Book of Jonas
(Hebrew: dove)
A Minor Prophet. One of the best sources for information about him is found in 4 Kings 14. The home of Jonas is now identified with El Meshed, about five miles northeast of Nazareth, in the tribal territory of Zebulon; thus he belonged to the northern kingdom. The period of his ministry is determined by its connection with the reign of Jeroboam II (783-743 BC), practically coinciding with the era of decline in the Assyrian Empire which came between the two powerful rulers, Adadnirari III (810-782 BC) and Theglathphalasar III (745-728 BC). Consequently we can account for much in Jonas’s career: that he could foretell the victories of Jeroboam; that he could speak of the grandeur of Ninive as past; that he could preach to a nation once proud, now crushed.