Jonah in the Shadows of Eden (Indiana Studies in Biblical Literature)

Yitzhak Berger advances a distinctive and markedly original interpretation of the biblical book of Jonah that resolves many of the ambiguities in the text. Berger contends that the Jonah text pulls from many inner-biblical connections, especially ones relating to the Garden of Eden. These connections provide a foundation for Berger's reading of the story, which attributes multiple layers of meaning to this carefully crafted biblical book. Focusing on Jonah's futile quest and his profoundly troubled response to God's view of the sins of humanity, Berger shows how the book paints Jonah as a pacifist no less than as a moralist.

Yitzhak Berger is Associate Professor and Head of the Hebrew Division at Hunter College of the City University of New York. He is author of Radak on Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary.