Published: 2023-12-29

Jonah’s Psalm

Damian Jurczak
Scriptura Sacra
Section: Articles
DOI https://doi.org/10.25167/ScrS/5486

Exegetical and theological analysis of the text of Jonah 2:3-10

Abstract

The context of the research was that since the time of Martin Luther, there has been a growing interest in scientific research on the books of the Bible. Particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, studies conducted showed that their literary structure of the books was not uniform. It was found that the books in the Bible went through successive stages of editing before they acquired their modern form. It concerns the Prayer of Jonah (Jon 2:3-10). Research questions had to be asked: Why does Jonah sing a song of thanksgiving when his life is threatened? Is the Prayer earlier than the story or later?
The purpose of the study is an exegetical and theological study of the text of Jon 2:3-10.
The analytical-synthetic method was used. A literary analysis of the studied text was made. The structure of the Psalm was also determined, and the literary genre was examined. A content exegesis was carried out to correctly determine the theological message of the Jonah Prayer, both as a stand-alone unit and in the context of the Book’s integrals. Finally, the influence of the religious content of the Jonah Psalm of the New Testament book was examined.
The study concluded that: a) the Psalm of Jonah, in the text of Jon 2:3-10, is not an integral part of the Book of Jonah; b) the terminology shared by the Thanksgiving Psalms with the Psalm of Jonah was confirmed; c) as an independent literary unit, the message of the Psalm of Jonah also makes sense.
The conclusions that emerge from the study are as follows: a) the psalmist praying in the Psalm of Jonah is not only an example, topical in the post-exile era, but is also topical today; b) the text studied depicts a man who, despite his weaknesses, trusted and put his trust in God to the end. A man who is open to the action of God’s grace and expresses joy and thanksgiving to God.

Keywords:

Jonah psalm, Book of Jonah, Book of Psalms, critical and literary analysis, exegetical analysis, theological interpretation

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Jurczak, D. (2023). Jonah’s Psalm: Exegetical and theological analysis of the text of Jonah 2:3-10. Scriptura Sacra, 27, 39–91. https://doi.org/10.25167/ScrS/5486

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