sooda
Veteran Member
Archaeological discoveries in Assyria are teaching us a lot about the exile there of the Lost Tribes of Israel. They give us the basis, for example, for a more poignant interpretation of the book of Jonah. In fact that fascinating book turns out to be about the exile.
During the centuries of its long existence the Assyrian Empire had its ups and downs. We now know that the first half of the 8th century B.C.E. was one of the downs; threatened from without, divided within, the Empire was in danger of collapse.
The visit of the prophet Jonah to Nineveh, later the capital of Assyria, came at just the right time. His message of repentance (Jonah 3:4) was heard and the city was saved. Then in the second half of the 8th century the resurgent Empire turned around and conquered Israel, deporting most of its citizens. Was that fair or just? When YEHOVAH God sent an Israelite prophet to save the Assyrians from destruction, was it planned that they would then turn against His nation?
Most Biblical commentators, unaware of the chronology, have totally ignored the question. They have simply seen in the story of Jonah an expression of YEHOVAH's concern for gentiles.
Certainly YEHOVAH God has repeatedly given evidence of such concern, e.g., in the promise to Abraham that all the families of the Earth would be blessed through him. (Genesis 12:3) But the time had not yet come for that blessing to the gentiles to be fulfilled. And Jonah's mission appears far too unique to be reduced into that framework. After all, gentile empires have risen and fallen many times in history.
Yet this is the only occasion on which an Israelite prophet was ever sent to save one, or to save any other gentile institution for that matter. Indeed the Assyrian Empire itself collapsed in the following century without any sign of divine concern that we know of; no Israelite prophet was sent to save it then.
The question naturally arises whether there could have been some special reason for preserving that particular Empire at that particular time. Might the LORD have been considering some practical application of Assyrian power?
Could the Divine intervention have been aimed mainly at preserving Assyria for its future role vis-a-vis Israel? Even in its weakness, Assyria was the strongest power of its day -- certainly strong enough to push Israel around. Already it extended to Lebanon just north of Israel. This may be the import of the explanation given to Jonah in the last line of this very short book, when YEHOVAH refers to
...Nineveh that great city wherein are more than 120,000 persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand and also much cattle. (Jonah 4:11)
What does this statement mean? It makes little sense to pick out Nineveh for salvation just because there were a lot of ignorant people living there.
Such people were plentiful almost everywhere -- the Babylonians for instance were just as unenlightened and more numerous. And this interpretation completely breaks down when it is applied to the cattle. Was Jonah sent to save the beasts because of their large number?!?
The explanation is much easier to understand if we recognize that manpower was a yardstick of military strength in that era, and livestock a measure of wealth.
YEHOVAH God may have valued Assyria for the strength and resources which could be used to move Israelites around. For this kind of rough work its ignorance may also have been an asset: an ignorant giant.
And why was Jonah so upset about his mission? Why did he desperately try to sail away in the opposite direction? To understand the book in depth you really have to focus on the emotion. If Jonah had come only to be a blessing to the gentiles as most commentators suggest, why would he be so distressed when he saw the Assyrians repenting? Why not be encouraged by the sight? What wrenched from his heart such a cry of anguish?
Therefore now O Lord take I beseech thee my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live! (Jonah 4:3)
This protest is about as strong as anyone can make. Did the success of his mission terrify him because he was so frightened of Assyrian power? Did he mortally fear that it would be used against Israel? Such an interpretation better fits the facts in the book of Jonah.
YEHOVAH's concern for the gentiles is taken up in other places in the Bible, but it is not the main concern in the book of Jonah. The book is about accepting YEHOVAH God's leadership even when you don't understand it.
This purpose is further illustrated to Jonah when YEHOVAH God has a gourd plant grow up to give him temporary shade from the burning sun. The next day a worm is sent to destroy it. (Jonah 4:6-7) Note that Jonah was "glad of the gourd," because of its utilitarian value -- it was "a shade over his head." Similarly, he became "angry for the gourd" (v. 9), because he had been deprived of its utility -- "the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted" (v. 8). Is this not a graphic illustration of the overall theme of this book? YEHOVAH had raised Assyria up for a specific purpose -- the conquest and exile of the Israelites, and He desired to spare the Empire until that purpose could be accomplished. These events may seem like frightful disasters; but they were part of YEHOVAH's plan for Israel prepared long in advance. There is a grand design.
