Prophets and exile · Old Testament
The Story of Jonah and Nineveh
Jonah runs from God’s call to warn Nineveh, is swallowed by a great fish, then preaches; when Nineveh repents and God spares the city, Jonah is angry.
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Introduction
God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry out against it. Jonah boards a ship going the other way, to Tarshish. A storm, the sailors and a great fish bring him back. Jonah 1:1–3Jonah 1:17
When Jonah preaches, the people of Nineveh believe God and repent, and God relents. The book ends with Jonah angry and God asking whether he should not have compassion on the great city. Jonah 3:4–10Jonah 4:10–11
Principal passages
People in this story
- Jonah The Story of Jonah
- the sailors
- the king of Nineveh
Places named
Only places the passages name. Locations are not guessed.
The story, event by event
In the order Scripture presents them. Expand an event to read its passage here.
Jonah runs
The word of the LORD tells Jonah to go to Nineveh. He goes down to Joppa and pays for a ship to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.
The storm
The LORD sends a great storm. The sailors pray to their gods while Jonah sleeps; the lot falls on him, he tells them to throw him overboard, and when they do the sea grows calm and the sailors fear the LORD.
People: Jonah, the sailors
Inside the great fish
The LORD prepares a great fish to swallow Jonah, and he is inside it three days and three nights. He prays a psalm of thanks, “Salvation belongs to the LORD”, and the fish spits him onto dry land.
Nineveh repents
Jonah walks into the city crying, “In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!” The people believe God, fast and put on sackcloth; the king calls everyone to turn from violence. God sees and relents.
People: Jonah, the king of Nineveh
Jonah’s anger
Jonah is angry, saying he knew God was gracious and merciful. God gives him a plant for shade, then takes it away, and asks: should he not have compassion on Nineveh, with its people and animals?
Later in the Bible
Later passages that recall or interpret this story. They are not events within it.
- 2 Kings 14:25 Direct reference — Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher, prophesied in the days of Jeroboam II.
- Matthew 12:39–41 Teaching or quotation mentioning them — Jesus speaks of the sign of Jonah and of Nineveh’s repentance.
- Luke 11:29–32 Teaching or quotation mentioning them — The same saying in Luke.
Connected themes
- Repentance Illustrates the theme
A whole city turns from violence. Jonah 3:5–10
- Mercy Illustrates the theme
God’s mercy to a violent city, resented by his own prophet. Jonah 4:2Jonah 4:11
Related life situations
- Anger
Jonah’s anger at God’s mercy. Jonah 4:1–4
Questions for study
Written by BibleKenya editors. They are not Scripture.
- Why does Jonah say he fled (Jonah 4:2)?
- How do the sailors and the people of Nineveh respond to God, compared with Jonah?
- What does Jonah’s prayer in chapter 2 thank God for?
- The book ends with a question. How would you answer it?
Use offline
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