Jonah, Introduction to Technical Notes

Jonah

Introduction

It is exceedingly tedious to repeat common words.  We will encounter the following words in Jonah, which will not be referenced unless a special instance requires doing so:

καὶ,

adverb (additionally, also, as well as, moreover, too) or conjunction (and), indeclensionate from καί: and; additionally, also, as well as, moreover, too.  Και is a basic start-stop with a wide variety of nuances, commonly expressing vav consecutive, vav continuo, or vav conversive, often retaining the Hebrew idiom, in which case it should usually be left untranslated in English unless a particular nuance must be expressed, since English idiom deplores run-on sentences connected with and.  It occurs too frequently to bother to count.

κύριος,

·      κύριε, noun, masculine vocative singular

·      κύριον, noun, masculine accusative singular

·      κυρίου, noun, masculine genitive singular

·      κύριος, noun, masculine nominative singular

·      κυρίῳ, noun, masculine dative singular

κύριος, -ου: lord; especially when capitalized, the translation of the tetragrammaton, YHWH; when un-capitalized, designating one’s male ancestor, father, husband, king, leader, master, mentor, owner, ruler, superior, teacher, tutor.  The female counterpart, κυρία, -ας: lady is not used in Jonah.  Another word not found in Jonah is a word for empire or kingdom, κυριεία, -ας, which is feminine as well.  1:1, 3, 3, 4, 9, 9, 10, 14, 14, 14, 16, 16; 2:1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11; 3:1, 3; 4:2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10 – 26x.

πρὸς,

adjective (beside), adverb (almost, near, nearly) or preposition (before), indeclensionate from πρός: before; spatially in the sense of face-to-face, rather than previously, which would be πρό, a closely related word); to, toward; temporally, about, at, before, impending, near, now.  1:1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14; 2:2, 3, 5, 7, 8; 3:1, 2, 6, 8; 4:2, 4, 9 – 24x; also used as a prefix 1:3, 3, 6, 10; 2:1, 2, 5, 8, 11; 3:2; 4:2, 6, 7, 8 – 15x (see also the very similar πρό 4:2).

Ἰωνᾶς,

·      Ἰωνᾶ, noun, masculine genitive singular

·      Ἰωνᾶν, noun, masculine accusative singular

·      Ἰωνᾶς, noun, masculine nominative singular

Ἰωνᾶς, -ᾶ: capitalized, the proper noun, Jonah; it has no other meaning in Greek.

However Jonah is a nearly exact transliteration of the Hebrew, Yonah, which does mean dove: different pointing would derive from a (possibly) different stem meaning to oppress, vex, dispossess, drive out.  Even though we have a resulting noun without a verb stem, it is usually translated dove, 22 times, or pigeon, 10 times; it has one unknown use in the title of Psalm 56; otherwise it seems to be Jonah’s name.  Hosea 11:11 has the unusual expression, “dove from Assyria,” which may be a double entendre reference to Jonah, the prophet who came back from Assyria: Amos and Hosea are contemporaries of Jonah.  There is another, rare, Hebrew word for dove or pigeon, gozal (Genesis 15:9; Deuteronomy 32:11).

On the other hand, the Greek word for dove or pigeon is περιστερά (Genesis 8:8, 9, 10, 11, 12; Leviticus 5:7, 11; 12:6, 8; 14:22, 30; 15:14, 29; Numbers 6:10; 2 Kings 6:25; Psalm 54 (55):6; 67 (68):13; Song of Solomon 1:15; 2:10, 13, 14; 4:1; 5:2, 12; 6:8 (9); Hosea 7:11; 11:11; Nahum 2:7 (8); Zephaniah 3:1; Isaiah 38:14; 59:11; 60:8; Jeremiah 31 (48): 28; Ezekiel 7:16; Matthew 3:16; 10:16; 21:12).

So, if the meaning dove has theological importance, it seems strange that the Jewish translator did not draw attention to this when translating the Hebrew into Greek: circa 200 BC it was merely a name.  We must beware of reading into the biblical text, mystical meanings which neither the translator, nor the ancient fathers and mothers support.  1:1, 3, 5, 7, 12, 15; 2:1, 1, 2, 11; 3:1, 3, 4; 4:1, 4, 5, 6, 6, 8, 9 – 20x.

The definite article, ὁ, ἡ, τό: the.

Singular: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative       Plural: nominative, etc.

·      Masculine:    ὁ, τοῦ, τῷ, τόν       οἱ, τῶν, τοῖς, τούς

·      Feminine:     ἡ, τῆς, τῇ, τήν        αἱ, τῶν, ταῖς, τάς

·      Neuter:          τό, τοῦ, τῷ, τό       τά, τῶν, τοῖς, τά

Again, far too many to count.

λέγω, the irregular verb

·      εἶπα, verb, aorist active indicative, first person singular

·      εἶπαν, verb, aorist active indicative, third person plural

·      εἶπε(ν), verb, aorist active indicative, third person singular

·      εἶπον, verb, aorist active indicative, first person singular or third person plural

·      ἐρρέθη, verb, aorist passive indicative, third person singular

·      λέγοντες, verb, present active participle, masculine accusative plural

·      λέγων, verb, present active participle, masculine nominative singular

λέγω, λέγειν, εἶπον, or εἰπεῖν: speak, or say; usually introducing a direct quotation.  1:1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14; 2:3, 5; 3:1, 4, 7, 7, 8; 4:2, 4, 8, 9, 9, 10 – 22x (see ἐπiλέγω).

