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I have finished Chapter 1 of Jonah concerning commentary. This commentary is based solely upon quotations from the Early Church Fathers and Doctors of the Church. In front of each quote I have also put what type of sense of interpretation that was given, such as whether it was literal/historical, etiology-explanation provided, allegory-symbolic, analolgy-Old and New Law harmonized, or Moral- meaning what should be done. If you like commentaries and the rich teachings of the Church then I feel this could be a helpful tool for understanding Jonah. I have started working on Chapter 2, adn I hope to be finished by next Monday.
Jonah Commentary Based Upon The Early Church Fathers, and Doctors of the Church
1:1And the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amathi, saying, 1:2”Arise, and go to Nineveh the great city, and preach in it, for the crying of its wickedness has ascended up to me.”
**Etiology and Moral **“God will threaten to destroy the city of Nineveh for the very reason that He might not destroy it. When God makes a threat concerning our sins, He makes the threat beforehand so that we may be sobered by fear, so that our repentance will bring about God’s mercy so He will not have to follow through with the threat.” [St. John Chrysostom Hom. On Paralytic 3] 400AD
Etiology “’The crying of their wickedness has ascended up to me’ is to be understood as nothing else than excess of their wickedness.” [St. John Chrysostom Concerning Statues Hom. XX 21]
Etiology “At one time, God had been offended by the sins of the Ninevites. He was appeased by the crying and the wailing of children. For, though we read that the whole people wept, yet the lot and the innocence of the little ones merited the greatest mercy.” [Salvian the Presbyter Letter 4] 400AD
History and Etiology and Poetic
“The mild Avenger calls that prophet stern,
And bids him go as herald of the coming woe,
But knowing that the Judge who threatens evil dread,
Is prone to pardon rather than to scourge and smite,
[Prudentius Hymn 7; 105] 348AD
*1:3And Jonah arose to escape into Tharsis from the face of the Lord. And he went down into Joppa, and found a ship going to Tharsis. And he gave his money, and ascended into it, to sail with them to Tharsis from the face of the Lord.
Etiology “He fled from having to announce the dreadful and awful message to the Ninevites, and from being subsequently convicted of falsehood, if the city was saved by repentance; not that he was displeased at the salvation of the wicked, but he was ashamed of being made an instrument of falsehood, and exceedingly zealous for the credit of prophecy, which was in danger of being destroyed in his person, since most men are unable to penetrate the depth of the Divine dispensation in such cases.
Jonah was not ignorant of the mighty hand of God, nor did he imagine that he could utterly escape the Divine power; this we are not to believe; but when Jonah saw the falling away of Israel, and he realized the grace passing over to the Gentiles in the prophecy- this was the cause of his ceasing from preaching and the delay in fulfilling the command. He left Joppa, which in Hebrew it means ‘beautiful’, and he fell into a deep sorrow and ran from his command given to him.” [St. Gregory Nazranzen [In Defence of His Flight to Pontus Oration 2; 107,109]
Etiology “When God sent Jonah as the preacher of the destruction of Nineveh, he fled because of his knowledge of the diverse meanings and causes of God’s words. Lest the people make fun of him when his prophecy was unfulfilled, he fled from prophesying.” [St. John of the Cross The Ascent of Mount Carmel Chapter 20:7] 1560AD
Jonah Commentary Based Upon The Early Church Fathers, and Doctors of the Church
1:1And the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amathi, saying, 1:2”Arise, and go to Nineveh the great city, and preach in it, for the crying of its wickedness has ascended up to me.”
**Etiology and Moral **“God will threaten to destroy the city of Nineveh for the very reason that He might not destroy it. When God makes a threat concerning our sins, He makes the threat beforehand so that we may be sobered by fear, so that our repentance will bring about God’s mercy so He will not have to follow through with the threat.” [St. John Chrysostom Hom. On Paralytic 3] 400AD
Etiology “’The crying of their wickedness has ascended up to me’ is to be understood as nothing else than excess of their wickedness.” [St. John Chrysostom Concerning Statues Hom. XX 21]
Etiology “At one time, God had been offended by the sins of the Ninevites. He was appeased by the crying and the wailing of children. For, though we read that the whole people wept, yet the lot and the innocence of the little ones merited the greatest mercy.” [Salvian the Presbyter Letter 4] 400AD
History and Etiology and Poetic
“The mild Avenger calls that prophet stern,
And bids him go as herald of the coming woe,
But knowing that the Judge who threatens evil dread,
Is prone to pardon rather than to scourge and smite,
[Prudentius Hymn 7; 105] 348AD
*1:3And Jonah arose to escape into Tharsis from the face of the Lord. And he went down into Joppa, and found a ship going to Tharsis. And he gave his money, and ascended into it, to sail with them to Tharsis from the face of the Lord.
Etiology “He fled from having to announce the dreadful and awful message to the Ninevites, and from being subsequently convicted of falsehood, if the city was saved by repentance; not that he was displeased at the salvation of the wicked, but he was ashamed of being made an instrument of falsehood, and exceedingly zealous for the credit of prophecy, which was in danger of being destroyed in his person, since most men are unable to penetrate the depth of the Divine dispensation in such cases.
Jonah was not ignorant of the mighty hand of God, nor did he imagine that he could utterly escape the Divine power; this we are not to believe; but when Jonah saw the falling away of Israel, and he realized the grace passing over to the Gentiles in the prophecy- this was the cause of his ceasing from preaching and the delay in fulfilling the command. He left Joppa, which in Hebrew it means ‘beautiful’, and he fell into a deep sorrow and ran from his command given to him.” [St. Gregory Nazranzen [In Defence of His Flight to Pontus Oration 2; 107,109]
Etiology “When God sent Jonah as the preacher of the destruction of Nineveh, he fled because of his knowledge of the diverse meanings and causes of God’s words. Lest the people make fun of him when his prophecy was unfulfilled, he fled from prophesying.” [St. John of the Cross The Ascent of Mount Carmel Chapter 20:7] 1560AD