하나님나라를 꿈꾸며(Kingdom of God)

3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to lNineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now lNineveh was an exceedingly great city,1 three days’ journey in breadth.2 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 mAnd the people of Nineveh believed God. nThey called for a fast and oput on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

l See ch. 1:2

l [See ver. 2 above]

1 Hebrew a great city to God

2 Or a visit was a three days’ journey

m [Matt. 12:41; Luke 11:32]

n See 2 Chr. 20:3

o See 2 Sam. 3:31

 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 욘 3:1–5.

3 여호와의 말씀이 두 번째로 요나에게 임하니라 이르시되

2 일어나 저 큰 성읍 니느웨로 가서 내가 네게 명한 바를 그들에게 선포하라 하신지라

3 요나가 여호와의 말씀대로 일어나서 니느웨로 가니라 니느웨는 사흘 동안 걸을 만큼 하나님 앞에 큰 성읍이더라

4 요나가 그 성읍에 들어가서 하루 동안 다니며 외쳐 이르되 사십 일이 지나면 니느웨가 무너지리라 하였더니

5 니느웨 사람들이 하나님을 믿고 금식을 선포하고 높고 낮은 자를 막론하고 굵은 베 옷을 입은지라

 The Holy Bible: New Korean Revised Version, electronic ed. (South Korea, n.d.), 욘 3:1–5.

1-2절) 물고기 뱃속에서 나온 요나에게 여호와의 말씀이 두번째로 임하였다. 앞서 1:1-2의 내용이 첫번째 임한 말씀이었다. 첫번째 하나님의 명령을 거부하고 도망갔던 요나를 돌이키게 하시고 그에게 다시금 말씀을 주심으로 니느웨 사람들에게 회개를 선포할 것에 대한 하나님의 열심을 볼 수 있다. ‘내가 네게 명한 바’는 앞서 1:2에서 이야기한 ‘그 악독이 내 앞에 상달되었음이니라’라는 내용이다. 

1장과 3장의 메시지는 비슷하지만 지금 요나는 엄청나게 많은 경험, 하나님을 불순종하고 도망가다가 물고기 뱃속에서 구원을 받아 다시금 말씀을 받고 있다. 이처럼 하나님께서 두번째 기회를 주신 것이다. 이런 기회가 모두에게 주어지는 것은 아니다. 안타깝게도 본문에서는 앞선 요나의 불순종에 대한 회개의 표현은 없다. 

-  3:1 If we read the Book of Jonah in one sitting, these words will be familiar, for 3:1–2 is strikingly similar to 1:1–2. In a sense Jonah was back to where he began. However, the Jonah in chap. 3 is somewhat different from the person found in chap. 1. Much had happened, and many lessons were learned, but the process of discipleship obviously was not yet complete. The text simply points out that God spoke to Jonah again. There is no mention of reproach for the prophet’s former disobedience. The Lord simply repeated his command. While Jonah had taken quite a detour since the first command, God’s will remained steadfast.

Although God’s word came to Jonah a second time, demonstrating his forbearance and mercy, examples in Scripture show that not everyone has a second chance to do what God has commanded (cf. Gen 3; Num 20:12; 1 Kgs 13:26). However, this text should bring thanksgiving to the heart of every believer who has been given another opportunity to do what God requires. This text, more than anything else, points to God’s sovereignty and his insistence upon the accomplishment of his will. As J. Baldwin has written, “He will not be frustrated by the effrontery of a prophet, nor has he allowed the prophet to wander indefinitely off course.”1

1 J. Baldwin, “Jonah,” in The Minor Prophets: An Exegetical and Expository Commentary, ed. T. E. McComiskey (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993), 2:576.

 Billy K. Smith and Franklin S. Page, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, vol. 19B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 254–255.

2절은 앞선 1:2과 같은 구조, ‘일어나, 가서, 선포하라’라는 세개의 명령을 하고 있다. 하지만 1:2은 요나에게 주어진 사명의 이유에 방점이 있다면 3:2은 구원하시는 여호와의 말씀에 강조가 있다. 하나님의 말씀을 맡은 자는 그 말씀을 변경하거나 가감해서는 안되고 있는 그대로 전해야할 책임이 있다. 

