Jonah as Satire

Thalia Theatre Poster

Jonah has become for me one of those books that get better the more I revisit it.  I was set on a new course, however, when I heard Brian Zahnd point out that this book, while containing a serious message, was blatantly comedic.  The more I consider the idea the more I see he is right and I would continue the notion by comparing it with the humor found in Yiddish theatre (or vice versa).  So, if Jonah as that kind of production has not been done yet someone should get on that.

Nevertheless, Yiddish humor is characterized by its unique use of irony, satire, wordplay and its direct aim at the affluent and religious authorities as-well-as at itself. This is especially true in the wake of Haskala (Jewish Enlightenment) and its schism with Zionists.[1] Now I must say that the artists which emerged from Haskala, unlike the prophets, did little to energize the community toward God’s vision of hope, but like most artists they were certainly not void of vision in which to rightly critique their dominant culture (something to keep in mind while reading Jonah).

A Word about Prophets

However, to preface Jonah as a prophetic voice, I want to say something about the prophets.  Prophets have been seen as a kind of Godly fortune-tellers of future events, but foreknowledge, while it was present, was not the defining aspect of their task.  It did reveal God’s concern and investment for creation’s future (often by what was happening in the present), but it was only part to a much larger sum.  What was central was the prophets redirecting the community back toward the covenant responsibility and covenant hope.  This was much of the prophetic message from pre to post exilic time-periods. 

Additionally, while I think many readers are thrown off by the blending of poetry and apocalyptic imagery within the prophet’s literary makeup, they too are artists employing these elements to convey a two-fold message that aims to critique and energize.  They critiqued the dominant reality which was (as Walter Brueggemann termed) the “Royal Consciousness”.[2]  This royal-consciousness is a reoccurring theme throughout the Bible, but it gained renewed life in Solomon’s reign. He maintained a pagan ideology by “trading God’s vision of freedom for the reality of security; he banished the neighbor for the sake of reducing everyone to servant; he replaced covenanting with consuming, and all promises had been reduced to tradable commodities.”[3]  In the process, Solomon regressed to pride, despair, numbness and thus an inability to imagine hope or anything new (Ecclesiastes 1).

            The prophets then critiqued the broken royal order and energized their weary culture of faith toward God’s vision of hope and freedom.  This was the main vision from God that the prophet was privy to and God would use that visual-language, as Brueggemann says, “to bring to expression the new realities against the more visible ones of the old order. Energizing is closely linked to hope. We are energized not by that which we already possess but by that which is promised and about to be given.”[4]  Now, how does this fit in with a book like Jonah especially since the prophet is warning of Nineveh’s judgment?  Well it starts by looking at Jonah’s story.

Jonah’s Prophetic Comedy

Jonah, from beginning to end, looks unusual next to other prophetic books. It is a narrative, as Leslie Allen suggests, that is not recounting historical fact, but is a story crafted like a parable employing provocative elements of surprise and shock.[5]  Here are some of the key elements of each chapter:

Act 1:  In chapter 1 the story begins already in motion. There is an assumption for the reader that much has already happened as God calls Jonah and tells him to travel to Nineveh to warn the Assyrians, Israel’s worst enemy, of their incurred judgment.  This itself was an abnormality in the text because while prophetic oracles against a nation was commonplace, traveling to them was not; “[prophets traditionally spoke] from their native soil for the benefit of their fellow nationals.”[6]

 Right off Jonah surprises us when he does not even give God his reservations/frustrations about doing this (like Moses or Jeremiah). Rather, he refuses to carry the prophetic burden by promptly turning around and running as far as he could in the opposite direction of Nineveh.  From a southern port in Joppa our prophet then buys a ticket and boards a ship that will carry him as far west as he can get. 

