the monuments of the righteous"39.

The only tomb of a prophet in Galilee

was that of Jonah in MeShed. TI,ere follows, however, that the builders of
those tombs used to say: "If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we
would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets",
and Jesus concludes from this: "Thus you witness against yourselves, that
you are sons of those who murdered the prophets." Neither in Biblical
literature nor in Jewish or Moslem tradition have I found any mention
of the martyrdom of Jonah. But it is not in the style of popular prophetic
legends to end the story with "and he lived happily ever afterwards". In
post·biblicallegends a prophet always ends as a martyr. The present·day name
of Jonah's town, Meshed, means i.a. "a place where a martyr has died or
is buried"4o. So it may be that in Jesus' times and thereafter they told a
story about the martyrdom of the ancient prophet. But the particulars of this
legend are no longer traceable.

THE PREACHING OF THE BOOK OF JONAH

Prof. A. H. van Zyl

In a recent paper Landes attempted to indicate that a plausible defense

for the original contextual interpretation of the Psalm in the Book of Jonah
can be constructed l . Having discussed the composition of the Book of
Jonah in great detail, Landes comes to the following conclusion: "Thus,
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2010)

although we must grant the possibility that the Jonah psalm attained its
present position in the Book of Jonah through the work of a scribe who was
not the author of the prose stories, our study surely suggests that if this is
so he was no less sensitive to the form, structure and content of the book
than the original writer himself. When, as we think, it is just as plausible
that the initial author of Jonah knew of and used the psalm, this raises the
question whether it is even necessary to introduce the figure of a secondary
interpolator. Hopefully, the case presented here in behalf of this thesis is
sufficiently persuasive to cast doubt on the current critical position that the
psalm must be a later addition, and has also provided a legitimate basis
for its contextual interpretation"".

39. Matth. 23: 29.

40. E. W. Lane, An Arahic·Fnglish Lexicon, S.V.: other meanings of the
word are unsuitable in place· names : "a place where people are assem·
bled" is hardly suitable for a small village as MeShed is and always was,
c!. Jerome's "haud grand is viculus".

I. Landes, George M.: The Kerygma of the Book of Jonah. The Contex·
tual Interpretation of the Jonah Psalm; Interpretation, A Journal of Bibli·
cal Theology Vol. XXI, Nr. I, 1967, pp. 3·31.
2. Landes: op. cit .. p. 31. For a short survey of different views concerning
this psalm. cf. Johnson. A. R.: Jonah 11:3·10: A study in Cultic
Phantasy, in: Studies in Old Testament Prophecy Presented to Theodore
H. Robinson, edited by H. H. Rowley, 1950, pp. 82·83.

92
 According to this assumption, Jonah 2: 2·9 which is designated a psalm
of praise by the individualI, seems to have been at the disposal of a scribe 2,
who borrowed it to describe Jonah's feelings and emotional outlook". Though
Landes does not mention it explicity, it seems feasible that the author made
smaller adaptations to the original psalm to make it fit in its present context
and to bring it into harmony with the succession of events immediately
preceding it. This may be one of the reasons why the psalm fits completely
into the twofold symmetrical structure of the Book of J onah4 and the
narrative device used by the writer5 •
Be this as it may, the surmise by Landes has paved the way to look in
the Book of Jonah for material dating back to a period long before the
composition of it. Assuming that the Book of Jonah was not written until
long after the lifetime of Jonah himself6 , S. R. Driver has already submitted
the idea that the materials of the narrative were supplied without doubt by
tradition 1 . Loretz 8 also assumes that the author of the Book of Jonah "alte
iiberlieferungen. die urspriinglich im nordisraelitisch·phonikischen raum be·
heimatet waren, unler einem groszen theologischen Gesichtspunkt . . . neu
zusammenfaszte und auf diese Weise etwas wirklich Neues schuf." He does
not, however, indicate the real contents of these ancient traditions. Though
S. R. Driver has, on account of features of form. contents and language,
paved the way for looking for a pre.exilic origin in northern Israel of these
traditions!, he deliberately excluded Jonah from this older material. because
"a Psalm of Jonah's own age (Le. the reign of Jeroboam II)2 would certainly

I. cf. Westermann: The Praise of God in the Psalim, translated by Keith

R. Crim. 1965. pp. 34. 102·116: cf. also Gunkel, H.·Begrich. J.: Finlei·
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2010)

tung in die Psalmen. 1933, pp. 265·292 for the cultic use of the thanks·
giving songs.
2. Landes: op. cit .. p. 9.
3. Landes: op. cit., p. 25.
4. Landes: op. cit., p. 16.
5. Landes: op. cit .. pp. 13· I 6 drew attention to "a striking narrative device
the writer has used in constructing his story, namely. his deliberate
omission of certain events from their proper chronological sequence only
to introduce them later where their presence is seen to have much greater
force and impact", d. also Lohfink. N.: Jonah ging zur Stadt hinaus
(Jon. 4. 5). Biblische Zeit.,chrift. N.F.S., 1961. pp. 193·198 for a non·
chronological use of information by the author of the Book of Jonah.
To their lists I: 5" may be added. because it seems that Jonah had gone
down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down (I : 5b ) immedia·
tely after he paid the fare and went aboard (I : 3'). Thus he was already
asleep before the Lord hushed the great wind upon the sea (I : 4).
6. Driver. S. R.: An Tntroduetion to the Literature of the Old Testament.
seventh edition, 1898. p. 322.
7. Driver. S. R.: op. cit .. p. 324.
8. Loretz, 0.: Herkunfl und Sinn der Jona·Erzahlung. Biblische Zeitschrift.
N.F.S., 1961. p. 28.
I. Driver, S. R.: op. cit., pp. 188.322.
2. Driver, S. R.: op. cit., p. 321.

