The Comparison of the Prophet Jonah and Hercules

Hercules wrestles Triton

In the second troparion of the sixth ode of the iambic canon that was composed by Saint John of Damascus for the feast of Theophany, we chant:

Ἐκ ποντίου λέοντος ὁ τριέσπερος,
ξένως Προφήτης ἐγκάτοις φλοιδούμενος,
αὖθις προῆλθε, τῆς παλιγγενεσίας,
σωτηρίαν δράκοντος ἐκ βροτοκτόνου,
πᾶσι προφαίνων,
τῶν χρόνων ἐπ' ἐσχάτων.

The triple-night Prophet
strangely made the belly of the lion of the sea swell,
and came forth, making manifest beforehand to all
our regeneration in the last days
and our salvation from the dragon that slays mankind.

Homily on the Prophet Jonah and on the Repentance of the Ninevites (St. Ephraim the Syrian)

 

By St. Ephraim the Syrian

1. Jonah the Hebrew came up from the sea, and preached in Nineveh to the uncircumcised. The prophet went into the violent city and he threw it into confusion with a fearful voice. The gentile city, upon hearing it, cowered at the proclamation of the son of Amath. Also the sea was altogether shaken because of his voice coming up from the depths. Going down into the sea he shook it up, and when he came out onto dry land he immediately caused a tempest there too.

2. The sea was shaken because of his escape and the earth trembled when he preached. The sea paused at his prayer and the earth stopped at the great compassion of God. In the belly of the great sea monster he was praying. In this way so too did the Ninevites pray in the great city. The prayer pulled Jonah out of the sea monster and the entreaty pulled Nineveh away from ruin.

3. Jonah ran away from the face of God, as the Ninevites did from goodness and righteous. Judgment locked the two of them in prison, as if they were debtors. But the two brought out repentance, in order that they might have redemption from both of their own personal failings - the heavenly judgment and retribution. God commanded the sea monster to guard Jonah while he was off dry land.

The Story Behind the Only Church in Greece Dedicated to the Prophet Jonah

The only church in Greece dedicated to the Prophet Jonah is in the village of Anoskeli in Kisamos on the island of Crete. It was consecrated on the Sunday of All Saints, 30 June 2013, and built entirely by the pious local family of Demetrios and Maria Stefanoudakis. It is a beauteous, stone-built church, very neat and groomed. On Saturday 21 September 2013, the Church of the Prophet Jonah celebrated its first feast day, with a procession of his icon around the church before the celebration of the Festal Divine Liturgy.

The Great Mystery in the History of Jonah (St. Methodios of Olympus)

By St. Methodios of Olympus

I. The history of Jonah contains a great mystery. For it seems that the whale signifies Time, which never stands still, but is always going on, and consumes the things which are made by long and shorter intervals. But Jonah, who fled from the presence of God, is himself the first man who, having transgressed the law, fled from being seen naked of immortality, having lost through sin his confidence in the Deity. And the ship in which he embarked, and which was tempest-tossed, is this brief and hard life in the present time; just as though we had turned and removed from that blessed and secure life, to that which was most tempestuous and unstable, as from solid land to a ship. For what a ship is to the land, that our present life is to that which is immortal. And the storm and the tempests which beat against us are the temptations of this life, which in the world, as in a tempestuous sea, do not permit us to have a fair voyage free from pain, in a calm sea, and one which is free from evils. And the casting of Jonah from the ship into the sea, signifies the fall of the first man from life to death, who received that sentence because, through having sinned, he fell from righteousness: "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," [Gen. iii. 19]. And his being swallowed by the whale signifies our inevitable removal by time. For the belly in which Jonah, when he was swallowed, was concealed, is the all-receiving earth, which receives all things which are consumed by time.

The Drowning of Mary, A Woman Who Was a Sinner

By St. John Moschos

Palladius also told us that he had heard a certain sea captain once tell him about a voyage of his when he had several male and female passengers aboard. Out on the high seas other ships seemed to be sailing well under a favorable wind, some to Constantinople, some to Alexandria, some to other places, but he could make no progress at all.

