Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Bible, Jonah'

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2000
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The issue addressed in this study and its hypothesis are outlined in chapter one, and concern the general problem of variety in theological interpretation of the Bible. Specifically, the research problem is identified with the existence of different readings of Jonah as Scripture, and the need for these readings to be authoritative. A secondary issue has to do with the role of author's intention in theological interpretation. The hypothesis of this study states that the existence of various models of Scriptural authority can account in part for the different ways that interpreters produce meaning in the text of Jonah, by appealing to the one aspect of the text which is thought to be authoritative. In chapter two the concept of scriptural authority is defined. The writings of theologians who have expressed authority in terms of models is compared and contrasted. A synthesis is attempted which aims at providing a definition of each model of authority with which to analyse the theological interpretations of select authors. In this chapter, the main focus is on the different ways that the Bible is regarded as authoritative in the church. Chapter three provides an analysis of three Jonah commentaries each written from the perspective of one of the models of authority. The specific way in which each author understands the meaning of Jonah is identified through a consideration of the exegetical arguments. The single aspect of the text which is taken to be decisive in the articulation of the understanding of the theological message is traced in the author's argument. The interpretation is then compared with the definition of the particular model assumed to be underlying the exegesis. The final chapter consists of an evaluation of the validity of the central hypothesis; some concluding remarks concerning the role of author's intention in authoritative interpretation; and an identification of areas for further research.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: OUTORITEIT EN INTERPRETASIE IN DIE BOEK JONA Die probleemstelling en hipotese van hierdie studie kry in hoofstuk een aandag. Die probleem het te doen met die verskeidenheid teologiese interpretasies van die Bybel. Die spesifieke navorsingsprobleem word met die bestaan van verskillende verklarings in die boek Jona wat gelees is as die Heilige Skrif, geidentifiseer. 'n Sekondere saak het met die rol van die outeur se bedoeling in 'n teologiese interpretasie te doen. Die hipotese wat die studie rig, se dat die verskillende maniere hoe vertolkers die bedoeling uit die boek Jona kry, teruggevoer kan word na die bestaan van verskeie modelle van skriftuurlike outoriteit. Dit gebeur omdat 'n enkele aspek van die teks as outoriter behandel word. Die bepaling van skriftuurlike outoriteit word in hoofstuk twee behandel. Die resultate van teoloe wat outoriteit as modelle beskrywe het word vergelyk en teenoorgestel. Die modelle is saamgestel tot 'n definisie van elke model van outoriteit om die teologiese interpretasies van sekere outeurs te ontleed. Die hoofbrandpunt van hierdie hoofstuk is die verskillende maniere waarop die Bybel as outoriter in die Kerk verskyn. Hoofstuk drie bestaan uit 'n ontleding van drie kommentare van die boek Jona wat vanuit die perspektief van 'n spesifieke model beskou kan word. Die manier waarop elke outeur Jona verstaan word geidentifiseer deur 'n oorweging van die eksegetiese argumente. Die enkele aspek van die teks wat bepaal hoe die teologiese boodskap verstaan is, word vervolg in die argument van die outeur. Die definisie van die spesifieke model wat die outeur blykbaar aanvaar, word daarna vergelyk met die interpretasie. In die slothoofstuk word 'n evaluering van die geldigheid van die sentrale hipotese opgeneem; verskeie slotopmerkings betreffende die rol van die outeur se voornemens in gesaghebbende verklaring; en die identifisering van velde vir verdere ondersoek.

