0. Welcome and Opening Question
Welcome
Opening Question
- Do you think the Jewish tradition calls for a concern about nature and the environment? If so, why?
1. Plan for this class
- Questions to consider about Jonah's conversation with God
- Our Text: Jonah chapter 4
- Discussion and Commentaries
- Summary of Jonah
- Prospect for future learning: Daniel
2. Questions to consider about Jonah's conversation with God
- 0. Your reactions
- 1. Why is Jonah upset? (4:1).
- 2. How do you understand Jonah's prayer? How does this prayer compare to his prayer referred to in ch. 2? (4:2-3)
- 3. What is the point of the plant, worm, and wind episode? (4:6-8)
- 4. What are Jonah and God arguing about in this chapter? (4:2, 10-11)
8 agorot Stamp of Jonah - Israel - 1963 from the "Happy Holidays 5724" issue.
מאת Israel Philatelic Federation - Israel Philatelic Federation - 1963, נחלת הכלל, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33190235
"The sun beat down on Jonah's head" (Jonah 4:8)
3. Our Text: Jonah 4
(1) This displeased Jonah greatly, and he was grieved.
(2) He prayed to GOD, saying, “O ETERNAL One! Isn’t this just what I said when I was still in my own country? That is why I fled beforehand to Tarshish. For I know that You are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, renouncing punishment.
(3) Please, ETERNAL One, take my life, for I would rather die than live.”
(5) Now Jonah had left the city and found a place east of the city. He made a booth there and sat under it in the shade, until he should see what happened to the city.
(6) The ETERNAL God provided a ricinus [or castor oil] plant, which grew up over Jonah, to provide shade for his head and save him from discomfort. Jonah was very happy about the plant.
(9) Then God said to Jonah, “Are you so deeply grieved about the plant?” “Yes,” he replied, “so deeply that I want to die.”
(10) Then GOD said: “You cared about the plant, which you did not work for and which you did not grow, which appeared overnight and perished overnight.
(11) And should not I care about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not yet know their right hand from their left, and many animals as well!”
Jonah under His Gourd, Maarten van Heemskerck, 1561. The Royal Collection Trust. From Jack M. Sasson, "Jonah Struggles with God's Compassion," found at
https://www.thetorah.com/article/jonah-struggles-with-gods-compassion
4. Discussion and Commentaries
4.0 Your reactions
4.1 Why is Jonah upset? - look at the context
4.2 Jonah's prayers in chapter 4 and chapter 2
(ב) וַיִּתְפַּלֵּ֨ל אֶל־ה' וַיֹּאמַ֗ר אָנָּ֤ה ה' הֲלוֹא־זֶ֣ה דְבָרִ֗י עַד־הֱיוֹתִי֙ עַל־אַדְמָתִ֔י עַל־כֵּ֥ן קִדַּ֖מְתִּי לִבְרֹ֣חַ תַּרְשִׁ֑ישָׁה כִּ֣י יָדַ֗עְתִּי כִּ֤י אַתָּה֙ אֵֽל־חַנּ֣וּן וְרַח֔וּם אֶ֤רֶךְ אַפַּ֙יִם֙ וְרַב־חֶ֔סֶד וְנִחָ֖ם עַל־הָרָעָֽה׃ (ג) וְעַתָּ֣ה ה' קַח־נָ֥א אֶת־נַפְשִׁ֖י מִמֶּ֑נִּי כִּ֛י ט֥וֹב מוֹתִ֖י מֵחַיָּֽי׃ {פ}
(2) He prayed to GOD, saying, “O ETERNAL One! Isn’t this just what I said when I was still in my own country? That is why I fled beforehand to Tarshish. For I know that You are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, renouncing punishment. (3) Please, ETERNAL One, take my life, for I would rather die than live.”