-  3:2 This verse is almost identical to 1:2 except for the final clause (see Introduction, “Structure,” p. 219). It uses the same three imperatives in Hebrew, literally, “Arise, go … proclaim.” But in 1:2 the reason for Jonah’s mission is given, while in 3:2 the stress is on delivering God’s words. Although the precise content of the message Jonah was commanded to preach to this Assyrian city is not yet mentioned, two things are made clear: where he should preach and the source of the message. Jonah was given specific “marching orders” about the destination. He also was reminded that the message would not come from him nor from anyone else, but only from the Lord. His job was to deliver the message, not to critique or revise it.2

2 D. Stuart, Hosea-Jonah, WBC (Dallas: Word, 1987), 482. Another difference in 1:2 and 3:2 is that in 1:2 the verb קרא governs the prepositional phrase עָלֶיהָ, “against it,” which ends the main clause, whereas in 3:2 it governs אֵלֶיהָ, “to it,” followed by the object אֶת־הַקְּרִיאָה, “the proclamation,” with its modifying relative clause. As J. Sasson explains: “The first time around, Nineveh is simply being served with a death warrant. In this case, however, God commissions Jonah with a qerîʾâ; Nineveh, therefore, will receive a specific message from Israel’s god” (Jonah, AB [New York: Doubleday, 1990], 226).

 Billy K. Smith and Franklin S. Page, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, vol. 19B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 255.

3절) 요나가 여호와의 말씀대로 일어나 니느웨로 갔다. 니느웨는 사흘 동안 걸을 만큼 하나님앞에 큰 성읍이었다. 

요나서에서는 반복해서 니느웨를 큰 성읍(1:2, 3:2)로 언급하고 있다. 실제로 니느웨는 사흘 동안 걸을 만큼 물리적으로도 큰 성읍이었고 당시 사회적으로도 매우 중요한 도시였다. 이 사흘 동안 걸을 만큼의 크기라는 것이 도시의 직경이 그정도의 거리라는 의미일 수도 있고 각각의 마을을 이동하며 메시지를 전하는데 걸리는 시간을 의미했을 수도 있다. 

-  The phrase “a very important city” is literally “a city great to God.”5 Most versions have rendered the word meaning “to God” (lēʾlōhîm) as an adverb such as “exceeding” or “very.” L. C. Allen sees this phrase as a striking, biblical way of expressing a superlative by bringing it into relation with God. It is simply saying that Nineveh was “God-sized.”6 Although the word ʾelōhîm may serve in this way elsewhere in Scripture,7 Sasson claims that in such cases it is always paired with a noun, such as “prince of God” in Gen 23:6 or “mountains of God” in Ps 36:6 [Heb., v. 7]. He favors treating the phrase “as a circumlocution whereby ‘the large city’ is said to ‘belong’ to God.” It thus expresses “God’s dominion over the staunchest of Israel’s foes.”8 While a literal rendering “great to God” may be unnecessary, clearly God cared deeply about the Ninevites, whom he had created in his image.9 Therefore he sent this prophet with a message that would ultimately lead to their turning.

Following the phrase “great to God” that modifies “city” is another phrase (literally), “a journey of three days.” While some would dismiss this phrase as part of the general hyperbole or exaggeration of the writer,10 several scholars have shown that it can be understood in a literal sense (see Introduction, “Date,” p. 206). In the first century b.c., Diodorus Siculus correlated all the information received from the fourth-century Ctesias that Nineveh’s total circumference was approximately fifty-five miles. Given this, a three-day journey would be a reasonable trek around the city.11 On the other hand, the Assyrian king Sennacherib (704–681) wrote that he enlarged the circumference of the city of Nineveh from 9,300 to 21,815 cubits, or from about three miles to seven miles.12

But Wiseman has shown that this phrase can relate not only to Nineveh proper but to the entire administrative district of Nineveh. This metropolitan district included also the cities of Assur, Calah (Nimrud), and even Dur-Sharruken (Khorsabad).13 This interpretation is supported by Gen 10:11–12, where “that is the great city” seems to refer to the whole district covered by Nineveh, Rehoboth, Ir, Calah, and Resen.

Regardless of the extent of Nineveh, perhaps the best way of understanding this phrase is as a description of the type of visit Jonah made to the city of Nineveh. As the NIV has translated, Jonah’s visit to Nineveh was a three-day event. Nineveh was a major diplomatic center of the ancient world, and the message God wanted the city to hear could not be shared hastily. For Jonah to have accomplished his mission, he would have had to travel to various sections, speaking to as many groups as possible.14 Such a visit could have taken three days. Another suggestion is that the three-day journey refers to the ancient Oriental practice of hospitality in which a visit required three days. The first day was for arrival, the second for the primary purpose of the visit, and the third for return.15 However the phrase is understood, it does not necessarily refer to the size of the city.

