Context is key whenever we pick up the Bible, and while we get a ton of background on some biblical characters, for others we have to dig a little. For Jonah, there’s only one other reference we get outside of the prophet’s own book which we can find in 2 Kings.
Jonah 1:1-2 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”
2 Kings 14:23-25 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.
Thanks to this reference in Kings, we get a few clues including a rough timestamp. Jonah was a prophet under King Jeroboam son of Joash or more commonly known as Jeroboam II. What is particularly interesting though is the prophecy Jonah gave to Jeroboam II. 2 Kings states Jeroboam II was an evil king, and yet the prophecy Jonah spoke to Jeroboam II was one of success in restoring the borders, a rather positive thing! And yet, this positive thing is prophecied to be reversed by a contemporary of Jonah, Amos.
Amos 6:13-14
you who rejoice in Lo-debar,
who say, “Have we not by our own strength
captured Karnaim for ourselves?”
“For behold, I will raise up against you a nation,
O house of Israel,” declares the Lord, the God of hosts;
“and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath
to the Brook of the Arabah.”
2 Kings 14:23-25 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.
If you continue reading in 2 Kings through chapter 15, you will find that the nation Amos speaks of that will rise up against Israel is none other than Neo-Assyrian empire.
So what context does this bring the reader of Jonah? It certainly reads like irony being layered on several times over. Jonah, able to provide positive prophecies to an evil king of Israel refuses to do the same for Nineveh. The prophecy Jonah gives later gets turned on its head by the people who end up repenting at Jonah’s reluctant words. There’s an intention here with this context that when we are introduced to Jonah in his own book, we should be a bit suspicious.
All verses are from the English Standard Version translation unless otherwise noted.
Reflection Questions
How does knowing the background of Jonah from 2 Kings impact your view of Jonah the prophet?
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