Editing Jonah (section)

===Parodic elements===
[[File:Nineveh Adad gate exterior entrance far2.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|Modern restoration of the [[Adad]] gate at Nineveh in a photograph taken prior to the gate's total destruction by [[ISIL]] in April 2016.{{sfn|Romey|2016}} The Book of Jonah exaggerates the size of Nineveh far beyond what it actually was historically.{{sfn|Levine|2000|page=71}}{{sfn|Gaines|2003|page=25}}]]
The views expressed by Jonah in the Book of Jonah are a [[parody]] of views held by members of Jewish society at the time when it was written.{{sfn|Ben Zvi|2003|pages=18–19}}{{sfn|Band|2003|page=106}}{{sfn|McKenzie|Graham|1998|page=113}} The primary target of the satire may have been a faction whom [[Morton Smith]] calls "Separationists",{{sfn|Band|2003|page=105}} who believed that God would destroy those who disobeyed him,{{sfn|McKenzie|Graham|1998|page=113}} that sinful cities would be obliterated,{{sfn|McKenzie|Graham|1998|page=113}} and that God's mercy did not extend to those outside the [[Abrahamic covenant]].{{sfn|Band|2003|page=105}} McKenzie and Graham remark that "Jonah is in some ways the most 'orthodox' of Israelite theologians – to make a theological point."{{sfn|McKenzie|Graham|1998|page=113}} Jonah's statements throughout the book are characterized by their militancy,{{sfn|McKenzie|Graham|1998|page=113}}{{sfn|Ingram|2012|page=142}} but his name ironically means "dove",{{sfn|McKenzie|Graham|1998|page=113}}{{sfn|Ingram|2012|page=142}} a bird which the ancient Israelites associated with peace.{{sfn|McKenzie|Graham|1998|page=113}}

Jonah's rejection of God's commands is a parody of the obedience of the prophets described in other Old Testament writings.{{sfn|Gaines|2003|page=22}} The king of Nineveh's instant repentance parodies the rulers throughout the other writings of the Old Testament who disregard prophetic warnings, such as [[Ahab]] and [[Zedekiah]].{{sfn|Gaines|2003|pages=22–23}} The readiness to worship God displayed by the sailors on the ship and the people of Nineveh contrasts ironically with Jonah's own reluctance,{{sfn|Gaines|2003|page=23}} as does Jonah's greater love for ''kikayon'' providing him shade than for all the people in Nineveh.{{sfn|Gaines|2003|page=23}}

The Book of Jonah also employs elements of [[absurdist fiction|literary absurdism]];{{sfn|Gaines|2003|page=25}} it exaggerates the size of the city of Nineveh to an implausible degree{{sfn|Levine|2000|page=71}}{{sfn|Gaines|2003|page=25}} and incorrectly refers to the administrator of the city as a "king".{{sfn|Levine|2000|page=71}}{{sfn|Gaines|2003|page=25}} According to scholars, no human could realistically survive for three days inside a fish,{{sfn|Levine|2000|page=71}} and the description of the livestock in Nineveh fasting alongside their owners is "silly".{{sfn|Gaines|2003|page=25}}
Some of these points are countered in the aforementioned lecture of Donald Wiseman.<ref name=Wiseman/>

The motif of a protagonist being swallowed by a giant fish or whale became a stock [[Trope (literature)|trope]] of later satirical writings.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2007|pages=74–81}} Similar incidents are recounted in [[Lucian|Lucian of Samosata]]'s ''[[True History|A True Story]]'', which was written in the second century CE,{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2007|page=76-77}} and in the novel ''[[Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia]]'', published by [[Rudolf Erich Raspe]] in 1785.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2007|pages=77–78}}