93
 have been more original, as it would also have shown a more antique
colouring"". With due respect to Driver for his brilliant insight into the
character of this Book as rar as its resemblance to the biographical narrative
of Elijah and Elisha (I Ki. 17-19; II Ki. 4-6) in form, contents and peculia-
rities of diction is concerned, we have to start our search for the traditions
from the "nordisraelitischen-phonikischen Raum'" with the so-called Psalm
of Jonah.

Since the surpnsmg discoveries of Ugarit and the deciphering and

translation of the Ugaritic Texts only took place nearly 40 years after the
first edition of Driver's Introduction, his point of view may easily be under-
stood though it cannot be supported anymore 1 , for certain linguistic forms
and usages as well as certain archaic motifs in this psalm remind us of
lIgaritic parallels. In this respect we may refer to the synonymous use of
the words yammim and nahar in 2:4. According to Gordon's URarilic Hand-
book 6~: 12-40 nhr and ym are parallel, indicating "Sea" the opponent of
BaaJ2. Referring to the expression b"leb-yammim in Ps. 46: 3 Dahood points
out that it may reflect a mythopoeic origin2' because h'leh is seldom used of
things. Thus the figure of speech may go back to personified Yam of the
lIgaritic texts 3 '. In Jonah 2: 4; Ps. 24: 2; 93: 4 and Is. 44: 27 the word "iihiir
refers to the multitude of waters and many currents of the primeval ocean
over which Yahweh proved His power by establishing the habitable world
above the flood. In Jonah 2: 6 we are once again reminded of the primeval
waters by the application of the words mayy;m and l'hOm which refer to
Gen. I: 2 we/;ofeq cal_pene teh()m wPrul'/; 'e16him m"-rahefh cal-rene hammay-
yim. Even though we do not identify Hebrew t'hOm with Babylonian Tiamat',
the Ugaritic paralIelism of thm, thm/m with both nhr and ym indicates that
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2010)

the word t'Mm originally could have had a mythological resemblance. The
conception of the saf wrapped about his head in t'Mm reminds of Ps. \06: 9

3. Driver, S. R.: op. cit .. p. 322.

4. cf. Loretz, 0.: op. cit., p. 2R "Einige bisher liir Aramaismen ausgcgebe-
nen Worte verweisen uns auf den nondisraelitiseh-phonikischen Raum
und lassen das 10na- Buchlein in eincm anderen zusammenhang sehen."
I. cf. for instance Pope, Marvin H.: fJ in the Ugaritic Texts, Supplements
to Vetus Testamentum II, 1955. p. 64, who has indicated quite convinc-
ingly that certain cosmological motifs mentioned in the Psalm of Jonah
can be traced back to the Ugaritic-Phoenician word. Brekelmans, C. H.
W.: Ras Sjamra en het Oude Testament, 1962, p. 6 recently drew atten-
tion to the importance of Ugaritic studies for the "better and more
concrete interpretation" (betere en meer konkrete interpretatie) of the
Old Testament.
2. d. Dahood, M.: Psalms I, The Anchor Bible, 1966, p. 151. Therefore
r would not suggest, as prof. Glueck has done, that the author of the
Book of Jonah used the word nahar in a linguistically peculiar way, cf. p
above.
2a. d. Frankfort, H. and H. A. in Frankfort H. and H. A. ct. alii: Before
Philosophy. The (ntellectllal Adventure of Anciellt Man, Penguin Books,
1949, pp. 11-36 for the "mythopoeic mind" of man in the Ancient Near
East.
3. So for instance recently Van Selms, A.: Genesis deel /, De Prediking
vall het Oude Testament, 1967, p. 23.

94
 where yam-sut and rhomot are used as synonyms. Further indications of
ancient motifs in this psalm can be found in the image of Sheol having swal·
lowed up Jonah like an insatiable monster (ef. mibbai>J, J'61)1 which lies in
a great pit (mi.f.fa~at v. 7; cf. Ps. 30: 4 in parallelism with s"61) beneath the
waters of the cosmic sea on which the world rests and in which are sunk the
bases of earth's mountains as the very pillars of heaven (v. 6')'. In this respect
we may also draw attention to the fact that the word 'ere~ is used in the sense
of the nether world in 2: 6".

Since Gunkel 1 first observed that 'ere,' may indicate the "Nether or
Under World" many examples from Akkadian, Ugaritic and Old Testament
Texts supporting this connotation have been found 2. Though the Babylonians
divided the er,eta in three paris, namely ersetu elita where the ziqiqa stay,
the er~etu qablita which is the domain of Ea and the er~etu Jiiplitu where the
600 Annunaki dwelP, they frequently use the word er,eta without any further
attribute' to indicate the nether world. In Enuma e1ish 1: 24 it is used as a
synonym for arallu, the most general word indicating the Under World •.