(ב) וַיִּתְפַּלֵּ֣ל יוֹנָ֔ה אֶל־ה' אֱלֹקָ֑יו מִמְּעֵ֖י הַדָּגָֽה׃ (ג) וַיֹּ֗אמֶר קָ֠רָ֠אתִי מִצָּ֥רָה לִ֛י אֶל־ה' וַֽיַּעֲנֵ֑נִי מִבֶּ֧טֶן שְׁא֛וֹל שִׁוַּ֖עְתִּי שָׁמַ֥עְתָּ קוֹלִֽי׃
(2) Jonah prayed to the ETERNAL his God from the belly of the fish. (3) He said: / In my trouble I called to GOD, / Who answered me; / From the belly of Sheol I cried out, / And You heard my voice.
(8) When my life was ebbing away, / I called GOD to mind; / And my prayer came before You, / Into Your holy temple.
4.3 What is the point of the plant, worm, and wind episode? (4:6-8)
Late Roman, Asia Minor, early Christian period, 3rd century - Jonah Under the Gourd Vine - 1965.239 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif
Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clevelandart_1965.239.jpg
(ו) וַיְמַ֣ן יְהֹוָֽה־אֱ֠לֹקִ֠ים קִיקָי֞וֹן וַיַּ֣עַל ׀ מֵעַ֣ל לְיוֹנָ֗ה לִֽהְי֥וֹת צֵל֙ עַל־רֹאשׁ֔וֹ לְהַצִּ֥יל ל֖וֹ מֵרָֽעָת֑וֹ וַיִּשְׂמַ֥ח יוֹנָ֛ה עַל־הַקִּֽיקָי֖וֹן שִׂמְחָ֥ה גְדוֹלָֽה׃ (ז) וַיְמַ֤ן הָֽאֱלֹקִים֙ תּוֹלַ֔עַת בַּעֲל֥וֹת הַשַּׁ֖חַר לַֽמׇּחֳרָ֑ת וַתַּ֥ךְ אֶת־הַקִּֽיקָי֖וֹן וַיִּיבָֽשׁ׃ (ח) וַיְהִ֣י ׀ כִּזְרֹ֣חַ הַשֶּׁ֗מֶשׁ וַיְמַ֨ן אֱלֹקִ֜ים ר֤וּחַ קָדִים֙ חֲרִישִׁ֔ית וַתַּ֥ךְ הַשֶּׁ֛מֶשׁ עַל־רֹ֥אשׁ יוֹנָ֖ה וַיִּתְעַלָּ֑ף וַיִּשְׁאַ֤ל אֶת־נַפְשׁוֹ֙ לָמ֔וּת וַיֹּ֕אמֶר ט֥וֹב מוֹתִ֖י מֵחַיָּֽי׃
(6) The ETERNAL God provided a ricinus plant which grew up over Jonah, to provide shade for his head and save him from discomfort. Jonah was very happy about the plant.
(7) But the next day at dawn God provided a worm, which attacked the plant so that it withered.
(8) And when the sun rose, God provided a sultry east wind; the sun beat down on Jonah’s head, and he became faint. He begged for death, saying, “I would rather die than live.”
(א) וַיְמַ֤ן ה' דָּ֣ג גָּד֔וֹל לִבְלֹ֖עַ אֶת־יוֹנָ֑ה וַיְהִ֤י יוֹנָה֙ בִּמְעֵ֣י הַדָּ֔ג שְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה יָמִ֖ים וּשְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה לֵילֽוֹת׃
(1) GOD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah; and Jonah remained in the fish’s belly three days and three nights.
Ehud Ben Zvi, The Jewish Study Bible, comment to Jonah 4:6
The Lord God provided: The repetition of this language links the fish (2:1), the plant here, the successful worm in v. 7, and the extremely scorching wind in v. 8. All of them are provided or appointed by God.
4.4 What are Jonah and God arguing about in this chapter? (Note that each one uses 39 Hebrew words!)
Jonah's complaint
(2) He prayed to GOD, saying, “O ETERNAL One! Isn’t this just what I said when I was still in my own country? That is why I fled beforehand to Tarshish. For I know that You are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, renouncing punishment.
