Omega Man
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2018
- Messages
- 3,735
- Reaction score
- 970
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Independent
Swallowed by a big fish, or allegorical preface to the Gospel narratives?
Traditional Judeo-Christianity teaches that the biblical book of Jonah documents that the established prophet of the same name was sent by his god to preach in Nineveh, was subsequently swallowed by a "big fish"; and that these were factual occurrences which all occurred during the reign of Jeroboam II (2 Kings chapter 14 documents that the historical Jonah was a prophet during his reign) . This traditional view is based upon an unchallenged acceptance of the Book of Jonah as recording “historical events” as they occurred during his life . An in-depth analysis of the Book of Jonah, a comparison to world history, and a comparison to prior scriptural narratives of the Book of 2 Kings suggest that the Book of Jonah is entirely fictional.
First off, the book itself was written subsequent to the Babylonian Exile. Much of the phraseology utilized in the Book of Jonah appears similar to the language used in the time of Ezra the Redactor and Nehemiah; whereas most of its teachings appear to have a distinct post-Exilic essence to them. This would strongly indicate authorship of the book at probably circa 300 BC. With a span of well over 400 years, this would clearly indicate that it is not a historical document.
When reading the book of 2 Kings, Jonah prophesied that the expansion efforts of King Jeroboam II would be successful. King Jeroboam II ruled about 780 – 746 BC.
The Book of Jonah describes Nineveh (the capital of Assyria) as "that great city"; and refers to its "wickedness". Assyria was in a period of decay during 780 - 746 BC; and its influential capital at that time (and during the previous 500 years) was Calah.
Nineveh was Assyria's capital during the reign of the Judean king Manasseh, when Judea was an Assyrian tributary. Manasseh ruled Judea from 693 to 638 BC; well over 100 years after the prophecies of Jonah; so it's quite possible the later author of the Book of Jonah was referring to this period instead.
Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC.
Battle ...h (612 BC) - Wikipedia
So… WHY WOULD A GOD IN 750 BC SEND A PROPHET TO A “CAPITAL” THAT WOULDN’T EXIST AS SUCH FOR CLOSE TO ANOTHER 100 YEARS? That’s the problem with accepting biblical narratives at face value – it leaves no incentive to compare/contrast to other biblical passages; not to mention world history itself.
Back to our story…
When Jonah decided to run away from Nineveh, he headed on a ship to Tarshish; the same place that Solomon used to import silver from. Tarshish (called "Tartessus" by the Greeks and Romans) is at the western edge of the Mediterranean; at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. Therefore the water passage between Nineveh and Tarshish is therefore, the Mediterranean Sea.
The only "Great Fish" that is capable of swallowing a human being whole is a whale. Whales with baleen are not capable of swallowing a human being; the "Great Fish" therefore can only be a toothed-whale. The only toothed-whale capable of swallowing a human being whole is a sperm whale. Sperm whales are not indigenous to, nor have ever been found in the Mediterranean region.
Therefore the story of Jonah’s god sending him to Nineveh, and subsequently being swallowed by a "great fish" is clearly fictional.
Which then begs the question…. If the gospel narratives are true, then why did Jesus compare his plight to that of Jonah? Or might that have been at the hand of a later messianic author who (as they were prone towards) betrayed the original texts in an attempt to self-fulfill their own messianic narratives?
OM
Traditional Judeo-Christianity teaches that the biblical book of Jonah documents that the established prophet of the same name was sent by his god to preach in Nineveh, was subsequently swallowed by a "big fish"; and that these were factual occurrences which all occurred during the reign of Jeroboam II (2 Kings chapter 14 documents that the historical Jonah was a prophet during his reign) . This traditional view is based upon an unchallenged acceptance of the Book of Jonah as recording “historical events” as they occurred during his life . An in-depth analysis of the Book of Jonah, a comparison to world history, and a comparison to prior scriptural narratives of the Book of 2 Kings suggest that the Book of Jonah is entirely fictional.
First off, the book itself was written subsequent to the Babylonian Exile. Much of the phraseology utilized in the Book of Jonah appears similar to the language used in the time of Ezra the Redactor and Nehemiah; whereas most of its teachings appear to have a distinct post-Exilic essence to them. This would strongly indicate authorship of the book at probably circa 300 BC. With a span of well over 400 years, this would clearly indicate that it is not a historical document.
When reading the book of 2 Kings, Jonah prophesied that the expansion efforts of King Jeroboam II would be successful. King Jeroboam II ruled about 780 – 746 BC.
The Book of Jonah describes Nineveh (the capital of Assyria) as "that great city"; and refers to its "wickedness". Assyria was in a period of decay during 780 - 746 BC; and its influential capital at that time (and during the previous 500 years) was Calah.
Nineveh was Assyria's capital during the reign of the Judean king Manasseh, when Judea was an Assyrian tributary. Manasseh ruled Judea from 693 to 638 BC; well over 100 years after the prophecies of Jonah; so it's quite possible the later author of the Book of Jonah was referring to this period instead.
Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC.
Battle ...h (612 BC) - Wikipedia
So… WHY WOULD A GOD IN 750 BC SEND A PROPHET TO A “CAPITAL” THAT WOULDN’T EXIST AS SUCH FOR CLOSE TO ANOTHER 100 YEARS? That’s the problem with accepting biblical narratives at face value – it leaves no incentive to compare/contrast to other biblical passages; not to mention world history itself.
Back to our story…
When Jonah decided to run away from Nineveh, he headed on a ship to Tarshish; the same place that Solomon used to import silver from. Tarshish (called "Tartessus" by the Greeks and Romans) is at the western edge of the Mediterranean; at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. Therefore the water passage between Nineveh and Tarshish is therefore, the Mediterranean Sea.
The only "Great Fish" that is capable of swallowing a human being whole is a whale. Whales with baleen are not capable of swallowing a human being; the "Great Fish" therefore can only be a toothed-whale. The only toothed-whale capable of swallowing a human being whole is a sperm whale. Sperm whales are not indigenous to, nor have ever been found in the Mediterranean region.
Therefore the story of Jonah’s god sending him to Nineveh, and subsequently being swallowed by a "great fish" is clearly fictional.
Which then begs the question…. If the gospel narratives are true, then why did Jesus compare his plight to that of Jonah? Or might that have been at the hand of a later messianic author who (as they were prone towards) betrayed the original texts in an attempt to self-fulfill their own messianic narratives?
OM
