Jonah the Dove: A Story of Sacrifice and Salvation

By Sadida Athaullah
Maryland

When the time comes to name a newborn baby, many different traditions and cultures believe that the name given will impact the character of the child. Jonah, the Prophet sent to Nineveh, is named the Dove. The dove is a gentle and peaceful bird. It is a bird that does not eat carrion, takes care of its young and coexists with human habitation.

It was also permitted to offer a dove as a sacrifice at the ancient Jewish Temple, and perhaps Jonah thought of himself as a sort of sacrifice when he received the Lord's Command to go to Nineveh. After all, he was being asked to approach the reigning Superpower, people who were not of Jonah's religious tradition, with the message to repent or else face the Wrath of Jonah's Lord. At best he would be laughed out of town. At worst, it would be a struggle to convince the people of their impending doom.

It is not surprising that a person with the personality that mirrored the dove would be one chosen to deliver the Message to the most powerful and arrogant people of the time. It is unclear which crime the people of Nineveh had committed but Prophet Jonah was not eager to do THE LORD’S bidding. The source of this reluctance to follow the Lord’s command is likewise unclear. Is Jonah convinced about the difficulty of the Mission? We don’t know. Suffice it to say that when called on to complete this task, Jonah decides that he would very much prefer to do something else.

The role of the prophet in the Jewish and Islamic tradition is the same; as defenders of the oppressed, they are to speak the truth and warn the world when injustice reigns as the prevailing wind blowing over the region. Again and again we find the recipients of this Divine intervention respond by harassing, sometimes even killing, the Prophet. Indeed, Jonah’s charge, the people of Nineveh, stand alone as the only community who accepted the reality of the Wrath of their Creator and repented, so saving themselves in the end.

Jonah is an example of the universal aspect of the traditional Jewish attitude in which the One God's dominion is prominent over all humanity, indeed all Creation, as is all of mankind's ability to choose to follow what they wish, i.e. free will in matters of God-centered living. We see here that Jonah speaks a more universal language and brings people to the ONE GOD. The sailors and the citizens of Nineveh are presented with the monotheism of Jonah, which they subsequently accept.

When directed to travel to Nineveh, Jonah chooses to do the exact opposite by taking off in the opposite direction. There are no conversations or discussions with the Almighty as we see with Abraham; no unquestioning submission to the Will of the Creator. Jonah acts as a passive resister and takes off on the wrong path.

It appears that Jonah, the sailors in the boat and the people of Nineveh had the freedom to act in any way they wished but end up being among the righteous. Although Jonah initially did not want to deliver the message to Nineveh, he still acts righteously later, when because of his presence, the boat in which he is fleeing is in danger of sinking and drowning all on board.

At this point, Jonah decides to drown himself in order to save the others onboard. This reminds us of the image of a sacrifice. Just as the human sacrifice offered by Abraham is not acceptable to the Lord, in this situation also Jonah is saved and sent off to Nineveh. At his arrival in Nineveh, amazingly everyone is ready to accept his word. Compared with the trials and tribulations of others such as Lot and Moses, Jonah is a very successful prophet, yet he is not satisfied and the Lord uses a vine, a lowly plant, to comfort him.

Many readers of the Book of Jonah get lost in the miraculous nature and symbols which surround the tale of this prophet's life. What kind of fish swallowed him or was it a sea monster? Was Jonah regurgitated after three days in the digestive track or was he in the reproductive system and subsequently re-birthed? Or was Jonah carried around in the mouth of the fish like a cat with her kittens? Perhaps the story is an allegory; it may be that the “fish” was none other than the city of Nineveh itself, and Jonah’s captivity within the “fish” refers to the gloomy spiritual state he occupied before the people began to accept his message.

The Book of Jonah is not the isolated purview of just one faith, a story that is “repackaged” by others. Jonah’s tale speaks to all of us on a universal level. For Jews, the prophetic tradition ends before Jesus while for Muslims it ends with Prophet Muhammad – but if we wish, we can see the many others who have since stood up to and denounced the injustices and oppression around them as a continuation of this tradition; and when we heed their call, we follow in the footsteps of the people of Nineveh and choose our own salvation.     MJJ

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