The attributes of God's mercy
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed: “!ה`! 'ה' a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin—yet not remitting all punishment, but visiting the iniquity of parents upon children and children’s children, upon the third and fourth generations.”
Authenticating prophecies
(21) And should you ask yourselves, “How can we know that the oracle (דבר/davar/'word') was not spoken by the Lord?
(22) if the prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and the oracle does not come true, that oracle was not spoken by the Lord; the prophet has uttered it presumptuously: do not stand in dread of that person.
Yair Zakovitch, New Oxford Annotated Bible, Jonah, introduction, p. 1320
Jonah represents the concept, expressed explicitly in Deuteronomy 18:21-22, that the single proof of a prophecy's truth is its realization. God seeks to teach Jonah values more lofty than a prophecy's realization or a prophet's reliability--the saving of God's creation when found worthy. The book therefore illustrates the position...that although a prophecy of peace must be fulfilled in order to prove that its deliverer is a true prophet, a prophecy of destruction is meant, from the outset, to educate and bring repentance. This holds even for foreign nations...
God's response to Jonah's complaint
(10) Then GOD said: “You cared about the plant, which you did not work for and which you did not grow, which appeared overnight and perished overnight. (11) And should not I care about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not yet know their right hand from their left, and many animals as well!”
(9) The LORD is good to all, / and His mercy is upon all His works.
God cares about humanity
God cared about Nineveh on account of His glory. For created things are God's glory, as it is written, "the world is full of His glory" (Isaiah 6:3). All the more so the human race, as it is written, "whom I have created, formed, and made for My glory" (Isaiah 43:7)...
5. Review of Jonah
- 1. Can a Prophet grow?
- 2. Fire, Air, Earth, Water - Four Elements in Jonah
- 3. The Haftarah for Yom Kippur: The last word goes to Micah
- 4. A Message for Jerusalem and the Jews
- 5. An allegory about the condition of humanity
5.1 Can a prophet grow?
Moshe Sternberg, The Poetics of Biblical Narrative, Indiana, 1987, p. 320
Beginning as a punitive affair between God and Nineveh, temporarily interrupted by the go-between's recalcitrance, [the book of] Jonah evolves before our eyes into a story of a prophet's education. (Quoted in Jack M. Sasson, Anchor Bible: Jonah, p. 325)
(יז) נִמְצֵאתָ אַתָּה אוֹמֵר: שְׁלֹשָׁה בָנִים הֵם: אֶחָד תָּבַע כְּבוֹד הָאָב וּכְבוֹד הַבֵּן, וְאֶחָד תָּבַע כְּבוֹד הָאָב וְלֹא כְבוֹד הַבֵּן, וְאֶחָד תָּבַע כְּבוֹד הַבֵּן וְלֹא כְבוֹד הָאָב. יִרְמְיָה תָּבַע כְּבוֹד הָאָב וּכְבוֹד הַבֵּן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: (איכה ג,מב) "נַחְנוּ פָשַׁעְנוּ וּמָרִינוּ אַתָּה לֹא סָלָחְתָּ." לְפִי כָךְ נִכְפְּלָה נְבוּאָתוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: (ירמיה לו,לב) "וְעוֹד נוֹסַף עֲלֵיהֶם דְּבָרִים רַבִּים כָּהֵמָּה." אֵלִיָּהוּ תָּבַע כְּבוֹד הָאָב וְלֹא כְבוֹד הַבֵּן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: (מלכים א יט,יג-יד) וְהִנֵּה אֵלָיו קוֹל וַיֹּאמֶר: מַה לְּךָ פֹה אֵלִיָּהוּ? וַיֹּאמֶר: קַנֹּא קִנֵּאתִי לַה' אֱלֹקֵי צְבָאוֹת, כִּי עָזְבוּ בְרִיתְךָ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶת מִזְבְּחֹתֶיךָ הָרָסוּ, וְאֶת נְבִיאֶיךָ הָרְגוּ בֶחָרֶב, וָאִוָּתֵר אֲנִי לְבַדִּי, וַיְבַקְשׁוּ אֶת נַפְשִׁי לְקַחְתָּהּ." וּמַה נֶּאֱמַר שָׁם? (מלכים א יט טו-טז) "וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֵלָיו: לֵךְ שׁוּב לְדַרְכְּךָ מִדְבַּרָה דַמָּשֶׂק, וּבָאתָ וּמָשַׁחְתָּ אֶת חֲזָאֵל לְמֶלֶךְ עַל אֲרָם. וְאֵת יֵהוּא בֶן נִמְשִׁי תִּמְשַׁח לְמֶלֶךְ עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאֶת אֱלִישָׁע בֶּן שָׁפָט מֵאָבֵל מְחוֹלָה, תִּמְשַׁח לְנָבִיא תַּחְתֶּיךָ." שֶׁאֵין תַּלְמוּד (לוֹמַר) "תַּחְתֶּיךָ", אֶלָּא שֶׁאֵי אֶפְשָׁר בִנְבוּאָתָךְ.
