The biblical book of Jonah is one of the most well known in the Bible. It’s found in nearly every children’s Bible. Even those who do not read the Bible or hold to the Christian or Jewish faiths are acquainted with this narrative. With a man being swallowed by a fish only to be spat out again, it’s little wonder why. But that’s probably where the knowledge of the story ends for most people, especially for those who do not read the Bible or identify as adherents of the faiths that hold it as Scripture.

If asked about the point of the story, there would probably only be few who could give an answer. And that’s not surprising. After all, it’s an ancient story and we are modern readers. The questions we ask about the text often don’t allow the text to speak for itself. Where modern readers are concerned with how Jonah might have survived in the bellow of a fish, ancient readers likely would have asked why Jonah is portrayed the way he is. Perhaps we need to ask better questions.

In this episode, we ask: How do our questions affect our reading of Jonah? Do our questions clarify what’s going on in the narrative or only muddy our understanding? How can we read Jonah in a way that moves beyond Sunday morning or Sunday school? All that and more on this edition of the podcast.