Yhwh's Surprising Covenant Hesed in Jonah

Abstract

This article, essentially a “part two” of my earlier article, “Jonah's Peculiar Re-Creation,” continues to explore narrative readings of the story of Jonah. Whereas the former article focused on the intertextual connections and thematic parallels between the story of Jonah and the creation account of Genesis 1–3, as well as the flood account of Genesis 6–9, this current article focuses specifically on the full or partial citations in Jonah of Exodus 32:14, Exodus 34:6, 1 Kings 19:4–6, and Jeremiah 8:7–8, as well as the implicit allusion to Jeremiah 36, and argues that along with the strong “re-creation theme” found in Jonah, there is a clear “covenant theme” in Jonah as well. The covenant language found in the story's citations and allusions would serve to challenge its postexilic audience, not only to reconsider the implications of the Abrahamic Covenant for their current situation, but also to re-evaluate the significance of the Mosaic Covenant in light of the expectations of a prophesied New Covenant. As with the previous article, this article is also an exercise in synchronic readings and intertextuality set within the historical parameters of the postexilic Jewish community.