Jonah 1 Again: Mapping Structure and Prosodic Flow

Mapping structure and prosodic flow is an instructive exercise in visual learning. In the process, the semantic organization of the text becomes transparent.

Below I make a colorful attempt at bringing out the structure and prosody of Jonah 1. Go here for a first attempt and a corresponding translation. Pink marks fully explicit references to narrative protagonists. Light blue marks quotative frames. Yellow, red, grey, and green mark words in paradigmatic relationships.

וַיְהִי דְּבַר־יְהוָה   אֶל־יוֹנָה בֶן־אֲמִתַּי לֵאמֹר

 

קוּם לֵךְ      אֶל־נִינְוֵה הָעִיר הַגְּדוֹלָה

וּקְרָא עָלֶיהָ    כִּי־עָלְתָה רָעָתָם לְפָנָי

 

וַיָּקָם יוֹנָה לִבְרֹחַ תַּרְשִׁישָׁה    מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה

וַיֵּרֶד יָפוֹ     וַיִּמְצָא אָנִיָּה  בָּאָה תַרְשִׁישׁ  וַיִּתֵּן שְׂכָרָהּ

וַיֵּרֶד בָּהּ   לָבוֹא עִמָּהֶם תַּרְשִׁישָׁה   מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה

 

וַיהוָה הֵטִיל רוּחַ גְּדוֹלָה אֶל־הַיָּם

וַיְהִי    סַעַר גָּדוֹל בַּיָּם וְהָאֳנִיָּה חִשְּׁבָה לְהִשָּׁבֵר

 

וַיִּירְאוּ הַמַּלָּחִים  וַיִּזְעֲקוּ אִישׁ אֶל־אֱלֹהָיו

וַיָּטִלוּ אֶת־הַכֵּלִים אֲשֶׁר בָּאֳנִיָּה אֶל־הַיָּם לְהָקֵל מֵעֲלֵיהֶם

 

וְיוֹנָה יָרַד  אֶל־יַרְכְּתֵי הַסְּפִינָה  וַיִּשְׁכַּב וַיֵּרָדַם

 

וַיִּקְרַב אֵלָיו  רַב הַחֹבֵל

וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ

מַה־לְּךָ נִרְדָּם קוּם קְרָא אֶל־אֱלֹהֶיךָ

אוּלַי יִתְעַשֵּׁת  הָאֱלֹהִים לָנוּ  וְלֹא נֹאבֵד

 

וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵהוּ

לְכוּ וְנַפִּילָה גוֹרָלוֹת  וְנֵדְעָה בְּשֶׁלְּמִי  הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת לָנוּ

וַיַּפִּלוּ גּוֹרָלוֹת וַיִּפֹּל הַגּוֹרָל עַל־יוֹנָה

 

וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו

הַגִּידָה־נָּא לָנוּ בַּאֲשֶׁר לְמִי־הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת לָנוּ

מַה־מְּלַאכְתְּךָ  וּמֵאַיִן תָּבוֹא

מָה אַרְצֶךָ וְאֵי־מִזֶּה עַם אָתָּה

 

וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם

עִבְרִי אָנֹכִי וְאֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם  אֲנִי יָרֵא

אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה אֶת־הַיָּם  וְאֶת־הַיַּבָּשָׁה

 

וַיִּירְאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים יִרְאָה גְדוֹלָה

וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו

מַה־זֹּאת עָשִׂיתָ כִּי־יָדְעוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים

כִּי־מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה הוּא בֹרֵחַ

כִּי הִגִּיד לָהֶם

 

וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו

מַה־נַּעֲשֶׂה לָּךְ    וְיִשְׁתֹּק הַיָּם מֵעָלֵינוּ

כִּי הַיָּם הוֹלֵךְ וְסֹעֵר

 

וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם

שָׂאוּנִי וַהֲטִילֻנִי אֶל־הַיָּם  וְיִשְׁתֹּק הַיָּם מֵעֲלֵיכֶם

כִּי יוֹדֵעַ אָנִי

כִּי בְשֶׁלִּי הַסַּעַר הַגָּדוֹל הַזֶּה עֲלֵיכֶם

 

וַיַּחְתְּרוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים  לְהָשִׁיב אֶל־הַיַּבָּשָׁה