"We stayed put for about fifteen days," he said, "unable to move from where we were. We became very depressed and desperate, not knowing whatever could be causing this. As captain responsible for the care of the ship and everyone in her I began to pray about it to God. And indeed on a certain day a voice came to me saying: 'Get rid of Mary and you will sail well.' 'What did that mean,' I thought, 'and who is Mary?' And as I turned this over in my mind the voice came again, saying: 'I tell you, get rid of Mary and you will be alright.'

How Jesus Was Greater Than Jonah (Sts. John Chrysostom & Cyril of Jerusalem)

By St. John Chrysostom

(Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homily 43.3)

"Behold, a greater than Jonah is here." (Matt. 12:41)

For Jonah was a servant, but I am the Master; and he came forth from the great fish, but I rose from death. He proclaimed destruction, but I am come preaching the good tidings of the kingdom. The Ninevites indeed believed without a sign, but I have exhibited many signs. They heard nothing more than those words, but I have made it impossible to deny the truth. The Ninevites came to be ministered to, but I, the very Master and Lord of all, have come not threatening, not demanding an account, but bringing pardon. They were barbarians, but these - the faithful - have conversed with unnumbered prophets. And of Jonah nothing had been prophesied in advance, but of me everything was foretold, and all the facts have agreed with their words. And Jonah indeed, when he was to go forth, instead ran away that he might not be ridiculed. But I, knowing that I am both to be crucified and mocked, have come nonetheless. While Jonah did not endure so much as to be reproached for those who were saved, I underwent even death, and that the most shameful death, and after this I sent others again. And Jonah was a strange sort of person and an alien to the Ninevites, and unknown; but I a kinsman after the flesh and of the same forefathers.

The Flight of Jonah (St. Gregory the Theologian)

By St. Gregory the Theologian

(Excerpt from Oration 2: In Defense of his Flight to Pontus)

Jonah was fleeing from the face of God, or rather, thought that he was fleeing, but ‎he was overtaken by the sea, and the storm, and the lot, and the whale’s belly, and the ‎three days’ entombment, the type of a greater mystery. He fled from having to announce ‎the dread and awful message to the Ninevites, and from being subsequently, if the city ‎was saved by repentance, convicted of falsehood. Not that he was displeased at the ‎salvation of the wicked, but he was ashamed of being made an instrument of falsehood, ‎and exceedingly zealous for the credit of prophecy, which was in danger of being ‎destroyed in his person, since most men are unable to penetrate the depth of the Divine ‎dispensation in such cases.‎

The Great Mystery of the Prophet Jonah (St. Methodios of Olympus)

By St. Methodios of Olympus

(A Fragment of the Lost Book on the Resurrection)

The history of Jonah contains a great mystery. For it seems that the fish signifies Time, ‎which never stands still, but is always going on, and consumes the things which are made by long ‎and shorter intervals. ‎

But Jonah, who fled from the presence of God, is himself the first man who, having ‎transgressed the law, fled from being seen naked of immortality, having lost through sin his ‎confidence in the Deity. ‎

Saint Jerome's Commentary on the Book of Jonah (5 of 5)

...continued from part four.

CHAPTER FOUR

1. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said: 

LXX: Jonah was saddened by a great sadness, and he was confounded. And he prayed to the Lord, and he said:

Seeing the crowd of gentiles enter[168], and that fulfils what is written in Deuteronomy: "they annoyed me with these gods who are not gods, so I will annoy them with a people that is not one; I shall anger them like a foolish nation"[169]. He despairs of Israel's safety and is hit by a great suffering which breaks out in words. He shows the signs of his suffering and more or less says this: 'I have been the only one of the prophets chosen to announce my people's ruin to them through the safety of others.' Thus he is not sad that the crowd of gentiles should be saved, as some people believe, but it is the destruction of Israel. Moreover our Lord wept for Jerusalem and refused to take bread away from the children to give to the dogs[170]. And the apostles preach firstly to Israel, and Paul wishes to be anathema for his brothers who are Israelites[171] and have adoption, glory, alliance, promises and law, and from whom the patriarchs come, and from them too according to the flesh came Christ.[172] But suffering in vain, which is interpreted as the word Jonah, he is smitten by suffering, and 'the spirit is sad until death'[173]. For lest the people of the Jews should die, he has suffered as much as he was in power. The name of the sufferer also is appropriate to the story, since it signifies the toil of the prophet, weighed down by the miseries of his journey and the shipwreck.