Thesis advisor: David S. Vanderhooft
Conventional interpretations of Jonah hold that the book's purpose is to endorse the power of repentance in averting divine wrath, or to promote a greater appreciation among readers for divine mercy rather than justice, or to dispute "exclusivist" attitudes that would confine divine grace to the people of Israel/Judah. This dissertation argues, in contrast to these interpretations, that the book of Jonah should best be understood as an exploration of the problem of a perceived lack of divine justice. In light of the Jonah's composition well after the historical destruction of Nineveh, the use of Nineveh in Jonah as an object of divine mercy would have struck a discordant note among the book's earliest readers. Elsewhere in the prophetic corpus, Nineveh is known specifically and exclusively for its international crimes and its ultimate punishment at the hands of Yhwh, an historical event (612 B.C.E.) that prophets took as a sign of Yhwh's just administration of the cosmos. The use of Nineveh in Jonah, therefore, is not intended to serve as a hypothetical example of the extent of Yhwh's mercy to even the worst sinners. Rather, readers of Jonah would have known that the reprieve granted Nineveh in Jonah 3 did not constitute "the end of the story" for Nineveh. To the contrary, the extension of divine mercy to Nineveh in Jonah, which is set in the eighth century B.C.E., would have been seen as only the first of Yhwh's moves in regard to that "city of blood." The central conflict of the book resides in Jonah's doubt in the reliability of divine justice. In the aftermath of Nineveh's reprieve in Jonah 3, the prophet complains that the merciful outcome was inevitable, and had nothing to do with the Ninevites' penitence. The episode of the growth and death of the qiqayon plant in Jonah 4:6-8, and its explanation in 4:10-11 comprise Yhwh's response to Jonah's accusation. The images employed in the growth and death of the plant, and in the events that follow its demise, connote destruction in the prophetic corpus. When Yhwh explains the meaning of the qiqayon to Jonah in 4:10-11, the deity makes no mention of either penitence or mercy. Rather, having established that the qiqayon represents Nineveh, Yhwh asserts that, although he has spared Nineveh at present, he will not regret its eventual destruction in the future
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Theology

Jonah's Prayer is a choral work for solo tenor, a mixed choir of not fewer than 30 members, two pianos and a few percussion instruments to be played by choir members. The piece lasts about 13 minutes; it is a work intended for church choir use but could be performed in other venues as well.

Thesis (DTh (Old and New Testament))--Stellenbosch University, 2008.
Recent developments in the field of translation studies have shown that a single translation of the Bible cannot be used for all the functions for which people may need a translation of the Bible. Unlike the case in the past when new versions of the Bible were viewed with suspicion, it is now increasingly acknowledged that different types of the Bible are necessary for different communicative functions. While many African communities have only a pioneer mother tongue translation of the Bible, Scripture use reports indicate that in some situations, the mother tongue translations have not been used as it was intended. The writer of this dissertation supports the view that some of the Christians in their respective target language communities do not use available mother tongue translations because they find them to be inappropriate for their needs. In the light of functionalist theories of translation, it is held in this dissertation that people who find existing translations to be unsuitable for their needs may need special alternative translations that are precisely designed to address their needs. The challenge, however, is how to identify the specific type of the alternative translation. Although the need for alternative versions of the Bible has been widely acknowledged, very few studies have been carried out on strategies for designing and producing functional and acceptable alternative translations that are also directly based on the biblical source texts. This study represents part of the necessary effort to identify theoretical strategies for designing and producing alternative translations with special functions.

