Parallelism In The Book Of Jonah

The book of Jonah is a short narrative packed with big ideas and lessons inside of it. It tells the story of the prophet Jonah, who was called by God to speak prophecy to the people of Nineveh. Instead of answering the call, Jonah ran away. In the midst of his fear, Jonah boarded a ship leaving for Tarshish. The voyage is cut short by a storm in which Jonah told his fellow men to cast him into the sea so the storm will pass. After this event, Jonah is swallowed by a giant fish, created by God. For three days Jonah prayed to the Lord from inside the fish. Then finally, the fish released him to land. In the second half of the book, God goes to Jonah for a second time, calling him to proclaim His message to Nineveh. Jonah obeyed God, telling the

The parallelism in Jonah splits in two as the book itself splits into part one (1-2) and part two (3-4). Though the parallel verses are not word-for-word, in a sense they carry similar ideas and themes. An example of this is the comparison between Jonah 1:3-4 and Jonah 4:10-11. The first passage says, “But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.” (NIV, Jonah 1:3-4). These verses tell the story of Jonah’s flee of fear and the Lord’s anger (storm). Jonah 4:10-11 says, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” (NIV, Jonah 4:10-11). Chapter 4 tells the story of God’s justification of His compassion. Together, these passages show the contrast between the actions and character of God and Jonah. Another recurring concept in Jonah is fear. An example of this theme through chiastic parallelism is in Jonah 1:3 and 1:16. “But Jonah ran away from

The verse itself says, “And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” (NIV, Jonah 4:11) To summarize this question, God is asking Jonah, “Aren’t humans better and more valuable than vines on a plant? So shouldn’t I be compassionate and concerned about Nineveh?” This is basically God asking Jonah if it’s okay that he shows mercy, even to his enemies. Though there is no answer from Jonah, this end question is really directed towards the readers. The point is to have us ask ourselves if we are okay with God loving our enemies. That point is one of two main messages from Jonah. The other message can also be formatted into a question; will we trust and follow God even when we are afraid, and don’t like or fully understand what He is asking us to do? The book as a whole raises a mirror up to the faces of readers as it asks these questions. As Christians, we are supposed to allow this mirror message to make us really think about how we respond to faith in