In the myth of the Descent of Ishtar to the Nether World it is stated ana
er.reti ilrid: to the Nether World has she gone (Reverse 6). Referring to the
death of Enqidu it is said in the Epic of Gilgamesh (XIT, 56) that the Nether
World (er.yetu) seized him. Though neither Gordon Ia nor Aistleitner 1b
lists the meaning "Nether World" for' ars, several scholars2 have indicated
that it has this meaning. In text 51, VIII :7 c 9 Baal sends messengers to the

I. ef.ls. 5:24; Hab. 2:5; Numb. 16:30-34; Provo 1:12; 27:20; 30:15.
2. cf. Johnson, A. R.: op. cit. p. 88.
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2010)

I. Gunkel, H.: Schop/ullg Ulld Chaos in Urzeit und Endzeit, 1885, p. 18,
n.I. referred to Ex. 15: 12; Is. 14: 12; Eccles. 3: 21.
2. For a list of possible O.T. Texts where 'ere~ may denote Nether World,
ct. Dahood: op. cit. p. 106; cf. also Dahood: The value of Ugaritic for
textual criticism, Bihlica 40, 1959 pp. 160·168.
3. d. TalIquist, Kurt: Sumerisch-Akkadische Namen der Totenwelt in Stu·
dia Orientaiia edidit Societas Orientalis Fennica vol. V, 4, 1934, pp. 11·12.
4. The following attributes are used with er~etu to indicate the Nether
World er~etu rapaftu (KB VI, 78, 17), er~et la twi (which is frequently
used in poetic and magical texts), er~et ruqtu sa la innamaru (ivR 30,
Nr. 2, 34-35), er.yet kaJimtu Ja I1uunmillL la unil (K 2801, Rs. 7-8), er~et
metuti (ivR 30, Nr. 2, 24·25), er~et tanl~i and probably also bit nereb
er~eti (ivR 27, Nr. 2, 25·26); ct. Tallquist: op. cit., pp. 7·17; Von Soden,
W.: Akkadisches Handworterbuch, 1960, p. 245.
5. Von Soden, W.: "p. cit., p. 64.
la. d. Gordon: Ugaritic Handbook, p. 215 B.
I h. d. Aistleitncr: W orterbuch der U garitischen Sprache, Berlin, 1965,
pp. 36·37; d. however his translation of texts 67, v: 15·16 and 51, VIII:
7·9 on p. 136.
2. d. Barth, c.:
Die Errettung vom Tode, 1947, p. 83; Driver, G. R.:
Canaanite Myths and Legends, p. 135; Cross, F. M. and Freedman, D.
N.: JNES 14, 1955, pp. 247.

95
 domain of Mot and they have to descend to the depth of the earth and to be
counted among those who go down into the earth". When EI was informed
about the death of Aliyan he mourned and said: "I shall go down into the
earth" (ard bar$: 67, VI :25). In Text 76:11 24-25 Baal cries to Anath:
"We'll thrust my foes into the earth (bar$); to the ground (wb"pr) them that
rise against thy brother"". This also seems to be the meaning of .ar$ in Text
62, 7 where Anat says Haal is dead (62, 5) ... let us go down into the Nether
World.
It is clear from the context that 'ar$ indicates the Nether World in all
four texts. Hy using the word 'ere.y as a synonym of ia~a! and i"61 in Jonah
2: 6 the author of the Book of Jonah therefore applied ancient motifs and
traditions from the Near East. This archaic character of the psalm is further
stressed by the usc of the unmodified imperfect tense in vss. 2a and 5a (pre-
terite) and the enclitic mem in vs. 8a as observed by Landes'".
Though the Hebrew verb gilrai, applied in Jonah 2: 5, may simply mean
"to drive out", it is interesting to draw attention to the fact that the author
of this psalm used it to describe the acts referred to in I: 15 by the two
verbal forms wuyyiYu and wuy"tilluhU. In Text 137 line 6 of Gordon's Uga-
ritic Hllfulbook ygri is the name of one of the two magic clubs used by
Aliyan Haal to threaten Yam. In Text 68, 11-13 Kathiru brings down two
clubs and proclaimed their names (klr .ymdm YI1/p wyp'r imthm)1. Thy name
ygri yg6 (lmk at ygd ygrJ). Drive out yam (ygri ym). Drive Yam from his
throne gri ym Iksih) (Na)har from the seat of his dominion «(n)hr Ik~! drkth).
Thou shall quiver 2 in the hand of Baal (trtq.y bd b'1) like an eagle in his
fingers (km nSr bU$b''fh). By applying the word giiru, in the passive in Jonah
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7-9) also had a mythological connolation indicating the descent to the Nether
2: 5 to indicate that Jonah was driven by Yahweh into the Sea, it may be
that Jonah was regarded the club with which Yahweh eventually smote the
Sea when he made Jonah rise from it (2,7). In this respect it should be taken
into consideration that the verbs 'iilil and yiirad used in 2: 7 not only indicate
ascending or descending in a geographical sense: they also have a cullic
meaning. According to Bouttier" both the geographical and the cultic meaning