Cette thèse s’inscrit dans le débat actuel relatif au monothéisme biblique et au pluralisme religieux. Ces dernières décennies, ce débat a été influencé par des auteurs comme Jan Assmann pour lequel le monothéisme vétérotestamentaire constitue une racine importante de l’intolérance dont les trois religions monothéistes se seraient rendues coupables. Le but de notre thèse n’est pas d’entrer dans ce débat mais d’approfondir un sujet négligé par la recherche : qu’en est-il des tendances inclusives du monothéisme vétérotestamentaire ? Cette thèse ne se veut pas une contribution historique mais son but est d’étudier les principes théologiques permettant de concevoir des rapports positifs entre le Dieu d’Israël et des individus ou des peuples étrangers. En particulier, nous cherchons à analyser trois textes, le Livre de Jonas, le Psaume 33 (TM et LXX) et le roman Joseph et Aséneth. Bien qu’il s’agisse de trois textes différents en ce qui concerne le genre littéraire, l’origine et la datation, ils ont en commun d’aborder le problème du rapport entre le Dieu d’Israël et les non-Israélites. Plus concrètement, chacun de ces trois textes présente le Dieu d’Israël comme un créateur universel qui, en tant créateur, a pitié de toutes ses créatures
The starting point of this study is the current debate on monotheism and religious pluralism. In recent decades, this debate has been strongly influenced by some authors such as Jan Assmann for whom the monotheism originating in the Old Testament is the root of the intolerance and violence of the three monotheistic religions. Rather than participating at this debate, the intention of this study is to answer the following questions: what about inclusive tendencies in Old Testament monotheism? Thus, this thesis is aimed at looking into the theological principles motivating and supporting the possibility of an approach by individuals and peoples to the God of Israel. With this aim, our objective is to analyse three texts where the relationship between YHWH, Israel and the non-Israelites is examined: the book of Jonah, Psalm 33 (MT and LXX), and the novel, Joseph and Aseneth. Although these three texts are different concerning their genre, period and provenance, they have the following ideas in common: the relationship between the God of Israel and non-Israelites as well as the concept of God as an universal creator who has pity of all his creatures

Notre recherche porte sur la figure de Jonas dans les sources anciennes : la Bible hébraïque, la Septante, les pseudépigraphes, les écrits du désert du Juda, ceux de Flavius Josèphe, les Targoums, la littérature rabbinique et le Nouveau Testament. Nous constatons une valorisation constante de la figure de Jonas. L’ambiguïté du comportement du personnage dans le texte source (le livre de Jonas dans la Bible hébraïque) est uniformément réorientée dans une perspective favorable à Jonas. En termes de statistiques, l’utilisation de la figure de Jonas comme exemple de personne sauvée de la détresse est la plus fréquente. Les auteurs du Nouveau Testament mettent la figure de Jonas au service de la réflexion christologique. Nous montrons comment l’expression « le signe de Jonas », réinsérée dans un environnement textuel nouveau, acquiert une signification nouvelle. Chez Mathieu, le signe de Jonas évoque la résurrection du Christ, pour Luc, l’appel à la repentance
Our research concerns the figure of Jonas, as it appears in the ancient sources: the Hebraic Bible, the Septuagint, the pseudepigraphical literature, the documents from the Judaean Desert, the works of Flavius Josephe, the targumim, the rabbinic literature and the New Testament. A continuous increase of the prestige of the figure of Jonas can be observed. The ambiguousness of Jonas’s behavior in the source text (the book of Jonas in the Hebraic Bible) is always favorably redirected. In terms of statistics, the figure of Jonas is mostly used as an example of a person rescued from distress. The writers of the New Testament make use of the figure of Jonas in their expression of the christology. We show how the phrase “the sign if Jonas”, inserted into its new context, conveys a new meaning. The issue, which the sign of Jonas expresses, is in Matthew, the resurrection of Christ, and in Luke, the call for repentance

Ce mémoire porte sur l’hospitalité qui est un des défis de l’immigrant. Il répond à la question suivante : Comment le récit du livre de Jonas à la lumière de la philoxenie d’Abraham en Genèse 18 peut-il informer les pratiques de l’hospitalité en milieu évangélique ? Pour répondre à cette question, la recherche a mis en évidence les actions et attitudes qui construisent la grille d’évaluation de la dynamique de l’hospitalité en Genèse 18. Par la suite cette grille a été utilisée pour analyser la dynamique de l’hospitalité dans le livre de Jonas. Yahvé envoie Jonas, membre du peuple élu, apporter un message aux Ninivites, un peuple méchant et ennemi d’Israël. Dans une perspective de théologie exclusive dans laquelle Jonas perçoit Yahvé comme appartenant uniquement aux israélites, il manifestera son inhospitalité à l’égard de la mission et mettra tout en oeuvre pour faire obstacle à la l’hospitalité que Yahvé offre aux Ninivites. Yahvé restera constant dans un dialogue avec Jonas en utilisant entre autres les éléments de la nature et l’accueil qu’il fait à la repentance des Ninivites pour se faire connaitre à Jonas. L’Église, qui est constituée des personnes étrangères à Dieu et qui ont été accueillies en Jésus-Christ, est appelée à vivre une constante hospitalité en interne pour être capable d’exprimer l’hospitalité aux non-croyants. L’immigration fournit aux églises locales au Québec, et à Montréal en particulier une vague de croyants. La plupart de ces croyants considèrent le processus de leur migration comme un élément de leur expérience de foi. Cette considération les conduit à être dans une attente de l’hospitalité dans les églises locales. Dans ce schéma, ils sont en retour appellés à accueillir la différence des accueillants pour une vie communautaire équilibrée. Cet accueil se veut bidirectionnel pour une mission globale de l’Église.

