Texts in Conversation
Jonah and Joel both use the well-known formula to describe God as gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. In Joel, this encourages the people to repent by assuring the people that God will forgive, while in Jonah, the prophet repeats the same words in anger after God forgives Nineveh.
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Jonah 4:2
Hebrew Bible
1 This displeased Jonah terribly and he became very angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, “Oh, Lord, this is just what I thought would happen when I was in my own country. This is what I tried to prevent by attempting to escape to Tarshish, because I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment. 3 So now, Lord, kill me instead, because I would rather die than live!” 4 The Lord said, “Are you really so very angry?”
Date: 3rd Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Joel 2:13
Hebrew Bible
11 The voice of the Lord thunders as he leads his army. Indeed, his warriors are innumerable; Surely his command is carried out! Yes, the day of the Lord is great and terrible42—who can survive it? 12 “Yet even now,” the Lord says, “return to me with all your heart—with fasting, weeping, and mourning. 13 Tear your hearts, not just your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and boundless in loyal love—often relenting from calamitous punishment. 14 Who knows? Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve, and leave blessing in his wake—a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God! 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion. Announce a holy fast; proclaim a sacred assembly.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... It has long been noted that, although radically different books in terms of genre, Joel and Jonah share common themes and key phraseology related to these themes.? The connections are largely confined to parts of each book: Joel 2:12-14 and Jonah 3:9-4:2. The shared theme is the call to repentance with the depiction of God's gracious response. At the heart of this is the call for the people to return (Joel 2:12-13; Jonah 3:8,10) which, it is hoped, will prompt God to turn and relent (Joel 2:14; Jonah 3:9-10). In the broader context the people's return in both cases is accompanied by fasting (u% Joel 1:14; 2:12; Jonah 3:5, 7) and the wearing of sackcloth (Joel 1:8, 13; Jonah 3:5, 6, 8) and involves their animals (Joel 1:20; Jonah 3:7-8).3 In both books the hope for God to turn and relent is rooted in the identical declaration of the gracious character of YHWH, unique in the Hebrew Bible (Joel 2:13b; Jonah 4:2). In the broader context both books also focus attention on God's compassionate acts (Joel 2:17; Jonah 4:10-11). Furthermore, the hope for God to turn and relent is expressed in a phrase headed by the same rhetorical question (Joel 2:14a; Jonah 3:9a) Finally, both books provide a narrative description of God's response to the penitential act (Joel 2:18-27'; Jonah 3:10) ..."
Boda, Mark. J.
"Penitential Innovations within the Twelve" in Davies, Graham I., et al (eds.) On Stone and Scroll: Essays in Honour of Graham Ivor Davies
(pp. 391-407) De Gruyter, 2011
* 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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