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Theodoret of Cyrus

The God of the universe, who created all human beings, in a similar fashion continues to show providence for all people. Even though in ancient times he appeared to care for the Israelites to a greater extent, he was doing this for the common welfare of all human beings. For just as the one showing special care for Israel did not indicate what was to be done by conversing with each Israelite individually, but by choosing the best one from all of them—at one time the great Moses or Joshua, the son of Nun, but at another time Samuel, and still at another time Elijah—and through each of the individuals mentioned above, he led the people to salvation, either by establishing laws, demonstrating marvels, or conveying a warning, so also God, having set the Israelite people apart from the other nations, demonstrated to the Gentiles by providential care for them, the path towards the knowledge of God through continuous epiphanies {S 1459} and incredible miracles. And he taught us this through the divinely inspired Hosea. For it says, “A prophet is a watchman over Ephraim, along with God ” (Hos 9:8).7 For God appointed the people of Israel as a unique watchman and prophet for the benefit and salvation of other nations. Even so, through the Israelites, Egypt has learned the unspeakable power of the God of the universe. And the report, which conveyed to all people the destruction of the Egyptians, caused everyone to marvel at the justice of divine providence. Consequently, Rahab the prostitute, who received the radiance of the knowledge of God, said to the spies: “…since your fear and trembling fell upon us. For we heard how the Lord God dried up the Red Sea before you and he carried you across because your God is Lord, God in heaven above and on earth below” (Josh 2:9-10).9 And at a much later time the Philistines10, when they beheld the ark, shouted with fear {M 81.1721}_ and trembling: “This is the God who smote Egypt” (1 Sam 4:8).11_ In addition, by striking down those many thousands of Assyrians before the walls of Jerusalem and forcing Sennacherib to flee with a few men, (2 Kgs 19:35), 12 God has made his power clear to all men and women. Also in Babylon, he kept Daniel unharmed after he was handed over to the lions (Dan 6:23)13 and he transformed that most violent flame of the furnace into cool moisture, with the result that those blessed youths {S 1460} formed a chorus in the middle of the furnace and composed a hymn, (Pr Azar 1:27, Dan 3:25).14 God thereby struck an arrogant king with terror; and through that individual, taught his subjects that the God of the Israelites is the only God.15 And in the time of Cyrus the Persian God has made clear once again, not only to the ones who were living nearby but also the ones living far away, that He alone is able to show providence and direct whatever He wills. He granted to his people that well known return from Exile, provided the release from their servitude as a gift to them alone, rebuilt his own temple, and restored Jerusalem to its prior state of well-being. And in the time of the Macedonians, he often showed his power.17 And by performing miracles and predicting the future through the prophets, He guided many of the nations towards truth. That is why the nation of the Syrians feared the great Elisha, at one time receiving from him a cloud of blindness (2 Kgs 6:18)18 but at another time observing the cleansing of Naaman (2 Kgs 5).19 Such great reverence was attached to this prophet that when the king20 became ill, he sent Azael to Elisha, to inquire if he would get well (2 Kgs 8:7-15).21 But, this very prophet anointed Azael himself king over the Assyrians instead. And the king of the Babylonians considered the divinely inspired Jeremiah worthy of such great honor that he gave him a choice of residences (Jer 40:1-6).22 He was leading away all the other kings and rulers as captives, but he gave to Jeremiah alone the choice to live wherever he wished. {S 1461} This is the way the God of the universe chose the blessed Jonah as a prophet for the Ninevites. A long time ago, this was the greatest city and contained the palace of the king of Assyria. For inasmuch as the only begotten Word of God was about to be made manifest to human beings in human nature, and to enlighten all nations with the light of the knowledge of God, even before His own incarnation, He shows his divine care to the nations, in order that He might establish with certainty future events by those which preceded it, teach everyone that He is God not only of the Jews but the God also of the nations, and point out the close relationship between the Old and the New Testament. For if God did not show any providence for the nations before his incarnation, then the Jews would form the opinion that He was another God, on the grounds that He was doing things contrary to the one who had given the law. For the former God only cared for the Jews, and the latter God showed concern for all human beings. For the abominable Marcion 24_{M 81.1724} has suffered from this disease, saying that this God is different from that God—and he says these things, even after observing God’s providence for all human beings in the Old Testament!25 But in order that we might not prolong things beyond measure,26 let us proceed to the interpretation itself of the prophet.