3. d. Gordon: Ugaritic Literature p. 50; Ginsberg: up. cit., p. 135A; cf.

also Text 67, v: 15-16.
4. cf. Gordon: Ugaritic Literature, p. 50; Ginsberg: op. cit., p. 142A.
la. Landes, G. M.: "p. cit., pp. 8-24. For the use of enclitic mem in Psalms,
cf. O'Callaghan, R. T.: Echoes of Canaanite Literal ure in the Psalms,
Veilis TeslameJltum IV, 1954, pp. 170-171.
1. According to Lettinga: De Godsdiensten vall Kanaiinielen en Arameers
in van der Leeuw, G.-Bleeker, C. J.: De liodsdiensten der were/d, II,
Amsterdam, 1956, p. 324 only one club was handed to him by Kathiru.
2. The verb trg$ is translated by Gordon: Ugarilic Ulera/ure 1949 p. 15 by
"Thou shalt swoop" and by Ginsberg in Pritchard: Ancient Near Eastern
Texts rela/ing to the Old Testament. 1955, p. 131 by "Do thou swoop".
According to Gordon: Ugaritic Handbook, 1947, p. 270, the Gt of rg.)·
means "to swoop" (like an eagle)". The simile used in Text 68: 13 (ef.
also IS, 20, 23) is not that of an eagle swooping down on its prey. The
clubs will quiver (d. Arabic raka.WI VIIl) in Baal's fingers like a bird
held by its legs.

96
 depend on a prior theological sense. Perhaps we should reverse Bouttier's
order by assuming that these words acquired a meaning which may be
designated as "theological" in O.T. Hebrew and as "mythological" in Akka-
dian and Ugaritic where it indicated "returning from" or "going into" the
realm of the god of Death.
Landes' already drew the attention to the "terminological congruency
between tbe psalm and Chapter I" as indicated by the author's application
of the verb yiirad. Whereas the author used the neutral word hiilak, which
is usually applied when a prophet is sent by Jahwe, he indicates Jonah's
flight from the presence of Yahwe with the verb yarad. It can simply be inter-
preted as indicating the geographical descent to Jafo from the place in Canaan
where he was instructed by Jahwe. Strictly speaking going on board ship is
not actually very much of a going down - not even in those ancient days -
but even here the verb yiirad is used. When SI. Paul and his company found
a ship bound for Phoenicia at Patara they went aboard (epibanJes; Acts
21; 2; d. 21; 6 enebemen eis to ploion). The same verb is used to describe
the boarding of a ship of Adramyttium by Paul and some other prisoners
(Acts 27; 2; cf. 27; 6 enebibasen). When compared with the application of
the verb epibainoo in Greek it strikes one that the Hebrew author of Jonah
used the verb yiirad to indicate that Jonah went aboard a shipl. It seems that
the author wanted to indicate that, whereas God descended from heaven to
be with His people (cf. Gen. 28; 12 Jacob's ladder), Jonah descended to be
further from God and this could only be done by going away from the sphere
of life; downwards to the sphere of death. According to Gen. 37; 35 the
expression yarad j"6ld is actually synonymous of "to die" (ef. Is. 38; 18).
Therefore it seems that the author accentuated this theological idea by using
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2010)

the verb yarad three times in verses 3-5. Or could it be that the author, who
intended using the existing psalm with its ancient motives referring to the
primeval waters and the descent into the Nether World (2; 7), used the verb
yarad on purpose, because he knew that in the Phoenician-Canaanite tradition
the verb, according to its application in Ugaritic (c!. Texts 49, 1:35; 51, VIII
7-g) also had a mythological connotation indicating the descent to the Nether
world and could thus prepare the minds of his readers for the yiiradti hii'are,
in 2; 7?
In the 12 verses of Jonah I ;4-15 the word yam is applied 12 times. It
may be argued that the author had no choice because he was describing the
experiences of a crew on board ship during a mighty tempest at sea. This may
be true. If, however, we compare this description of the storm at sea with that
of the New Testament Gospels (Mt. 8; 23-27; 14: 22-34) or with that of Luke
in Acts 27; 14-44 which is about double the length of that in Jonah I, it is
conspicuous how seldom words indicating the sea or storm or wind are used
by these New Testament authors. Though it seems that the author of Jonah
I used the word yam in its geographical meaning it also seems feasible to
assume th,!t by repeating the word so frequently, he might perhaps have been
thinking of its mythological or cosmological meaning. Even in Ps. 107.23-30

3. Bouttier in Allmen, J.-J. von: Vocabulary of the Bible, 1958, pp. 86-87.
I. Landes, G. M.: op. cit. p. 25.
I. The verb yiirad. however, could have been the technical term indicating
to board a ship, d. Ps. 107; 23.

97
 it is mentioned that the seafarers go down into the sea (y6r'de hayyam) and
lhat they go down to tbe depths (yer'du t"Mm6I (v. 26) during a storm,
whence they are saved. It is as if the author would say tbat they see the power
of the prImordial waters but that Yahweb saved them. In the lIght of tbe
deliberate use or lhe word yam one may even ask wbether the aUihor could
have re·used a tradition at a prophet tJeeing to the desert - as Elijah for
instance - to accentuate his central theme'! 11 looks as if this prophet had to
flee to yam, because inter alia he also wished to demonstrate Yahweh's
supreme power over the sea.

