![](https://storage.googleapis.com/sheet-user-uploaded-media/14381-8013c7ee-1082-11ef-8ddf-0ef6a0cc1879.jpeg)
The Prophet Ezekiel (Ez. 14:1-21)
By Gustave Doré - Doré's English Bible, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10709513
Now say to the House of Israel: Thus said the Lord GOD: Repent, and turn back from your fetishes and turn your minds away from all your abominations. (Ezekiel 14:6)
The illustrations for La Grande Bible de Tours are a series of 241 wood-engravings, designed by the French artist, printmaker, and illustrator Gustave Doré (1832–1883) for a new deluxe edition of the 1843 French translation of the Vulgate Bible, popularly known as the Bible de Tours. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Doré's_illustrations_for_La_Grande_Bible_de_Tours
0. Welcome and Opening Question
Welcome
- Tonight is Yom HaAtzmaut
Opening Question
- Do we have an emotional reaction to reading or hearing Tanach--feelings of happiness, sadness, etc.?
A rare Haftarah - Shabbat Kedoshim (Saturday, May 11, 2024)
- Read twice in the 1940s, twice in the 1970s, once in the late 1990s, and in May 2024
- Will be read again in ~2041 and ~2062
From the Haftarah that is very rarely read in Ashkenazi synagogues for Shabbat Parashat Kedoshim.
This Haftarah includes one of Ezekiel's prophecies against the people of Judah, between 597 and 586 BCE--
(1) The word of GOD came to me: (2) Further, O mortal, arraign, arraign the city of bloodshed [=Jerusalem!]; declare to her all her abhorrent deeds!
The conclusion of the Haftarah that is almost always read on Shabbat Kedoshim
(14) I will restore My people Israel. / They shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them; / They shall plant vineyards and drink their wine; /They shall till gardens and eat their fruits.
(15) And I will plant them upon their soil, / Nevermore to be uprooted / From the soil I have given them / —said the ETERNAL your God.
1. Plan for this class
- Review of Chapter 2
- Questions to consider about Jonah's prophecy to Nineveh
- The Text
- Discussion and Commentaries
- Summary and Next Class
1a. Review of Chapter 2
2. Questions to consider about Jonah's prophecy to Nineveh
- 0. Your reactions
- 1. How does the beginning of chapter 3 compare to the beginning of the book of Jonah?
- 2. What does Jonah say to the people of Nineveh?
- 3. What do you think is the purpose of Jonah's prophecy?
- 4. How do the people of Nineveh respond; and why do they respond as they do?
- 5. What role does the King of Nineveh play?
- 6. Why does God relent?
- 7. In what ways is God's act of mercy reasonable? In what ways unreasonable?
3. Our Text: Jonah chapter 3
וַיְהִ֧י דְבַר־ה' אֶל־יוֹנָ֖ה שֵׁנִ֥ית לֵאמֹֽר׃ ק֛וּם לֵ֥ךְ אֶל־נִֽינְוֵ֖ה הָעִ֣יר הַגְּדוֹלָ֑ה וּקְרָ֤א אֵלֶ֙יהָ֙ אֶת־הַקְּרִיאָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י דֹּבֵ֥ר אֵלֶֽיךָ׃
God
The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it what I tell you.”
וַיָּ֣קׇם יוֹנָ֗ה וַיֵּ֛לֶךְ אֶל־נִֽינְוֵ֖ה כִּדְבַ֣ר ה' וְנִֽינְוֵ֗ה הָיְתָ֤ה עִיר־גְּדוֹלָה֙ לֵֽאלֹקִ֔ים מַהֲלַ֖ךְ שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת יָמִֽים׃ וַיָּ֤חֶל יוֹנָה֙ לָב֣וֹא בָעִ֔יר מַהֲלַ֖ךְ י֣וֹם אֶחָ֑ד וַיִּקְרָא֙ וַיֹּאמַ֔ר
ע֚וֹד אַרְבָּעִ֣ים י֔וֹם וְנִֽינְוֵ֖ה נֶהְפָּֽכֶת׃
Jonah
Jonah went at once to Nineveh in accordance with the LORD’s command.
Nineveh was an enormously large city [or: a great city of/for God], a three days’ walk across. 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!”
