consequently their submission to the will of the Lord and their great reverence for Him do not constitute a turning back from sin. Jonah does indeed sin, but his prayer from the belly of the fish is quite devoid of contrition, while his silence at the end of the book leaves the extent of his change outside the narrative. Most importantly, the attempts by Kaufmann (ibid.) and Bickerman (p. 41) to interpret the prophet’s protest against the divine attributes of compassion, mercy, and repenting of evil