Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. The Mainstream; (i) Jonah and the Fathers: Jonah and Jesus as typological twins; (ii) Jonah the Jew: the evolution of a biblical character; (iii) Divine Disciplinary Devices: or the book of Jonah and a tractate on producing docile disciple-bodies; (iv) Cataloguing the Monstrous: Jonah and the Cani Cacharis (or a concluding scientific postscript); (v) Taking Stock: survivals, hauntings, Jonah and (Stanley) fish, and the Christian colonisation of the book of Jonah; 2. Backwaters and Underbellies; (i) Jewish Interpretation; (ii) Popular Interpretation; (iii) On the Strained Relations Between the Backwaters and the Mainstream: or how Jewish and popular readings are prone to bring on a bout of scholarly dyspepsia; (iv) Of Survival, Memes and Life-After-Death: on Jonah's infinite regurgitation and endless survival; (v) Jonah on the Oncology Ward and the Beached-up Whale Carcass; or the strange secular afterlives of Biblical texts; 3. Regurgitating Jonah; (i) Of 'Hot Chestnuts', 'Fluid Puddings' and 'Plots That Do Not Shelter Us': some ruminations on the salvific properties of 'the Bible' and 'literature'; (ii) Regurgitating Jonah; (iii) In conclusion … Recuperating Jonah: the book of Jonah as the quintessential story and the most typical of Bible texts; Bibliography.

Promotional Information

This book is concerned with how interpretation re-shapes Bible texts, specifically examining the book of Jonah.

Reviews

'Learned, clever and playful book from one of the most gifted of younger biblical scholars in Britain ... a real feast.' Expository Times '... this publication is an important source of the history of biblical hermeneutics and the most comprehensive reception history of the text of Jonah at present. It gives me great pleasure to recommend this book to all students and scholars intrigued and puzzled by the varied and creative interpretations of biblical texts and the textual power to reinvent still unforeseen ones. It is an excellent book with horizon-broadening promises for the attentive reader.' Old Testament Essays '... one of the most stimulating works on any biblical text that I have read in years. it sets a new standard for the study of reception history ... Sherwood writes so well. Every page provides entertainment as well as academically rigorous argument ... A very exciting work from an outstanding specialist in Biblical Studies.' Journal of Jewish Studies