What is the Hebrew biblical text saying about the story of Jonah Chapters 1-4?

Question

Could someone give me a summary of the text because I'm having a hard time trying to understand what it is saying and what is going on.

Answer 1

Like other prophets in Israel, Jonah spoke primarily to the Israelites. He prophesied at a time when the apostate ten-tribe kingdom openly engaged in God-dishonoring practices. (2 Kings 14:23-25) Imagine Jonah’s reaction when he received the special mission to leave his home country and go to Assyria to preach to the inhabitants of Nineveh, people with a different religion and culture. Jonah might not even have spoken the Ninevites’ language, at least not fluently. Whatever the case, Jonah apparently found the challenge overwhelming, and he fled.—Jonah 1:1-3.

Clearly, Jonah needed to learn that Jehovah God sees beyond mere appearances and examines the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7) After miraculously saving Jonah from drowning, Jehovah commanded him a second time to preach to the inhabitants of Nineveh. Jonah obeyed, and as a result, the Ninevites repented en masse. Still, Jonah did not have the right viewpoint. By means of a powerful object lesson, Jehovah taught him that he needed to change his attitude. Jehovah asked Jonah: “Ought I not to feel sorry for Nineveh the great city, in which there exist more than one hundred and twenty thousand men who do not at all know the difference between their right hand and their left?” (Jonah 4:5-11) What about us today? How can we help people from a different background?

Answer 2

All religions have an idea of what the future holds for mankind. Some believe the earth will burn up. They will all go to heaven. Some believe the majority of humans will burn in hell for an eternity. Some find that repulsive and untrue. Having freedom of religion in this country I guess they can believe anything they want. They certainly would not be the first religion to change certain things about the last days. In reading the bible it leads me to believe that the apostles thought the end was coming in their day. The urgency with witch they write makes it sound like they thought it was coming before their death. John the Babtist asked Jesus are you the messiah or should we expect another? They all thought that when the messiah came he would change the world. Possiblely get him out of prison. there has never been a time in human history when they didn't believe it was the last days. During the year 1000CE they sold homes and herds and went to monastaries and awaited the change thinking after 1000 years Jesus would come back and take over the world. when it didn't happen did they give up? The next generation awaited the coming of Christ. 1 corinthians 7:29 The apostle Paul told the early Christians the time left is reduced. Those who have wives be as those who have none. Even ignoring their wives to preach the good news. Was Paul a false prophet because he said the time left is reduced. Telling the men in that day to just concentrate on their preaching. We have little time to do this. Others have that same urgercy from Peter to Luke we read this. So if that is the case then they were all false prophets. Paul was wrong about the date, but he was not a false prophet. Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour. So all religions are just guessing. So does that make them all false?

Answer 3

Jonah was told to go preach to people living on an island but he went the other direction. so Jehovah god caused a storm to come up.to save the men on the boat Jonah confessed his sin and jumped over board. that's when the big fish swallowed him for three days then the fish let him go to the island so the people would repent and return to Jehovah.

Answer 4

www.livingweb.com/library/
look at different commentaries for some different views