Useful Bible Studies > Jonah Commentary > chapter 1

About the prophet Jonah

Jonah 1:1

Jonah was a prophet: a holy man who received messages from God.

There is some more information about him, and the times when he lived, in 2 Kings 14:23-27. There, we discover that Jonah came from Gath Hepher, a town in northern Israel (Joshua 19:13). It was near to the place where people would later build the town called Nazareth.

Jonah lived during the period of history when Israel had split into two separate countries. At about the time of Jonah, King Jeroboam ruled northern Israel, but he had no authority over Judah (southern Israel). Jeroboam was the 4^th king who came from the royal family of Jehu.

For a long time, the people in northern Israel had suffered greatly because of the actions of a bitter enemy: the nation called Aram (also called Syria). However, God told Jonah that he would allow King Jeroboam to defeat his enemies. So, during the rule of Jeroboam, northern Israel became an extremely strong and powerful nation. It even gained control over Damascus, the capital city of Aram (2 Kings 14:28).

That did not satisfy Jonah, however. He knew that God’s judgment was against his nation for their evil deeds. God had been so kind to them, but they were not turning back to God. Perhaps as they became richer and more successful, they were becoming even more wicked.

They had defeated Aram – so Jonah realised that God would send an even greater and stronger nation against them. Beyond Aram, there was such a country. It was called Assyria (see 2 Kings chapter 17), and its capital city was Nineveh.

Next part: God's judgment against Nineveh (Jonah 1:2)

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