Is it really feasible that the entire population of Ninevah repented like this? From the preaching of one man?

Critics find it implausible that the entire population of a major Pagan city would repent like this. Is this absurd?

This objection really tells us more about the critic, than it does about the text. The critic rejects the authority of God’s word, so he believes that everyone else does as well. As Paul writes, “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor. 2:14). Yet to the believer, God’s word is “the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).

In addition, Assyria was ripe for a prophetic visitation like this—especially at this particular moment in history. During this period in history, Assyria went into a dark age. They had been in an expansive period before this, but under Ashur-Dan III (771-754 BC) the people were feeling pessimistic and worried about the future of the kingdom. This is because “a serious plague had befallen the city in 765 and a total eclipse of the sun had taken place on June 15, 763. Another plague had followed in 759.”^[1]

Stuart^[2] (drawing on Wiseman[3]) gives several historical precursors to Jonah’s preaching that make a mass repentance plausible. For one, there was a solar eclipse during this time, which was thought to be a bad omen for the nation (June 15, 763 BC). After a solar eclipse, the Enuma Anu Enlil omen texts explain what would happen: “the King will be deposed and killed and a worthless fellow seize the throne… the King will die, rain from heaven will flood the land. There will be famine… A deity will strike the King and fire consume the land… The city walls will be destroyed.”[4]

Second, there were famines, epidemics, and floods during this time. These were thought of as signs of the wrath of the gods. K.A. Kitchen writes that this was a “time of Assyrian recession when that superstitious kingdom might have listened to a visiting prophet alongside its own practitioners.”^[5]

Third, there were military attacks outside of Assyrian borders and riots within the borders. Stuart comments, “Any of these could appear to be an evidence of divine wrath, predisposing an Assyrian king to look for deliverance lest his own position of authority be threatened.” Incidentally, Stuart dates Jonah’s arrival to 758 BC under Aššur-dān III.

Finally, we need to remember that Jesus believed that Jonah’s preaching was effective. He said, “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah” (Mt. 12:41). If this were merely a parable (i.e. fictional), why would he say this? For instance, a pastor might make a metaphor out of Darth Vader repenting before he died. And he might make the application that you too should repent. However, he would never conclude the metaphor by saying, “And Darth Vader will be in heaven with you, too!”^[6]

Why doesn’t extrabiblical history confirm 120,000 Ninevites turning to God?

For one, this is an argument from silence, and the Assyrian archives are sparse in the first-half of the 8^th century BC.^[7]

Second, the Assyrian historians weren’t likely to record a humiliating turning toward the “foreign god” of Israel, and “it was hardly incumbent upon archivists to keep lists of visiting prophets!”^[8]

Third, the text doesn’t tell us how long this repentance lasted. Alexander writes, “Although the Ninevites repented there is no indication that they were converted to Yahwism. Furthermore, while their repentance is portrayed as being sincere and genuine this need not imply that Jonah’s mission had lasting effects upon the population. Even in Israel, repentance did not always bring a prolonged transformation. This is true, for example, in the case of Ahab, who repented regarding the death of Naboth, and was forgiven (1 Kgs 21:27-29). Yet even so he still acquired the reputation of being one of the most evil kings of Israel (1 Kgs 21:25-26).”^[9]

^[1] Gleason Archer, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 3rd ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), 345.

^[2] Douglas Stuart, Hosea-Jonah, vol. 31, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1987), 486, 490-491.

[3] Donald J. Wiseman, “Jonah’s Nineveh,” Tyndale Bulletin 30 (1979): 44.

[4] Donald J. Wiseman, “Jonah’s Nineveh,” Tyndale Bulletin 30 (1979): 46.

^[5] K. A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003), 375.

^[6] I am indebted to Wayne Grudem for this illustration.

^[7] Donald J. Wiseman, T. Desmond Alexander, and Bruce K. Waltke, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 26, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 138.

^[8] Douglas Stuart, Hosea-Jonah, vol. 31, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1987), 490.

^[9] Donald J. Wiseman, T. Desmond Alexander, and Bruce K. Waltke, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 26, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 138.