What’s really eating Jonah?
Was Jonah swallowed by a fish or a whale? As far as the sailors were concerned, Jonah had drowned. For the narrator, however, it is the drowned man who remains the chief interest. So he leaves the mariners to worship—not their old gods which had proved helpless, but Yahweh, the God of the prophet who had saved them—and turns our attention back to Jonah. And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. (v. 17) In the same way that human beings designate people for particular tasks, so the Lord is said to ‘designate’ or ‘appoint’ a great fish to swallow Jonah. Yahweh as king deploys a creature which obeys him unquestioningly in order to save a rebellious man from drowning. This same word, ‘appoint’, which could equally be translated ‘employ’ or ‘nominate’, is found also in 4:6, referring to the plant, in 4:7, referring to the worm, and in 4:8, referring to the sultry east wind. On each occasion, the c