Dear Readers:
I did quite a bit of additional historical and archeological research in regards to the Book of Jonah.
Here is a summary of some of my old and new findings (I updated my initial post accordingly):
HISTORICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE BOOK OF JONAH BEING TRUE
Accoding to a website whose information I confirmed through several reference and website sources the following is true:
"From II Kings 14:25 we know that Jonah lived during the time of Jeroboam II (793-753 BC). He was sent to Nineveh --- the capital city of Assyria --- to deliver a warning from God that unless they repented they would be destroyed. There are several historical clues which seem to point to a date for this prophecy somewhere in the late 750's BC --- perhaps around 758 BC:
During the reign of Adad-nirari III (811-783 BC) there was a swing toward monotheism. However, at his death the nation entered a period of national weakness and even greater moral decay. "During this time, Assyria was engaged in a life and death struggle with the mountain tribes of Urartu, and its associates of Mannai and Madai in the north, who had been able to push their frontier to within less than a hundred miles of Nineveh" (Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. 7).
In 756 BC a plague struck the nation, followed by a second plague in 759 BC. In 763 BC there was an eclipse of the sun. These were "events of the type regarded by ancients as evidence of divine judgment, and could have prepared the people to receive Jonah's message" (The Ryrie Study Bible). "No doubt this depressed state of Assyria contributed much to the readiness of the people to hear Jonah as he began to preach to them" (Homer Hailey).
There is some historical evidence that during the reign of Ashurdan III (771-754 BC) a religious awakening occurred. This may have been the result of Jonah's preaching. In 745 BC Tiglath-pileser III (745-727 BC) came to the throne and Assyria again became a major power. Under his leadership the Assyrians became "the rod of God's anger (Isaiah 10:5) against His rebellious people Israel. Israel finally fell to the Assyrians with the capture of Samaria in 722 BC (through the efforts of Tiglath-pileser's successors --- Shalmaneser V and Sargon II).
Through the preaching of Jonah, and the repentance of the people of Nineveh, the city was spared at this time. However, history tells us their repentance was fairly short-lived. Soon they had fallen back into their sinful way of life. The prophet Nahum was then sent to these same people. However, they failed to repent (as they had with Jonah), and thus were destroyed in 612 BC. "
taken from:
Jonah
OTHER COMMENTARY REGARDING THE BOOK OF JONAH BEING HISTORICAL
Jews at the time of Jesus viewed Jonah as history. For example Jesus once said:
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will arise in the judgement with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah. (Matthew 12:40-41
That the Jonah account was intended as history rather than allegory is the more obvious conclusion. Jonah is classed among the "Prophets" and all the other prophets of the Bible are presented in the Bible as literal persons. Furthermore, Jonah is named, his father is named, the town where they lived is named (2 Kings 14:25) and the period in which they lived is given. In other words the times places and characters are not vague and unspecified as they are in, say, the parables spoken by Jesus. The degree of detail associated with Jonah would anywhere in the Bible indicate that the writer is presenting alleged history and not parable or allegory.
The main intent behind the book might still be to give a moral lessonbut it’s a moral lesson based on events which are offered as real. Let’s consider then whether most of the report can, sensibly, be taken as literal history.....
ASSYRIAN MONOTHEISM
Critics sometimes argue that the alleged repentance of the people of Nineveh capital of the Assyrian Empire would have been a bigger miracle than Jonah surviving being swallowed by a "fish".
Assyria was one of the most barbaric of ancient empires. People of captured cities were routinely burned alive, skinned alive, or had ears, noses, hands or feet chopped off.
Jonah was already a prophet during the reign of King Jeroboam of Israel. (2 Kings 14:23) Jeroboam reigned 787 to 747 BC. This places Jonah after Shalmanezer III of Assyria who during his blood-stained reign, 859 - 824 BC, led 32 war campaigns. It also puts Jonah before the equally bloody Tiglath Pileser III who ruled 745-727 BC. Jonah therefore lived when a number of comparatively weak kings ruled Assyria.
Furthermore, for about 50 years during the first half of the 8th century BC, Nineveh was repeatedly torn by civil unrest, palace intrigues, religious strife and even civil war. The book of Jonah confirms that Jonah arrived at Nineveh during a period of internal strife and violence. (See chapter 3:6-9)
Among the gods of Nineveh were Ninua the goddess of waters, Oannes a god with the head and body of a fish attached to the top of a human head, Dagon god of the sea, and Anu the highest or chief god.
We therefore have a setting in which the population of Nineveh might have listened to Jonah and turned to at least superficially the God Jonah proclaimed.
Consider: News of Jonah’s survival in the "fish" precedes his arrival. Different religious factions attribute Jonah’s survival to Anu, Ninua, Oannes or Dagon. Jonah arrivespossibly with a ghastly bleached, appearance...The King hears of great crowds listening to Jonah preaching and sees this as a means of ending civil strife and religious division and reunifying the city and the empire. The King and high officials therefore set the example, respond to Jonah, and publicly express remorse for the violence in the city. (See Jonah 3:6-9)"
taken from:
http://www.adam.com.au/bstett/BJonahDebate.htm
MORE INFORMATION IN REGARDS TO THE BOOK OF JONAH BEING HISTORICAL
A website declares:
"There is no adequate reason to regard Jonah as non-historical.
1. The form of the book is clearly historical.
2. Jonah was an actual person.
3. Nineveh was an actual city.
4. Jews regarded Jonah as historical (Josephus Antiquities IX, 10, 2).
5. Christian tradition viewed Jonah as historical.
6. Historical record, 2 Kg 14:26
7. Real kings, nations and places
8. Christ view the book as historical, Mt 12:39-41; Lu 11:29-32. If we reject the book of Jonah as literal, we reject the authenticity of Christ’s statement.
