Who is the Author?

The author of the book of Jonah is the prophet Jonah. Jonah, whose name means “dove,” was a servant of the Lord from Gath-hepher (2 Kings 14:25), a town in the tribe of Zebulun (Josh. 19:10, 13). Jonah lived when Jeroboam II of the Northern Kingdom was king (2 Kings14:23–25). The prophet Jonah’s prediction that Israel’s boundaries (2 Kings14:25) would extend under Jeroboam came true. This prophet, a Hebrew (Jonah 1:9) and the son of Amittai (1:1; Amittai means “[my] true one”), was the only Old Testament prophet to attempt to run from God. Jonah was one of four Old Testament prophets whose ministries were referred to by Christ (cf. Matt. 12:41; Luke 11:32); the others were Elijah (Matt. 17:11–12), Elisha (Luke 4:27),and Isaiah (Matt. 15:7).1 Some have suggested that Jonah was not the author of the book because he is referred to in the third person (cf. Jonah 1:3, 5, 9, 12;2:1; 3:4; 4:1, 5, 8–9). This, however, is not a strong argument. Moses, author of the Pentateuch, often used the third person when describing his own actions. Also, Isaiah and Daniel sometimes wrote of themselves in the third person (for example, Isa. 37:21; 38:1; 39:3–5; Dan. 1:1–7:1).2