Since J. M. Powis Smith has assumed forty years ago that ru"h ·"/Ohim
should be taken in the sense of "a mighty wind" or a "terrific wind" because
B6IUm is used here as the equivalent of a strong superlative.', this trans-
lation has been propagated by many scholars2 • lf we regard the superlative
sense of '€I6IUm in this expression in the sense that the word ru"~ is given a
kind of superlative sense through its connection with the divine name and
because it is thus emphasized that God originated the ru"!), we may ask
whether the author of Jonah I : 4 had Gen. 1: 2 in mind when he wrote "and
Yahweh hurled a great wind (ru"il g'd6/iJ) on the sea"2". That he was defini-
tely thinking of the story of Creation as recorded in Gen. 1 is indicated by
Jonah's coniession in Jonah 1: 9. In this verse the verb '''hi, which is appJied
in Gen. 1. occurs. It is. however, the expression eiiser Ciisiret~hayyam we'et
hayyabbaJii which really reminds us of God's work of Creation as described
in Gen. I: 9-10. This combination of yam and yabbaJd occurs three times
1: 9, 13; 2: 11 in the prose narrative of the Book of Jonah. Another expres-
sion which requires our attention in this context is the phrase that Jonah
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was in the belly of the fish "three days and three nights". The author either
indicated by using this expression that Yahweh still had a claim2b on his
'ebed, Jonah3 , or the author could have been aware of the mythological
background of this expression in the Descent of Inanna to the Nether World
according to which it took three days and three nights to arrive there. Just
as lnanna required three days and three nights to descend into the Nether
World, so also the fish needed the same time to bring Jonah back from the
JQ~aI to the dry land 1 •

1. J. M. Powis Smith: The Syntax and Meaning of Genesis 1-3 in Old

Testament Essays (Papers read before the Society for O.T. Study at its
eighteenth meeting) 1927, pp. 166; cf. also D. Winton Thomas: A con-
sideration of Unusual ways of expressing the Superlative in Hebrew.
Ve/Us Testamentum Ill, 1953. pp. 209-224.
2. cf. Von Rod: Das erste Buch Mose. 1958. p. ? translates "Gottessturm".
2a. Dr. J. P. Oberholzer kindly drew my attention to the fact that the idea
of Jahweh's overlordship is stressed throughout the book of Jonah by
the artful play with the word gadal.
2b. ct. Fensham: Studies on Samuel p. 22.
3. cf. II Ki. 14:25. For the omission of this epitheton by the author of
the Book of Jonah. cf. the paper read by van Selms.
\. cf. Bauer. H. B.: Drei Tage, Biblica 39. 1958. pp. 354-358: Landes: op.
cit. pp. 11-12.

98
 In resuming the foregoing argumentation it may be stated that the so-
called psalms of Jonah discloses certain archaic characteristics as cosmologi-
cal motifs against the background of Ugaritic literature. Originally these
motifs have been applied figuratively in this psalm to indicate the anguish and
plight of the individual who was cast into the depths with waves and billows
passing over him. The same motifs have been used in other psalms, either
to describe the grief of an afflicted (Ps. 42: 7) or the perils which endangered
the people of God (Ps. 46: 2_4)2. The colours which are used here are bor-
rowed from primeval myths as is known to us through the Ugaritic literature.

The roaring waves of the primeval flood: the struggle between Baal,
fertility god of the land Canaan, and Yam, god of the sea (and Rivers), for
supremacy in the Ugaritic Pantheon forms the real background of the figures
of speech and similes used in these Psalms. By the strength of its monotheistic
conception of God these magnificent pictures and mythological motifs were
divested of their polytheistic character by the Hebrew authorst.

By connecting this psalm with the story of Jonah in the sea the similes
could be interpreted literally2. Though the mythological character of the
ancient motifs used in the psalm (and to a certain extent also in the intro-
ductory prose story of chapter 1) might have been accentuated somewhat
stronger on account of their literal interpretation in its new context than it
would have been in their original application as metaphors, the message
brought by the final author rather emphasized the supremacy of Yahweh.
At the time when the author of the Book of Jonah cast the traditions con-
cerning a prophet called yonli ben '{lmiftay (ef. II Ki. 24: 35) in this artisti-
cally composed and stylized form. the Israelites already had such a tradition
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2010)

of Yahweh's supremacy over the sea - whether spelt with a capital S or not
- that there was no real danger of a revival of the old Canaanite-Ugaritic
cosmological and mythological motifs.