5 D. J. Wiseman has noted that Scripture uses the adjective “great” of only four cities: Babylon (Dan 4:30), Jerusalem (Jer 22:8), Gibeon (Josh 10:2), and Nineveh.

6 Allen, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah, 221.

7 Cf. Joüon and Muraoka, GBH § 142n; Waltke and O’Connor, IBHS § 14.5b.

8 Sasson, Jonah, 228–29.

9 Gaebelein describes the significant cultural attainments of Nineveh, verified by modern archaeology (Servant and Dove, 112–13).

10 Fretheim states that “the author’s purposive use of exaggeration is especially prominent in this chapter” (Message of Jonah, 106).

11 Allen, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah, 221.

12 J. Walton, Jonah, BSC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982), 37.

13 D. J. Wiseman, “Jonah’s Nineveh,” TynBul 30 (1979): 38.

14 Stuart, Hosea-Jonah, 487–88.

15 Wiseman, “Jonah’s Nineveh,” 38.

 Billy K. Smith and Franklin S. Page, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, vol. 19B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 256–258.

4-5절) 이에 요나가 그 성읍에 들어가서 하루 동안 다니며 ‘사십일이 지나면 니느웨가 무너질 것이다’라고 외쳤다. 그러자 니느웨 사람들이 하나님을 믿고 금식을 선포하고 가장 높은 사람에서 낮은 사람에 이르기까지 굵은 베 옷을 입었다. 

앞서 3절에서 니느웨가 사흘 걸을 만큼의 규모의 도시였는데 요나는 고작 하루 동안 다니며 외쳤다. 여전히 요나는 니느웨가 하나님의 말씀을 듣고 회개에 이르는 것이 마음에 들지 않은 것이었다. 

4절에서 무너지리라라는 표현은 하나님이 소돔과 고모라를 멸망시키실 때 사용된 동사이다.(창 19:21, 25, 29) 이는 ‘하파크’로 변하다, 멸하다, 돌아서다,  전복하다라는 의미이다. 

4절만을 읽으면 40일이 지나면 무조건적으로 무너지게 될 것처럼 읽히지만 여기에는 사람들이 회개하면 하나님이 이 뜻을 돌이키실 것이라는 한가지 조건이 숨겨져 있다.(렘 18:7-8) 

예레미야 18:7–8 (NKRV)

7내가 어느 민족이나 국가를 뽑거나 부수거나 멸하려 할 때에

8만일 내가 말한 그 민족이 그의 악에서 돌이키면 내가 그에게 내리기로 생각하였던 재앙에 대하여 뜻을 돌이키겠고

요나는 하나님께서 이러실 것이라는 사실을 알았다.(4:2) 그래서 니느웨 백성들이 회개하고 구원을 받을까봐 적극적으로 하나님의 심판의 메시지를 전하려고 하지 않은 것이다. 

니느웨 사람들은 이 심판의 메시지에 즉각적으로 반응했다. 히브리어 어순에서는 믿다라는 단어가 이 문자의 가장 처음에 등장한다. 이는 회개의 신속성을 강조하는 표현이다. 이들은 하나님을 믿었고 금식을 선호하고 굵은 베옷을 입었다. 이처럼 금식하고 굵은 베옷을 믿는 것은 고대에 강력하게 슬픔을 표현하는 행동이었다.(느 9:1; 에 4:3; 단 9:3) 

-  Believed is the first word in the Hebrew text of the sentence, and the grammar underscores the immediacy of Nineveh’s repentance. To fast and wear sackcloth were ancient demonstrations of mourning (Neh. 9:1; Est. 4:3; Dan. 9:3).

 Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1690.

물고기 뱃속에서 나온 요나가 먼 여정을 통해서 니느웨에 도착하여 그곳에서 ‘사십일이 지나면 니느웨가 무너지리라’라고 선포했다. 이는 히브리어로 단 여섯 단어에 불과하다. 이 짧은 메시지 외에 어떤 메시지를 더했는지는 알 수 없지만 이 기괴한 선지자의 외침을 니느웨 사람들은 듣고 금식하며 굵은 베옷을 믿고 나아온 것이다.