The Book of Jonah: History or Forgiveness Parable?

Outside the book, Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:23–25, Matthew 12:38–41 (also Luke 11:29–32), and Matthew 16:4. Nineveh is mentioned 11 times outside of Jonah, most notably in Nahum’s prophecy about its later destruction.

The first episode of National Geographic’s series Lost Treasures of the Bible explores the archaeology of Nineveh through the frame of three research questions: What lies behind the Bible’s depiction of such a terrible city? Why would the Bible depict the Assyrian city of Nineveh as evil and wicked? Is there evidence for this within the archaeological record?

As I explained in my previous article, I use three questions to help me review documentaries like this: How do they treat the Bible? What primary sources do they use? And what assumptions do they start with? Let’s answer those questions.

How Do They Treat the Bible?

You may think a documentary about “lost treasures of the Bible” would treat the Bible as true, if not divine. But we need to understand that secular archaeologists use the Bible very differently than a Bible-believing Christian would. The secular archaeologist sees the Bible as a helpful historical reference, but it is no different than any other historical writing. On the contrary, because I believe that all 66 books of the Bible are inspired by God, I understand these books to be more than just stories—they are the authoritative and inerrant words of God.

The documentary begins by painting a picture of the city of Nineveh’s past, claiming it was founded more than 7,000 years ago. Of course, you can only arrive at this age if you reject the Genesis account of creation, in which the earth itself is only about 6,000 years old. Genesis 10:11 tells us that Nineveh was built by Nimrod, who was a great-grandson of Noah.

Though the book of Jonah has no internal claim of authorship, Jewish tradition and early church fathers attributed the writing to Jonah himself. Jesus, when asked by the Jews for a sign of his messiahship, referred to Jonah and the great fish, as well as Nineveh’s repentance (Matthew 12:38–41). Jesus’ comment attests to the historicity of the account in the book of Jonah.

By contrast, National Geographic claims that the book of Jonah is merely a parable written by the Jews during the Babylonian exile:

The books of the Bible that deal with the Assyrians were probably written several centuries after the events of 612 BC. There is a mixing of traditions where the writers bring information about Babylon from a later period. But there is a core of truth to it as well, historical reality. What archaeology brings to it is the ability to refine that understanding from the text.1

National Geographic elevates secular ideas about the authorship of Jonah to supersede the authority of the Bible. They do not treat the book of Jonah as true history, and they undermine Jesus’ own words by suggesting Jonah was just a fictional character in a parable.

What Primary Sources Do They Use?

National Geographic used multiple sources to provide historical context to the Assyrian empire and how it operated.

National Geographic used multiple sources to provide historical context to the Assyrian empire and how it operated. First, they reference the multiple wall carvings of Nineveh carved during the reign of Sennacherib (seventh century BC). The carvings of Sennacherib in the Nergal Gate complex depict the Assyrians as warlike, heroic, and strong. Biblically, they are described as being cruel and wicked. We see in other inscriptions how harsh the Assyrians indeed were. National Geographic provides images of bronze panels that once decorated the wooden gates of a temple at Balawat, near modern Mosul. On this panel are depictions of victims of Shalmaneser III (858–824 BC) after he captured the ancient city of Kulisi. The captives are shown being dismembered and then impaled. The walls of Sennacherib’s palace in Nineveh also depict this brutality.

Neo-Assyrian relief showing the Impalement of Jews from the city of Lachish. ME 124906 in the British Museum. Taken from Belibtreu “Grisly Assyrian Record of Torture and Death,” Biblical Archaeology Society, 3.

National Geographic also refers to an Eponym List found near the Mashki Gate of Nineveh. The Eponym List is a calendar system for Assyria that stretched over a thousand years. Every year was associated with the name, or eponym, of an official (Limmu) who officiated the New Year festival. Also included with the Limmu was a sentence describing something of note that occurred within that year. The majority of these lists include the different campaigns and cities that the Assyrian kings captured and defeated and different revolts that they squashed.

