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Nineveh – A Great City to God
Nineveh has been the focus of a post here in the past, but this one’s a little different. It’s a translational issue. I’ve pointed out in the past that many if not most translations are relatively boring. Jonah 3:3, which is a part of today’s lectionary reading, is a wonderful case in point. Here’s a…
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Why Did Jonah Flee to Tarshish? (Learner-Centered)
A while back I wrote a post answering the question of why Jonah fled to Tarshish (if you’re a more advanced reader you probably would not have learned anything). Yesterday, however, I started to think about what it would mean to take a more learner-centered approach to my blogging. And, I thought a re-write of…
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Saying Something Positive about Jonah
Today’s Old Testament reading is from Jonah 4. This is a continuation of the previous two days, which were from Jonah 1 and 3, respectively. And, throughout the book Jonah is depicted very negatively. But, today I thought I would try to say something positive about him. At least Jonah is honest and open. Notice…
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The Ninevites as the Model of Repentance
In today’s Old Testament reading from Jonah 3, we find the Ninevites as the model of repentance. Check out the perfect pattern of repentance here: When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes. Then he had this…
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"Old Salts" in Jonah 1.5
In most English translations of the Bible, one of the words in Jonah 1.5 is usually translated as “sailors” or “mariners” (NRSV, ESV, NJPS, NASB, and others). I can remember discussing this in my very first Biblical Hebrew class under Charles Isbell at Lousiana State University. He uses the Book of Jonah (minus the poetry…
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Why Did Jonah Flee to Tarshish?
If you’ve read the lectionary reading for today, you know it is from Jonah 1. To give a little background, it is helpful to know a little about Tarshish. According to the Bible Background Commentary on the Old Testament: Tarshish was the farthest known geographical point. While its exact location is unknown, most believe it…