וַֽיַּאֲמִ֛ינוּ אַנְשֵׁ֥י נִֽינְוֵ֖ה בֵּֽאלֹקִ֑ים וַיִּקְרְאוּ־צוֹם֙ וַיִּלְבְּשׁ֣וּ שַׂקִּ֔ים מִגְּדוֹלָ֖ם וְעַד־קְטַנָּֽם׃
The people
The people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast, and great and small alike put on sackcloth.
וַיִּגַּ֤ע הַדָּבָר֙ אֶל־מֶ֣לֶךְ נִֽינְוֵ֔ה וַיָּ֙קׇם֙ מִכִּסְא֔וֹ וַיַּעֲבֵ֥ר אַדַּרְתּ֖וֹ מֵֽעָלָ֑יו וַיְכַ֣ס שַׂ֔ק וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב עַל־הָאֵֽפֶר׃ וַיַּזְעֵ֗ק וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ בְּנִֽינְוֵ֔ה מִטַּ֧עַם הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ וּגְדֹלָ֖יו לֵאמֹ֑ר הָאָדָ֨ם וְהַבְּהֵמָ֜ה הַבָּקָ֣ר וְהַצֹּ֗אן אַֽל־יִטְעֲמוּ֙ מְא֔וּמָה אַ֨ל־יִרְע֔וּ וּמַ֖יִם אַל־יִשְׁתּֽוּ׃ וְיִתְכַּסּ֣וּ שַׂקִּ֗ים הָֽאָדָם֙ וְהַבְּהֵמָ֔ה וְיִקְרְא֥וּ אֶל־אֱלֹקִ֖ים בְּחׇזְקָ֑ה וְיָשֻׁ֗בוּ אִ֚ישׁ מִדַּרְכּ֣וֹ הָֽרָעָ֔ה וּמִן־הֶחָמָ֖ס אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּכַפֵּיהֶֽם׃ מִֽי־יוֹדֵ֣עַ יָשׁ֔וּב וְנִחַ֖ם הָאֱלֹקִ֑ים וְשָׁ֛ב מֵחֲר֥וֹן אַפּ֖וֹ וְלֹ֥א נֹאבֵֽד׃
The king
When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he had the word cried through Nineveh: “By decree of the king and his nobles: No man or beast—of flock or herd—shall taste anything! They shall not graze, and they shall not drink water! They shall be covered with sackcloth—man and beast—and shall cry mightily to God. Let everyone turn back from his evil ways and from the injustice of which he is guilty. Who knows but that God may turn and relent? He may turn back from His wrath, so that we do not perish.”
וַיַּ֤רְא הָֽאֱלֹקִים֙ אֶֽת־מַ֣עֲשֵׂיהֶ֔ם כִּי־שָׁ֖בוּ מִדַּרְכָּ֣ם הָרָעָ֑ה וַיִּנָּ֣חֶם הָאֱלֹקִ֗ים עַל־הָרָעָ֛ה אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר לַעֲשׂוֹת־לָהֶ֖ם וְלֹ֥א עָשָֽׂה׃
God
God saw what they did, how they were turning back from their evil ways. And God renounced the punishment He had planned to bring upon them, and did not carry it out.
4. Discussion and Commentaries
4.0 Your reactions
4.1. How does the beginning of chapter 3 compare to the beginning of the book of Jonah?
(א) וַֽיְהִי֙ דְּבַר־ה' אֶל־יוֹנָ֥ה בֶן־אֲמִתַּ֖י לֵאמֹֽר׃
(ב) ק֠וּם לֵ֧ךְ אֶל־נִֽינְוֵ֛ה הָעִ֥יר הַגְּדוֹלָ֖ה וּקְרָ֣א עָלֶ֑יהָ כִּֽי־עָלְתָ֥ה רָעָתָ֖ם לְפָנָֽי׃
(ג) וַיָּ֤קׇם יוֹנָה֙ לִבְרֹ֣חַ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י ה' וַיֵּ֨רֶד יָפ֜וֹ וַיִּמְצָ֥א אֳנִיָּ֣ה ׀ בָּאָ֣ה תַרְשִׁ֗ישׁ וַיִּתֵּ֨ן שְׂכָרָ֜הּ וַיֵּ֤רֶד בָּהּ֙ לָב֤וֹא עִמָּהֶם֙ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י ה'׃
(1) The word of GOD came to Jonah 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 Joppa 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.
