The prophet Jonah, the Day of Atonement, and the Messiah

The Torah does not directly address intentional sin [Avon] the way that it does with unintentional sin. There is only one procedure in the Torah that does treat Avon in some capacity. The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) requires the designation of two goats: one is offered as a sacrifice for sin [Het – unintentional sin]. The second goat is presented before the Lord, but in a manner not seen anywhere else in the Torah. The second goat, known as the “scapegoat” is not slaughtered. Instead, the High Priest is instructed to announce all the Avon [intentional sins] and Pesha [sins of defiance] of the community, as if to transfer it to the goat. The goat is then released into the wilderness. 

The Day of Atonement highlights one important detail. By performing the procedures required, Israel is mercifully spared of the consequences of Avon. Albeit, not by sacrifice – and not by “atonement”, but through the mysterious transfer of Avon to the scapegoat. The scapegoat is then allowed to venture away from the community. The mysterious implication is: Avon cannot be treated under the Torah. Instead, it is resolved somewhere outside the legal parameters of the Torah. This begs the question: “Where does it go?”

The Prophet Jonah

It is Jewish custom to read the Book of Jonah on the Day of Atonement. Although the book is small, consisting of only four chapters, a study into the book of Jonah will yield an amazing amount of insight. In fact, many parallels can be made between the account of Jonah and the various details of the Day of Atonement. 

The Day of Atonement lands on the 10th of Tishri (the 7th month of the calendar). Just 5 days later, on the 15th, the 8 day Festival of Sukkot [tabernacles] will begin. In the fourth chapter of the book of Jonah, the prophet has withdrawn under the shade of a “Sukkah” – a tabernacle:

Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter [Sukkah], sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. – Jonah 4:5

This Sukkah/tabernacle would provide a reference point for determining when in the Jewish calendar the events in the book of Jonah take place. Construction of a Sukkah typically takes place a day before Sukkot on the 14th, since the official first day of Sukkot is a day of rest. In addition, the text states that it took three days total for Jonah to cover the entire city of Nineveh. If we were to assume the first day of preaching to Nineveh occurred after the 10th of Tishri (Day of Atonement) it’s a reasonable fit:

• Day of Atonement (10th of Tishri)
• Three days of preaching (11 – 13th of Tishri)
• Construction of Sukkot (14th of Tishri)
• The first day of Sukkot (15th of Tishri – Jonah 4:5)

It’s also possible that the Day of Atonement fell under one of the three days that Jonah spent confronting the Ninevite people. Thanks to the reference point of Sukkot, we know that the three days took place either on the Day of Atonement, or very close to it.

The Day of Atonement required the nation to “afflict” their souls, a Jewish idiom meaning to endure a fast:

“This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must afflict yourselves [by fasting] and not do any work.” – Leviticus 16:26

Likewise, in response to Jonah’s word of warning, the Ninevites would proclaim a fast:

The Ninevites believed in God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” – Jonah 3:3-9

As a result of their repentance, and contrary to Jonah’s words, God would withhold the wrath he was prepared to unleash on Nineveh. As a result, Jonah would be branded a false prophet. This is why Jonah was so irate with the outcome:

“But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” – Jonah 4:1-3

Considering the circumstances, Jonah’s outburst was not unreasonable. Moving forward, Jonah would now wander as a pariah. He couldn’t return home, since it is likely word would spread of his false prediction. In Israel, false prophecy would warrant death.

According to Leviticus, the man who escorted the goat outside the city would become unclean:

“The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.” –  Leviticus 16:26

Like the “scapegoat” sent into the wilderness – bearing the disgrace of the Avon of Israel, Jonah had no choice but to accept his fate as an outcast, to reside in solitude, without hope of ever returning home. Jonah was unclean in heart, bitter and angry at the Lord.

On the Day of Atonement, the High priest determines which goat becomes the “scapegoat” by “casting lots” (Leviticus 16:8). In chapter 1, Jonah attempts to escape his divine task by entering a boat headed for Tarshish. While sailing abroad, the boat was hit with wind and storm. The sailors resolved to “cast lots” in order to find out who was responsible for the bad fortune. After it was clear they were suffering for harboring a fugitive of the Lord, they threw Jonah overboard. Like the “scapegoat”, Jonah was rid of as an object of scorn.