εἰς,

preposition, indeclensionate of εἰς: in or into; more than approach, rather enter; anticipating some act of entrance in the verb.  1:2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 12, 15; 2:4, 6, 7, 8, 10; 3:2, 3, 4; 4: 2 – 20x.

Νινευὴ,

noun, feminine nominative singular, indeclensionate from Νινευή: a proper name, Nineveh.  1:2; 3:2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; 4:11 – 9x.

ἐν,

preposition, indeclensionate of ἐν: in; the state of being among; to.  1:2, 4, 5, 7, 8; 2:1, 3, 8; 3:2, 7, 8; 4:2, 11 – 13x.

The third person personal, or reflexive pronoun, αὐτός, -ή, -όν: he, she, it, him, her, his, her, hers, its; they, them, their, theirs; self.

Singular: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative       Plural: nominative, etc.

·      Masculine:    αὐτός, αὐτοῦ, αὐτῷ, αὐτόν
                     αὐτοί, αὐτῶν, αὐτοῖς, αὐτούς

·      Feminine:     αὐτή, αὐτῆς, αὐτῇ, αὐτήν
                     αὐταί, αὐτῶν, αὐταῖς, αὐτάς

·      Neuter:          αὐτό, αὐτοῦ, αὐτῷ, αὐτό
                     αὐτά, αὐτῶν, αὐτοῖς, αὐτά

1:2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 15; 2:2, 7, 9; 3:2, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 10, 10; 4:5, 6, 6, 6, 8, 10, 10, 11, 11 – 43x.

The demonstrative pronoun, οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο: that, this.

Singular: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative       Plural: nominative, etc.

·      Masculine:    οὗτος, τούτου, τούτῳ, τοῦτον
                     οὗτοι, τούτων, τούτοις, τούτους

·      Feminine:[1]    αὕτη, ταύτης, ταύτῃ, ταύτην
                     αὗταί, τούτων, ταύταις, ταύτας

·      Neuter:          τοῦτο, τούτου, τούτῳ, τοῦτο
                     ταῦτα, τούτων, τούτοις, ταῦτα

1:7, 8, 10, 12; 4:2 – 5x.

The first person personal pronoun, ἐγώ: I, me, my, mine; we, us, our, ours.

Singular: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative       Plural: nominative, etc.  Note: singular syllable words frequently drop the accent; with pronouns the accent is often absorbed by the previous word.

·      Genderless:   ἐγώ, (ἐ)μοῦ, (ἐ)μοί, (ἐ)μέ
                     ἡμεῖς, ἡμῶν, ἡμῖν, ἡμᾶς

1:2; 9, 9, 12, 12, 12, 12, 2:3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8; 2:5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 8, 10, 10; 3:2; 4:2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 8, 8, 9, 11 – 44 x.

Θαρσὶς,

noun, masculine nominative singular, indeclensionate from Θαρσὶς: the proper noun Tarshish, a real city[2]; possibly meaning courageous in Greek; a Hebrew word meaning beryl, or precious stone, direct transliteration.  1:3, 3, 3: 4:2 – 4x

ἐκ, ἐξ,

preposition, indeclensionate of ἐκ, ἐξ: out of, forth, from; separation from; emphasizing the source of separation.  1:3, 3, 8, 10, 15; 2:2, 3, 5, 7; 3:1, 9; 4:5 – 12x (see ἀπό for contrast).

Ἰόππην,

noun, feminine accusative singular from Ἰόππη, -ης: the proper noun Joppa.  1:3 – 1x.

θεός,

·      θεὸν, noun, masculine accusative singular

·      θεὸς, noun, masculine nominative singular

·      θεῷ, noun, masculine dative singular

θεός, -οῦ: god, idol; when Capitalized, the living God; one who judges or provides; a king, judge, parent, superior.  1:5, 6, 6, 9; 2:2, 3, 7; 3:3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 10; 4:6, 7, 8, 9 – 17x.

ἀπ᾿, ἀπό,

preposition, indeclensionate of ἀπό: from; emphasizing the distance of separation.  1:5; 2:8; 3:5, 6, 8, 8, 10; 4:3, 6 – 9x; also used as a prefix 1:6, 8, 10, 14; 2:4, 5, 10; 3:8, 9, 9, 10; 4:3, 5, 5, 7, 8, 10 – 17x (see ἐκ, ἐξ for contrast).

The second person personal pronoun, συ: you, your, yours, (archaic) thine.

Singular: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative       Plural: nominative, etc.  Note: singular syllable words frequently drop the accent; with pronouns the accent is often absorbed by the previous word.

·      Genderless:   συ, σοῦ, σοί, σε
                     ὑμεῖς, ὑμῶν, ὑμῖν, ὑμᾶς

1:6, 6, 8, 11, 12, 12; 2:4, 4, 5, 5, 8, 8, 10, 10; 3:2; 4:2, 9, 10 – 18x

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[1] The demonstrative is presented here to emphasize the close resemblance between the feminine demonstrative and the feminine personal/reflexive.  There are other demonstrative forms that we will not examine here.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Stone

[3] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.  No rights are reserved.  They are designed and intended for your free participation.  They were freely received, and are freely given.  No other permission is required for their use.