Nous confrontons treize traductions du Livre de Jonas dans les Bibles imprimées en français entre 1530, première édition complète de la Bible de Lefèvre d’Étaples et 1588, la version révisée de Genève, qui nous ont paru significatives par leur influence, leur diffusion, ou leur originalité. Après un bref rappel des enjeux de la traduction biblique au XVIe siècle et de l’importance et de la signification du Livre de Jonas, suivi de la présentation du corpus, nous faisons l’analyse comparée de ces différentes versions selon une double voie : la comparaison des éditions entre elles (texte et paratexte), et leur confrontation au texte hébreu de référence – en effet, malgré la présence de deux éditions traduites de la Vulgate, nous avons estimé notre corpus suffisamment homogène, Jérôme ayant été lui-même à la recherche de l’hebraïca veritas. Nous avons cependant complété notre commentaire dans les cas problématiques en prenant en compte la Vulgate et cinq versions latines dues aux auteurs du corpus ou à leurs contemporains. L’analyse s’articule 1) autour des items : pertinence, fidélité et qualité littéraire des traductions ; 2) autour des auteurs : influence réciproque, singularité, « famille » catholique ou réformée. L’aboutissement de cette recherche s’ouvre sur la question du rapport entre le monde humaniste et la culture juive
Thirteen translations of the Book of Jonah in Bibles printed in the french language between 1530 (first complete edition of Lefevre d’Etaples) and 1588 (revised version from Geneva), are chosen on the basis of their influence, widespread or originality, and then are compared to each others. In first, we briefly summarize the challenge and issue of the bible translation during the XVIth century, together with the significance of the Book of Jonah. Second, translations are compared in a double manner: between them (text and paratext), and against the Hebrew original version (despite two Vulgate translations, we think our author’s corpus is homogeneous enough, since Hieronimus himself looked for the hebraïca veritas). However, in some cases, the Vulgate was use to enrich our commentary, together with five Latin versions written by some authors of the corpus or contemporaneous editors. The analysis is based on 1) items: relevance, reliability and proper quality of translation, and 2) the authors and their reciprocal influence, peculiarity, or belonging to Catholic or Reformed families. Finally, the work opens the debate on the relationship between the humanist world and the jewish culture

Interpreters of the book of Jonah understand the characterisation of Jonah, and hence the meaning of the book, in a variety of ways. These interpretive models may be categorised under seven headings: Jonah as Pinocchio, psychotic, Prometheus, fall-guy, patriot, prophet, and reluctant missionary. They reflect the spectrum of opinions regarding whether Jonah ultimately serves as a positive or negative example. How one decides this issue depends on the interpreter's understanding of the larger group whom Jonah represents. In turn, this will largely determine what is perceived as the main message of the book. Thus the surface-level question driving this investigation is, how is the reader to understand the character of Jonah? Many underlying epistemological and hermeneutical factors influence one's response to such questions. These include the nature and locus of meaning, the possibility of communication, the properties of a text, the potential for narratives to convey values, the possibility of authors to communicate intentions, and the correlative possibility of readers to identify communicative in tentions. The thesis advanced here is that narrative conventions may inform readers on how to understand biblical narratives. Functional knowledge of these conventions, particularly those pertaining to setting, plot and characterisation, enables readers to identify more accurately the values espoused by biblical authors. Moreover, the characterisation of Jonah is clarified when the narrative is read in this light, including which group he is meant to represent and whether he is portrayed positively or negatively. The larger group Jonah represents includes those who presume a covenantal relationship with Yahweh based on illegitimate grounds. The narrative conventions reveal a negative portrayal of Jonah and the sins he represents: pride, hypocrisy, callousness toward others and small-mindedness before a sovereign God. Thus the book indicts those who presume upon God's compassion based on mere affiliation with a group. The goal of this thesis is to set forth the value of knowing conventions of setting, plot and characterisation. Awareness of and attention to these factors hold the promise for more nuanced understanding both of Jonah as well as other narratives of the Hebrew Bible
Old Testament & Ancient Near Eastern Studies
D. Th. (Old Testamanent)

