Jonah was an eighth-century BC prophet who lived during the time of Jeroboam II of Israel (2 Kings 14:25). Unlike the other prophetic books, his book is primarily historical narrative,1 without various recorded messages. The only message of the prophet mentioned in the book is terse—just five Hebrew words!—“Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (3:4).2 Although the account repeatedly mentions God’s speaking, only fifty-eight of the book’s 688 words (8.43%) are direct quotation