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I like medieval art. I went to look for images of Jonah and his sea creature, and came up with this one.
I don't know any Greek, but I can sort of sound out the bit that's his name (twice). It is interesting that he has a halo - he was such a regular guy, the opposite of saintly. I was told once that at least one interpretation was it written as deliberate satire. I am aware that his story shows up on Yom Kippur because he repented and turned back to God rather than running away any more, but that isn't always the part that sticks with me. During a news story in the early 2000s, about an election in Iraq, I was knocked back by the mention of a ballot box in Nineveh, which had been tampered with. Not a big Faulkner fan, but he was right - "The past isn't dead - it isn't even past."
Also suddenly remembering the scene in "Wit," in which the beloved mentor of the main character reads "The Runaway Bunny" for the first time, and claims with delight that it's an allegory of "man and God." I disagree about the RB, but I think maybe the point of the story of Jonah is that God won't let someone run away. Even if God is a bit of a jerk about it.
I don't know any Greek, but I can sort of sound out the bit that's his name (twice). It is interesting that he has a halo - he was such a regular guy, the opposite of saintly. I was told once that at least one interpretation was it written as deliberate satire. I am aware that his story shows up on Yom Kippur because he repented and turned back to God rather than running away any more, but that isn't always the part that sticks with me. During a news story in the early 2000s, about an election in Iraq, I was knocked back by the mention of a ballot box in Nineveh, which had been tampered with. Not a big Faulkner fan, but he was right - "The past isn't dead - it isn't even past."
Also suddenly remembering the scene in "Wit," in which the beloved mentor of the main character reads "The Runaway Bunny" for the first time, and claims with delight that it's an allegory of "man and God." I disagree about the RB, but I think maybe the point of the story of Jonah is that God won't let someone run away. Even if God is a bit of a jerk about it.
