
4 chapters
Jonah uniquely presents prophetic testimony through biographical narrative rather than recorded oracles, chronicling the reluctant prophet's flight from divine commission, miraculous deliverance, successful proclamation to Nineveh, and subsequent spiritual crisis when God's mercy contradicted his ethnocentric expectations. Through literary sophistication employing irony, satire, hyperbole, and intertextual allusions, this theological masterpiece challenges religious nationalism while revealing divine compassion extending beyond ethnic boundaries to encompass even Israel's most threatening enemies.
Author
Unknown (traditionally attributed to Jonah)
Date Written
785-760 BC (early date) or 500-400 BC (late date)
Audience
Nineveh and Jewish audience (narrative)