JONAH – DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. In the story of Jonah, the pagans, the sailors and the citizens of Nineveh, quickly accept the Jewish god. On the other hand, even those who fled their homes in Egypt for the desert expressed some reluctance. Why did the pagans in this story so readily and quickly convert when others either refused or took great persuading?
2. Why was Jonah so reticent and passive while he was aboard the ship? Why did he not tell the sailors or the captain about his situation? He was totally passive (he slept in fact) during the storm, he failed to pray when asked, he did not even react when his lot was chosen to be thrown overboard. Even when directly asked, his response was evasive (“I am a Hebrew, I fear the Lord, the God of Heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Jonah 1:9). Why did Jonah not inform the sailors of the situation? It was only later that Jonah told the sailors that he was fleeing from God. What was Jonah doing? Did he feel that the sailors were not worthy of an explanation since they were pagans? Did Jonah feel that since the fight was between himself and God, then the sailors would not be harmed?
3. Why did Jonah wait three days and three nights inside the fish before he prayed to God (Jonah 2:1-2)?
4. Why was Jonah selected? There is no discussion in the text regarding his great standing or any other credentials which would seem to be required for a mission this important.
5. Why was the city of Nineveh selected? There had to be other less important cities which could have been selected, why Nineveh? Why was God so interested in Nineveh? Why did the Biblical authors choose Nineveh for this story?
6. Given that Nineveh was the capital of the neo-Assyrian Empire which later gave Israel great problems, who was correct regarding saving that city, Jonah or God? Why could Jonah see what God apparently did not see?
7. If God correctly foresaw what Nineveh would mean to the Jewish nation in the future, why did He save it? Even given the proposition that repentance is stronger than God’s word, why would God choose to save a city such as this? Surely there were other cities that fit the criteria of being pagan and capable of repenting.
8. Why did Jonah stick around after he completed his mission at Nineveh?
9. If you heard a voice that told you to go to the capital city of a foreign country which was hostile to your country and threaten the citizens of that city with destruction unless they adopted your god, would you do it, or would you attempt to flee as Jonah did?
10. Do you agree with the inclusion of the story of Jonah in the liturgy of the High Holy Days? If not, can you suggest a substitute?
11. In so many stories, a city is conquered because the conqueror’s god is more powerful than the god of the conquered city. Why didn’t God simply instruct the Jews to conquer Nineveh? That option might have avoided problems later. God certainly had not shown Himself reluctant to use such force in the past.
12. The Book of Jonah was written in the post-exilic period. During that period, Nehemiah advocated that the men of Jerusalem disavow their marriages to non-Jewish women. Do you think the Book of Jonah was intended to have  an application to or instructions for those men? What about the people who chose to remain in Babylon rather than return to Jerusalem? What about the priests in Jerusalem?
13. The Book of Jonah was written near the time of the return from Exile. Do you think the time of drafting had any influence on the story? Such as forgiveness to pagans?
14. Could Jonah be considered as a caricature, or a foil, for human virtues? Could he be prompted by cowardice, a refusal to make a commitment, narcissism, parochialism, greed, envy? Or was he being heroic in being willing to sacrifice himself to save further Jewish victims at the hands of the Ninevites?
15. Do you think Jonah was merely being human when he refused the call? How do you think you would react if a “voice” told you to be instrumental in saving from destruction an enemy of your people whom you felt would destroy your family if it survived?How would you react to a “voice” telling you to warn Adolf Eichmann to repent and know that if he did, he would be saved to do his evil on your people. Would you follow the “voice,” or would you rebel like Jonah did? This is far different from the “voice” telling you to save your own people. In this, perhaps Jonah is more praiseworthy than many other prophets because he obeyed the “voice” in spite of his fears. Some have identified this problem as the “Jonah complex.” That is, a clash between what one would choose for himself (and hence feel good about, in Jonah’s case, his love for his people) and what one is under commission to do (and what he has reason to believe would be harmful, in Jonah’s case, spread God’s love to everyone – including the enemies of Jonah’s people who may ultimately destroy Jonah’s people if permitted to live – and save those enemies). Could the human side of Jonah have feared trading anonymity for greatness and fame by facing an obstacle that he felt he was not capable of overcoming (this is now known as the Jonah syndrome)?
16. Why do you think the author of the story of Jonah portrayed gentiles in such a positive light?
17. What do you make of Jonah’s refusal to prophecy to the Ninevites? The Midrash suggests that Jonah refused to take God’s message to the Ninevites because Jonah feared that the Ninevites would repent and thus his prophecy would be proven false. Most prophets would rejoice if the people repented based on their prophecy. What made Jonah different?
18. One section of the essay suggests that the story of Jonah is an allegory for the Nation of Israel prior to the destruction of the Temple and shows several actions in the story which seem to represent actions which occurred prior to and during the destruction. When the sailors found out that Jonah was a Hebrew, they first tried to save the ship by rowing and only cast Jonah out when he specifically requested it. This seems contrary to what normally happened: the Jews were immediately blamed for all manner of ills and exiled as quickly as possible. What is the story telling us by the sailor’s actions?
