This Week: Jonah, Chapter 2 | HDYRI Newsletter #44
Week of 8/2/24
Last week in Episode 46, we jumped forward in Israel’s history and the Hebrew Bible to the story of the reluctant prophet Jonah. We set up the historical background to give weight to Jonah’s call to Nineveh, and paid close attention to the artful repetition used by the Biblical writers. We then walked through the meaning of Jonah’s death wish, his sleep in the ship’s hull and the sailors who reluctantly cast Jonah into the sea.
This week in Episode 47, we wrap up Chapter One and move into Chapter Two, analyzing how the reluctant prophet plays into the sailors’ polytheistic sacrificial economics and watch as God refuses to accept this sacrifice, and we end by following Jonah down into the depths, in the belly of the fish.
Episode 47 teaser:
Until next time!
If you are interested in digging deeper on your own, here are a few resources:
Ancient Christian reading practices:
Biblical Exegesis and the Formation of Christian Culture
Medieval exegesis:
Medieval Exegesis: The Four Senses of Scripture, Vol. 1
Medieval Exegesis : The Four Senses of Scripture, Vol. 2
Second Temple Judaism:
Two Gods in Heaven: Jewish Concepts of God in Antiquity
Torah with Rabbinic Commentary:
Bereishis Genesis, Part I and II, ArtScroll Tanach Series, Translation with Commentary
Mythological:
Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel
Literary approach:
René Girard