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READING JONAH BACKWARDS: RECONSIDERING A PROPHET’S REPENTANCE

by STEPHEN COLEMAN in Vol. 5 No. 1 / Apr 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35285/ucc5.1.2019.art10



Abstract
The portrait of the angry, bitter prophet that concludes the book of Jonah has long proved difficult to reconcile with the seemingly repentant and obedient prophet who earlier had praised God from the belly of the great fish before fulfilling his divine commission to bring the word of God to Nineveh. This article considers the rhetorical purpose of these disparate portraits by interpreting Jonah’s acts of piety through the lens of the concluding depiction of the prophet entrenched in his hardhearted rebellion. There is an irreducibly prophetic purpose to this ironic portrayal of a wayward Israelite prophet who gives praise to God with his lips only later to reveal that his heart is far from him.

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Other Articles in
Vol. 5 No. 1 / Apr 2019

Editorial: Dr. Edward J. Young (1907–1968) by ALLAN M. HARMAN
The Canon of the Old Testament by WALTER C. KAISER JR.
Motifs and Old Testament Theology by BRYAN D. ESTELLE
On Finding the Theological Message of Old Testament Books: A Plea for Paying Attention to the Redemptive-Historical Context by GERT KWAKKEL
Too Many to Chose from? The English Translation Controversy by LANE KEISTER
The Torah of Eden and the Conception of Ishmael: Genesis 3:6 and 16:3–4 by RON BERGEY
The Paradigmatic Role of Genesis 3 for Reading Biblical Narrative about Desire by CEPHAS T. A. TUSHIMA
How the Dwelling Becomes a Tent of Meeting: A Theology of Leviticus by L. MICHAEL MORALES
The Immanuel Prophecy at the Crossroads of Exegesis, Hermeneutics, and Bible Translation by STEFAN FELBER
Divine Forgiveness in the Book of Jeremiah by H. G. L. (ERIC) PEELS
Reading Jonah Backwards: Reconsidering a Prophet’s Repentance by STEPHEN COLEMAN
Preaching Christ from Proverbs by IAIN DUGUID
Gerhard von Rad (1901–1971): A Reluctant Modernist’s Approach to Wisdom Literature by CHARLES KELLY TELFER
Interview with Bruce Waltke by Peter A. Lillback
Book Review: Influential Old Testament Theologies by ANDREW T. ABERNETHY
Book Review: Richard Belcher Jr. Finding Favour in the Sight of God: A Theology of Wisdom Literature by JEONG KOO JEON
Book Review: Henri Blocher. Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle? by PIERRE-SOVANN CHAUNY
Book Review: Gregory A. Boyd. Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence by PAUL WELLS
Book Review: Brent A. Strawn. The Old Testament Is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment by RICHARD P. BELCHER JR.
Book Review: Pierre Courthial. A New Day of Small Beginnings by JEAN-MARC BERTHOUD