The tradition concerning Yahweh's power over the dry land (yabbiiJd)
was impressively accentuated during Israel's wandering in the desert at the
time of the Exodus. It was, however, at the same time that Yahweh also
revealed His power over the yam. Israel was instructed by Yahweh to change
their route (Jub: Ex. 14: 2) and to encamp close to the sea (the word hayyiim
is used twice in Ex. 14: 2). Yahweh caused a strong east wind to drive the
yam back (1. 21) and thus the Israelites went into the vam on yabbiiJd (v. 22:
ef. v. 29 bayyabbiiJd il'tok hayyiim; ef. also 15: 19). This event was comme-
morated in one of the eldest poems of Israel. Yahweh has thrown the horse
and his rider in the sea (bay yam : Ex. 15: 1). In verses 4-5 the poet applied
the words yiim, yam-sut, t'hOmot and m'sulot, whereas verse 8 mentions the
noz:Iim, ("hOmO! and leb-yam; verse 10 refers to the yam and the mayylm

2. cr.Van Deursen, A.: De Ach(er~rond der Psalmen, 1947. p, 30," . , . de

zee had voor de zanger geen lokkende roep .. ' hy weidt veel meer uit
over de gevaren cler zee ... ".
1. cf. Weiser, A.: The Psalms, 1962, p. 368.
2. cf. Landes, G. M.: op. cit .. p. 13, n. 43 "He would therefore have inter-
preted the psalm's imagery more or less literally, in contrast to the way
it may have been understood when the prayer was used in the cult."

99
 'add/rim, Then the word 'ere~ is used in a sense denoting the Nether World,
Though these words brought with them a tradition of bearing certain mytho-
logical and cosmological motifs, they were not seen as dangerous to the mono-
theistic religion of early Israel because Yahweh has shown in a very literal
and his rider in the sca (bayyiim: Ex, 15: I). Inverses 4-5 the poet applied
polytheistic man with personified powers, in His "heilsgeshcichtliche" plan.
With the exception of the words ,,"z'lim and mayyim 'addirim all the words
used in Ex. 15 to describe Yahweh's mighty deed are applied in the Book of
Jonah. In the later poetical traditions this event was described with many
similar figures of speech.

After the realistic experience of Yahweh's power Over the sea Israel did
not have a similar opportunity for at least 250 years. During Solomon's
building operations many of them might have had contact with seafaring
through Solomon's co-operation with Hiram (ef. I Ki. 5: 1-13). This coopera-
tion between Solomon and Hiram, king of Tyre, seems to have been continued
afterwards when Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, whence his
servants together with the seamen of Hiram went to Ophir (I Ki. 9: 26-28).
Though none of the technical sea-terminology mentioned in the Book of
Jonah is used by the author of the Book of Kings we may assume that the
Hebrew vocabulary was influenced by these Phoenician seafarers. And where-
as Driver and IAJretz have indicated that the so-called Aramaisms which
should have been indicative of a late origin of the Book (poem and prose
alike). have turned out to be Canaanite-Phoenician forms, it may be asked
whether this period of Solomon during which Israel had contact with Phoe-
nicia in matters concerning seafarin,g, cou1d not have been the era during
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which these words - and perhaps also many of the Phoenician cosmological
and mythological motifs - had been borrowed from the Phoenicians. It may
perhaps also be asked whether the practical situation of going on sea did not
necessitate the enlargement of Israel's theological horizon. It is true that the
omnioresence and omnipotence of Yahweh were confessed since the call of
Abraham and of Moses, but the common man, who so easily could have
restricted the power of Yahweh to the national boundaries of Israel (cf. David
in I Sam 26: 19 and Naaman in IT Ki. 5: 17) would have been in want of a
definite assurance that he was under the Hand of Yahweh when his ship
was lifted up by the waves raised bv a stormy wind eVen though they went
down to the deoths (ef Ps. 107: 25-26). The most important way in which
this asoect seems to h~ve been imoressed on the minds of seafarin~ Israelites
of Solomon', time was through tbe story of Creation as told in Genesis one.
The confession that the God of Israel made the firmament and thus separated
the waters: that He gathered the waters into one place. thus assigning to the
sea its limit (ef. Provo R:29): that he n"med, i.e. called into existence both
yabbiiiii and vammin (Gen 1 : 7-9) would have assured them of His supremacy
over the orimeval waters which were: inhabitahle and danpPfous to any form
of 1ife. The necessitv for such ~ definite confession m1,ght have been an
important factor for the castio" of the storv of Creation in a fixed form. be it
in oral or writtt~n rradition. Tt may even hF that Jonah's orompt answer on
the (lUestion of the Seaf(lT~rs. \vas the T:;;raeHte mariners' confession: ribd
'iinokl weft YHWH 'phjhe hflff(imavim 'ani );'Ore 'iifer-cu.M 'er-hayyam we'et-
havvabaia: I am a Heb'ew anel J fear Yahweh the God of heaven, who made
the sea and the dry land (Jonah 1: 9).

100
 Once this confession of Yahweh being the Creator of dry land and sea
had been incorporated in the religious literature of Israel, it did not take long
before the same confession was incorporated in the cultic literature as can be
deduced from many psalmsi, Whereas the application of cosmological motifs
and mythological terminology as figurative speech could still remind some
Israelites of the power of the tossing sea which cannot rest (Is. 57: 17), of
the dangerous sea inhabited by Rahab, Leviathan and Tannin (ef. Ps. 74: 13-
15), the author of the Book of Jonah, though using many mythological terms
in a realistic and literal sense as far as they referred to Jonah "in the heart
of the sea", completely demythologized the sea by ignoring all the mythologi-
cal monsters which could so easily have swallowed the prophet and by men-
tioning in a sober and prosaic way that Yahweh appointed a great fish (dag
gadaJ) to swallow Jonahi.

