before whom I stand …” (ʾăšer ʿāmadti lĕpānāyw, italics added). Elijah expressed what prophets were supposed to do. They stood in attendance before YHWH in the divine council awaiting his orders. Jonah, however, abandoned his station, wishing to renounce the prophetic distinction of standing in the presence of the deity in the divine council. Jonah began his journey by heading to Joppa. Joppa was located almost due west of Jerusalem and served as the main way station for travelers and merchants