Why the Assyrians Deported People
Another characteristic of the Empire that would make it useful in YEHOVAH God's plan was its practice of exiling subject peoples. More lenient than the Romans, the Assyrians did not massacre rebels. They were likely to impale the leaders, but the rest of the people just got transferred. Assyrian official texts give the names of hundreds of localities from or to which rebel populations were exiled.
The practice had been going on for centuries, more widely and more frequently in the time of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (middle of the 8th to middle of the 7th centuries B.C.E.). This was just the period when the Empire reached its greatest extent, bringing Israel under its sway. Since the Israelites were suspected of trying to recover their independence (II Kings 17:4), exile was the natural consequence.
Actually deportation meant only a change of location, not a change of ethnic identity. The Empire was not a melting pot of nations. The Assyrian authorities recognized and preserved the identity of the peoples which they led away. Social and military strength was fostered by keeping families and communities together. In this way the Assyrians were trying to encourage deported peoples to continue their normal way of life in the lands to which they had been transferred.
The idea was to reduce the temptation to run away. In changed geographical surroundings it was hoped that patriotic longings for the homeland would weaken, so that loyalty to the Empire might take its place. In their new homes farmers received allotments of land. Some were put into labor battalions for public works, and many were conscripted for military service. Others continued their previous occupations as artisans, scribes, and so forth.
The good life that the Assyrians were offering was explained by one of their officials during the siege of Jerusalem. What he said was,
Make an agreement with me ... until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil and of honey, that ye may live and not die. (II Kings 18:31-32)
Today we know he was telling the truth. Actually, the Jerusalemites were able to reject this particular offer (II Kings 19:35-36), but elsewhere in Israel many people were compelled to go. Apparently what they found was satisfactory.
How satisfactory may be seen in the size and durability of the Israelite colony in Assyria; it lasted centuries after the Empire had passed away. When the descendants got a chance to return to Israel they nearly all chose to remain.
continued
During the centuries of its long existence the Assyrian Empire had its ups and downs. We now know that the first half of the 8th century B.C.E. was one of the downs; threatened from without, divided within, the Empire was in danger of collapse.
The visit of the prophet Jonah to Nineveh, later the capital of Assyria, came at just the right time. His message of repentance (Jonah 3:4) was heard and the city was saved. Then in the second half of the 8th century the resurgent Empire turned around and conquered Israel, deporting most of its citizens. Was that fair or just? When YEHOVAH God sent an Israelite prophet to save the Assyrians from destruction, was it planned that they would then turn against His nation?
Most Biblical commentators, unaware of the chronology, have totally ignored the question. They have simply seen in the story of Jonah an expression of YEHOVAH's concern for gentiles.
Certainly YEHOVAH God has repeatedly given evidence of such concern, e.g., in the promise to Abraham that all the families of the Earth would be blessed through him. (Genesis 12:3) But the time had not yet come for that blessing to the gentiles to be fulfilled. And Jonah's mission appears far too unique to be reduced into that framework. After all, gentile empires have risen and fallen many times in history.
Yet this is the only occasion on which an Israelite prophet was ever sent to save one, or to save any other gentile institution for that matter. Indeed the Assyrian Empire itself collapsed in the following century without any sign of divine concern that we know of; no Israelite prophet was sent to save it then.
The question naturally arises whether there could have been some special reason for preserving that particular Empire at that particular time. Might the LORD have been considering some practical application of Assyrian power?
Could the Divine intervention have been aimed mainly at preserving Assyria for its future role vis-a-vis Israel? Even in its weakness, Assyria was the strongest power of its day -- certainly strong enough to push Israel around. Already it extended to Lebanon just north of Israel. This may be the import of the explanation given to Jonah in the last line of this very short book, when YEHOVAH refers to
...Nineveh that great city wherein are more than 120,000 persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand and also much cattle. (Jonah 4:11)
What does this statement mean? It makes little sense to pick out Nineveh for salvation just because there were a lot of ignorant people living there.