The cosmological omnipotence of Yahweh is stressed in yet another way.

When the fish vomited Jonah out upon the yabbaJd it must have been on
the seashore. According to Landes z Jonah was fleeing from the cultic presence
of Yahweh in fear that God might command him from there. We do not have
time to discuss this problem now. Be this as it may, it is quite sure that Jonah
was not brought back by the big fish to the point from whence he started
fleeing. He was somewhere on the Mediterranean shore. The shore may be
regarded as the place where yam continually renewed his attack on the dry
land; as the locality where he is always trying to extend his domain; as the
site where yam is at his fiercest 2 ,

And yet at this point of danger Yahweh shows His complete supremacy
by instructing Jonah a second time: Go to Nineveh (3: I).
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The second aspect of the preaching of the Book of Jonah is also accen-
tuated in the first two chapters. By fleeing to the West, Jonah was trying to
make it possible for Yahweh to bestow His mercy and grace upon the Assy-
rians in Nineveh. And yet, by hurling the great wind upon the sea, He not only
indicated His omnipotence over winds and sea, but also over the lives of the
men aboard the ship. When the ship threatened to break up because of the
mighty tempest, the mariners were afraid (wayyir'u hammaIlalJlm) and each
called to his god (wayyiz'iiqu 'iit 'e!- 'l!loluiw). Having found Jonah in the inner
part of the ship where he went to sleep after he boarded the ship, the captain
was willing to rely on yet another of the unknown gods for help. When the
drama on board ship came to a close after Jonah was thrown into the sea,
things looked completely different on account of two events which took place
in the meantime. After the lot fell on Jonah he confessed that he was a
Hebrew who feared the LORD, the God of heaven who made the sea and
the dry land (l : 9). As J have indicated previously, this could have been an
Israelite Seafarer's confession of faith. Be this as it may, through the plight
caused by the tempest on the sea, Jonah was compelled by Yahweh to do
exactly what he did not want to do. He was fleeing from the presence of
Yahwe because he did not want to confess in the presence of heathens, and
now Yahweh used the powers of nature to make him do exactly what He
wanted Jonah to do from the beginning.

I. ct. also Landes: op. cil., p. 13.

2. Van Oeursen, A.: op. cit., p. 30 who refers to G. A. Smith.

101
 The second event which took place and which eventually changed the
minds of the mariners aboard the ship is the suddcn change of the sea which
ceased from its raging the moment they had flung Jonah over board. They
were still fearing - but now their fear no longer was without any objee!.
They feared Yahweh (I : 16). When the peoples of Cannan have heard that
Israel went in the midst of the y(im su! on dry land buyyabb"'''. they trem-
bled. Terror and dread fell upon them (Ex. 15: 14-16). According to Rahab
their hearts melted and they were without any courage (Joshua 2: II). Through
the confession of Jonah and on account of the events which took place accord-
ing to the proclamation of the prophet, the fear of the mariners had been direc-
ted to Yahweh. Thus we find in the Hook of Jonah the most important means
of revelation used by Yahweh, namely the revelation through a complex of
personality and event'. We may read the description of the events at sea and
the discussions between Jonah and the mariners simply as a fascinating or
phantastic story. similar to many other stories told among many mariti'inc
peoples of men being swallowed by a sea monster". or in the light of texts as
Jer. 51: 34,44 we may regard the incident of the great fish as a symbolic
representation of the Exile and the return:'. but at the end of the first chapter
we are struck by the fact that this story begins with a divine commission.
Though Jonah tries to escape this commission he is eventually compelled
by Yahweh to utter a confession of hi> faith and once this has been done
Jonah seems to act in a pure prophetic way. knowing and proclaiming the
will of Yahweh in this concrete situation. The prophet's word "take me up
and throw me into the sea" (1 : 12) sounds too harsh to the mariners - as is
usually with the Word of Yahweh proclaimed by His prophets - and there-
fore they wish to ignore it. When, however. the sea hJfCW more and more
tempestuous against them, they did according to the prophetic proclamation
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and the sea ceased from its raging (1: 15)_ This revelation through the
complex of personality and event did not pass unnoticed by the mariners.
It effected in their fearing Yahweh their offering a sacrifice and their making
vows (1: 16). We are not informed how long this lasted. The author was
contented to describe the immediate effect of God's revelation amongst the
heathen. Thus Yahweh indicated to Jonah that He could bestow His mercy
and grace upon the heathen who do not ignore His relcvation.

In the second part of the book we find an exact parallel of this preach-
ing 1 Here. too, we find an example of prophetic proclamation (3 :4) follow-
ing a divine commission (3: 12) combined with an event (3: 5- 10). And yet
Jonah. being a prophet and knowing that the event would take place (4: 2),
was too stubborn to accept this complex of Word and event as God's relcva-

L For a few interesting examples of (his "unique medium of revelation",

cf. Rowley. H. H.: The Faith of Israel. S.C.M. Press. London. 1961. pp.
40-45.
2. cf. Eissfeldt. 0_: The Old Testament. An introduction, translated by
Peter R. Ackroyd, Oxford, J 965, p. 405.
3. cf. Smart, J. D.: The Book of Jonah, The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 6,
Abingdon Press, 1956, p. 874.
I. This may be mentioned as yet another example of the artistic and sym-
metrical construction of the Book of Jonah to which Landes drew atten-
tion.

