Author: J.W. McGarvey
Publisher: DeWard Publishing Company
Published: 2009 – Originally published as individual essays in The Christian Standard in 1895 and collectively by Standard Publishing in 1896.
ISBN: 978-0-9819703-2-5

It comes as no surprise when atheists and agnostics deny the miraculous events recorded in the Bible. When professing Christians deny such events, however, it is quite alarming. Unfortunately, there are many who consider themselves scholars and theologians that work very hard to discredit the miraculous in the Bible’s narrative. Events such as the flood, the ten plagues, David’s battle with Goliath, and the three Hebrew men and Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace are explained away if not completely denied by Bible critics, religious and non-religious. This is not something new to the 21^st Century. For several centuries, some of the highest theologian minds have critically examined and attempted to dilute the miracles of the Bible. Perhaps this has been done out of a lack of faith. Perhaps it has been done by men seeking approval from other ‘scholars’ that disdain the Bible. Whatever the cause, when so-called scholars deny the truth of the Bible, it causes doubt and shakes the faith of those who listen to them.

One of the most controversial narratives in the Bible is the story of Jonah. A well-known favorite of many, this story is frequently viewed as nothing more than a fairy-tale, fable, or at best an allegory meant to teach a moral lesson, while not actually being an historical event. All too often, even religious minds deny the historicity of Jonah’s tale. Again, this is nothing new. In fact, even in the 1800’s many renowned theologians denied outright that the story of Jonah was an actual historical event. Religious folks that desire to deny the story of Jonah have always had one major obstacle to overcome –Jesus’s own words. In Matthew’s gospel, we find the following account:

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You. But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here (Matthew 12:38-41)

The straightforward interpretation of Matthew is that Jesus viewed the story of Jonah as a real, historical event. Thus, those that deny the story of Jonah must either disagree with Jesus, or else explain what Jesus meant by using Jonah as an example on this occasion. Sadly, instead of simply agreeing with Jesus about the historical nature of Jonah, many ”scholars” have tried to explain away the Lord’s words to fit their viewpoint.

In June of 1895, a religious magazine called the Biblical World published a symposium in which eight religious scholars weighed in on whether Jesus viewed the story of Jonah as historical. One of the eight was none other than J. Henry Thayer, whose scholarly work is known across the world and has helped untold numbers of Bible students. Even so, Thayer and the seven others all held a view that Christ didn’t sanction the book of Jonah as history. In response to this symposium, J.W. McGarvey published three articles in The Christian Standard during the late summer and early fall of 1895. In 1896, these writings were brought together, with an unpublished article on “The Three Days and Three Nights,” and published as one work. Even though the work is now over a century old, it is a great resource for any Bible student who wishes to defend the historicity of the book of Jonah and the Lord’s words regarding the event.

McGarvey’s first article reviewed the eight men and their views as published in the Biblical World symposium. In a very concise and enjoyable way, McGarvey explained their viewpoints, and began pointing out the flaws in their reasoning. McGarvey’s work in this area is very pleasing to read – he refuted the error of the eight scholars in a respectful way, yet in a very pointed way. While there are doubtless other explanations than those offered by the eight scholars out there, McGarvey’s treatment of those should prepare any Bible student to be able to defend the historicity of Jonah and point out the error of trying to explain away Jesus’ words in Matthew 12.

In his second article, McGarvey challenges the “new critical theory as to the origin and character of the Book of Jonah.” To represent that view, McGarvey used Professor S. R. Driver’s comments in his book An Introduction to the Literature of the Old Testament. Professor Driver argued that the book of Jonah gives indications it is not meant as history. Those indications are:

1. The sudden and mass conversion of the Ninevites seems improbable
2. The repentance of the Ninevites didn’t last very long
3. Lack of certain details points to a didactic novel, not a historical record
4. The king of Nineveh is not named

Professor Driver also argued for a very late date of writing for the book of Jonah, based upon linguistic uses in the book and alleged parallel passages from the Psalms. McGarvey does an admirable job of showing even Professor Driver isn’t confident of his argument from linguistics, and McGarvey provides a thorough, case by case evaluation of each alleged parallel. In all, McGarvey quite thoroughly, yet succinctly rebuts Professor Driver’s ideas on Jonah.

McGarvey’s third article focuses on the miraculous nature of the story of Jonah. It seems that some religious folks can accept certain miraculous events (the flood, Jesus healing the blind, etc.) but the story of Jonah is just too farfetched for them to accept as historical. McGarvey works through the entire story of Jonah (a great work in and of itself), pointing out along the way the lessons to be learned and the purpose of the story. As he concludes, McGarvey makes some excellent points from the narrative that indicate it truly is an historical event. If Jonah were a work of fiction, it would be a perplexing one indeed. Why would an Israelite concoct a story about salvation for Ninevites? Or why would someone use a well-known and famous prophet such as Jonah, and write a story that was so unflattering about him? The story just doesn’t make sense if it is a work of fiction. Further, McGarvey points out that between the evidence in the text itself, along with Jesus’ words concerning Jonah, “…that none of supernatural events recorded in the Old Testament are supported by stronger evidence of authenticity than those recorded in the Book of Jonah.” Essentially, if one denies the story of Jonah because it seems too farfetched, then they must also throw out every other miraculous story contained in the Old Testament.

The final chapter in the book is an essay which wasn’t published as a stand-alone article, but as an addition to the others when compiled into one work. In this last article, McGarvey addresses the question that is frequently raised concerning the time frame of “three days and three nights” mentioned by Jesus. This is a helpful section for answering such questions.

Many people are familiar with McGarvey’s commentaries (The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts), but perhaps not as familiar with his other writings. I’ve always enjoyed McGarvey’s commentaries, but I especially enjoyed this collection of writings. It is written in a much different format than a commentary, and is a very enjoyable read. McGarvey was an excellent communicator, and is easy to follow, especially so for someone writing in the late 1800’s. The book is only 72 pages, so it is also a quick read. Despite its brevity, in my mind it fully tackles the question at hand, and is an excellent resource for any student who desires to be equipped to answer questions pertaining to the Book of Jonah and its historicity. Paperback copies can be purchased at Amazon for $7.95 or electronic editions can be obtained for as little as $0.99. Free PDF copies can also be found on the Internet.

Review by: Nate Bibens / natebibens@gmail.com