Texts

Book of Jonah | New Testament mentions | Koran | Book of Jonah, academic commentaries | Book of Jonah, summaries | Retellings

Book of Jonah

The Jewish Publication Society's Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, with an introduction on its place within Yom Kippur observances.

New American Bible (Catholic), with a few footnotes. The introduction takes issue with the "particularistic spirit of many in the postexilic community."

Sceptics Annotated Bible, with helpful "annotations" like "absurdities," "contradictions," etc. Half of the annotations are just silly[1]

Translation by Richard E. Young. The feature here are the numbers by repeated words, allowing a Hebrew-less reader to grasp the intricate word-play and repetitions. From Young's Jonah: Images and Implications.

Other versions: New International Version, Revised Standard Version, King James Version, Vulgate (Latin), PDF: Septuagint (Greek).

New Testament mentions

New American Bible: Matthew 12.38ff,16.4 and parallel passages of Luke 11.29-32. The footnote to Matt. 12.40 reconstructs the version of Q (what Matt. and Luke share, and presumably their common source):

"While in Q the sign was simply Jonah's preaching to the Ninevites (Luke 11:30, 32), Matthew here adds Jonah's sojourn in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, a prefigurement of Jesus' sojourn in the abode of the dead and, implicitly, of his resurrection."

Koran

Koran (Marmaduke Pickthall translation): 37:139-148, 10:98, 21:87–88

Book of Jonah, academic commentaries

Amazon. Anchor Bible: Jonah by Jack M. Sassoon. Translation and commentary. Sassoon dates the Book of Jonah to the second or first century BC. From the inside flap:

"Author Jack M. Sasson employs the very latest information in biblical scholarship to interpret the many nuances in Jonah's seemingly simple story. Providing Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Aramaic, and, occasionally, Syriac and Arabic translations, this work is an exciting addition to the world-acclaimed Anchor Bible commentaries."

Amazon. Jewish Publication Society Commentary on Jonah by Uriel Simon.

"Simon's work provides a critical line-by-line commentary of the biblical text, which is presented in its original Hebrew, complete with vocalization and cantillation marks, as well as the 1985 JPS English translation. Dr. Simon also provides a scholarly introduction, extensive bibliographic and critical notes, and other explanatory material."

Book of Jonah, summaries

The shortest summary on the web courtesy Catholic Doors Ministry.

Jonah by Hampton Keathley, IV. Summary from a literalist point-of-view (Bible.org).

Retellings and adaptations

Retelling by Allen Harris (In Touch Mysteries), getting at "what Jonah might have felt, thought, or experienced as he went through such a shocking ordeal."

Excellent interpretive summary from the Orthodox Church in America, Department of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry. Summary fills in the gaps nicely, eg.

"After this, Jonah had learned that some men who worshiped idols were kind and were loved by the Lord. This was the lesson that God wanted Jonah to learn, and now that he knew this, the Lord called Jonah again."

Other texts

Methodius of Olympus, a fragment on Jonah from the lost Book on the Resurrection. Allegorical interpretation. Translated by William R. Clark, 1849. See the Catholic Encyclopedia for info on this early martyr (d. 311).