(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׃
(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.
4.2 What Jonah says to the people of Nineveh--
- What is his actual message?
- What language does he speak?
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/sheet-user-uploaded-media/14381-e3e2c164-1008-11ef-b173-2ef0cc8f7886.jpeg)
Jonah Preaching to the Ninevites (1866) by Gustave Doré, in La Grande Bible de Tours
By Gustave Doré - From English Wikipedia Image:Dore jonah.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=446477
(ד) וַיָּ֤חֶל יוֹנָה֙ לָב֣וֹא בָעִ֔יר מַהֲלַ֖ךְ י֣וֹם אֶחָ֑ד וַיִּקְרָא֙ וַיֹּאמַ֔ר
ע֚וֹד אַרְבָּעִ֣ים י֔וֹם וְנִֽינְוֵ֖ה נֶהְפָּֽכֶת׃
(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/נהפכת/ne'hpakhet!”
(כט) וַיְהִ֗י בְּשַׁחֵ֤ת אֱלֹקִים֙ אֶת־עָרֵ֣י הַכִּכָּ֔ר וַיִּזְכֹּ֥ר אֱלֹקִ֖ים אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיְשַׁלַּ֤ח אֶת־לוֹט֙ מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַהֲפֵכָ֔ה בַּהֲפֹךְ֙ אֶת־הֶ֣עָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־יָשַׁ֥ב בָּהֵ֖ן לֽוֹט׃
(29) Thus it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain and annihilated the cities where Lot dwelt, God was mindful of Abraham and removed Lot from the midst of the upheaval/הפכה/hapheikhah.
(ו) וַיִּגְדַּל֙ עֲוֺ֣ן בַּת־עַמִּ֔י מֵֽחַטַּ֖את סְדֹ֑ם הַֽהֲפוּכָ֣ה כְמוֹ־רָ֔גַע וְלֹא־חָ֥לוּ בָ֖הּ יָדָֽיִם׃ {ס}
(6) The punishment. of my poor people
Exceeded the iniquity of Sodom,
Which was overthrown/ההפוכה/ ha'haphukhah in a moment,
Without a hand striking it.
Yair Zakovitch, New Oxford Annotated Bible, comment to 3:4
Jonah's proclamation, after walking only a third of the way in, is cursory, even omitting the preliminary 'Thus said the Lord"...
(ד) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֵלָ֑י בֶּן־אָדָ֗ם לֶךְ־בֹּא֙ אֶל־בֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְדִבַּרְתָּ֥ בִדְבָרַ֖י אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ (ה) כִּ֡י לֹא֩ אֶל־עַ֨ם עִמְקֵ֥י שָׂפָ֛ה וְכִבְדֵ֥י לָשׁ֖וֹן אַתָּ֣ה שָׁל֑וּחַ אֶל־בֵּ֖ית יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ו) לֹ֣א ׀ אֶל־עַמִּ֣ים רַבִּ֗ים עִמְקֵ֤י שָׂפָה֙ וְכִבְדֵ֣י לָשׁ֔וֹן אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־תִשְׁמַ֖ע דִּבְרֵיהֶ֑ם אִם־לֹ֤א אֲלֵיהֶם֙ שְׁלַחְתִּ֔יךָ הֵ֖מָּה יִשְׁמְע֥וּ אֵלֶֽיךָ׃ (ז) וּבֵ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל לֹ֤א יֹאבוּ֙ לִשְׁמֹ֣עַ אֵלֶ֔יךָ כִּי־אֵינָ֥ם אֹבִ֖ים לִשְׁמֹ֣עַ אֵלָ֑י כִּ֚י כׇּל־בֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל חִזְקֵי־מֵ֥צַח וּקְשֵׁי־לֵ֖ב הֵֽמָּה׃
(4) Then [God] said to me, “Mortal, go to the House of Israel and repeat My very words to them. (5) For you are sent, not to a people of unintelligible speech and difficult language, but to the House of Israel— (6) not to the many peoples of unintelligible speech and difficult language, whose talk you cannot understand. If I sent you to them, they would listen to you. (7) But the House of Israel will refuse to listen to you, for they refuse to listen to Me; for the whole House of Israel are brazen of forehead and stubborn of heart.