National Geographic’s use of the archaeological finds surrounding this period of Assyrian rule proved very helpful in building a political and cultural backdrop in which the events of the book of Jonah took place. Sadly, because of their secular stance toward Scripture, they treat the book of Jonah as merely the words of man recorded later in time rather than as the inspired Word of God giving us insight into why these things occurred during this snapshot in history.

What Assumptions Do They Start With?

The documentary team assumes the secular position on the dating and authorship of Jonah. National Geographic sees Jonah as a fictional character used to teach a parable about forgiveness and his book as a compilation of stories written years later. Though the series is framed as a search for biblical treasures, the experts largely disregard the biblical account and the historical details it provides. Their anti-biblical assumptions are evident in their handling of the text, as well as in their interpretations of the evidence.

Digging Deeper

According to 2 Kings 14:23–25, the prophet Jonah lived during the reign of Jeroboam II (around 793–753 BC). So if you wanted to find evidence of Jonah’s life or the repentance of Nineveh, when would you look? During the time of Jeroboam II.

Figure 1 – Biblical Timeline
[Biblical dates in blue]

During Jeroboam II’s reign, Assyria was ruled by three kings: Adad-nirari III (811–783 BC), Shalmaneser IV (783–773 BC), and Ashur-dan III (773–755 BC). Jonah would have visited the Assyrian capital during one of these king’s reigns. If we were searching for evidence of Jonah’s prophetic journey, we might expect to find evidence of Assyrian brutality leading up to a sudden change of administration in Nineveh showing the king’s repentance. And in fact, there are some interesting details recorded in the Assyrian Eponym List during this period that could possibly coincide with the biblical account of Jonah. We see during the reign of Ashur-dan III multiple revolts, plagues, and even an eclipse, followed by periods when the “king remained at home.” National Geographic states that these periods when the king remained at home coincide with the Bible’s timeline of when Jonah would have visited Nineveh. But rather than seeing this as a confirmation of the biblical account of this prophet, they state that the later writers during the Babylonian exile looked back upon this period of great upheaval and anachronistically applied Jonah and his prophesy as the reason for these events taking place.

National Geographic makes the claim that the writers of the book of Jonah looked to the city of Nineveh during the height of its size and power under Sennacherib as their inspiration. What better than to use the capital of their past oppressor at the zenith of its power to teach a lesson about repentance and forgiveness? The brutality of the Assyrians depicted on the walls of Sennacherib’s palace in Nineveh are examples of this nations cruelty to those they conquered. National Geographic views the book of Jonah as a conflation of Assyrian historical records with Israelite theological propaganda.

The ruthlessness of the Assyrians is an important point to mention in this episode because, according to the Bible, this is one of the reasons they were to receive judgment from the Lord. National Geographic acknowledges that the books of Jonah and Nahum accurately depict how brutal the Assyrians were, but then they claim that God’s judgment upon Nineveh didn’t happen. Rather, a coalition brought down this city:

Rather than succumbing to the wrath of God, as the book of Jonah suggests, the archaeological evidence, both in Tel Hadid and across the empire, points to a different conclusion. The empire was brought down by a coalition of Assyria’s enemies seeking revenge for years of oppression.2

However, Scripture explains that God sometimes uses armies as instruments of judgment, so this fall of Nineveh actually confirms the prophecy of Nahum. This also has no bearing on Jonah’s account since in that case the people repented, and God refrained from sending judgment.

Christians must approach documentaries like this one with a discerning mind, taking care to hold fast to the authority of God’s Word.

While “Nineveh: City of Sin” provided a fascinating look at several Assyrian artifacts, it failed to attribute proper authority and historicity to the biblical account of Jonah. Because of this rejection of biblical truth in favor of secular consensus, the series failed to investigate the appropriate time frame. Therefore, their presentation of the book of Jonah is not compatible with the biblical account. Christians must approach documentaries like this one with a discerning mind, taking care to hold fast to the authority of God’s Word.