Book of Jonah

===Early Christian interpretation===

====New Testament====
[[File:Biblia.pauperum.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Christ rises from the tomb, alongside Jonah spit onto the beach, a [[Typology (theology)|typological]] allegory. From a 15th century [[Biblia pauperum]].]]
The earliest Christian interpretations of Jonah are found in the [[Gospel of Matthew]]<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|12:38–42|9}} and {{bibleverse|Matthew|16:1–4}}</ref> and the [[Gospel of Luke]].<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|11:29–32}}</ref> Both Matthew and Luke record a tradition of Jesus' interpretation of the Book of Jonah (notably, Matthew includes two very similar traditions in chapters 12 and 16).

As with most Old Testament interpretations found in the New Testament, the interpretation ascribed to Jesus is primarily [[Typology (theology)|typological]]. Jonah becomes a "type" for Jesus. Jonah spent three days in the belly of the fish; Jesus will spend three days in the tomb. Here, Jesus plays on the imagery of [[Sheol]] found in Jonah's prayer. While Jonah metaphorically declared, "Out of the belly of Sheol I cried," Jesus will literally be in the belly of Sheol. Finally, Jesus compares his generation to the people of Nineveh. Jesus fulfills his role as a type of Jonah, however his generation fails to fulfill its role as a type of Nineveh. Nineveh repented, but Jesus' generation, which has seen and heard one even greater than Jonah, fails to repent. Through his typological interpretation of the Book of Jonah, Jesus has weighed his generation and found it wanting.<ref>Anderson, Joel Edmund. "Jonah in Mark and Matthew: Creation, Covenant, Christ, and the Kingdom of God." Biblical theology bulletin 42.4 (2012): 172-186.</ref>{{rp|174–175; 180}}

====Augustine of Hippo====
The debate over the credibility of the miracle of Jonah is not simply a modern one. The credibility of a human being surviving in the belly of a great fish has long been questioned. In {{circa|409&nbsp;AD}}, [[Augustine of Hippo]] wrote to Deogratias concerning the challenge of some to the miracle recorded in the Book of Jonah. He writes:

{{Blockquote|The last question proposed is concerning Jonah, and it is put as if it were not from Porphyry, but as being a standing subject of ridicule among the Pagans; for his words are:

"In the next place, what are we to believe concerning Jonah, who is said to have been three days in a whale's belly? The thing is utterly improbable and incredible, that a man swallowed with his clothes on should have existed in the inside of a fish. If, however, the story is figurative, be pleased to explain it. Again, what is meant by the story that a gourd sprang up above the head of Jonah after he was vomited by the fish? What was the cause of this gourd's growth?" Questions such as these I have seen discussed by Pagans amidst loud laughter, and with great scorn.|(Letter CII, Section 30)}}

Augustine responds that if one is to question one miracle, then one should question all miracles as well (section 31). Nevertheless, despite his apologetic, Augustine views the story of Jonah as a figure for Christ. For example, he writes: "As, therefore, Jonah passed from the ship to the belly of the [[whale]], so Christ passed from the cross to the sepulchre, or into the abyss of death. And as Jonah suffered this for the sake of those who were endangered by the storm, so Christ suffered for the sake of those who are tossed on the waves of this world." Augustine credits his allegorical interpretation to the interpretation of Christ himself (Matthew 12:39–40), and he allows for other interpretations as long as they are in line with Christ's.
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