The story in brief
God sends a prophet to Nineveh, capital-to-be of his people’s most feared enemy. He buys a ticket to the other end of the sea. A storm, a great fish, a city in sackcloth, a plant that dies in a night, and a book that ends with a question it leaves for you.
The chapters
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Chapter 1 · 5 min · Free
Run the Other Way
Sent to Nineveh, he buys a ticket to the other end of the world.
Sources: Jonah 1:1–3; 2 Kings 14:23–25; Pliny, Natural History 9.11
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Chapter 2 · 5 min · Free
The Storm
A ship breaking apart, a crew praying to every god, and one passenger fast asleep.
Sources: Jonah 1:4–16
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Chapter 3 · 5 min
Inside the Fish
Three days and three nights in the dark, and a prayer from the bottom of the sea.
Sources: Jonah 1:17–2:10; Matthew 12:39–41
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Chapter 4 · 5 min
Forty Days
One day’s walk, five words, and a king sitting in ashes.
Sources: Jonah 3:1–10; Assyrian eponym chronicle (763 BC)
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Chapter 5 · 5 min
The Question
A city spared, a prophet furious, and a plant that dies in a night.
Sources: Jonah 4:1–11; Exodus 34:6; Nahum 3:1, 19
Who’s who
The people you meet. Each one is a hero card you can collect.
- Jeroboam IIKing of Israel · Border Builder · Last Golden Age
- The Ship’s CaptainMaster Mariner · Stranger · First to Say Pray
- The Great FishPrepared · Swallower · Not a Whale
- The King of NinevehAssyrian King · Unnamed · Sat in Ashes
- The VineShade · Gift · Object Lesson
- JonahProphet · Runaway · Reluctant Messenger
What you’ll be able to tell
This story belongs to the journey “Exile & Empire”. By the end of it, you can tell what the writing on the wall said, and where “swords into plowshares” comes from.
Stories in this journey
- Jonah: The Runaway Prophet
- Isaiah: Swords into Plowshares
- Daniel: In the Lions’ Den
- Esther: For Such a Time as This
Sources
- Jonah 1–4
- 2 Kings 14:25
Bible quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain.