While on the boat, God sends a ship-devastating storm. The captain implores the people to pray to their gods for rescue, but our prophet slinks away to hide below. After finding Jonah sleeping and telling him to pray, they cast lots to see who has offended the gods and it falls on Jonah.  Jonah then confesses that he is a Hebrew running from the world’s Creator and if they want to live they should probably just throw him overboard (apparently still a better option than attempting to repent and go to Nineveh).  After God’s power is displayed in the storm they have no choice but to throw him over. This in turn calmed the sea. Upon witnessing the events, the entire boat repents and vows to serve Israel’s God.  The scene then ends with God intervening and making arrangements with a fish to swallow Jonah for three days and nights.

Act 2: Now in the belly of the fish, there is a clear sense that God is still unwilling to let Jonah die.  Here Jonah finally laments and repents and he does it by methodically stringing together Psalter into a congruent psalm of his own (Ps. 3, 5, 18, 30, 42, 69, 120, 139 & 142). As Jonah closes with a promise that he will fulfill his vows, God tells the fish to hock Jonah up safely on shore.  There is, perhaps, a point of amusement for the author depicting a fish that releases its catch back on land.

Act 3: The following chapter opens with God telling Jonah a second time: go to Nineveh and deliver the message; Jonah obeys and travels to the great city. Upon arrival he delivers possibly the worst judgment speech ever.  There was no concern to convince anyone that it was true; no elaborate message planned; he simply walked through the gates and yelled “In 40 days Nineveh will be destroyed” –The End  

Jonah’s worst fear comes true.  While in other texts this might be where the prophet’s life comes to an end, here the king and the entire city believed him and came together fasting, wearing burlap and repenting for their violence. Then just to make extra sure Nineveh was well covered the king also made all their animals fast and wear burlap in repentance. Nevertheless, God is pleased and has mercy on them.

Act 4: The final chapter opens with Jonah throwing a fit because he knew from the beginning Israel’s God would be merciful, compassionate and filled with all that horrible unfailing love for such stupid people. Jonah then says, if you are not going to kill them than kill me, to which God asks, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah ignores him and continues his tantrum outside the city hoping God will destroy it anyway. 

While there, God intervenes to make a plant grow to provide shade for Jonah and he is actually grateful for it, but then that night God makes arrangements with a worm to eat it.  As the sun grew hot the next day the entire scenario pissed Jonah off in a way that confounds even God.  God then demands to know how Jonah can care more about a plant than he can about the people of Nineveh, and their animals.  But, just as the story began in motion, so it also ends in motion and the curtain closes on God and Jonah are finally arguing out their disappointments with each other. 

Interpretative Addendum

This story seeks to entertain, indict and energize Israel through self-deprecating humor.  First, as the only Jew in the story, Jonah seems to have made himself emblematic of Israel.[7]  Everyone Jonah comes across (from the boat to Nineveh) turns their heart to God in record numbers regardless of Jonah’s failures.  Now herein lies the critique: The Jewish people who are privileged to hear God’s voice are the only ones refusing to listen to him.  They have been wearing their chosen status as a “badge of privilege” when in fact it was a call to responsibility. Thus it is a critique of priorities and lack of care for the other nations. 

            Jonah does not however neglect the “energizing” aspect either.  Throughout the story we see God as being merciful, redemptive, loving and committed to the future of all creation through Israel (not even refusing their enemies).  There is a deep hope and vision established by God’s attachment to us, especially for those we like to marginalize and trivialize.  In God’s subversive kingdom the last are not the least and the lost are not left.  So also those ensnared in mind-sets of superiority become free to be God’s community receptive, un-offended and recommitted to the covenant. Such a purpose is what God insists for Jonah (Israel).  

 

[1] Joel Berkowitz. Landmark Yiddish Plays: A Critical Anthology (Albany, NY: State University of NY Press 2006), 1.

[2] Walter Brueggemann. The Prophetic Imagination (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press 2001), 33.

[3] Ibid, 14.

[4] Ibid, 33.

[5] Leslie C. Allen. NICOT: The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans 1976), 176.

[6] Ibid.

[7] I got this line from Zahnd, but I believe good part of this interpretation was from him as well so here is a link to his outworking of it: http://wolc.com/watch--listen/sermon-archives/jonah-a-comedy-2015/