The goal of this research is to define the intent for Christian moving-image media narratives in terms of Prophetic Imagination and to develop and describe the characteristics of a new biblically based genre for Christian moving-image media that incorporates intent, content, style, and form. The story of Jonah and the related message as ironic vision, in combination with a particular didactic narrative form (edutainment), creates a medium with a Prophetic Imagination result. This medium, which is at the same time the message, is termed Jonahre. This new genre proposes a fresh Christian purpose and possibility for using the moving-image media to tell stories. In terms of the paradigm of Prophetic Imagination, the challenge for Christian moving-image media is to establish a biblically based alternative consciousness in society that results in the invitation to live a Lifestyle of the Believer in and contrary to the lifestyle of the dominant culture. Christians find themselves in a paradigm somewhat similar to the ancient Israelites in exile, as Christianity and its message have become de-centralized by the popular culture in a dominant postmodern world with a secular worldview. The task thus of preaching, telling stories and communicating the Christian message through moving-image media is to subvert these dominant ideologies through a God-given message. This message should carry a transformative revelatory purpose to glorify God and establish a biblical Christian outlook on life and the world that goes beyond merely a Christian veneer. Producers of narratives with a Christian worldview can no longer depend on simply using secular formats to convey Christian messages, as is currently often done with moving-image media. Instead, both content and form must be biblically based and have the same intent and purpose. This demands a new format for Christian moving-image narratives that aims at laying claim to the icons that dominate the secular “empire” so that they may be conscripted for the purpose of establishing a Christian worldview among the inhabitants with an empire consciousness. For the development of this new genre, the narrative of the book of Jonah as model of biblical storytelling is examined by means of socio-rhetorical criticism and communication theory. The communication as rich tapestry of interwoven textual textures is considered to find the basis for elements of a Prophetic Imagination narrative that educates in Biblical truth while entertaining the dominant cultural audience through an ironical, didactic style.
Prof. J.H. Coetzee