Saint Jerome's Commentary on the Book of Jonah (4 of 5)

...continued from part three.

CHAPTER THREE

1-2. And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid you. 

LXX: And the message of God came to Jonah a second time, saying, arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach there this message that I have told you.

He did not say to the prophet, "why have you not done what you were ordered to do?." But the punishment of the shipwreck and his drowning are enough for him to understand the Lord, the liberator, whom he hadn't known to be ordering. Moreover it is superfluous to see his wounds as those of a false servant of God, once he has been smitten, for such a punishment is less of a correction than a reproof. And our Lord is sent to Nineveh a second time after his resurrection: he who had fled by whatever means beforehand when he said, "My Father, if it is possible let this cup pass me by"[139], and who had not wanted to give bread of children to dogs, now the children have cried out, "crucify him, crucify him! we have no king except Caesar"[140], he makes his way towards Nineveh of his own accord to preach after his resurrection that he underwent as he was ordered to do before his suffering. The command is given, he hears it, he refuses, then he is forced to want, and the second time he carries out the will of the Father: all of this is connected to man and to the "form of a slave"[141], to whom such expressions are appropriate.

Saint Jerome's Commentary on the Book of Jonah (3 of 5)

...continued from part two.

CHAPTER TWO

1. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. 

LXX: And the Lord ordered a great fish to swallow Jonah.

The Lord commanded death and the underworld to receive the prophet. To the eager jaws of death he seemed a prey: she had such joy in swallowing him, and such sadness in spitting him out. Thus happened what is written in Hosea: "I will be your death, O Death! I will be your bite, Hell!"[77]. In the Hebrew we read "a great fish", which the Septuagint and the Lord in the Gospel call a whale, to explain the matter in short. For the Hebrew says dag gadol that we translate as 'a big fish'. Evidently this means a whale. We must note too that where he awaited death, he found his salvation. And when it says, "he had prepared", this is even right at the beginning of creation, the animal which is mentioned in the psalm: "this dragon which you have created to play with him"[78]. Or even he makes a fish come near to the ship to take in its belly Jonah who has been thrown over board, and to provide his rescue not his death. So he who felt the wrath of God in the boat was to feel his benevolence in his death.

Saint Jerome's Commentary on the Book of Jonah (2 of 5)

...continued from part one.

CHAPTER ONE

1. Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

Apart from that which the Septuagint translates as, "the noise of their wickedness has risen up even to me", it has translated the rest similarly. Jonah is sent to the gentiles to condemn Israel, because Nineveh had to repent, but the Israelites still persisted in their sin. And when God says, "their wickedness has come up to me", or "the noise of their wickedness…" it is exactly the text of Genesis: "the noise of Sodom and of Gomorrah is very loud"[8], and to Cain: "the blood of your brother cries to me from the earth"[9]. According to tropology the Lord, our Jonah, that is to say 'dove' or 'suffering', (he is given both meaning, either because the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove and stays with him[10], or because he has suffered for our wounds, wept for Jerusalem[11], and because we have been cured by his malice[12]) is truly the son of Truth, for God is Truth[13]. He is sent to Nineveh the beautiful, that is to the world, where there is nothing more beautiful to our eyes than flesh. In Greek the idea of adornment is in the word cosmos. And when everything had been completed, each one by one, it was said, "and God saw that it was good"[14]. It is to Nineveh that he goes, the great city, so that although Israel has not wanted to listen, the whole world of peoples will hear God's word. And this is because their wickedness has gone up to God. For although God had made the most beautiful house for man who was devoted to serving his creator, man deprived himself of this by his own will; from childhood his heart fixed upon wickedness[15]. He turned his face to the heaven[16] and constructed a tower of pride[17]. He deserves then God to come down to him so that he may be able to rise to heaven by the destruction of repentance, he that did not succeed by the swell of pride.

Synaxarion of the Holy Prophet Jonah

Holy Prophet Jonah (Feast Day - Gr. September 21; Slav. September 22)

Verses

You fled far from the face of God of old,

Now Jonah his face do you behold.

