Jonah, Nineveh, & Alexander the Great
Here's a fascinating article on archaeological research to find the location of a battle won by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE, probably located in Nineveh, the city to which the Hebrew prophet Jonah was sent.
https://www.triesteallnews.it/2019/04/16/iraq-archeologi-di-udine-scoprono-il-sito-della-battaglia-di-gaugamela/
The book of Jonah is dated as having been written in 4th/5th century BCE (though it references events in the reign of Jeroboam II, 786–746 BC). So the book of Jonah may have been written as a veiled commentary on Alexander's victory there?
This may be old news to Hebrew scripture scholars, but it's a new insight for me, coming at the topic via my interest in the Jonah echo in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
I found this via Mirella Granelli on LinkedIn. Thanks, @Mirella!
In the journal Clio (III, 1974, 111-128), Paul Jorgensen's essay, "Elizabethan ideas of war in Hamlet," contrasts two ways that nations relate to God regarding state corruption: Either God chastises them via war with their enemies, or through repentance, as was the case with Nineveh in the book of Jonah.
That Alexandar was victorious over Nineveh may have been a sign to some of a lack of repentance in the 4th century BCE.
Denmark escapes war when Fortinbras becomes king, and perhaps England does when James becomes king.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
P.S.
We might also note that it was a common opinion, as Jorgensen notes, held later by such public figures as Thomas Jefferson, that a lack of war led to vices of luxury, so a war every so often tended to curb sin and vice; but as Jorgensen notes, repentance from vice and heeding the voices of prophets can be an alternative path.
Shakespeare was certainly familiar with the Renaissance play, A Looking Glass For London and England, and some believe he may even have been a member of an acting company that performed it. This play included a theme of a monarch's incestuous marriage, and of Jonah as a prophet figure, calling the monarch and nation to repentance.
https://www.triesteallnews.it/2019/04/16/iraq-archeologi-di-udine-scoprono-il-sito-della-battaglia-di-gaugamela/
The book of Jonah is dated as having been written in 4th/5th century BCE (though it references events in the reign of Jeroboam II, 786–746 BC). So the book of Jonah may have been written as a veiled commentary on Alexander's victory there?
This may be old news to Hebrew scripture scholars, but it's a new insight for me, coming at the topic via my interest in the Jonah echo in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
I found this via Mirella Granelli on LinkedIn. Thanks, @Mirella!
In the journal Clio (III, 1974, 111-128), Paul Jorgensen's essay, "Elizabethan ideas of war in Hamlet," contrasts two ways that nations relate to God regarding state corruption: Either God chastises them via war with their enemies, or through repentance, as was the case with Nineveh in the book of Jonah.
That Alexandar was victorious over Nineveh may have been a sign to some of a lack of repentance in the 4th century BCE.
Denmark escapes war when Fortinbras becomes king, and perhaps England does when James becomes king.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
P.S.
We might also note that it was a common opinion, as Jorgensen notes, held later by such public figures as Thomas Jefferson, that a lack of war led to vices of luxury, so a war every so often tended to curb sin and vice; but as Jorgensen notes, repentance from vice and heeding the voices of prophets can be an alternative path.
Shakespeare was certainly familiar with the Renaissance play, A Looking Glass For London and England, and some believe he may even have been a member of an acting company that performed it. This play included a theme of a monarch's incestuous marriage, and of Jonah as a prophet figure, calling the monarch and nation to repentance.
Comments
Post a Comment