Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
This study is designed as a commentary with a difference, where the reading of the prophet Jonah's travails is explored in the context of two wider themes: (1) the overt and highly sophisticated intertwining of Jonah's story with an impressively wide range of other biblical texts, often deployed in surprising ways; and (2) the clearly contrarian relationship between God and Jonah which has both vexed and intrigued scholars and lay readers alike for millennia.
Underpinning this reading, therefore, is a thesis which is itself in two parts: firstly, an argument that many of the puzzles inherent in the book of Jonah can be illuminated in the light of the idea that 'God' here is presented in the role of the classic trickster of folk tradition and as such serves to probe important issues for the relationship between Israel and its world; and secondly, the claim that the playful way in which texts from a wide range of biblical are deployed parallels the provocative character given to Yahweh.