A literary-exegetical- and social-scientific analysis of the book of Jonah : an exposition of its ancient social values

Abstract

By approaching the book of Jonah historical-critically, it has been indicated that the book of Jonah likely dates to the Persian Period (more neutrally the post-exilic period), is a parody on the prophetic traditions, and has a unified structure. It has been proposed by some that the book of Jonah was written for the Yehudite elite, as a meant, by the author, for his audience to reflect critically on themselves. When a literary-exegetical analysis was conducted of the book of Jonah, it was indicated that the author of the book employed various literary and stylistic techniques that contributes to the unified structure of the book of Jonah. It has also been indicated that all the prayers in the book is poetry, and serves to pause the narration, and are employed to emphasise their content. The author also inverts the typical Ancient Near Eastern values in his characterisation of the role players to thwart the reader's typical expectations of each. The application of social-scientific criticism then supports the theory that the book of Jonah is indeed a parody, and that its main theme in the book of Jonah relates to the compassion and mercy of Yahweh/God which outweighs his desire to destroy the inhabitants of Nineveh and their animals, and appears to be conditional, as repentence is a requirement.