After the two goats were differentiated, the priests would place a scarlet/red thread around the horn of the “scapegoat.” This was to prevent potential mix up between the two goats by accident. In a similar fashion, a “red weed” (symbolizing the scarlet thread) was wrapped around Jonah’s head:

“The waters surrounded me – unto [my] soul; the deep encircled me!  A red weed was wrapped to my head.” – Jonah 2:5

Jesus and Jonah

Jonah was the only prophet that Jesus ever associated with himself. According to Matthew 12, the three days/nights spent in a whale set the template for the only sign Jesus would give to those who challenged him. Jesus would remain three days/nights in the earth, only to be released from death, just as Jonah escaped the whale:

He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. – Matthew 12:39-40

Paul writes that Jesus was buried, and raised on the third day “According to the scriptures” intimating that although the connections between Jesus and Jonah are only inferred, the inferences are so strong it wouldn’t be wrong to regard the insights as “according to scripture”:

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures… that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” – 1 Corithians 15:3-4

• Both are from Galilee.
• Jonah is brought up from the pit (Jonah 2:6) Jesus is brought up from the pit (Matt 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20).
• Just as lots were cast over Jonah, lots were cast over the garments of Jesus (Psalm 22:18, John 19:24). 
• The account of the storm in Mark and Matthew is reminiscent of the book of Jonah:

“On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go over to the other side. Leaving the multitude, they took him with them, even as he was, in the boat. Other small boats were also with him. A big wind storm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled. He himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up, and told him, “Rabbi, don’t you care that we are dying?!” He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace! Be still! The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith? They were greatly afraid, and said to one another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him.” – Mark 4:35-41, cf. Matt 8:24-27

• Jesus would suffer public disgrace, and rejection by his own people. Like Jonah, he would be regarded as a false leader.
• Both are resurrected (1 Kings 17:23; Matthew 28:6).
• Israel would be excluded, as the message of the gospel would become embraced by the gentile world.
• Jonah’s prayer in Jonah chapter 2 is symbolic of resurrection. King David would also write in a similar manner:

“For the waves of death surrounded me. The floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The cords of Sheol were around me. The snares of death caught me. In my distress I called on HaShem. Yes, I called to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. . He sent from on high and he took me. He drew me out of many waters…” – 2 Samuel 22:1-51

• As the “red reed” wrapped around Jonah’s head, so too did the crown of thorns wrap around the head of Jesus.

Jonah and the Messianic connection

A passage in 2 Kings chapter 14 calls attention to an event the common reader would assume to be trivial. Jeroboam, who would serve as king of Samaria for forty one years, managed to reclaim ownership of land from “Lebo-hamath” to the Sea of Arabah. Under normal circumstances this would be an unremarkable detail. However, the land of Israel is Holy (Zechariah 2:12). The five books of Moses make it unequivocally clear that land ownership is directly tied to faithful observance of the Torah commandments. Therefore scripture intimates that God has a personal hand in failures that result in land lost, and military victories that lead to expansion of territory. In the case of King Jeroboam, land restoration was permitted at the word of the prophet Jonah:

“He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of HaShem, the G-d of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.” – 2 Kings 14:25

The Jewish text “Kol HaTor” links the effort of land expansion (in tandem with a prophetic word of approval) with the Messiah:

“The commandment to expand the borders is the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef as God had told the prophet Jonah, who was on the level of Mashiach ben Yosef, to restore the border of Israel (II Kings 14:25).” – Kol HaTor 2.36

According to the passage of 2 Kings 12, Jonah is from a town called “Gath-Hepher”, located in Galilee, near the city of Nazareth. 

Jewish tradition asserts that the Messiah should come from the land of Galilee:

“The glory of his majesty” refers to the Messiah when he shall reveal himself in the land of Galilee; for in this part of the Holy Land the desolation first began, and therefore he will manifest himself there first . . . and when the Messiah shall have manifested himself, a star shall come forth from the East variegated in hue and shining brilliantly…” – Zohar, Volume II, Shemot 7b, Soncino Press Edition, pg. 21

Jonah is understood to be the son of the widow of Tzarfat who was resurrected by Elijah:

“According to the midrash (Shocher Tov 26:7) Yonah was the son of the widow in Tzarfat, who had died and had Eliyahu HaNavi bring him back to life (see Kings I, chapter 17). This intimate spiritual connection between Yonah and Eliyahu marked the beginning of Yonah’s reception of the spiritual potential to manifest Mashiach ben Yosef in his lifetime; for Eliyahu HaNavi was, and is, among those most connected to the qualities of Mashiach ben Yosef (see Shaar HaGilgulim (הקדמה לב) and Kol HaTor 2:71). In addition to the deep spiritual connection that Yonah and Eliyahu shared, as a result of Eliyahu resurrecting him, Yonah was also his disciple (Pirkei Rabbeinu HaKadosh, Likkutim 3) and is even eventually described as being equal to him (Mishnas R’ Eliezer 8). Elisha, who succeeded Eliyahu and continued his spiritual mission, was a contemporary and teacher of Yonah, who continued, as a result, to be privy to the reception of the spiritual the qualities of Mashiach ben Yosef, from Elisha, who had received them from Eliyahu. This is also the significance of the midrash which says that Elisha “anointed” Yonah (Mishnas R’ Eliezer 8) which expressed that Elisha “anointed” him as “Mashiach ben Yosef”.”  – R’ Daniel Krentzman, Ari Goldwag, Geulah Perspectives, Yonah as MBY

Jonah had a teacher – student relationship with Elijah. In the same way, Jesus was supported and Baptized by John the Baptizer who came “in the spirit of Elijah.”