(ד) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם֙ רַבְשָׁקֵ֔ה אִמְרוּ־נָ֖א אֶל־חִזְקִיָּ֑הוּ כֹּֽה־אָמַ֞ר הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ הַגָּדוֹל֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֔וּר מָ֧ה הַבִּטָּח֛וֹן הַזֶּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּטָֽחְתָּ׃ ...
(ז) וְכִֽי־תֹאמַ֣ר אֵלַ֔י אֶל־ה' אֱלֹקֵ֖ינוּ בָּטָ֑חְנוּ הֲלוֹא־ה֗וּא אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֵסִ֤יר חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ אֶת־בָּמֹתָ֣יו וְאֶת־מִזְבְּחֹתָ֔יו וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לִיהוּדָה֙ וְלִיר֣וּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם לִפְנֵ֛י הַמִּזְבֵּ֥חַ הַזֶּ֖ה תִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוֽוּ׃ (ח) וְעַתָּה֙ הִתְעָ֣רֶב נָ֔א אֶת־אֲדֹנִ֖י הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֑וּר וְאֶתְּנָ֤ה לְךָ֙ אַלְפַּ֣יִם סוּסִ֔ים אִם־תּוּכַ֕ל לָ֥תֶת לְךָ֖ רֹכְבִ֥ים עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ (ט) וְאֵ֣יךְ תָּשִׁ֗יב אֵ֠ת פְּנֵ֨י פַחַ֥ת אַחַ֛ד עַבְדֵ֥י אֲדֹנִ֖י הַקְּטַנִּ֑ים וַתִּבְטַ֤ח לְךָ֙ עַל־מִצְרַ֔יִם לְרֶ֖כֶב וּלְפָרָשִֽׁים׃ (י) וְעַתָּה֙ הֲמִבַּלְעֲדֵ֣י ה' עָלִ֛יתִי עַל־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַזֹּ֖את לְהַשְׁחִיתָ֑הּ ה' אָמַ֣ר אֵלַ֔י עֲלֵ֛ה אֶל־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַזֹּ֖את וְהַשְׁחִיתָֽהּ׃ {ס}
(יא) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֶלְיָקִים֩ וְשֶׁבְנָ֨א וְיוֹאָ֜ח אֶל־רַבְשָׁקֵ֗ה דַּבֶּר־נָ֤א אֶל־עֲבָדֶ֙יךָ֙ אֲרָמִ֔ית כִּ֥י שֹׁמְעִ֖ים אֲנָ֑חְנוּ וְאַל־תְּדַבֵּ֤ר אֵלֵ֙ינוּ֙ יְהוּדִ֔ית בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י הָעָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־הַחוֹמָֽה׃
(4) The Rabshakeh [=chamberlain of the Assyrian emperor Sennacherib] said to them, “You tell Hezekiah: Thus said the Great King, the king of Assyria: What makes you so confident? ...
(7) And if you tell me that you are relying on the ETERNAL your God, this is the very one whose shrines and altars Hezekiah did away with, telling Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship only at this altar!’ (8) Come now, make this wager with my master, the king of Assyria: I’ll give you two thousand horses, if you can produce riders to mount them. (9) So how could you refuse anything, even to the deputy of one of my master’s lesser servants, relying on Egypt for chariots and riders? (10) And do you think I have marched against this land to destroy it without GOD ? It was GOD who told me: Go up against that land and destroy it.”
(11) Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah replied to the Rabshakeh, “Please, speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it; do not speak to us in Judean in the hearing of the people on the wall.”
4.3 The purpose of Jonah's prophecy
- What is God's purpose?
- What is Jonah's understanding of his prophecy?
Do the people not take alarm?
Can misfortune come to a town
If GOD has not caused it? (7) Indeed, my Sovereign GOD does nothing
Without having revealed the purpose
To God’s servants the prophets.
והא יונה דהדרי ביה ולא אודעוהו!