(יח) יוֹנָה תָּבַע כְּבוֹד הַבֵּן וְלֹא כְבוֹד הָאָב, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: (יונה א,ג) "וַיָּקָם יוֹנָה לִבְרֹחַ תַּרְשִׁישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵי ה', וַיֵּרֶד יָפוֹ וַיִּמְצָא אָנִיָּה בָּאָה תַרְשִׁישׁ, וַיִּתֵּן שְׂכָרָהּ וַיֵּרֶד בָּהּ, לָבוֹא עִמָּהֶם תַּרְשִׁישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵי ה'." מַה כָּתוּב? (יונה ג,א) "וַיְהִי דְבַר ה' אֶל יוֹנָה שֵׁנִית לֵאמֹר." שֵׁנִית נִדְבַּר עִמּוֹ, וְלֹא נִדְבַּר עִמּוֹ שְׁלִישִׁית.
(17) We find there to have been three (kinds of) prophets. One claimed the honor of the Father and the honor of the son; another, the honor of the Father, but not the honor of the son; another, the honor of the son, but not the honor of the Father.
Jeremiah claimed the honor of the Father and the honor of the son, viz. (Eichah 3:42) "We have offended and rebelled" (the honor of the Father); "You have not forgiven" (the honor of the son). Therefore, his prophecy was "doubled," (Jeremiah 36:33) "… and many other words were added to them" (the prophecies of Jeremiah).
Eliyahu claimed the honor of the Father, but not the honor of the son, viz. (I Kings 19:10) "I have been very jealous for the L–rd, the G–d of hosts, etc." And what is stated in this regard? (Ibid. 15-16) "And the L–rd said to him: Go, return on your way to the desert of Damascus … And Yehu the son of Nimshi shall you anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shafat … shall you anoint to be a prophet in your place." What is the intent of this? He does not desire your prophecy (because you do not claim the honor of Israel).
(18) Jonah claimed the honor of the son, but not the honor of the Father. What is stated in that regard? (Jonah 1:3) "And the word of the L–rd came to Jonah a second time, saying." What is the intent of this? We will speak with him a second time, but not a third, (for he did not claim the honor of the L–rd).
מדרש יונה - בית המדרש (יעללינעק) א׳, עמ׳ 102
ואני לא אחוס על נינוה העיר הגדולה?! באותה שעה נפל על פניו ואמר הנהג עולמך במדת רחמים דכתיב ׳לה׳ אלקינו הרחמים והסליחות׳:
Midrash Jonah (a medieval collection), from Bet ha-Midrasch, vol. 1, ed. Adolphe Jelllinek (publ. 1906)
"And should not I care about Nineveh, that great city...?!
At that very moment, [Jonah] fell flat on his face saying, 'Direct your world according to the attribute of mercy, as is written, "Mercy and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God..." (Daniel 9:9).
