Jonah Bible Study Resources

Study questions, maps, charts, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Jonah.

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Jump to: Background; ** Maps; ** Key Words; ** Encyclopedias; ** Commentaries; ** Articles; ** GotQuestions ** Next **

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Basics

• Jonah was a prophet from the village of Gath Hepher, located approximately 3 miles north of Nazareth.
• Jesus likened the prophet Jonah to himself (Matthew 12:39-41).
• The story of Jonah involves almost exclusively a Gentile nation.
• Nineveh was a world empire for about 300 years from 900-60 BC.
• Jonah was a contemporary of Jeroboam II, King of Israel 782-753 BC.
• Assyria’s willingness to repent may have been helped by a plague in 765 BC; a solar eclipse in 763 BC and another plague in 759 BC.
• The repentance of Nineveh probably took place during the reign of Ashurdan (773-755 BC).
• After repenting due to the preaching of Jonah, the city stood for another 150 years until the Babylonians rebelled against the Assyrians in 636 BC and conquered Nineveh in 612 BC.

Genre: Understanding Narrative

Section 1: Background

Background

• Introduction to the Prophets
• Chart: Bible History at a glance
• Blue Letter Bible: Old Testament Timeline
• Biblehub: Jeremiah Overview
• Biblehub: The Divided Kingdom
• Chart: Kings of Israel & Judah
• Bible Atlas: Nineveh
• Bible Atals: Tarshish
• Bible Atlas: Assyria
• Bible Atlas: Jerusalem
• Minor Prophets Quotes in the New Testament
• Jensen’s Survey of the Old Testament
• Hebrew Calendar
• Ray C Stedman: Overview of the Book
• John MacArthur: Author, Date, Background
• NIV: Introduction to the Minor Prophets
• NIV: Introduction to Jonah
• ESV: Introduction to Jonah
• ESV: The Global Message of Jonah
• James Van Dine: Analysis of Jonah
• JVernon McGee: Jonah – Introductory Notes, Outlines
• David Malick:An Introduction to the Book of Jonah
• David Malick: An Argument of the Book of Jonah
• Charles Swindoll: Book of Jonah Overview

Section 2: Maps

Maps from Bible-History.com

• Assyrian Conquests
• Judah under Babylon
• Judah under Hezekiah
• Babylonian Empire
• Surrounding Empires

Maps from Studylight.org

The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah

• The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
• The Rise of Assyria
• Israel & Judah in the days of Jeroboam II and Uzziah
• The Assyrian Empire under Tiglath-Pileser III
• Fall of Samaria and Deportation of Israelites
• The Fall of the Kingdom of Israel
• Assyrian Districts after the Fall of Samaria
• Prophets of the 8th Century BCE

Judah Alone amid International Powers

• Assyria in the 7th century BCE
• The Rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire
• The Reign of Josiah
• The Districts of Judah under King Josiah
• The Golden Age of King Josiah
• Nebuchadnezzar’s Campaigns against Judah
• Judah during the Exile
• The Kingdom of Judah

The Persian Period

• World Powers of the 6th century BCE
• The Conquests of Cyrus the Great
• The Persian Empire
• The Return of the Jewish Exiles to Judah
• Judah in the 5th century BCE
• Palestine afterthe Exile

Section 3: Key Words

Key Words

• Compassion (compassionate), relent (s), turn (turned), pray (prayer, prayed), perish, Lord, called on the Lord (called out to the Lord).

Section 4: Encyclopedias

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

• Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology: Jonah, Theology Of
• American Tract Society: Jonah
• Bridgeway Bible Dictionary: Jonah
• Easton’s Bible Dictionary: Jonah, Book Of; Jonah
• Fausset Bible Dictionary: Jonah
• Holman Bible Dictionary: Jonah
• Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible: Jonah; Jonah
• Kitto’s Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature: Jonah
• Morrish Bible Dictionary: Jonah
• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Jonah
• McClintock and Strong: Jonah
• Watson’s Biblical & Theological Dictionary: Jonah
• The Jewish Encyclopedia: Jonah; Jonah, Book of
• 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica: Jonah
• World Jewish Bible Society: The Book of Jonah

Section 5: Commentaries

Commentaries & Study Bibles

• Ligionier.org Top 5 Commentaries: Jonah
• Tim Challies Best Commentaries:
• Commentary Reviews: Jonah
• Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible: Jonah
• Matthew Henry: Jonah
• Albert Barnes Notes: Jonah
• Reformation Study Bible Notes: Jonah
• Geneva Study Bible: Jonah
• Precept Austin Commentaries & Sermons: Jonah
• Don Anderson: Minor Prophets Study Guide

Section 6: Articles

Articles

• Reading Jonah Again for the First Time by Robert Spender
• The Prophet Jonah and His Message Part 1 by Gerald B. Stanton
• The Prophet Jonah and His Message Part 2 by Gerald B. Stanton
• The Power of Biblical Preaching- An Expository Study of Jonah 3:1-10 by Steven J. Lawson
• Gregg Allen: The Lord of Storms
• Christian Friend: The Book of Jonah.
• Steven Cole: Jonah 1-3 God’s Reluctant Missionary

Section 7: Got Questions

GotQuestions.org

• Book of Jonah – Bible Survey
• What are the Major Prophets and Minor Prophets?
• Who was Jonah in the Bible?
• Why did Jonah try to go to Tarshish instead of Nineveh?
• Was Jonah truly swallowed by a whale?
• Did Jonah die while he was in the belly of the fish (Jonah 2)?
• Why was Jonah angry that the Ninevites repented (Jonah 4:1-2)?
• What does Jonah 4:11 mean by people who cannot tell their right hand from their left?
• What is the sign of Jonah?

Bible Study Helps

• Bible Study 101
• Interpreting Prophecy
• Interpreting Hebrew Poetry
• Study Software & websites
• More Maps & Charts
• Hebrew word studies by Precepts Austin
• Books on how to study the Bible

Section 8: Next

Next: Micah

Previous: Obadiah

Resources: by Book of the Bible

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