102
 tion to which he too had to respond. The response by the inhabitants of
Nineveh, however, once again stresses the previous preaching that Yahweh's
word can affect the hearts and lives of heathen people. By proclaiming this
truth, the author of the Book of Jonah accentuates a concept which can be
traced to the beginning of Israelite religion. Yahweh could call Abram from
amongst his family who served other gods (Josh. 24: 14) and promise him the
land Canaan inhabited by a number of heathen nations (Gen. 12: I; 15: IR-
20). He could take Jacob and his sons to Egypt because the iniquity of the
Amorite was not yet complete in the days of Abraham (Gen. IS: 16); Yahweh
commissioned Moses to lead Israel from bondage in Egypt knowing that the
king of Egypt would not let them go unless compelled by a mighty hand (Ex.
3: 19). Though this aspect of Israelite religion was not always taken into
account and though many [sraelites actually tried to confine Yahweh's sphere
of influence to the national borders of Israel. it was accentuated from time to
time, as for example when Elijah was commissioned by Yahweh to go to
Damascus to anoint Hazacl to be king over Syria (I Ki. 19: 15).

This concept of the universalism of the rule of Yahweh was acknow-

ledged in the preachings of the prophets Amos and Isaiah. Now, in the
preaching of the book of Jonah it was accentuated in two ways. In the first
instance the idea that Israel had to bear witness to its faith in Yahweh in
the presence of non-Israelites wa~ stressed. Fleeing from slIch a commission
Jonah was compelled to do it aboard ship. Only then was he willing to go to
Nineveh, thus obeying Yahweh. In the second instance the idea that the
heathen would respond favourably to the revelation of Yahweh was accen·
tuated. According to the preaching of Isaiah the nations would come to
Mount Zion in the latter days to be taught the ways of Yahweh (Is. 2:2-3).
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Now the prophet of Jonah had to hear qum leA 'e! nin've (I : 2) By reducing
the events on the sea to a mere phantastic story or to a symbolic representa.
tion of the Exile and its return, this aspect of the preaching of the Book of
Jonah. namely that the heathen people respond to the revelation of Yahweh,
is ignored to a certain extent. This immediate response to Yahweh's revela·
tion which can be indicated amon~st both groups of non-Israelites, may be
regarded as the new accent brouf-ht by the author of the book of Jonah.
Thus the universal reign of Yahweh was not restricted to the political boun-
daries of non·Israelite people but it was carried right into the hearts of
Israelites and non-Israelite,s alike and this is an important prerequisite for
the coming of the Kingdom of Yahweh. This was accomplished by Jahweh
in spite of his prophet's behaviour.

Perhaps we may find yet another aspect of the preaching of the Book
of Jonah in the description of the qiqciyon. Just as it is accentuated in the
first nart of the book that Yahweh caused the mighty temoest on the sea and
that Yahweh appointed a big fish to swallow Jonah (l : 17). it is stressed that
Yahweh appointed the qiqawln to come up over Jonah and be a shade over
his head (4: 6). By attributing the samc act of appointing (wayy'man) to
'i'/ohim in 4: 7 and 4: 8 which was attributed to Yahweh in I : 17 and 4: 6, the
author pointed out that there is no other god at work in nature but Yahweh.
Though the sudden anpearance and unexpected delav of the qiqiiyon mav
serve to contrast Jonah', pity for himself and a plant (4:8-10) with his lack of
pity for the inhabitants of a great city and to accentuate Yahweh's mercy
bestowed upon man and beast, it can also be interpreted as an indication of

103
 Yahweh's power over nature. The winds on the sea; the fish in the sea; the
hearts and minds of mariners, kings or common people; the plants from the
land and the winds in the desert - all belong to Him and can be used by
Him as it pleases Him. Jonah is displeased by his commission and therefore
he flecs from the presence of Yahweh; he is displeased at the repentance of
Nineveh and therefore he is angry and wishes to die. His state of mind agrees
with that of Elijah when he fled from Mount Carmel (ef. Jonah 4: 3, 8 and
I Ki. 19: 4). Contrary to this we have the acts of Yahweh which so frequently
contradict man's way of thinking and doing. The idea stressed throughout
the book of Jonah is the concept of Yahweh doing as it pleases Him. There-
fore it may be surmised that the final words of the prayer uttered by the
mariners before they did the "inhumane" deed of throwing a fellow traveller
over board in the midst of a fierce storm at sea, contain the theme of the
preaching of the Book of Jonah. ki-'attii yhwh ka'iiJer l;iifayta'iiJitd: For thou
art Yahweh. Whatever plcaseth Thee, Thou doeth. (Want u is Jahwe. Wat u
behaag, doen U I: 14'). Every word or event mentioned in this book -
inexplicable as they might have been to Jonah or as they may seem to a
later reader of the Book of Jonah -- is thus hrought by the author of this
wonderful book into the complex of personality and event used so frequently
by Yahweh according to His Will and Pleasure as media through which He
revealed Himself to mankind.
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Craft Press, Pretoria

104