Yonah 3-4

Perek 3: After Yonah’s “rebirth” upon leaving the belly of the fish, Yonah starts out again on his mission. The perek opens with an additional commandment to Yonah (1-2). This time Yonah fulfills the commandment (3-4), and his prophecy bears fruit- the people of Nineveh repent (5-9) and the decree is cancelled (10). The significance of the perek becomes clear when we compare it to the first mission and its results in perek 1.

It would seem that perek 3 is the end and the resolution of the story- the city is saved from being overturned and the mission is successful. However, having the climax of the story in perek 4 teaches us that the focus of the book is not the repentance of Nineveh, but rather the character of Yonah. While the previous perakim spoke of unilateral actions, without dialogue, this perek begins with a dialogue between Yonah and God in the city (1-4), and afterward continues to a dialogue between Yonah and God outside the city (5-11).