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.

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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)

A parábola (o mashal) da literatura rabínica é analisada nesta dissertação como uma narrativa metafórica. Pontua-se primeiramente os elementos básicos da teoria de Paul Ricoeur sobre a metáfora e os seus paralelos na concepção do mashal rabínico de Jonáh Fraenkel. Apresenta-se em seguida, por meio de um constante vai-e-vem entre os dois autores, e na base de cinco meshalim, os passos metodológicos desenvolvidos por Fraenkel: determinação do modelo de base, análise da trama da narrativa enquanto unidade completa, estabelecimento de correspondências entre mashal e nimshal. Valoriza-se então a extravagância da parábola que obriga a ir além do modelo de base da mesma. Desta forma, o mashal torna-se para os Sábios da literatura rabínica um meio de desvelar novos sentidos da Torá. Aponta-se enfim que o mashal se encontra em plena consonância com o mundo do Talmud-Torá por ser, antes de tudo, uma atividade e um questionamento, e por pertencer ao domínio da Torá Oral. Assim, ele pode e deve questionar a Torá Escrita. A harmonia de forma e conteúdo, e os diversos temas abordados no mashal, fazem também com que este fosse tão apreciado pelos Sábios nos seus ensinamentos. Por isso, intitulamos a parábola-metáfora que é o mashal rabínico de Talmud-Torá em miniatura. / The parable (the mashal) of rabbinical literature is analyzed in this dissertation as a metaphoric narrative. First, we point out the main elements of Paul Ricoeurs theory on metaphor and its parallels in Jonah Fraenkels conception of the rabbinical mashal. We then present, constantly considering both theoretical approaches and on the basis of five meshalim, the methodological steps developed by Fraenkel: determination of the basic model, analysis of the plot within the narrative considered as a complete unit, setting of correspondences betwenn mashal and nimshal. We then insist on the importance of the extravagance in the parable which requires to go beyond the basic model. The mashal becomes thus for the Sages of rabbinical literature a means to uncovering new meanings of the Torah. It is pointed out finally that the mashal is in full harmony with the world of Talmud-Torah, being primarily an activity and a questioning, and belonging to the realm of Oral Torah. Consequently, he can and should question the Written Torah. The harmony of form and content, and the various themes worked out in the mashal also explain why it was highly appreciated by the Sages in their teachings. Therefore, we call a Talmud-Torah in miniature the rabbinical mashal considered as a metaphorical narrative.

Thesis (doctoral)--Uppsala universitet, 1995. / Errata slip inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. [215]-233) and indexes.

Thesis (doctoral)--Uppsala universitet, 1995. / Errata slip inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. [215]-233) and indexes.

Thesis (doctoral)--Uppsala universitet, 1995. / Errata slip inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. [215]-233) and indexes.

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 / Biblical and Ancient Studies / D. Th. (Old Testamanent)

A parábola (o mashal) da literatura rabínica é analisada nesta dissertação como uma narrativa metafórica. Pontua-se primeiramente os elementos básicos da teoria de Paul Ricoeur sobre a metáfora e os seus paralelos na concepção do mashal rabínico de Jonáh Fraenkel. Apresenta-se em seguida, por meio de um constante vai-e-vem entre os dois autores, e na base de cinco meshalim, os passos metodológicos desenvolvidos por Fraenkel: determinação do modelo de base, análise da trama da narrativa enquanto unidade completa, estabelecimento de correspondências entre mashal e nimshal. Valoriza-se então a extravagância da parábola que obriga a ir além do modelo de base da mesma. Desta forma, o mashal torna-se para os Sábios da literatura rabínica um meio de desvelar novos sentidos da Torá. Aponta-se enfim que o mashal se encontra em plena consonância com o mundo do Talmud-Torá por ser, antes de tudo, uma atividade e um questionamento, e por pertencer ao domínio da Torá Oral. Assim, ele pode e deve questionar a Torá Escrita. A harmonia de forma e conteúdo, e os diversos temas abordados no mashal, fazem também com que este fosse tão apreciado pelos Sábios nos seus ensinamentos. Por isso, intitulamos a parábola-metáfora que é o mashal rabínico de Talmud-Torá em miniatura. / The parable (the mashal) of rabbinical literature is analyzed in this dissertation as a metaphoric narrative. First, we point out the main elements of Paul Ricoeurs theory on metaphor and its parallels in Jonah Fraenkels conception of the rabbinical mashal. We then present, constantly considering both theoretical approaches and on the basis of five meshalim, the methodological steps developed by Fraenkel: determination of the basic model, analysis of the plot within the narrative considered as a complete unit, setting of correspondences betwenn mashal and nimshal. We then insist on the importance of the extravagance in the parable which requires to go beyond the basic model. The mashal becomes thus for the Sages of rabbinical literature a means to uncovering new meanings of the Torah. It is pointed out finally that the mashal is in full harmony with the world of Talmud-Torah, being primarily an activity and a questioning, and belonging to the realm of Oral Torah. Consequently, he can and should question the Written Torah. The harmony of form and content, and the various themes worked out in the mashal also explain why it was highly appreciated by the Sages in their teachings. Therefore, we call a Talmud-Torah in miniature the rabbinical mashal considered as a metaphorical narrative.

Consistently throughout the book of Jonah, the author draws attention to matters of life and death. The present study argues that by approaching this recurring subject through a rhetorical-critical approach, it is evident that the author has intentionally constructed a motif of life and death, which they implement as the foundation for the theme of YHWH’s sovereignty that runs throughout the narrative. In this way, the motif is designed to build anticipation which comes to its climax as Jonah and YHWH converse directly in Jonah 4. This thesis argues that the presence of this motif is found in both the recurring key words and key situations connected with the concepts of life or death. Furthermore, the study identifies the purpose of Jonah as a declaration of YHWH’s sovereignty over matters of life and death, yet with a tendency toward mercy for the repentant. This is realized in and through the very motifs under examination.