Text in Afrikaans
Die boek Jona in die Ou Testament fassineer sowel geleerdes uit verskeie dissiplines, as gewone Bybel-gelowiges al vir eeue lank. Ten spyte van die beperkte lengte en verhaal-inhoud, bestaan daar 'n ongekende aantal uiteenlopende interpretasies van die Klein Profete-boek, as gevolg van die verskillende benaderingswyses waarop dit gedurende verskillende eras en in 'n verskeidenheid van intellektuele kontekste benader en gei:nterpreteer is. 'n Sinvolle ondersoek na en beoordeling van die verskillende interpretasie-benaderings, met die oog op die uiteindelike formulering van die universele boodskap van die verhaal van Jona, behoort te begin by die logiese beginpunt, naamlik die vroee Kerkvaders. Hierdie studie konsentreer daarom op die interpretasies en toepassings van die verhaal van Jona deur die vroee Latynse Kerkvaders van die derde tot die vyfde eeue nC. Vanwee hul hoofsaaklik nai:ef-realistiese kenhouding, het hulle oor die algemeen nie die historiese akkuraatheid van die Jona-verhaal betwyfel nie. Onder die invloed van sowel die Hebreeuse interpretasie-tradisie as die vroee Griekse Kerkvaders, het hulle Jona hoofsaaklik op tipologiese en allegoriese wyse geinterpreteer. Die uitgangspunt vir die tipologiese interpretasie, waarvolgens Jona beskou word as 'n tipe ofvoorafskaduwing van Jesus Christus (die anti-tipe), is die sogenaamde "Teken van Jona" in die Nuwe Testament. Vir die doel van hierdie studie is die Kerkvader Hieronymus se kommentaar op die boek Jona in geheel vertaal en bestudeer, as verteenwoordigend van die interpretasie-benadering van die Latynse Kerkvaders. Daarna is korter fragmente bestudeer uit die kommentare van Hilarius van Poitiers en Ambrosius van Milaan oor Bybelpassasies waarin Jona self, of aspekte uit die verhaal, figureer. Vervolgens is daar ook ondersoek ingestel na die toepassing van die Jona-verhaal in geselekteerde fragmente uit die vroeg-Christelike poesie en epistolografie. Die gevolgtrekking waartoe hierdie studie gekom het, is dat die belangrikste bydrae deur die geselekteerde outeurs tot die corpus van Jona-interpretasies, gelee is in hul be grip en formulering van die universele genade-boodskap van Jona, en in hul toepassing van sekere kernaspekte uit die verhaal, as exempla of illustrasies, waardeur bepaalde waarhede aan die orde gestel is en spesifieke boodskappe oorgedra is. Gesien binne die bree konteks van gesofistikeerde interpretasie-benaderings tot en literer-wetenskaplike teoriee oor die verhaal van Jona, het die vroeg-Latynse outeurs tog ook, ten spyte van hul eenvoudiger werkswyses, die kernboodskap van Jona korrek gei:nterpreteer en treffend weergegee, en deur middel van hul tipologiese interpretasies van die verhaal, 'n sinvolle bydrae gelewer tot die eeue-lange geskilpunt rondom die historisiteit van Jona.
For many centuries the book of Jonah, one of the collection of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Old Testament, has fascinated both scholars from various disciplines, as well as ordinary laymen. Due to the various ways in which it was interpreted during different eras and in different intellectual contexts, there exist a plethora of divergent interpretations of this book, in spite of its limited length and contents. With a view to formulating the universal message of the story of Jonah, a meaningful review of all these approaches should start with the early Church Fathers, the most logical startingpoint. This study therefore concentrates on the interpretations and applications of the story ofJonah, by some of the Fathers of the Latin church from the third to the fifth century AD. Owing to their mainly naive-realistic cognitive approach, they in general did not doubt the historicity of the Jonah-narrative. Influenced by both the Hebrew tradition and the Greek Fathers, they mainly interpreted the story of Jonah allegorically and typologically. Their typological interpretation, based on the so-called "Sign of Jonah", depicts the prophet Jonah as the type or prefiguration of Jesus Christ (the anti-type). For this study Saint Jerome's commentary on the book of Jonah, was translated and studied in its entirety, as a useful representative of the interpretative framework of the early Latin Fathers. Some shorter fragments from Saint Hilary of Poitiers' and some of Saint Ambrose's commentaries on Biblical passages, in which Jonah or specific aspects from the story figure, were also studied. Finally some fragments from early Christian Latin poetry and epistolography were selected with a view to studying the different applications of the Jonah narrative in patristic literature. The study arrived at the conclusion that the most important contribution of the selected Christian Latin authors to the corpus of Jonah-interpretations is in their understanding and formulation of Jonah's universal message of grace, as well as in their application of the narrative, in the form of exempla, with a view to illustrating and emphasising certain aspects or truths. Seen in the broad context of sophisticated interpretative approaches to and literary theories on the story of Jonah, the Fathers of the Latin church did interpret the message of Jonah correctly, in spite of their more simple approaches, and they conveyed this message in striking ways. In addition to this, their typological interpretations added yet another interesting perspective to the age-long dispute about the historicity of the Jonah-narrative.
Classics & Modern European Languages
D.Litt. et Phil. (Latin)

