1 mar 824 ano antes da era comum - Jonah Travels to Assyria

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EXAMINATION OF ANACHRONISMS IN BIBLICAL AND ASSYRIAN CHRONOLOGIES by Gerard Gertoux

According to the account of Šamši-Adad V (823-811), his brother Aššur-danin-pal was King of Nineveh during a short period of rebellion (824-823) after the death of Shalmaneser III, in 824 BCE, exactly at the time when Jonah met the king of Nineveh (Jonah 3:6) at the beginning of Jeroboam II’s reign (823-782) as King of Israel (2Ki 14:23-25). The mention of “king of Nineveh”, instead of “king of Assyria”, is unique in the Bible as well as in Assyrian records.

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JONAH VS KING OF NINEVEH: HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE by Gerard Gertoux

When Jonah came to Assyria, the situation was this: the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III who resided in the new capital Kalhu148 was dying, his son Shamshi-Adad was commissioned, as new crown prince, to quell the revolt headed by his brother Assur-danin-pal who headed 27 cities including the renowned Nineveh. Shamshi-Adad V recalls this event in his inscriptions: Where [my brother] Aššur-danin-pal, in the time of Shalmaneser, his father, acted wickedly, bringing about sedition, rebellion, and wicked plotting, caused the land to rise in revolt, prepared for war, brought the people of Assyria, north and south, to his side, and made bold speeches, brought the cities into the rebellion and set his face to begin strife and battle [...] 27 cities, along with their fortifications [...] revolted against Shalmaneser, king of the four regions of the world, my father, and [...] had gone to the side of Aššur-danin-apli. Thus, the rebellious brother succeeded in bringing to his side 27 important cities, including Nineveh (the rebellion lasted until 822).

The title “king of Nineveh” in Jonah 3:6-7 is unique in the Bible, the usual title being “king of Assyria” (which is used 92 times in the OT), and designates a high representative of the King like a Crown Prince151. The Biblical text is generally accurate with regard to titles: All the princes [sarim] of the provinces, the satraps [aḥšdarpenim], the governors [paḥot] and the king's [melek] administrators [o’sim] helped the Jews (Est 9:3). However, some Assyrian princes, not governors (2Ki 18:23-24), are also called kings (Is 10:8). For example, the king of Assyria and his crown prince are both described as "kings of Assyria" (Is 31:18). Thus the phrase "king of Nineveh" points out correctly the former crown prince Aššur-danin-pal in 824.
This period of crisis, in addition, was marked by a total solar eclipse (visible at Tel Barsip on 3 April 824 BCE)152 just at the beginning (1st Nisan) of the final year of the reign of Shalmaneser III. It is understandable that in such a dramatic context (insurgencies in rehearsals, sinister total solar eclipse on Til-Barsip the military capital of the empire, death of King Shalmaneser III, a fierce conqueror), the dire prediction of Jonah was taken seriously into account by Assyrian kings (superstitious for the most), including those of Nineveh, the religious capital of the Empire (Na 3:1,4). The fact of declaring a “national mourning” to ward off bad luck was not implausible, on the contrary. Even the strange "animals mourning" (Jon 3:8) is confirmed by Herodotus (The Histories IX:24). The repentance of the Ninevites has only delayed two centuries its fulfilment (Na 3:7-8)153. Jonah's mission was a success since Assyrian expansionism to the Mediterranean coast ceased, at least for 80 years. Jonah's mission is difficult to date exactly, but presumably it ended with the summer solstice (July 1 at that time) because it is stated: When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint (Jon 4:8). As Jonah proclaimed his message for 40 days (Jon 3:4) and he would have needed 40 days more to travel (by road) the 1,200 kilometres between Joppa and Nineveh, he had to have received his mission around March. In this case, the death of Shalmaneser III would have coincided with the beginning of his mission, that likely impressed the people of Nineveh.

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