Jonah 3:4

The traditional view holds that after Jonah arrived at the edge of the city he proceeded into it and began announcing his message during his first day there. [Note: Ellison, "Jonah," p. 381; Keil, 1:405.] Alternatively, he may have done his first day’s preaching to the king and perhaps also to some of the people. The essence of his proclamation was that Nineveh would be overthrown in only 40 days. Periods of testing in Scripture were often 40 days long (cf. Genesis 7:17; Exodus 24:18; 1 Kings 19:8; Matthew 4:2). The Septuagint has three instead of 40, but there is no justification for changing the Hebrew text.

Note that Jonah’s message was an announcement of impending doom, not a call to believe in the God of Israel. Jeremiah 18:7-8 explains that prophecies of impending judgment assumed that those under judgment would not repent. If they repented, they might avoid the judgment (cf. Joel 2:12-14). Physical deliverance rather than spiritual salvation was what the people of Nineveh would have wanted. As noted in the introduction to this exposition above, hostile tribes to Nineveh’s north threatened the city.

The same Hebrew word (haphak, overthrown, destroyed) describes the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19:25. Possibly Jonah expected God to destroy Nineveh as He had overthrown Sodom and Gomorrah.

The basic simplicity of Jonah’s message contrasts with the greatness of Nineveh. The word of the Lord is able to change even a complex and sophisticated urban population.