St. Jerome

About three years have now passed since I first started writing the commentaries on the five Prophets, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Haggai. Detained by another work, I was not able to finish what I had undertaken. For I was writing a book on famous men and two volumes against Jovinian, an apology and an essay on 'the best way to translate', which was addressed to Pammachius, two books to or about Nepotian, and other works which it would be lengthy to recount. Therefore I retake up my commentaries with Jonah after such a long absence. Jonah, a type of Saviour, who prefiguring the resurrection of the Lord by spending "three days and three nights in the belly of a whale"[1], was able to attain the first ardour so that we might deserve the arrival of the Holy Spirit to us. If indeed Jonah is to be translated as 'dove', and if the dove can be seen as the Holy Spirit, then we can also interpret the Dove as signifying the dove's entrance into us. I know that some classical authors, both Latin and Greek, have spoken much about this book, and through all of their Questions have less enlightened than obscured the ideas, so that in effect their interpretation needs to be interpreted and with the result that the reader comes away feeling less sure of the meaning than beforehand. I am not saying this to criticise these great minds, to abase others in order to extol myself, but rather because it is the place of the commentator to clarify in short and clearly what is obscure; they should be less concerned with displaying their eloquence than with explaining the meaning of the author. We ask therefore where else the prophet Jonah appears in the Holy Scriptures apart from this book and the allusion made to him by the Lord in the Gospels[2]. And if I am not mistaken he is mentioned in the book of Kings in this way: "in the fifth year of Amasiah, the son of Joash, King of Judah, began to rule the son of Jeroboam son of Joash King of Israel in Samaria, for forty-one years. He did much wickedness before the Lord and did not distance himself from all the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. He re-established the frontier of Israel in Samaria from the entrance of Emathia to the Sea of Solitude, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which was spoken by the mouth of his servant Jonah, son of Amittai the prophet, from Gath which is in Ofer."[3] The Hebrews recount that he was the son of the widow of Sarepta, incited by the prophet Elijah; his mother later said to him, "I know now that you are indeed a man of God, and that the word of God is truly in your mouth"[4]; on account of this the child was called Truth. For Amittai in Hebrew can be rendered 'truth' in our language, and because Elijah spoke true, he who was encouraged was called the son of Truth. And Gath is located two miles from Sepphoris, which is now called Diocaesarea, when you are travelling to Tiberia: there is a small castle where his tomb can be seen. Others, however, prefer to place his birth and tomb near Diospolis, which is in Lydia. They do not see that when he writes 'Ofer', this is to distinguish Gath from other towns of this name that can be seen now near to Eleutheropolis or Diospolis. The book of Tobit, though not in the canon, is all the same used by the men of the Church, and he [it?] mentions Jonah when Tobit says to his son, "my son, I am old and ready to leave this life. Take your sons and go to Media, my son. For I know what the prophet Jonah has said about Nineveh: she will be destroyed"[5]. And, indeed, according to the Hebrew and Greek historians, Herodotus in particular, we read that Nineveh was destroyed in the time of King Josiah according to the Hebrews, and King Astyage of the Medians [???]. From this we understand that in the past Jonah predicted that the Ninivites would repent and seek pardon; but afterwards, as they persisted in their sins,they brought the judgement of God upon themselves. The Hebrew tradition is that Hosea, Amos, Isaiah and Jonah prophesied at the same time. This is historical tradition. Not forgetting the others of course: the venerable Pope Chromatius, who took great pains to recount to the Saviour the story of the prophet: he flees, he sleeps, he is thrown into the sea, he is swallowed by a whale, thrown back onto the shore and prays for repentance. And saddened by the safety of this town of many people, he finds comfort in the shade of a fig tree. There he is reproached by God for having taken more care of a green vine which had dried up, than of such a great number of men, and the other details I will try to explain in this volume. But to grasp the complete meaning of the prophet in this short preface there is no better interpretation than that which inspired the prophets and which marked out the lines of the truth of the future for its servants. He therefore speaks to the Jews who do not believe his words and are ignorant of Christ, the son of God: "the men of Nineveh will rise up at the time of judgement with that generation and they will condemn it, for they repented as Jonah required, and here there is more than Jonah!"[6]. The generation of the Jews is condemned, while the world has faith and Nineveh repents, Israel the disbeliever dies. The Jews have the books themselves, we have the Lord of books; they hold the prophets, we have an understanding of the prophets; "the letter kills them", "the spirit makes us live"[7]; with them Barabbas the robber is released, for us Christ the Son of God is freed.