Sermon Tone Analysis

An Introduction To The Book Of Jonah

David Malick

I. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROPHETIC LITERATURE

A. The Identity of a Prophet:

1. Prophets were known by several terms-both Greek and Hebrew:

a.

The Greek term that our English term comes from is profhvth"[1] (prophetes) meaning one who proclaims and interprets divine revelation.[2] It is descriptive of one who speaks forth God’s word.[3]

b.

The Hebrew terms used for a prophet are primarily ayb!n~* (nabi) [4] which is probably descriptive of “one called” to speak for God[5], and ha#r)h~* [6] (hroeh, English “seer”) which was what prophets used to be called in Israel before Samuel (1 Sam.

9:9) because they saw visions

c.

Other terms for a prophet included, “man of God,” “watchman,” “messenger of YHWH”, and “man of the Spirit”[7].

2. Prophets had characteristics which were similar and distinct of their contemporaries of the Ancient Near East:

a. Similar Characteristics with the ANE[8]:

1) Sometimes they were identified with ecstatic experiences (1 Sam.

10:11-although this may be sarcastic)

2) Prophets spoke to Kings to encourage them or with criticism

3) Prophets spoke concerning military matters or building projects

4) Prophets received their messages through dreams, visions, trances, or ways that were not stated

b.

Dissimilar Characteristics with the ANE[9]:

1) Biblical prophets were certain of their individual calls from YHWH (cf.

Isa.

6; Jer.

1; Ezk.

1; Jonah 1, et cetera)

2) Biblical prophets were holy men who were “moved by the Spirit” (2 Pet.

1:21)

3) Biblical prophets were usually identified with self-control when under revelation[10]

4) Biblical prophets were usually accused of antiritualism rather than with concerns of ritualism

5) Biblical prophets were concerned with far reaching messages of exile and destruction

6) Biblical prophets often spoke to the people as well as the kings

7) Biblical prophets (especially the classical prophets [see below] spoke upon the basis of the Mosaic Covenant[11] (by which God chose a people to reveal himself and to carry out his plan in history)

8) Biblical prophets included an eschatological aspect to their messages whereby their totally sovereign God would unveil portions of His final stage of history[12]

B. Classification of the Prophets[13]: The prophets may be identified within three basic categories-(1) pre-

monarchy[14], (2) pre-classical[15], (3) classical[16]-as the following chart unfolds:[17]

 | Period | Function | Audience | Message  | Example |

| Pre-Monarchy | Mouthpiece | People | Nation guidance, Maintenance of justice ,  Spiritual  overseer | MosesDeborah |

| Pre-Classical | Mouthpiece-adviser | King and court  | Military advice, Pronouncement of rebuke or blessing | NathanElijahElishaMicaiah |

|   |   |   |   | Transition:North-Jonah[18]South-Isaiah |

| Classical | Mouthpiece-social~/spiritual commentator | People | Rebuke  concerning current condition of society; leads to warnings of captivity, destruction, exile, and promise of eventual restoration, Call for justice and repentance |   |

 

C.

The Message of the Prophet:

1.

Most of the classical prophetic writings were a historic collection of sermons during turbulent times in Israel’s history with a message to the problems of the nation[19]

2. The historic messages were collected and arranged in book form thereby being intended for later generations of Israel and of those until God’s purposes in history are accomplished[20]

3. The following graph portrays four basic categories of prophetic oracles:[21]

 

| ORACULAR CATEGORIES | DESCRIPTION | PREEXILIC EMPHASIS | POSTEXILIC EMPHASIS |

| INDICTMENT | Statement of the offense | Focus primarily on idolatry, ritualism, and social justice | Focus on not giving proper honor to the Lord |

| JUDGMENT | Punishment to be carried out | Primarily political and projected for near future | Interprets recent or current crises as punishment |

| INSTRUCTION | Expected response | Very little offered; generally return to God by ending wicked conduct | Slightly more offered; more specifically addressed to particular situation |

| AFTERMATH | Affirmation of future hope or deliverance | Presented and understood as coming after an intervening period of judgment | Presented and understood as spanning a protracted time periodReligious:  nowSocioeconomic: PotentialPolitical: Eventual |

4. Messages Concerning the Future:

a. Prophecy certainly was a message to a historical people

b.