The goal of this study is to evaluate, in which manner the Non-Israelites turn to Yahweh. It works with a combination of narrative analysis and intertextuality. The book of Jonah contains two symmetrical parts (1-2 and 3-4), each part containing three scenes, each scene relating to a scene in the other part: 1.1-3 // 3.1-3a; 1.4-16 // 3.3b-10; 2.1-11 // 4.1-11. The structure of 1.4-16, including the inner development of the mariners, shows that a conversion of the Seamen to Yahweh is intended. In the same manner the structure of 3.3b-10 and the positive characterization of the Ninevites show that a conversion to the one true God is intended. These results are each confirmed by an intertextual analysis of 1.14 and 16 and of the faith, the repentance and the God who relents. Result: The book of Jonah teaches that Non-Israelites can have a relationship with Yahweh. This is possible through an Israelite, becoming reality by conversion of the Heathen.
Old Testament & Ancient Near Eastern Studies
M. Th. (Old Testament)

This paper is concerned with synchronic analysis of the biblical text. The text has been analyzed according to various narrative methods, as presented in the manual by J. L. Ska. The Book of Jonah is an extremely complex and elaborated text. It is basically a narration, determined by a precise Hebrew syntax. In the Book of Jonah, we may find three interlaced plots. This fact makes of the book, one of the shortest books in the Old Testament, a precious literary masterpiece. The most secondary literature affirms that the main theme of the Book consists in God{\crq}s grace and mercy. But the narrative analysis discovers also the importance of the prophet himself, who is a splendid image of the mankind, and his wonderful complexness.

The goal of this study is to evaluate, in which manner the Non-Israelites turn to Yahweh. It works with a combination of narrative analysis and intertextuality. The book of Jonah contains two symmetrical parts (1-2 and 3-4), each part containing three scenes, each scene relating to a scene in the other part: 1.1-3 // 3.1-3a; 1.4-16 // 3.3b-10; 2.1-11 // 4.1-11. The structure of 1.4-16, including the inner development of the mariners, shows that a conversion of the Seamen to Yahweh is intended. In the same manner the structure of 3.3b-10 and the positive characterization of the Ninevites show that a conversion to the one true God is intended. These results are each confirmed by an intertextual analysis of 1.14 and 16 and of the faith, the repentance and the God who relents. Result: The book of Jonah teaches that Non-Israelites can have a relationship with Yahweh. This is possible through an Israelite, becoming reality by conversion of the Heathen.
Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist zu erheben, in wieweit sich die Nichtisraeliten (Seeleute und Niniviten) dem wahren Gott zuwenden. Sie geht methodisch mit einer Kombination aus Erzähltextanalyse und Intertextualität vor. Das Jonabuch besteht aus zwei symmetrischen Hälften (Jon 1-2 und 3-4) mit je 3 Szenen, die einander gegenüberstehen: 1,1-3 // 3,1-3a; 1,4-16 // 3,3b-10; 2,1-11 // 4,1-11. Die Struktur der Seeszene (Jon 1,4-16), sowie die innere Entwicklung der Seeleute zeigen, dass eine Bekehrung zu Jahwe intendiert ist. Diese Einsicht wird von der intertextuellen Analyse von Vers 14 und 16 bestätigt. Ebenso erweist die Struktur der Niniveperikope (3,3b-10) und die positive Charakterisierung der Niniviten eine Bekehrung zum wahren Gott, ein Ergebnis, das von der intertextuellen Analyse des Glaubens, der Buße, sowie der Reue Gottes gestützt wird. Ergebnis: Das Jonabuch lehrt, dass Menschen außerhalb Israels eine Beziehung zu Jahwe haben können, vermittelt durch einen Israeliten und realisiert, wenn sich die Heiden bekehren.
Biblical and Ancient Studies
M. Th. (Old Testament)