forgiven. He “pities a plant, but begrudges God’s pit over an entire city of people.” Where Jonah, meaning dove or flight, lives up to his name when he is called by God to go to Nineveh in the East but flees to the sea headed towards Tarshish in the West. Jonah goes to Joppa, a city located on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea, to board his boat. “Nineveh was located on the east bank of the Tigris River downstream from the Kurdish mountains in modern day Mosul, Iraq.” Nineveh was also located on two major trade routes, one north to south and the other East to West. Because of the trade routes and the river, Nineveh was able to grow and flourish into the great city that it was. Scripture Integration There is limited information on the vine, it is mentioned four times in the KJV Bible, all in Jonah. What I found is that it is a Hebrew word that can be defined as a garden plant, probably a castor oil tree. “Described as a plant capable of rapid growth and having leafy foliage adequate for providing Jonah with relief from the oppressive heat of the
Behind the Text: When Nineveh is mentioned in the book of Zephaniah, that God will destroy the city. It is also mentioned in 2 Kings 19:36-37 and then paralleled Isaiah 37:37-38, mentioning one of Nineveh’s temples during the assassination of Senacherib. The best way to figure out the time of Nineveh is to go off of what …show more content…
After Jonah preaches to Nineveh, he does not rejoice, he is angry that they have been forgiven. He “pities a plant, but begrudges God’s pit over an entire city of people.” Where Jonah, meaning dove or flight, lives up to his name when he is called by God to go to Nineveh in the East but flees to the sea headed towards Tarshish in the West. Jonah goes to Joppa, a city located on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea, to board his boat. “Nineveh was located on the east bank of the Tigris River downstream from the Kurdish mountains in modern day Mosul, Iraq.” Nineveh was also located on two major trade routes, one north to south and the other East to West. Because of the trade routes and the river, Nineveh was able to grow and flourish into the great city that it was. Scripture Integration There is limited information on the vine, it is mentioned four times in the KJV Bible, all in Jonah. What I found is that it is a Hebrew word that can be defined as a garden plant, probably a castor oil tree. “Described as a plant capable of rapid growth and having leafy foliage adequate for providing Jonah with relief from the oppressive heat of the