19. Do you see a parallel between the Jonah and Jeremiah? Both are called the prophet of nations and both tried to evade their calling.
20. What do you think happened to Jonah after this episode is finished? Why is this left out of the story so the story seems to be incomplete? Did Jonah simply return to the life he had prior to his calling (see question 24 below)?
21. Was Jonah a hero or a non-hero? Was Jonah the protagonist of the story? Perhaps Jonah could be considered heroic for standing up for his beliefs, even to God. Maybe Jonah was a heroic rebel (after all, he was willing to die for his beliefs). Rebels often cause us to re-examine our traditions and change course, Satan was the original rebel who questioned authority and tradition. Sometimes it takes a rebel for society to progress. Do you think Jonah was a heroic rebel?
22. Could the story of Jonah be considered a parody? That is, while many prophets initially resisted God’s call (see, Moses, Gideon, Isiah), Jonah takes that resistance to the extreme of trying to run away; Jonah sleeps during the God-made tempest; Jonah requests to die repeatedly – all overdone actions, which seem to be the stuff of parody.
23. Do you think the story of Jonah inspired Herman Melville’s Moby Dick?
24. Compare Jonah’s dilemma to Abraham’s at Mt. Moriah. Abraham was also faced with a choice of doing what he was comfortable with (not sacrificing his son) and doing what God bid him to do. Abraham chose not to run away; whereas, Jonah tried to run away.
25. In the story, the entire ship is threatened with destruction because of the transgression of one passenger, Jonah. The rest of the ship is populated by non-believers. It would seem that God is applying the rule of common guilt and punishing all for the transgression of only one in their midst. Yet, at the end of the story, God tells Jonah that He does not punish those who do not know their right hand from their left. How does God’s actions with regard to the ship and its crew (who, being pagan do not know their right had from their left) square with His statement to Jonah at the end of the story? Is this an application of collective guilt? Generally, God punished for collective guilt because those who did not transgress had the responsibility to teach those who did transgress the correct path and did not do so and thus were as guilty for not teaching as those who actually transgressed. Yet, if the crew were pagans, they did not know what to teach the transgressor (Jonah). If so, how are God’s actions toward the ship justified in light of God’s statement to Jonah that He does not punish those who do not know their right hand from their left?
26. Is Jonah a hypocrite for being angry that God showed mercy to the Ninevites but was willing to accept that mercy when it was given to him (recall that Jonah had defied God by first attempting to flee and then allowing himself to be cast into the sea, ostensibly to drown rather than complete the mission given to him by God)? Jonah contends that he is for justice, wouldn’t it be just for him to have been punished for his defiance? Perhaps Jonah is for justice when it is applied to someone else, but for mercy when he needs it.
27. The essay discusses the power of repentance. It is concluded that repentance is even more powerful than God’s word and even more powerful than God’s love for His people and their home. From this, could it be concluded that God believes that evil should be redeemed rather than annihilated? The sinner saved, but the sin blotted out? Going a step further, could this story be interpreted as identifying good in every deed, no matter how bad the ultimate deed is, and saving that part of the deed while destroying the rest of the deed? Is this even possible? Is it a form of post-modernism which believes that everyone has a viewpoint that must be considered? Is there any way such a selection of parts could be applied to Auschwitz or Dachau? Is there any possible way for the Nazis to repent for the Holocaust and thus be granted a clean slate in the manner of the Ninevites?
28. Why would the Ninevites listen to a foreigner whom they do not know and who has no knowledge of them, no genuineness, and no respect for them?
29. Why does God allow Jonah to get away with his defiance, even after the whale episode?
30. Could the ricinus plant in 4:6 be an metaphor for the Temple in Jerusalem? The destruction of the Temple left the people exposed and naked to the scorching “wind from the East,” and was thought to be done with the approval of God. Doesn’t it seem odd that God chose to destroy the symbol of His presence (the plant which represents the Temple in Jerusalem) and save the evil city (Nineveh)? Isn’t this the reverse of what one would expect? What is going on here?
31. Why does the story end in such an open ended and ambiguous manner? Has Jonah changed his mind? Perhaps the story is for each member of the audience and thus the story is left up to the individual members of the audience themselves to complete. If so, how would you complete the story?
32. With regard to the question of justice and mercy, who is right, God or Jonah? Who decides which one is right?
33. Do you think God interfered with Jonah’s free will? Did God force Jonah to do God’s will, or did God persuade Jonah to do God’s will? The first case would be God interfering with Jonah’s free will; whereas, the second case would not appear to be an interference with Jonah’s free will.
34. The following question was posed in the introductory post of this series: place the story of Jonah in modern times. How well do you think Jonah would do in Tehran? Would you accept a “call” from an unknown voice to go to Tehran and announce that Tehran will be overthrown in forty days unless the citizens repent and accept the Israeli God? Or would you try to avoid such a perilous, and seemingly impossible task that, if successful might save an enemy that threatens to destroy Israel? Answer this question again after reading the posts of this series.