Most of us know the storm and the fish. But the most surprising thing in the book of Jonah isn't the fish.
A First Light Bible Study: an intermediate, 14-minute study of Jonah 1–4. Bible Study 1 of First Light Bible Stories.
Watch the whole story first (animated, word for word): [JONAH_EPISODE_WATCH_URL]

Six things most of us were never shown in Sunday school: how the book is built in two mirrored halves, five Hebrew words that hold it together, the outsiders who behave like believers, a prayer made of Psalms, the creed Jonah cut short (and the prophet who finished it), and what Jesus meant by "the sign of Jonah". Then what it all means for us, a question to sit with this week, and a closing prayer.

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▶ The whole story of Jonah (animated, word for word): [JONAH_EPISODE_WATCH_URL]
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▶ The whole series, in Bible order (The Bible in Order): [BIBLE_IN_ORDER_PLAYLIST_URL]

💬 Which of these six things was new to you? Tell us in the comments.

IN THIS STUDY
0:00 Introduction
0:57 Who was Jonah? Nineveh and its history
2:47 1. A story in two mirrored halves
3:52 2. Five Hebrew words
6:15 3. The outsiders who believe
7:25 4. A prayer made of Psalms
8:25 5. The creed Jonah cut short
10:54 6. The sign of Jonah
11:57 So what?
12:17 Key verse and reflection
12:58 Prayer
13:23 What's next

VERSES IN THIS STUDY
Jonah 1–4 (including 1:2–3, 1:5–6, 1:13–14, 1:16–17, 2:2–3, 2:6, 2:8–9, 3:3–4, 3:9, 4:2, 4:10–11) · 2 Kings 14:24–27 · Genesis 15:6 · Genesis 19:25 · Exodus 34:6–7 · Psalm 3:8 · Psalm 30:11 · Psalm 31:6 · Psalm 42:7 · Psalm 120:1 · Joel 2:13–14 · Nahum 1:1, 1:3, 3:1, 3:19 · Matthew 12:39–41 · Luke 11:30 · Mark 4:38–41
(Often called "Jonah and the whale"; the Bible itself says "a huge fish", and that's one of the things we look at.)

SOURCES MENTIONED
Phyllis Trible, Rhetorical Criticism: Context, Method, and the Book of Jonah (1994) · Jonathan Magonet, Form and Meaning: Studies in Literary Techniques in the Book of Jonah (1976) · D. J. Wiseman, "Jonah's Nineveh", Tyndale Bulletin 30 (1979)

ABOUT THIS VIDEO
Scripture: World English Bible (WEB), public domain (ebible.org, engwebp edition, which uses "LORD"). Teaching, reflection and prayer are original.
Animated with AI image and video tools; the teacher's voice and character voices are AI-generated. God is never depicted; His presence is shown as light. Music and sound effects are original, made for this channel.

#BibleStudy #Jonah #FirstLightBibleStories