(Cited by Jack M. Sasson, p. 320)
5.2 The Four Elements: Fire, Air, Earth, Water
Empedocles (c. 494 – c. 434 BC, ) was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a native citizen of Akragas, a Greek city in Sicily. Empedocles established four ultimate elements which make all the structures in the world—fire, air, water, earth. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empedocles
By Unknown author - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75120658
Empedocles' theory of four elements (fire, air, water and earth), woodcut from a 1472 edition of Lucretius' De rerum natura
| Element | Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air | a mighty wind 1.4 | a sultry east wind 4.8 | ||
| Water | The sea 1.4; 'Who made the sea..." 1.9, etc. | 'you cast me...into the heart of the sea' 2.4 | 'they shall not drink water' 3.7 | |
| Earth | 'Who made...the dry land' 1.9; 'the men rowed...to regain the shore (dry land) 1a;13 | 'the bars of the earth' 2.7; 'it spewed J. out upon dry land' 2.11 | the king 'sat in ashes' 3.6 | he...sat under [the booth] 4.5; the gourd (4.6) |
| Fire | ? 'Nineveh shall be overturned' 3.4 (like Sodom?) | 'when the sun rose' 4.8; 'the sun beat down' 4.8 |
5.3 The last word goes to...the prophet Micah (Haftarah for Yom Kippur)
מִי־אֵ֣ל כָּמ֗וֹךָ נֹשֵׂ֤א עָוֺן֙ וְעֹבֵ֣ר עַל־פֶּ֔שַׁע לִשְׁאֵרִ֖ית נַחֲלָת֑וֹ לֹֽא־הֶחֱזִ֤יק לָעַד֙ אַפּ֔וֹ כִּֽי־חָפֵ֥ץ חֶ֖סֶד הֽוּא׃
יָשׁ֣וּב יְרַחֲמֵ֔נוּ יִכְבֹּ֖שׁ עֲוֺנֹתֵ֑ינוּ וְתַשְׁלִ֛יךְ בִּמְצֻל֥וֹת יָ֖ם כׇּל־חַטֹּאותָֽם׃
תִּתֵּ֤ן אֱמֶת֙ לְיַֽעֲקֹ֔ב חֶ֖סֶד לְאַבְרָהָ֑ם אֲשֶׁר־נִשְׁבַּ֥עְתָּ לַאֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּ מִ֥ימֵי קֶֽדֶם׃
Who is a God like You,
Forgiving iniquity
And remitting transgression—
Not staying angry forever
Toward the remnant of Your own people,
Because You love graciousness! [God] will take us back in love,
Quashing our iniquities.
You will hurl all our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
You will keep faith with Jacob,
Loyalty to Abraham,
As You promised on oath to our fathers
In days gone by.
5.4 A message for Jerusalem and Jews
Elias Bickerman, Four Strange Books of the Bible, Jonah, "Jonah and Jeremiah Reconciled," p. 45
If God once did spare Nineveh, would He not save Jerusalem by His sovereign decision?
5.5 An allegory about the condition of humanity
"In the story of Jonah we have a representation of the whole of a man's career in this world. Jonah descending into the ship is symbolic of man's soul that descends into this world to enter into his body. Why is [he called] "Jonah" (יונה/yonah=aggrieved)? Because as soon as [the soul] becomes partner with the body in this world she finds herself full of vexation [yonah]. Man, then, is in this world as in a ship that is traversing the great ocean and is like to be broken, as it says, 'so that the ship was like to be broken' (Jonah 1:4)."
- The Zohar (wayyahēl 199); ed. Simon and Levertoff 1949, p. 173. Quoted in Jack Sasson, Anchor Bible, Jonah, p 323.
6. Prospect
It has been wonderful to learn Jonah (and Kohelet/Ecclesiastes) with you!
Best wishes for a healthy and happy summer.
Looking forward to studying the book of Daniel together in the fall!