Prophecy was also a message to a historical people in view of God’s ongoing redemptive purpose; therefore, it unveiled God’s sovereign plan and intentions

c.

In what is usually called “predictive prophecy” the “predictive” element was attached to the present situation.

d.

While the human author most probably understood the historical message which he was giving, only the Divine Author could fully know the final referent if the message spoke of the future.

Nevertheless, the final referent would not (and could not) contradict the historical message of the human author.[22]

e.

Since Jesus Christ is the center of God’s salvation history, all prophecy somehow relates to Him.

II.

AUTHOR: May have been Jonah ( hnwy ), or someone who knew him and later wrote down the events (one of the sons of the prophets)

A. External Evidence is very slight and late for Jonah: The Twelve Prophets were known as a unit by the third century B.C. (Ecclus.

49:10), and second century B.C. (Tobit 14:4,18; Ben Sirach 49:10)

B. Internal Evidence:

1.

The name of the main character is Jonah (1:1)

2. There was a Jonah, son of Amittai, who lived during the eighth century B.C. in the northern Kingdom[23] under the reign of Jeroboam II (c.

793-753 B.C.; 2 Ki.

14:25)

3. Jeroboam increased Israel’s boarders in accordance with Jonah’s prophecy (2 Ki. 14:25)

4. While the author could have been someone who obtained the information about the event (e.g., from the “sons of the prophets” [2 Ki. 2:3]), it is not at all impossible that it was written by Jonah himself after he learned the lesson of the book on his way back to Israel.

5.

The thoughts of Jonah are recorded in some depth in the second chapter of Jonah.[24]

This might be more difficult for a later author to retrieve, unless he had spoken to Jonah

III.

DATE: During the pre-exilic period and perhaps during the Life time of Jonah (first half of the eighth century B.C.)

A. The date needs to fall between the reign of Jerobaom II (793-753 B.C.) to the fall of Nineveh (612 B.C.)[25]

B. Jonah may well have fit into the time period of the preclassical prophets[26], but he was transitional towards the classical period[27].

C. In accordance with the above dates, Jonah lived just after the time of Elisha.

D. Three prophets seemed to minister during the same time: Jonah, Amos, and Hosea

E. Isaiah followed this immediate period

F.

Although some have dated the book late because of Aramaisms and expressions unfamiliar to Classical Hebrew, they are inconclusive and do not prove a post-exilic date[28]

G.

Although some date the book after the exile as a response to the ultra-nationalistic spirit of Ezra and Nehemiah, this universalistic emphasis also occurred during the eighth century in Isaiah 2:2ff[29]

IV.

HISTORICAL SETTING:

A. Israel appears to be outwardly at its zenith of power.

Jeroboam II had a successful reign (2Ki.14:25-28

cf.

Amos 6:14)

B. Many of the evil characters described in Amos 1-2 might better be translated in the present tense of activities then being done[30] and thus describe Jeroboam II’s rule as painfully disruptive as His lines were breached and the enemies pressed into the territory.

Israel was to fight a defensive war against the armies of Syria and Ammon.

Both were true.

C. Three periods of Israel from Jehu (841-414):

1. 839-806 -Engaged in the East and rent by civil dissensions.

Couldn’t put pressure on Syria, suffered 30 years of humiliation during Jehu, Jehoahaz, Jehoash[31]

2. 806-782 -Assyria’s king Adad-Nirari III is ruler, and ruled over surrounding states and especially Syria; therefore, Israel was protected and able to restore some of its boarders under Johoash and Jeroboam II.

Syria was unable to fight on two boarders.[32]

Israel and Judah restored their boarders to  almost all of those of David and Solomon (cf. 2 Ki.

14:25 for the prophecy by Jonah)