Eksegeties-hermeneutiese ondersoek van die Jonagegewens in Matteus 12:38ev

Abstract

An exegetic-hermeneutical research on the Jonah evidences in Matthew 12:38ff: The New Testament interpretation of the "sign of Jonah" (Math 12:38ff) cannot be applied as a criterion to legitimate the historical authenticity of the story about Jonah and the great fish in the Old Testament. it is, however, possible to recognise the authority of Jesus' citation in Matthew 12:38ff and simultaneously quash the historical authenticity of the evidence about Jonah and the great fish. Matthew created a new authoritative text with an exegitical method inherent in his own context and never tried to verify the historical authenticity of the evidence about Jonah and the "three days and three nights" in the belly of the fish. Matthew 12:38ff as well as the story about Jonah in The Book of Jonah should each be expounded in its own historical, literary and theological context.