Such people were plentiful almost everywhere -- the Babylonians for instance were just as unenlightened and more numerous. And this interpretation completely breaks down when it is applied to the cattle. Was Jonah sent to save the beasts because of their large number?!?
The explanation is much easier to understand if we recognize that manpower was a yardstick of military strength in that era, and livestock a measure of wealth.
YEHOVAH God may have valued Assyria for the strength and resources which could be used to move Israelites around. For this kind of rough work its ignorance may also have been an asset: an ignorant giant.
And why was Jonah so upset about his mission? Why did he desperately try to sail away in the opposite direction? To understand the book in depth you really have to focus on the emotion. If Jonah had come only to be a blessing to the gentiles as most commentators suggest, why would he be so distressed when he saw the Assyrians repenting? Why not be encouraged by the sight? What wrenched from his heart such a cry of anguish?
Therefore now O Lord take I beseech thee my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live! (Jonah 4:3)
This protest is about as strong as anyone can make. Did the success of his mission terrify him because he was so frightened of Assyrian power? Did he mortally fear that it would be used against Israel? Such an interpretation better fits the facts in the book of Jonah.
YEHOVAH's concern for the gentiles is taken up in other places in the Bible, but it is not the main concern in the book of Jonah. The book is about accepting YEHOVAH God's leadership even when you don't understand it.
This purpose is further illustrated to Jonah when YEHOVAH God has a gourd plant grow up to give him temporary shade from the burning sun. The next day a worm is sent to destroy it. (Jonah 4:6-7) Note that Jonah was "glad of the gourd," because of its utilitarian value -- it was "a shade over his head." Similarly, he became "angry for the gourd" (v. 9), because he had been deprived of its utility -- "the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted" (v. 8). Is this not a graphic illustration of the overall theme of this book? YEHOVAH had raised Assyria up for a specific purpose -- the conquest and exile of the Israelites, and He desired to spare the Empire until that purpose could be accomplished. These events may seem like frightful disasters; but they were part of YEHOVAH's plan for Israel prepared long in advance. There is a grand design.
Why the Assyrians Deported People
Another characteristic of the Empire that would make it useful in YEHOVAH God's plan was its practice of exiling subject peoples. More lenient than the Romans, the Assyrians did not massacre rebels. They were likely to impale the leaders, but the rest of the people just got transferred. Assyrian official texts give the names of hundreds of localities from or to which rebel populations were exiled.
The practice had been going on for centuries, more widely and more frequently in the time of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (middle of the 8th to middle of the 7th centuries B.C.E.). This was just the period when the Empire reached its greatest extent, bringing Israel under its sway. Since the Israelites were suspected of trying to recover their independence (II Kings 17:4), exile was the natural consequence.
Actually deportation meant only a change of location, not a change of ethnic identity. The Empire was not a melting pot of nations. The Assyrian authorities recognized and preserved the identity of the peoples which they led away. Social and military strength was fostered by keeping families and communities together. In this way the Assyrians were trying to encourage deported peoples to continue their normal way of life in the lands to which they had been transferred.
The idea was to reduce the temptation to run away. In changed geographical surroundings it was hoped that patriotic longings for the homeland would weaken, so that loyalty to the Empire might take its place. In their new homes farmers received allotments of land. Some were put into labor battalions for public works, and many were conscripted for military service. Others continued their previous occupations as artisans, scribes, and so forth.
The good life that the Assyrians were offering was explained by one of their officials during the siege of Jerusalem. What he said was,
Make an agreement with me ... until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil and of honey, that ye may live and not die. (II Kings 18:31-32)
Today we know he was telling the truth. Actually, the Jerusalemites were able to reject this particular offer (II Kings 19:35-36), but elsewhere in Israel many people were compelled to go. Apparently what they found was satisfactory.
How satisfactory may be seen in the size and durability of the Israelite colony in Assyria; it lasted centuries after the Empire had passed away. When the descendants got a chance to return to Israel they nearly all chose to remain.
continued