Re-reading Jonah, Rethinking God and the Prophets

Aim

To suggest an approach to the interpretation of the book of Jonah that does justice to its humorous and at times somewhat incongruous (unconventional, surprising) portrayal of Jonah and God and to explore the (theological) implications of that kind of portrayal.

Summary

This booklet investigates how the book of Jonah’s humorous and at times incongruous portrayal of Jonah and God are best understood, exploring its humour, satirical Christian readings and their implications, alternative dialogical, carnivalesque interpretations that treat both Jonah and God sympathetically while at the same time encouraging readers to engage critically with their own traditional understanding of God and the prophets/prophecy. There will also be some reflections on how Jonah is best read as literature (i.e., with literary sensitivities suited to the undertaking).

Humour in the Book of Jonah

Aim

To alert readers to the presence of the humorous, incongruous elements in the book of Jonah, traditionally perhaps sometimes better understood in Jewish interpretation than in Christian ‘straight-faced’ readings (thus Yvonne Sherwood).

Summary

The chapter will offer a short summary of the book of Jonah, focusing on its humorous and/or incongruous elements (as detected by a host of scholars over the years) before suggesting that to appreciate the book we must be alive to its humour.

Reading Jonah as Satire

Aim

To offer a brief review of Christian satirical readings of the book (which, as especially Sherwood has shown, have been quite widespread and influential) and reflect on their implications for our understanding of the book and the prophet Jonah.

Summary

While the genre of Jonah has been defined in numerous and highly varied ways, satirical readings (or readings featuring satirical elements/aspects) have effectively been the most common in modern Christian interpretation. This chapter will investigate how such readings have understood the book and especially the figure of Jonah, who has frequently been painted in quite a bad light.

A Dialogical, Carnivalesque Reading of Jonah

Aim

To suggest an alternative to the satirical readings reviewed above, one that interprets the book’s humour and incongruities as presenting Jonah and (traditional understandings of) God both sympathetically and critically.

Summary

Adopting the Bakhtinian concepts of dialogical and carnivalesque readings as applied to the book of Jonah by Yvonne Sherwood and Timothy McNinch, this chapter explores how a dialogical, carnivalesque reading can help us move beyond satirical readings to one that allows the book’s subversive and orthodox elements to co-exist, a reading in which Jonah and God are portrayed both sympathetically and critically – the point being that the book’s readers are drawn into a sympathetic yet critical engagement with the traditional understanding of God and the prophets/prophecy (this will be further developed in the final chapter).

Jonah Read as Literature

Aim

To alert readers to the importance of approaching the book of Jonah as literature, reading it with an understanding of and a sensitivity to its ‘literariness’ and what that might mean for how we interpret the book.

Summary

As I envisage it, this chapter might be quite a short one (something of an intermediate step) that draws together some thoughts developed up to now to make the more general point that the book of Jonah wants to be read as literature, while also reflecting on what that might mean for how we best approach it. [With respect to Philip Jenson’s 1999 Grove booklet on Jonah, I should say that while I might refer to that here, this chapter will not offer a discussion of narrative criticism and hence not trespass on Philip’s territory.]

Reflecting on God and the Prophets

Aim

To develop the point that the often humorous and/or incongruous portrayal of Jonah and God is meant to get the book’s readers to reflect sympathetically yet critically on their traditional understanding of God and the prophets/prophecy.

Summary

The final chapter will develop the point that the book of Jonah, by means of its at times humorous, at times incongruous portrayal of both Jonah (e.g., Why does Jonah seek to flee to Tarshish without even arguing with God? Why does he preach such a curiously short sermon?) and God (e.g., Is God right/justified to send a storm that threatens the lives of innocent sailors just to get at Jonah? Is God right to so easily forgive the Ninevites/Assyrians after all they have done to Israel?), invites its readers to review their traditional understanding of Old Testament prophets/prophecy and of God.