Was Jonah Happy to See the Fish?
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Rabbi David Zev Moster, PhD, Director, Biblical Hebrew Program
One of the Tanakh鈥檚 most dramatic scenes takes place when, amid a raging storm, Jonah is tossed overboard and swallowed by a great fish. This story plays out every Yom Kippur at Minhah, when the Book of Jonah is read aloud in synagogues around the world.
The Dutch Renaissance painter Dirck Barendsz (1534鈥�1592) captures this horrific moment by depicting sailors feeding Jonah to the great fish as the waves toss their vessel violently.
There are other ways in which the terror of the situation is emphasized. In the stained-glass window attributed to the studio Atelier Lorin of Chartres (c. 1887), Jonah barely escapes from the razor-sharp bite of the terrifying fish. Every stage of Jonah鈥檚 journey appears tumultuous.
When we studied the Book of Jonah in the 91快播 Biblical Hebrew Certificate Program, we explored the story of Jonah in a very different light.
We began by looking at Jonah 1:15, 讜址讬址旨注植诪止芝讚 讛址讬指旨謻诐 诪执讝址旨注职驻旨纸讜止 (and the sea ceased its raging). This is significant because the sea has calmed before the great fish appears. The storm has already subsided. Next we examined the verses that describe Jonah鈥檚 prayer in the belly of the fish. There, Jonah says his troubles have already passed (2:3): 拽指专指讗转执讬 诪执爪指旨芝专指讛 诇执譀讬 讗侄诇志讬职讛讜指謻讛 讜址纸讬址旨注植谞值謶谞执讬 (鈥淚 called out in my distress to the Lord and He has answered me鈥�). Jonah is not terrified and he is certainly not hopeless. Instead, he is confident that he will make it out alive (2:10): 讜址讗植谞执謼讬 讘职旨拽证讜止诇 转旨讜止讚指讛謾 讗侄讝职讘职旨讞指讛志诇指旨謹讱职 讗植砖侄讈芝专 谞指讚址謻专职转执旨讬 讗植砖址讈诇值旨謶诪指讛 (鈥淚 myself will sacrifice to you with a voice of thanksgiving, I will pay that which I vowed [to sacrifice]鈥�).
According to this analysis, Jonah was happy鈥攏ot terrified鈥攖o see the great fish. The fish was his heaven-sent 鈥渞ide鈥� back to dry land where he would be able to carry out God鈥檚 wishes. This may explain why the anonymous illuminator of the Bible of Hainaut (c. 1280) depicted Jonah in such a relaxed manner. In this scene there is no storm, no teeth, and no terror. The fish is smiling, and Jonah rides it as easily as one might ride a horse.
Continuing in this tradition of interpretation, in his 1983 work Leviathan, Michael Sgan-Cohen depicts Jonah sitting on a chair and reading a book inside the whale as though he were traveling first class.
Was Jonah glad to see the great fish? The Book of Jonah doesn鈥檛 say so explicitly, but there are hints that Jonah was not only ready, but eager to return to dry land and carry out his God-given mission to the people of Nineveh.
