Jonah, son of Amittai
The name Jonah means “or Jonas, a dove; he that oppresses; destroyer.” Jonah is mentioned in 24 verses of the Bible, first in 2 Kings 14:25. Also called Jonas.
Family of Jonah
Father
Who was Jonah?
A dove, the son of Amittai of Gath-hepher. He was a prophet of Israel, and predicted the restoration of the ancient boundaries (2 Kings 14:25-27) of the kingdom. He exercised his ministry very early in the reign of Jeroboam II., and thus was contemporary with Hosea and Amos; or possibly he preceded them, and consequently may have been the very oldest of all the prophets whose writings we possess. His personal history is mainly to be gathered from the book which bears his name. It is chiefly interesting from the two-fold character in which he appears, (1) as a missionary to heathen Nineveh, and (2) as a type of the “Son of man.”
Biography adapted from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), public domain, linked via Theographic Bible Metadata.
Key verses about Jonah
- 2 Kings 14:25
He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gath–hepher.
- Jonah 1:1
Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
- Jonah 2:1
Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly,
- Matthew 12:40
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
- Matthew 16:4
A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
- Luke 11:29
And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.
Timeline of Jonah's life
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 824 BC | Prophecies of Jonah |