Texts in Conversation
The Hebrew version of Jonah 3:4 gives the city of Nineveh forty days before its destruction, allowing time for reflection and repentance. In contrast, the Greek Septuagint translation shortens this to just three days, perhaps to intensify the urgency of Jonah’s warning and improve the narrative logic.
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Jonah 3:4
Hebrew Bible
1 The Lord’s message came to Jonah a second time, 2 “Go immediately to Nineveh, that large city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah went immediately to Nineveh, in keeping with the Lord’s message. Now Nineveh was an enormous city—it required three days to walk through it! 4 Jonah began to enter the city by going one day’s walk, announcing, “At the end of 40 days, Nineveh will be overthrown!” 5 The people of Nineveh believed in God, and they declared a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.
Date: 3rd Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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LXX Jonah 3:4
Septuagint
1 And the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2 “Rise up, go to Nineveh, the great city, and announce in it according to the previous message that I spoke to you.” 3 And Jonah rose up and went to Nineveh, just as the Lord had spoken. Now Nineveh was a large city before God, a journey of about three days. 4 And Jonah began to enter into the city about one day’s journey, and he announced and said, “Yet three days and Nineveh will be overturned.” 5 And the men of Nineveh gave credence to God and announced a fast and put on sackcloth from their great to their small.
Date: 1st Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The characterization of the Greek Jonah is shaped in his speech, emotions, comparison with the sailors and naming. The speech patterns and content of Jonah in the Greek text parallel the Hebrew with one exception. In 3:4, Jonah announces that Nineveh will be destroyed in 3 days versus the 40 days in Hebrew. This change heightens the tension in the story. It also makes the immediate action of the Ninevites more understandable and the breadth of their action more miraculous. How could Jonah not be impressed? One thing is for sure, the reader is certainly not impressed when Jonah is not ..."
Beck, John A.
Translators as Storytellers: A Study in Septuagint Translation Technique
(p. 118) Peter Lang Publishing, 2000
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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