Jonah’s Peculiar Re-Creation

Abstract

With the rise of narrative criticism within Biblical Studies, there has been an increasing recognition of the importance of reading biblical texts as literature. The meaning and message of a given text is intimately tied to the way in which that text is written, and that includes its literary structure, as well as any intertextual connections to other earlier biblical texts. This article will argue that a narrative reading of Jonah reveals numerous intertextual connections to both the ancient Near Eastern imagery found in creation/Eden accounts of Genesis 1—3 and the recreation/flood narrative of Genesis 6—9. The theological impact these connections have on the message of Jonah to its postexilic audience is significant, in that it addresses not only the issue of the re-created people of God, but also the importance and purpose of the Temple. This article, therefore, is essentially an exercise in synchronic readings and intertextuality set within the historical parameters of the postexilic Jewish community.