וְלֹא יָכֹלוּ  כִּי הַיָּם הוֹלֵךְ וְסֹעֵר עֲלֵיהֶם

 

וַיִּקְרְאוּ אֶל־יְהוָה וַיֹּאמְרוּ

אָנָּה יְהוָה אַל־נָא נֹאבְדָה בְּנֶפֶשׁ הָאִישׁ הַזֶּה

וְאַל־תִּתֵּן עָלֵינוּ  דָּם נָקִיא

כִּי־אַתָּה יְהוָה   כַּאֲשֶׁר חָפַצְתָּ עָשִׂיתָ

 

וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֶת־יוֹנָה  וַיְטִלֻהוּ אֶל־הַיָּם

וַיַּעֲמֹד הַיָּם מִזַּעְפּוֹ

 

וַיִּירְאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים  יִרְאָה גְדוֹלָה  אֶת־יְהוָה

וַיִּזְבְּחוּ־זֶבַח לַיהוָה וַיִּדְּרוּ נְדָרִים

Comments

[Joel]

John, I looked over your site, and I may have missed it, but have you covered Jonah 2? Specially, the use of Sheol and also 2.7

There is a commentator on my blog demanding of the text that Jonah was actually dead in the whale and was able to pray himself back to life. My contention is that Sheol is exile/separate from God/desperation.

Have you covered this subject?

[JohnFH]

Hi Joel,

I don't remember treating that particular topic, but I did treat the prayer here:

http://ancienthebrewpoetry.typepad.com/ancient_hebrew_poetry/2006/09/jonah_2310_in_p.html

Tim Bulkeley and I had a very nice conversation in the comments thereto about issues of general interpretation.

It is my contention that the prayer was not composed from scratch with Jonah's experience in mind, but that an existing prayer was adopted because it fit a number of details (not all) in Jonah's experience.

Your commenter's exegesis is not required by the text. In fact, from the point of view of a comparative study of Psalm language, his interpretation seems like a typical example of overspecification.

However, on another level, that of canonical exegesis (the preferred mode of both the Jewish and Christian traditions), the interpretation is acceptable though by no means required.

That is, in light of the whole canon, including for example Jesus' parable known as Dives and Lazarus, it is possible to imagine Jonah as dead in the guts of the fish ( = the belly of Sheol), in which state he prays, and from which state he is rescued, which amounts to resurrection from the dead.

Exegesis of this kind may lie behind Jesus' reported reference to the sign of Jonah, and the connection made with death and resurrection.

In both Jewish and Christian contexts, canonical exegesis systematically interprets Scripture in light of Scripture on the basis of a rule of faith itself derived from Scripture, a "metanarrative" in light of which details everywhere are interpreted. That's how Christian interpreters came to see the Trinity in Gen 1 an Gen 18. If your response is: this is a form of eisegesis, I would reply: it is, but it is rule-based.

To be sure, all interpretation is interpolative by definition. The only question is: on what basis are interpolations made. On the basis of immediate context, and credible assumptions about human authorial intention? Or, on the basis of an entire tradition, and assumptions about divine authorial intention credible within that tradition?

I've always liked the following example. How do we know that a pious Jew is to wear a yarmulka (skull-cap)? Because it says in the Torah: "Jacob left Beersheba."
Would a pious Jew travel around without wearing a yarmulka? Of course not. Ergo . . .

To recap, if the prayer in Jonah 2 is read in light of tropes known from similar prayers in the Psalter and beyond, your commenter's exegesis must be seen as far-fetched. But if the prayer in Jonah 2 is read in light of the entire biblical narrative, including Ezek 37 as traditionally interpreted in light of Daniel 12, the prayer is naturally taken to point to and prefigure death and resurrection.

In that context, the text of Jonah 2 is a prophetic pointer, a sign, of fundamental categories of human experience and divine promise: death and resurrection.

A double-decker interpretation of Jonah 2 may bother you, but its possibility is based on passages like 2 Peter 1:20-21 (there are equivalent passages in Jewish tradition).

[Joel]

Thanks, John. I believe the commenter (also on TC's blog) demands the text to be seen this way to support his notion of praying for the dead. For him, if Jonah could be recovered from the dead, then anyone could.

I understand your point of the double-decker interpretation. While I agree that if taken within the light of Scripture, a raising from the dead is clearly possible, I still cannot see someone on the other side of death causing himself to be raised.

It does bare more study. Thanks again.