Jonah: The meaning behind the legend
Sunday, October 19, 2014
The story of Jonah is an interesting one in that it presents a familiar albeit impossible narrative. The story recounts that Jonah was charged by God to go to the sinful city of Nineveh to cry out against it. But Jonah was not too thrilled at the idea of going to Nineveh and indulge himself in rabble-rousing, so he hopped the first available ship out of Joppa that was headed for Tarshish in attempt “to get away from the service of the Lord.” The Lord sends a storm that frightens the ships sailors and being superstitious they figure the gods are punishing them. This is when Jonah explains to these frightened men that he is to blame for the storm and that they should throw him overboard for their own protection. The sailors refuse to follow Jonah's advice but when the storm persists they reluctantly throw Jonah overboard and this is when a giant fish swallows Jonah and carries him in its belly for a period of three days until it arrives at the shores of Nineveh at which point the fish vomits Jonah out.
