The sign of Jonah in Matthew and Luke-Acts

Thesis

The thesis challenges prevailing scholarly views on the Sign of Jonah (Matt 12:38–42; 16:1–4, Luke 11:29–32), arguing it is more important for both Matthew and Luke-Acts than conventionally recognized. That importance consists in (1) the extent of its influence and (2) its kerygmatic centrality. Contrary to existing scholarship that regards Jonah’s Sign as fundamentally condemnatory, Luke and Matthew understand it as a positive sign designed to provoke Israel to repentance.

The thesis adopts a synthetic approach, examining for the first time the complete range of Jonah’s influence throughout Matthew and Luke-Acts, including explicit references and literary allusions. This broader range of New Testament Jonah texts is systematically contextualized within ancient Jewish reception of Jonah, including the neglected Ps.-Philonic homily De Jona.

The investigation reveals that ancient Jewish interpreters of Jonah typically (1) foreground the divine mercy’s responsiveness to repentance; (2) understand Nineveh’s salvation as affirming rather than subverting Israel’s election; and (3) integrate Jonah’s deliverance into the whole narrative. A striking pattern also emerges across multiple sources linking Jonah’s deliverance to the Red Sea crossing.

For Luke-Acts, the Sign of Jonah unfolds as a scripturally ordained sequence: suffering, resurrection on the third day, and the subsequent proclamation of repentance to all nations. Jonah uniquely performs in order these three actions attributed to the Messiah’s scriptural vocation (Luke 24:44–47). For Matthew, the Sign is clearly the Son of Man’s burial in the earth’s heart for three days and nights. It addresses his “scribes and Pharisees” in particular. Both Evangelists’ Storm Stilling pericopes foreshadow their distinctive versions of Jonah’s Sign, further illustrating its kerygmatic centrality (Matt 8:23–27; Luke 8:22–25).

Reception-historical analysis robustly attests these key exegetical findings. Yet, the study also refutes assertions that Matthew and Luke are responsible for later anti-Jewish readings of Jonah.

Authors: Brown, JT

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-jb7gg59od
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: early Jewish-Christian relations; Sign of Jonah; Matthew; Acts; Patristics; Jonah; Second Temple Judaism; Luke; reception history
• Subjects: Theology; Christian literature, Early; Relation to the Old Testament; Bible. New Testament; Religion