9. Archeology dovetails with facts of Jonah.
References to Jonah in 2 Kings 14:25; Mt 12:39-41; Lu 11:39-32
One of four Old Testament prophets referred to by Jesus. The others were Isaiah (Mt 15:7), Elijah (Mt 17:11-12) and Elisha (Lu 4:27).
4 chapters, 48 verses and 1328 words
It is not the prophecy at issue, but the prophet.
There is no prophecy in the book except the prophecy that God will destroy Nineveh."
taken from:
http://www.crusade.org/word/word2310.html
ARCHEOLOGY AND THE BOOK OF JONAH
AN ARCHEOLOGICAL FIND IN REGARDS TO JONAH AND NINEVEH:
"A second interesting bit of information is the name of the mound in the upper Tigris valley under which the remains of ancient Nineveh were discovered. The site of Nineveh had long been lost. But the mound had been called "Neby Yunas" ("The Prophet Jonah") for centuries."
taken from:
http://www.discoverthebook.org/message_detail.asp?fileid=424
HERE IS WHAT ANOTHER WEBSITE DECLARES:
"Archeology attests that the Ninevites were a cruel and bloody people and the earth was well rid of them, that's for sure."
taken from:
http://www.cliffordaweber.com/repentan.htm
MORE IN REGARDS TO ARCHEOLOGY AND NINEVEH
A website declares the following:
"Jonah 4:11 (NIV) "But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?""
Here we are told that there were at least 120,000 people living in this single city alone. Now this report from the Bible was too much to take for many 19th century secular archaeologists. These ...scientists said the Bible's account was pure fiction and unreliable, for if such a city as Nineveh did exist, it was an impossibility for its time! They said, the city couldn't be as large as reported because it would need a tremendous water supply, and no city of ancient days had pumps to supply such huge amounts of water to so many people living in close proximity. Secondly, they mockingly asserted that since not a single stone had been found exposing the city of Nineveh, it simply didn't exist. The Bible was wrong and in error!
You see, with that strong bias, the scientist's of the early 1800's had no room for anyone even considering exploring for the city of Nineveh. However, in the mid 19th century, France sent a trade representative to Iraq, the modern name for ancient Assyria. This young man whose name was Paul Emile Botta, was a student of the Bible....While in Mosul, Iraq, Paul Botta, believed the Bible should be the guide for any archaeological study. As he was stationed near where Nineveh should have existed, this "amateur" archaeologists set out to find the city that didn't seem to exist.
As Mosul was out of the way, Botta often traveled extensively up and down the Tigris River. Along the way approaching Mosul, he noticed what had for centuries been dark mystery mounds, in the desert region of Mesopotamia. These strange black mounds of desert soil had flat tops and steep side upwards of a hundred feet or more. Most were covered by tough camel-thorn and other dry brush, which kept most herdsmen away from them for centuries. All along the deserts of Assyria stood these strange "mystery mounds," and no one knew what caused them.
Botta using his Bible, decided that if Nineveh was mentioned in the Scriptures, it had to be there, somewhere! By his calculations, he determined that about six miles from Mosul, Iraq, the ancient site of Nineveh should be located. But alas, all that was there were these "mystery mounds" of desert sands and scrub.
...Botta began digging at one of these "mystery mounds." He worked for over a year in his spare time. It was difficult to imagine the hardships he faced. The terrible insects that carried all kinds of disease attacked him, the fierce heat, the burning desert sun baked him raw, and an Arab governor of the area, who by the way, was against his digging, often dogged his work. Yet Botta did not stop. Soon his digging paid off. In the first mound he found just bits of pottery, broken bricks and some cracked statues. He moved to other mounds, particularly one near the Tigris River and there he began to dig again. This one though, yielded results! The deeper he dug the more he found out that the "mystery mounds" of the desert were not mounds at all - they were a huge ancient city!
Through Botta's relentless digging, he found that date palms had grown around this buried city, fields grew abundantly with wheat and barely, and yet for some unknown reason, this huge city had been abandoned, and more strangely, it had been buried by strange fierce winds of the now tranquil desert. As Botta dug, he sent reports to archaeologists everywhere. At first they scoffed at this Bible-led "amateur" archaeologist, but soon his reports couldn't be ignored. They were astonishing to say the least.
The first mound Botta dug deeply in, revealed it was the summer palace for the Assyrian kings. He found beautiful alabaster covered walls. Ancient artists had skillfully carved relief images in it showing the daily life of the palace. He later discovered that this was the actual home of KINGS ASHURBANIPAL, SARGON, and KING NEBUCHADNEZZER! All these kings are mentioned in the Bible. Yes, the more Botta dug, he found courtyards, public reception rooms, corridors, why even a zoo and magnificent flower gardens.
Yet, the greatest find was in the next huge "mystery mound" Botta dug into. Here finally after many centuries, the Bible's historical record proved as true as ever...NINEVEH was found! This mystery city, the main city, was unearthed and actually did exist, as the Bible declared. Botta and succeeding archaeologists soon discovered that it was a very idolatrous city. You see the walls of the city had numerous carvings of frightening animal figures, and winged lions with human heads. More amazing was the fact that Botta found an elaborate system of eighteen canals whose express purpose was to bring...huge amounts of water to this thriving and populous city.
To date, now it has been substantiated that King Sennacherib who lived in 700 BC built a 30 mile aqueduct to bring fresh running water into this great city."
taken from:
http://www.wwy.org/wwy1200.html
MORE IN REGARDS TO ARCHEOLOGY AND NINEVAH
http://www.bible-history.com/assyria_archa...ia_nineveh.html
MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THE BOOK OF JONAH AND NINEVEH:
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[This message has been edited by kendemyer, 02-21-2004]
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