The theme of the book of Jonah is easily
described, or so it seems to me. Out of a keenly felt sense of justice, and out
of love for his own people, Jonah initially refuses to provide the terrible
Ninevites with a means to escape their just reward. But Jonah’s God, who loves
the Ninevites, requires Jonah to offer a remedy. The Ninevites are saved, and
Jonah is crushed.
God, however, does not love Jonah or his people
any less. He does pose a “why” question to Jonah. Who do you love justice and
hate mercy? The question is meant to rankle those who hear the narrative for
all generations.
An anomalous rabbi named Jesus took the book
of Jonah to its logical conclusion with statements like “The first shall be
last, and the last shall be first” (Matthew 20:16 and parallels). In accord
with this teaching, Flannery O’Connor invented the character of Mrs. Turpin, a
modern-day Jonah, and describes the “Revelation” she receives. To my
mind, “Revelation” is one of the most moving short stories of the twentieth
century. Here
is a plot summary. The entire short story is available in this
excellent edition. It hardly does justice to quote Revelation’s
conclusion only, but here goes:
A visionary light settled in her eyes. She saw the streak as a vast swinging
bridge extending upward from the earth through a field of living fire. Upon it
a vast horde of souls were rumbling toward heaven. There were whole companies
of white-trash, clean for the first time in their lives, and bands of black
niggers in white robes, and battalions of freaks and lunatics shouting and
clapping and leaping like frogs. And bringing up the end of the procession was
a tribe of people whom she recognized at once as those who, like herself and
[her husband] Claud, had always had a little of everything and the God-given
wit to use it right. She leaned forward to observe them closer. They were
marching behind the others with great dignity, accountable as they had always
been for good order and common sense and respectable behavior. They alone were
on key. Yet she could see by their shocked and altered faces that even their
virtues were being burned away. (CW, 653-54)
A fine introduction to Flannery O’Connor’s
writing, by Michael M. Jordan, is available here.
For selected pages of Ralph C. Wood’s splendid Flannery O’Connor and the
Christ-Haunted South, go here.
I’ve been re-reading a number of essays by Elias Bickerman, surely
one of the most brilliant biblical scholars of the last century. The new
edition and collection of his essays, edited by Amram Tropper and introduced by
Martin Hengel, is a remarkable piece of work. To be honest, I think the edition
should be redone. Three features of the collection make it difficult to use.
(1) Whenever Bickerman quotes Latin and Greek, which is often, no translation
is provided. How many people nowadays read Latin and Greek well enough not to be
stymied by the lack of a translation? (2) Essays originally published in German
and French are presented in English dress. This is a plus, but also a minus. By
definition, the translation is more or less faithful to the original.
Scholars and students who really want to know what Bickerman said must turn to
the articles in the language in which Bickerman wrote them. The originals might
be made available by Brill in digital form to purchasers of the two volumes
(list price: $499.00). (3) A comprehensive bibliography of the works Bickerman
cites is not included. That is unfortunate. If one were included, the stunning
range and depth of his scholarship would immediately meet the eye.
What does Elias Bickerman have to do with the
book of Jonah and Flannery O’Connor? A lot. In a brilliant essay, after taking
the reader on an amazing journey through the history of interpretation of the
book of Jonah in which he pillories the traditional assumption that the book of
Jonah records actual events, Bickerman settles down to describe the book’s point.
Here is the midrashic / Kimchian / Augustinian / Calvinian conclusion of his
piece entitled “The Two Mistakes of the Prophet Jonah” – a rough-and-ready
translation of the Latin he quotes is provided:
Plato, paraphrasing Heraclitus, believed that we are puppets in the hands
of the gods, invented to serve as their toys or else for some purpose of which
we ourselves know nothing. But Jonah and his readers knew that their God, slow
to anger and rich in mercy, is not a “puppet maker,” even if his ways are often
incomprehensible to the human spirit. The story of Jonah teaches us that God is
merciful, but he is merciful because he is the creator. As Kimchi puts it,
quoting Ezek 34:7, God created human beings for his glory, and he grants them
pardon for the love of his glory. In Augustine’s words, gratia gratis datur
[by definition, grace is given gratis, in exchange for nothing at all]. An
interpretation of the story of Jonah in human terms will judge it in relation
to the needs and the spirit of the human person, but this interpretation is
erroneous. “Not to us, O Eternal, give the glory, not to us, but to your name
give glory! . . . (Ps 115).[1]
The book of Jonah and Flannery O’Connor’s Revelation
do not record actual events. Why should they? After all, they describe
truths which, for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, have been and
continue to be instantiated in thousands of actual events, large and small, on
the still unfolding canvass of life.
Bibliography
E. J. Bickerman, “The Two Mistakes of the Prophet Jonah,”
in Studies in Jewish and Christian History: A New Edition in English
including The God of the Maccabees (2 vols; ed. Amram Tropper; introd.
Martin Hengel; Leiden: Brill, 2007) 32-70 = chapter 1 in idem, Four
Strange Books of the Bible (New York: Schocken, 1967); Flannery O’Connor,
“Revelation [1964],” in Flannery O’Connor: Collected Works (New York: Library
of America, 1988) 633-654.
[1] [A typical Bickermanian footnote] Philo, [de Jona,]
46; Pesikta Rabbati, quoted by S. Lieberman, Jewish Quarterly Review 35,
1944, p. 34; Calvin, Opera 43, 1890, p. 264; discamus Jonae exemplo
non metiri proprio sensu Dei judicium [we should learn from the example of
Jonah that we should not evaluate God’s judgment in accordance with our own
sense]. - Kimchi ad Jon 4:10; Heraclitus, fragment 52 Diels; Plato, Laws
I, 644d. – In the Midrash on Jonah, the prophet says, “O God, govern the world
in accordance with your mercy, as it is said, ‘To the Lord our God belong mercy
and pardon’” (Dan 9:9). Cf. Isa 37:35; 48:9; Ps 23:3; Testament of Abraham 11.
wow- this is a great post. Reading the title, I knew I was going to like it- I'm a huge Flannery O'Connor fan and I've been doing a lot of thinking on the gospel as presented in Jonah recently. Thanks!
Posted by: Greg | April 11, 2008 at 06:22 PM
Greg, you have a marvelous blog. I wish you well in your studies and as you fuse love of God and love of music, literature, and art.
Posted by: JohnFH | April 11, 2008 at 07:59 PM