יונה מעיקרא נינוה נהפכת אמרי ליה איהו לא ידע אי לטובה אי לרעה
[DR transl.]: in the case of Jonah, they [the heavenly court] revoked [a decree of destruction] and did not inform him [of the fact]!
At the outset, they [the heavenly court] told him to say “Nineveh will be overturned” (Jonah 3:4).
[Sefaria transl.] Still, he did not know if the sentence would be for the good, as their corruption would be overturned through repentance, or if it would be for the bad, as the city would be overturned through destruction.
Therefore, the prophecy was never revoked, but simply fulfilled in accordance with one of its possible interpretations.
Elias Bickerman, "Conditional and Unconditional Fates," Four Strange Books of the Bible, 1967
...the Hebrew text [of Jonah] states that the prophet was commanded to 'cry against' Nineveh, and he 'cried against' her: 'Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.' As Augustine says: 'Jonah announced not mercy but the coming anger'... the great exegete formulates the dialectical problem of Jonah and of Jonah's tale. Jonah was not a missionary prophet threatening divine punishment as fata conditionalia. Herald of God's wrath, Jonah declared the immutable and inevitable fata denunciativa: 'Yet forty days, and nineveh shall be overthrown.' (p. 32)
Ehud Ben Zvi, Jewish Study Bible, comment to 3:5-9
Jonah does not wish to be a prophetic voice calling for repentance, and does not ask for the divine judgment to be turned into mercy (contrast to Abraham in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, Gen. 18:16-32), but he is still the most successful prophet in the Bible who achieves both in an unparalleled, complete, and immediate way--even the animals repent! The message is that the success of the prophet is not dependent on his attributes or rhetorical power, but on the will of God. And yet, there is a second reading. Jonah's message 'Nineveh is undone' was fulfilled in history, as the readers of the book know well. [DR: Nineveh was razed in 612 BCE.]. If so, Jonah's understanding of his prophecy was fulfilled too. The problem was then that Jonah erred by believing that his prophecy must be filled in his own days.
4.4. How do the people of Nineveh respond; and why do they respond as they do?
- What was the nature of their belief?
(ה) וַֽיַּאֲמִ֛ינוּ אַנְשֵׁ֥י נִֽינְוֵ֖ה בֵּֽאלֹקִ֑ים וַיִּקְרְאוּ־צוֹם֙ וַיִּלְבְּשׁ֣וּ שַׂקִּ֔ים מִגְּדוֹלָ֖ם וְעַד־קְטַנָּֽם׃
(5) The people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast, and great and small alike put on sackcloth.
(15) Blow a horn in Zion, /Solemnize a fast, / Proclaim an assembly!
(16) Gather the people, / Bid the congregation purify themselves. Bring together the old, / Gather the babes / And the sucklings at the breast; / Let the bridegroom come out of his chamber, /The bride from her canopied couch.
(17) Between the portico and the altar, / Let the priests, GOD’s ministers, weep / And say: / “Oh, spare Your people, ETERNAL One ! / Let not Your possession become a mockery, / To be taunted by nations! / Let not the peoples say, / ‘Where is their God?’”
This passage is part of the Haftarah for the morning of Yom Kippur
(5) Is such the fast I desire, / A day for people to starve their bodies? / Is it bowing the head like a bulrush / And lying in sackcloth and ashes? / Do you call that a fast, / A day when GOD is favorable?
(6) No, this is the fast I desire: / To unlock fetters of wickedness, / And untie the cords of the yoke / To let the oppressed go free; / To break off every yoke.
(7) It is to share your bread with the hungry, / And to take the wretched poor into your home; / When you see the naked, to clothe them, / And not to ignore your own kin.
(1) "And they believed"- because the sailors were in the city and they testified about Yonah that they had cast him into the sea, and the rest of his story as it happened. This is why they believed his prophecy and repented completely.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/sheet-user-uploaded-media/14381-69a6cde0-10ae-11ef-9049-0ef6a0cc1879.jpeg)
Print by Philip Galle, see https://www.thetorah.com/article/why-does-god-really-spare-nineveh
Philip (or Philips) Galle (1537 – March 1612) was a Dutch publisher, best known for publishing old master prints, which he also produced as designer and engraver. He is especially known for his reproductive engravings of paintings. (Wikipedia)
4.5. What role does the King of Nineveh play?
- The King's decree
- Ezekiel describes how rulers will/should respond to calamity
- The King of Nineveh sounds like the prophet Jeremiah
(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׃
(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.”
