Do You Know the Old Testament Prophet Jonah? Quiz

Answer: Amittai

Jonah 1:1 tells us that Jonah was the son of Amittai. Throughout the Bible and many Middle Eastern texts, men are often referred to as their fathers' sons.

Answer: Nineveh

Jonah 1:2 The Lord told Jonah to go to Nineveh because He had become aware of the wickedness that was going on there. "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." Interesting the way it is worded -- that the Lord suddenly became aware of what was going on there.

Answer: Joppa

Jonah 1:3 Now Jonah's ultimate destination was Tarshish but first he went to Joppa to arrange passage on a ship to take him there. Verse 3 reads 'But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.'

Answer: Below deck in a deep sleep.

Jonah 1:4-5 Jonah was totally unaware of what was going on, as he had fallen into a deep sleep. Verse 5: 'All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.' Now we don't know why he was in such a deep sleep, if the Lord had caused it or maybe Jonah (a seasoned traveler) just preferred to sleep on long trips.

Answer: They cast lots.

Jonah 1:6-7 The captain first called upon Jonah to call upon his god to save them. Verses 6-7: 'The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish."' After that the sailors decided they would cast lots to find out who was the source of their bad luck. 'Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.'

Answer: "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us?"

Jonah 1:8-10 'So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land." This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?"' (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.) Here it is interesting to note that Jonah, a prophet of the Lord God Almighty, thought he could run away from God.

Answer: Jonah decided that he should be thrown overboard.

Jonah 1:11-12 Jonah knew it was his fault and that the only thing he could do was sacrifice himself for the rest. 'The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?"' '"Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you."'

Answer: No

Jonah 1:13-15 Even though they had Jonah's permission to throw him overboard, they did not want to be responsible for his death. They tried in vain to row back to shore but they got nowhere. They were then forced to throw him over and immediately the seas were calmed.

Answer: Went to Nineveh.

Jonah 3:1-3 Jonah was again told by the Lord to go to Nineveh and proclaim the message of God. Nineveh was a large city and it took three days to give the message to all. The Ninevites believed God. They immediately started to fast and clothe themselves in sackcloth as a sign of their repentance. Even the king of Nineveh heard the message and commanded all to repent.

Answer: No

Jonah 4:1-11 Jonah was sure that the Lord would in his righteous anger wipe out all of Nineveh and the Ninevites as well, and was disappointed when they were saved. The Lord went to Jonah and (through the miraculous growing and taking away of a vine) tried to teach him the true meaning of God. We are not sure if Jonah learned this lesson or not, but the story of Jonah is a great one and well worth the time to read it.