In a sense, the “picture” of those who work within the second paradigm (the rational- and historical-critical paradigm) does not differ radically from that of those scholars who work within the third paradigm (the modern literary criticism paradigm). Both groups regard the Bible as religious literature written by ordinary people. There is, however, a difference in emphasis in terms of the way the two groups approach the biblical books. Read more
When we apply Kuhn’s insights to the paradigm shifts in biblical studies, we can say that those who work within the biblical studies paradigm of the Protestant Reformation have a specific “picture” of the Bible. They regard the Bible as the Word of God. They will normally quote various passages from the Bible to support their view. One of the phrases they will cite as proof is the phrase that appears in several of the prophets, namely that “the word of the Lord came to the prophet” (cf. Jet 1:1-2; Mi. 1:1; Zph. 1:1). They will also stress that the Bible itself testifies that it is the Word of God. Read more
One of the first sections in the book people asked questions about is the section on Jonah’s stay in the fish (Jnh. 1:17). Even Luther questioned this, but assuaged his doubt with the statement that the narrative was recorded in the Bible. According to his understanding everything that was recorded in the Bible had to have happened literally. It could not be fiction. Luther regarded it as a miracle and considered it to be more astonishing than the Israelites’ journey through the Sea of Reeds. Read more
Scholars were not, however, only occupied with questions about the genre. The question: “Who were the addressees of the narrative?” also caused some speculation.
A careful study of the Hebrew text revealed that there was a high occurrence of words and phrases that show that the narrative was not written in the eighth century BCE, but at a later stage. Firstly, we encounter words and phrases in this book that only appear in books written after the exile. Read more
The rational-critical and historical-critical studies largely paved the way for literary critical studies of the Jonah narrative. These studies proved beyond any doubt that the book was not written in the eighth century BCE, but rather in the fourth century BCE. Furthermore, these studies also revealed that there were many exaggerations, contradictions and inconsistencies in the narrative and that the narrative was not narrated by Jonah, but by an omniscient narrator. Those who study the Bible from the paradigm of literary criticism expanded on this. Read more
In order to understand the book of Jonah correctly, it is important to know what kind of narrative it is. A close reading of the narrative reveals that Jonah is indeed a short story or a novelette. The following reasons can be given to substantiate this claim:
Satire can appear in any work of literature. One does not have to know all that much to be able to recognise it. The satirist (author) actually works with a fixed set of values and convictions and he does his utmost to convince the readers of his story or poem to share these values and convictions. Read more