Like Jonah, the Messiah will lead the nations to repentance:

“The Vilna Gaon teaches (Kol HaTor 2:75) that one of the missions of a respective Mashiach ben Yosef is to be a: “מוכיח לתשובה“, that is, to give rebuke and spur the masses to repent. This furthers the goal of tikun olam by having people remove themselves from tumah and sin and return to serving Hashem and doing good in the world; eventually to the extent that the rectification can be done for the sin of Adam and Chava, in Gan Eden. Therefore many Mashiach ben Yosefs were involved in giving rebuke and encouraging repentance throughout Jewish history. This form of “rebuke” of Mashiach ben Yosef is not limited to the Jewish people alone but can also apply to the nations of the world.”
R’ Daniel Krentzman, Yonah as MBY

Rabbi Daniel Krentzman expounds on prophetic value behind the ordeal of the whale:

“The verse relates: “Hashem designated a large fish to swallow Yonah, and Yonah remained in the fish’s innards for three days and three nights” (Yonah 2:1). The unusual circumstance of G-d causing a giant fish to engulf Yonah is not without deep significance. We see that when Yaakov gave his blessing to Efrayim and Menashe, the children of Yosef HaTzaddik, he blessed them in connection with the quality of fish; as it says (Bereishis 48:16): “…may they proliferate like fish, within the land”. The Vilna Gaon taught (Kol HaTor 2:33) that the content of this blessing to Yosef’s sons essentially reflected the spiritual qualities of Mashiach ben Yosef, stemming from Yosef HaTzaddik. Thus the aspect of “fish” and its conceptual associations are connected to Mashiach ben Yosef. We thus find an example of this, in the gemara (Berachos 20a), where the progeny of Yosef are described as having the protective spiritual quality of fish. It was therefore appropriate that the fish be the medium that Hashem used to deal with Yonah, the Mashiach ben Yosef of the time; and achieve everything that He did, through it specifically.” – R’ Daniel Krentzman, Yonah as MBY [2]

Even in Jewish tradition, the three nights in the whale are regarded as symbolic of resurrection:

“In the story of Jonah we have a representation of the whole of a man’s career in this world. Jonah descending into the ship is symbolic of man’s soul that descends into this world to enter into his body…just as Jonah ‘went down into the innermost part of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep’. . . So ‘the shipmaster came to him’, to wit, the good prompter, who is the general steersman, ‘and said unto him: What do you mean that you are sleeping? Arise, call upon your God’, etc.; it is not a time to sleep, as they are about to take you up to be tried for all that you have done in this world. Repent of your sins . . . For the fish that swallowed him is, in fact, the grave, and so ‘Jonah was in the belly of the fish’, which is identified with ‘the belly of the underworld’ (Sheol), as is proved by the passage, ‘Out of the belly of the underworld (sheol) cried I’. ‘Three days and three nights’: these are the three days that a man lies in his grave . . .After that the soul ascends while the body is being decomposed in the earth, where it will lie until the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, will awaken the dead. A voice will then resound through the graves, proclaiming: ‘Awake and sing, you that dwell in the dust…’He will destroy death for ever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth’ (Ibid. 25:8). It is of that occasion that it is written: ‘And the Lord spoke unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land’ . . . Thus in the narrative of that fish we find words of healing for the whole world…In a similar way the Land of Israel will in the future first be stirred to new life, and afterwards the earth will cast forth the dead.” – Zohar, Volume II, 199a-b, Soncino Press Edition

How Avon is resolved

The process of Avon being transferred to the scapegoat reveals that Avon cannot be resolved within the legal parameters of the Torah. Instead, mysteriously, it must be sent away – dealt with in another manner. The parallels that can be identified between the details of the Day of Atonement, and the story of Jonah, indicate that the circumstances of the book of Jonah, although tragic, are this way by design. Jonah took on the unfortunate role of personifying the “scapegoat” for the purpose of revealing the mystery of Avon. Avon passes from Israel to the Messiah, who willingly offers himself to suffer ridicule, disgrace, pain and impurity for the purpose of cleansing his people, and the world.