Jonah as Fiction (page 3)

Narkissos

A Paduan:

1 Kings 19 which has so much in common with Jonah thus begins:

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow." Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.

Jeremiah 26 also has a similar story (v. 20ff):

There was another man prophesying in the name of the LORD, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words exactly like those of Jeremiah. And when King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. Then King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Achbor and men with him to Egypt, and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who struck him down with the sword and threw his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

A Paduan....My whole post was about where the story of Jonah came from. As for motif of the "cowardous prophet," I mentioned examples of Elijah who fled from Jezebel, and the "man of God" in 1 Kings 13 who also "defied Yahweh's command and not obeyed his orders" and ran away.

Narkissos....That's also a great example I hadn't noticed, of the prophet Uriah fleeing to Egypt in ch. 26 of Jeremiah, the same chapter utilized in Jonah! I wish I had noticed that when writing the essay....that would've strengthened the argument further.

peacefulpete....It's nice to see you around again. I noted the connection with Herakles as quite plausible (involving the three-day motif in a place underwater). It's pretty clear from the text that the "three days" referred to the amount of time passing through the city, as it explains why Ninevah was a "great city". You're right that this is another indicator of a late and fictional origin of the book. I don't get the impression from the text though that the great fish vomitted him up near Ninevah. The command Jonah receives after this event, "Go to the great city of Ninevah" (3:2), is the same one he received when he was (presumably) in Judah in ch. 1, and 3:3a gives a simple summary statement of Jonah's travel to Ninevah, which potentially could be of any length.

Leolaia

Here is a new article on this subject:

http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/Mckenzie_Jonah_Genre.htm

Enjoy!

googlemagoogle

in jesus sirach, tobit and 3rd maccabees the jonah story is referred to as factual though. [edited:] or at least jonah is described as historical figure.

[edited to add the quotes:]
tobit 14
4 Go into Media my son, for I surely believe those things which Jonas the prophet spake of Nineve, that it shall be overthrown; ...
8 And now, my son, depart out of Nineve, because that those things which the prophet Jonas spake shall surely come to pass.

3 maccabees 6
8 And Jonah, wasting away in the belly of a huge, sea-born monster, you, Father, watched over and restored unharmed to all his family.

Leolaia

It is uncertain whether Jonah is mentioned in the archetype of Tobit 14:4, 8; some manuscripts refer to Jonah and his prophecy, while others refer to Nahum and his prophecy (and the fragmentary Qumran material is ambiguous). As for Sirach, there is only reference to the existence of the twelve apostles, as far as I know....but one could also mention the synoptics, Josephus (Antiquities, 9.2) and the Vitae Prophetarum. It is not surprising that Jonah was taken as historical -- or rather, as something that actually happened as narrated, even if this may not have been the intent of the author (who may have intended an edifying and satirical morality tale similar in some ways to the narrative parables of Jesus, like Rich Man and Lazarus or some haggadaic legends). A similar thing happened with the Alphabet of Ben Sira (one of the most outrageous stories ever written), which is even more clearly intended to be satirical but which some treated as attempting a serious tho blasphemous account of Jesus ben Sirach.

Narkissos

As for Sirach, there is only reference to the existence of the twelve apostles, as far as I know.

The twelve Prophets (or Minor Prophets, which traditionally include Jonah), that is. Cf. Siracides (Ecclesiasticus) 49:10 (a very general statement):

May the bones of the Twelve Prophets
send forth new life from where they lie,
for they comforted the people of Jacob
and delivered them with confident hope.

It is not surprising that Jonah was taken as historical -- or rather, as something that actually happened as narrated, even if this may not have been the intent of the author (who may have intended an edifying and satirical morality tale similar in some ways to the narrative parables of Jesus, like Rich Man and Lazarus or some haggadaic legends). ; A similar thing happened with the Alphabet of Ben Sira (one of the most outrageous stories ever written), which is even more clearly intended to be satirical but which some treated as attempting a serious tho blasphemous account of Jesus ben Sirach.

This raises the interesting question of the status of fiction in ancient literature. While there is no doubt that the writing of fiction is ubiquitous in history (with or without popular background), it seems that the concept of popular fiction (fiction understood as fiction by the majority of readers / listeners) is scarcely attested before the emergence or the novel (roman) genre in the modern era. Fables such as Aesop's may be one exception. But apparently even the most fantastic stories in myhology, epics or tragedy were taken literally by at least part of the audience (even though, as Paul Veyne pointed out, nobody really expected to see gods, monsters or heroes in real life). As a result, a fictional story had little chance to become popular (not to mention sacred) without at least the uneducated masses taking it as non-fictional.

katiekitten

At primary school our music teacher taught us these kind of childrens rock operas about bible stories, and we learned the one about Jonah.

One of the songs was pretty rock and roll and started like this:

Ninevahs city was a city of sin,
The jazzin' and the jivin' made a terrible din.
Beat groups playing rock and roll
And the Lord when he heard it
Said 'bless my soul'

It was GREAT!

AlmostAtheist

old Evangelical church in Paris which has included in its statutes that nobody can be accepted as a member unless s/he accepts the Jonah story as historical.

That would be the Kingdom Hall, as well.

Didn't Jesus speak of Jonah as a historical figure? Mt 12:40 - "For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights." (Could be as few as 2 nights, so don't set your clocks by this prophecy!)

Is there room for thinking that Jesus knew Jonah was fictional and was just referring to him as an example? Like you might say, "Ya gotta bluff 'em, just like when Kirk threatened to use 'Corbomite'." Kirk is a fictional character, but if I think my audience will understand the reference I could use it without qualifying it. Is that how Jesus used it? Prolly not, since he speaks awfully literally of the "men of Ninevah" being resurrected in the next verse. Still, I guess it's possible.

It's a shame the New Testament reaches back and references the Old Testament so much. If it didn't, you could potentially maintain faith in it, while acknowledging that the OT is largely stories. Since it does, admitting that Noah's Flood never happened, for instance, means Jesus' whole authority is sent reeling, since he spoke of it as historical.

Thanks for the great post, Leo, and all your hard work on it.

Dave

googlemagoogle

It's a shame the New Testament reaches back and references the Old Testament so much. If it didn't, you could potentially maintain faith in it, while acknowledging that the OT is largely stories. Since it does, admitting that Noah's Flood never happened, for instance, means Jesus' whole authority is sent reeling, since he spoke of it as historical.

that's why i rejected christianity pretty much at the same time i couldn't accept the OT anymore, even though i would have liked to believe the jesus stuff. but it just won't work.

hooberus

I believe the account of Jonah actually happened. Sometime ago (when this thread was first posted) I printed a copy and spent a considerable amount of time on it. I hope to post a response to some of Leolaia's points (ie: to account for the reason for similarities without denying historicity). It will probably be posted over time, and it may be by subject (rather than in the order of the first post). I do hope to cover the main points. Furthermore, I don't plan on getting into extended debate, nor do I generally intend on dealing with "new" material not previously posted here.

Jonah as Fiction

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