Jonah: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries)

An innovative translation and commentary on the book of Jonah by a trio of award-winning scholars
 
The book of Jonah, which tells the outlandish story of a disobedient prophet swallowed by a great fish, is one of the Bible’s best-known narratives. This tale has fascinated readers for millennia and has inspired countless interpretations.
 
This commentary features a new translation of Jonah as well as an introduction outlining the major interpretive issues in the text. The introduction traces the composition history of the book, paying special attention to the psalm in the second chapter; and the authors explore new theories surrounding the time and place where Jonah delivers his message to Nineveh, as well as the city’s act of repentance. In addition to these features, this volume draws on a variety of critical approaches to biblical literature—including affect theory, animal studies, performance criticism, postcolonial criticism, psychological criticism, spatial theory, and trauma theory—to reveal the book’s many interpretive possibilities. An updated treatment of Jonah’s reception history includes analyses of the story in religious traditions, art and literature, and popular culture.

Rhiannon Graybill is professor of religious studies and Marcus M. & Carole M. Weinstein and Gilbert M. & Fannie S. Rosenthal Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of Richmond. John Kaltner is associate professor of religious studies and Virginia Ballou McGehee Professor of Muslim-Christian Relations at Rhodes College. Steven L. McKenzie is professor of Hebrew Bible and Old Testament and Spence L. Wilson Senior Research Fellow at Rhodes College.