The Holy Prophet Jonah was the son of Amittai, from the city of Gath Kariathmaous, and resided near Azotus, a city of the Greeks near the sea. His mother was that widow to whom Elijah was sent, when through his prayers famine came to Samaria, and throughout all the realms of the ten tribes. Due to the hospitality of this woman he blessed the jug of oil and jar of flour, which did not get used up or become diminished throughout the period of the famine. Jonah was the son of this widow, whom Elijah incredibly raised from the dead.*

Saint Jerome's Commentary on the Book of Jonah (1 of 5)

By St. Jerome

PROLOGUE

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.

Prophet Jonah Resource Page

Holy Prophet Jonah (Feast Day - September 21)

Verses

You fled far from the face of God of old,

Now Jonah His face do you behold.

 

Synaxarion of the Holy Prophet Jonah

 

Book of the Prophet Jonah (Septuagint Translation)

  

Holy Prophet Jonah as a Model for our Lives 

 

The Prophet Jonah in the Writings of the Church Fathers 

 

The Great Mystery of the Prophet Jonah (St. Methodios of Olympus)

 

Homily on the Prophet Jonah and on the Repentance of the Ninevites (St. Ephraim the Syrian) 

 

The Flight of Jonah (St. Gregory the Theologian) 

 

How Jesus Was Greater Than Jonah (Sts. John Chrysostom & Cyril of Jerusalem) 

 

Saint Jerome's Commentary on the Book of Jonah (1 of 5) 

 

Saint Jerome's Commentary on the Book of Jonah (2 of 5) 

 

Saint Jerome's Commentary on the Book of Jonah (3 of 5) 

 

Saint Jerome's Commentary on the Book of Jonah (4 of 5) 

 

Saint Jerome's Commentary on the Book of Jonah (5 of 5) 

 

Was the Prophet Jonah Really Swallowed By a Whale? 

 

The Comparison of the Prophet Jonah and Hercules

 

Jesus In Hades and the Sign of Jonah 

  

Repentance, the Fourth Mystery 

 

The Drowning of Mary, A Woman Who Was a Sinner

 

The Tomb of the Prophet Jonah in Mashad 

 

Saving Ancient Nineveh 

 

Consecration of the Only Church in Greece Dedicated to the Prophet Jonah 

 

The Story Behind the Only Church in Greece Dedicated to the Prophet Jonah

Was the Prophet Jonah Really Swallowed By a Whale?

By John Sanidopoulos

Many Christians are inclined to interpret the story of Jonah in the Old Testament as an allegory that was never meant to be understood as actual history. However, allegories or parables in the Bible are always either said to be so, or made evident in the context. The Book of Jonah, however, is written as a historical tale with a historical prophet mentioned in II Kings 14:25 and confirmed to have existed by Jesus Christ in Matthew 12:40-41. Christ here compares the experience of Jonah to His own approaching death and resurrection.

Holy Prophet Jonah as a Model for our Lives

Prophet Jonah (Feast Day - September 21)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

The Prophet Jonah was the son of Amittai and lived during the reigns of Amaziah of Judah and Jeroboam of Israel. He was from Gath-Hepher, of the tribe of Zebulun. His prophetic book, which is read in Orthodox churches on Great Saturday morning, is different from that of the other prophets, because it only refers to events in the life of the Prophet himself, which, of course, is associated with his mission. As it is well known, he was sent by God to the populated city of Nineveh to preach repentance. But instead of going where God sent him, Jonah boarded a ship to go to Tarshish, thinking that by doing this he could escape his mission. What follows is well known: By divine economy there was a storm at sea, and Jonah was thrown into the sea and swallowed by a large fish, remaining in its belly for three days. On the third day, by God's command, the large fish vomited Jonah onto dry land. Then God taught him His love for humanity by means of a plant, which grew with divine assistance and protected him from the sun and then dried up on its own. Then God said to Jonah: "You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left — and also many animals?" (Jon. 4:10).

Saints Reginos and Orestes of Cyprus

Sts. Reginos and Orestes (Feast Day - August 20)

Saints Reginos and Orestes are not included in the official lists of saints of the Church, but they are commemorated and celebrated particularly in Cyprus, where they were martyred by pagans.

Reginos and Orestes came from Chalcedon in Asia Minor during the persecution of Christians by the Roman authorities. They were friends who were perhaps of noble lineage, though we do not have any information of their parents, youth or upbringing. What we can assume however was that they were raised Christians by their parents.