What Are They Saying About the Jonah Psalm? An Analysis of the Current Trends in its Interpretation

The aim of this thesis is to examine the current state of the question of the Jonah psalm, particularly its peculiar placement within the prose of the book of Jonah. Its date of composition, rhetorical features, and overall purpose are of specific interest, and are inspected as such. Definitive answers prove elusive in regards to the psalm’s date of composition, as it can be placed, with varying degrees of conviction, between the 8th and 2nd centuries BC. Rhetorical analysis proves more enlightening, as comparing the psalm to the surrounding prose underscores the linguistic and rhetorical synergy between the two, however vague. The overall purpose of the psalm’s placement within the prose produces a number of hypotheses, the most curious of which is the idea that the entire book is a satire of the Old Testament prophetic archetype, and the psalm is used to elucidate the parodic aspects of the story as a whole, perhaps for the purpose of both excoriating and educating those who would be quick to condemn others born outside of the Covenant