About downfall for the city of Tyre
(16) All the rulers of the sea shall descend from their thrones; they shall remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They shall clothe themselves with trembling, and shall sit on the ground; they shall tremble every moment, and they shall be aghast at you.
(3) Perhaps they will listen and turn back, each from their own evil way, that I may renounce the punishment I am planning to bring upon them for their wicked acts.
Similarly: Jer. 36:7
Yair Zakovitch, New Oxford Annotated Bible, Introduction to Jonah (p. 1320)
Jeremiah's prophecies (Jer. 26:3, 36:7) echo in the words of the king of Nineveh who, with Jonah behaving as an anti-prophet, himself assumes the role of prophet and rouses his people to repent (Jonah 3:8).
James S. Ackerman, Harper Collins Study Bible, comment to chapter 3
Jonah's great success with the king in Nineveh should be contrasted with the prophets' repeated failure with kings in Jerusalem (e.g. Jer. 36:9-32).
(14) Then all the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah son of Shelemiah son of Cushi to say to Baruch, “Take that scroll from which you read to the people, and come along!” And Baruch took the scroll and came to them. (15) They said, “Sit down and read it to us.” And Baruch read it to them. (16) When they heard all these words, they turned to each other in fear; and they said to Baruch, “We must report all this to the king.” (17) And they questioned Baruch further, “Tell us how you wrote down all these words that he spoke.” (18) He answered them, “He himself recited all those words to me, and I would write them down in the scroll in ink.” (19) The officials said to Baruch, “Go into hiding, you and Jeremiah. Don’t let a soul know where you are!” (20) And they went to the king in the court, after leaving the scroll in the chamber of the scribe Elishama. And they reported all these matters to the king.
(21) The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll and he fetched it from the chamber of the scribe Elishama. Jehudi read it to the king and to all the officials who were in attendance on the king. (22) Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in the winter house, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. (23) And every time Jehudi read three or four columns, [the king] would cut it up with a scribe’s knife and throw it into the fire in the brazier, until the entire scroll was consumed by the fire in the brazier. (24) Yet the king and all his courtiers who heard all these words showed no fear and did not tear their garments; (25) moreover, Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, but he would not listen to them. (26) The king ordered Jerahmeel, the king’s son, and Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. But GOD hid them.
4.6 Why does God relent?
(א) סֵדֶר תַּעֲנִיּוֹת כֵּיצַד, מוֹצִיאִין אֶת הַתֵּבָה לִרְחוֹבָהּ שֶׁל עִיר, וְנוֹתְנִין אֵפֶר מִקְלֶה עַל גַּבֵּי הַתֵּבָה, ...
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 customary order of fast days? Normally the sacred ark in the synagogue, which was mobile, was kept in a locked room. However, on fast days they remove the ark to the main city square and place burnt ashes upon the ark, as a sign of mourning. ...
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). This teaches that prayer and fasting are insufficient, as one must also repent and amend his ways in practice.
4.7. In what ways is God's act of mercy reasonable? In what ways unreasonable?
...אָמַר רִבִּי פִינְחָס. ט֣וֹב וְיָשָׁ֥ר. לָמָּה הוּא טוֹב. שֶׁהוּא יָשָׁר. וְלָמָּה הוּא יָשָׁר. שֶׁהוּא טוֹב. עַל־כֵּ֤ן יוֹרֶ֖ה חַטָּאִ֣ים בַּדָּֽרֶךְ. שֶׁמּוֹרֶה דֶּרֶךְ תְּשׁוּבָה.
שָׁאֲלוּ לַחָכְמָה. חוֹטֵא מָהוּ עוֹנְשׁוֹ. אָֽמְרָה לָהֶם. חַ֭טָּאִים תְּרַדֵּ֣ף רָעָ֑ה.
שָׁאֲלוּ לַנְּבוּאָה. חוֹטֵא מָהוּ עוֹנְשׁוֹ. אָֽמְרָה לָהֶן. הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַחוֹטֵאת הִ֥יא תָמֽוּת׃
שָׁאֲלו לְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא. חוֹטֵא מָהוּ עוֹנְשׁוֹ. אָמַר לָהֶן. יַעֲשֶׂה תְשׁוּבָה וְיִתְכַּפֵּר לוֹ.
הַייְנוֹ דִכְתִיב. עַל־כֵּ֤ן יוֹרֶ֖ה חַטָּאִ֣ים בַּדָּֽרֶךְ. יוֹרֶה לַחַטָּאִים דֶּרֶךְ לַעֲשׂוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה. כְּתִיב כַּצִּפּ֣וֹר לָ֭נוּד כַּדְּר֣וֹר לָע֑וּף כֵּן אִישׁ נוֹדֵד מִמְּקוֹמוֹ.
...Rabbi Phineas said, [Good and upright/straightforward is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way.] Ps. 25:8.. Why is He good? Because He is straightforward. And why is He straightforward? Because He is good. Therefore, He teaches the way to the sinners. He instructs in the way of repentance.
There exist various versions of the following homily. In G, the text reads:
They asked the Torah, what is the punishment of the sinner? She told them, he shall bring a sacrifice and it will be atoned for him.
They asked Prophecy, what is the punishment of the sinner? She told them, the sinning soul is the one which will die.
They asked David, what is the punishment of the sinner? He told them, may sins vanish from the earth etc.
They asked Wisdom, what is the punishment of the sinner? She told them, evil will pursue sinners.
They asked the Holy One, praise to Him, what is the punishment of the sinner? He said to them, let him repent and I will accept.. That is what is written, good and straightforward is the Eternal. ...
(19) God is not human to be capricious, / Or mortal to have a change of heart. / Would [God] speak and not act, / Promise and not fulfill?
Similarly: I Samuel 15:29
(ז) רֶ֣גַע אֲדַבֵּ֔ר עַל־גּ֖וֹי וְעַל־מַמְלָכָ֑ה לִנְת֥וֹשׁ וְלִנְת֖וֹץ וּֽלְהַאֲבִֽיד׃ (ח) וְשָׁב֙ הַגּ֣וֹי הַה֔וּא מֵרָ֣עָת֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי עָלָ֑יו וְנִֽחַמְתִּי֙ עַל־הָ֣רָעָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָשַׁ֖בְתִּי לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת לֽוֹ׃ {ס}
(ט) וְרֶ֣גַע אֲדַבֵּ֔ר עַל־גּ֖וֹי וְעַל־מַמְלָכָ֑ה לִבְנ֖וֹת וְלִנְטֽוֹעַ׃ (י) וְעָשָׂ֤ה (הרעה) [הָרַע֙] בְּעֵינַ֔י לְבִלְתִּ֖י שְׁמֹ֣עַ בְּקוֹלִ֑י וְנִֽחַמְתִּי֙ עַל־הַטּוֹבָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָמַ֖רְתִּי לְהֵיטִ֥יב אוֹתֽוֹ׃ {ס}
(7) At one moment I may decree that a nation or a kingdom shall be uprooted and pulled down and destroyed; (8) but if that nation against which I made the decree turns back from its wickedness, I change My mind concerning the punishment I planned to bring on it.
(9) At another moment I may decree that a nation or a kingdom shall be built and planted; (10) but if it does what is displeasing to Me and does not obey Me, then I change My mind concerning the good I planned to bestow upon it.
E. Bickerman, "The Unfulfilled Prophecy," Four Strange Books of the Bible
How can God's word remain unfulfilled? ... Jeremiah...challenging the determinism of the fata denunciativa, offered a new perspective in theology. ... The divine decision is not unalterable, and the fate is changeable. God may speak against a nation but if it turns from evil God will repent of the harm that He thought to do unto it. Likewise, if a nation does evil, He will repent of the favor He said He would bestow (Jer. 18). Repeated by later prophets such as Ezekiel (38), this theory of the conditional prophecy became a part of Jewish and Christian theology. The oracle is not automatically effective. Its realization depends on man's conduct. God pardoned Nineveh not because of a faulty judgment in giving the oracle of destruction, says Jerome, but because the Ninevites had changed their ways. (pp. 38-9)
5. Summary and Prospect
- Class 10 Jonah Chapter 4 - Jonah’s Conversation with God - Review - 5/20