@article{ART003290025},
author={Kyoung Sik Kim},
title={The Regressive Prophet: Understanding Jonah's Journey through the Motif of Descent and Ascent},
journal={Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies},
issn={1229-0521},
year={2025},
volume={31},
number={4},
pages={25-57},
doi={10.24333/jkots.2025.31.4.25}
TY - JOUR
AU - Kyoung Sik Kim
TI - The Regressive Prophet: Understanding Jonah's Journey through the Motif of Descent and Ascent
JO - Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies
PY - 2025
VL - 31
IS - 4
PB - Korean Society of Old Testament Studies
SP - 25
EP - 57
SN - 1229-0521
AB - This study examines the Book of Jonah through the lens of Joseph Campbell's "descent and ascent" motif in heroic narratives, reinterpreting Jonah's journey not as a typical transformative ascent, but as a narrative of regression. While traditional hero stories depict the descent into crisis as a precursor to renewal and growth, Jonah's descent-marked by geographic and symbolic downward movement into the depths of the sea and the fish's belly-leads not to transformation but to a deeper entrenchment in self-centered attitudes.
The analysis draws attention to the continuity between the Jonah of 2 Kings 14:25, who is portrayed as a pro-monarchic prophet proclaiming territorial restoration, and the Jonah of the prophetic book, who resists God's mercy toward the enemy nation of Assyria. Jonah's refusal to fully carry out God's commission and his anger at Nineveh's repentance reflect his adherence to an ethnocentric theology that limits divine grace to Israel alone.
Although Jonah outwardly obeys God by proclaiming judgment to Nineveh, his message lacks clarity, divine attribution, and openness to repentance. Despite Nineveh's genuine turn from evil, Jonah reacts with anger, highlighting his unresolved inner conflict. This inversion of the hero motif ultimately reveals the limits of the human prophet. Jonah appears to rise, but fails to undergo the inward transformation essential to heroic ascent.
The Book of Jonah, therefore, offers a literary and theological critique of exclusive salvation, emphasizing that true transformation-both individual and communal-requires transcending self-interest and embracing the universality of divine mercy.
KW - The Regressive Prophet: Understanding Jonah's Journey through the Motif of Descent and Ascent
DO - 10.24333/jkots.2025.31.4.25
ER -
Kyoung Sik Kim. (2025). The Regressive Prophet: Understanding Jonah's Journey through the Motif of Descent and Ascent. Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies, 31(4), 25-57.
Kyoung Sik Kim. 2025, "The Regressive Prophet: Understanding Jonah's Journey through the Motif of Descent and Ascent", Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies, vol.31, no.4 pp.25-57. Available from: doi:10.24333/jkots.2025.31.4.25
Kyoung Sik Kim "The Regressive Prophet: Understanding Jonah's Journey through the Motif of Descent and Ascent" Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies 31.4 pp.25-57 (2025) : 25.
Kyoung Sik Kim. The Regressive Prophet: Understanding Jonah's Journey through the Motif of Descent and Ascent. 2025; 31(4), 25-57. Available from: doi:10.24333/jkots.2025.31.4.25
Kyoung Sik Kim. "The Regressive Prophet: Understanding Jonah's Journey through the Motif of Descent and Ascent" Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies 31, no.4 (2025) : 25-57.doi: 10.24333/jkots.2025.31.4.25
Kyoung Sik Kim. The Regressive Prophet: Understanding Jonah's Journey through the Motif of Descent and Ascent. Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies, 31(4), 25-57. doi: 10.24333/jkots.2025.31.4.25
Kyoung Sik Kim. The Regressive Prophet: Understanding Jonah's Journey through the Motif of Descent and Ascent. Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies. 2025; 31(4) 25-57. doi: 10.24333/jkots.2025.31.4.25
Kyoung Sik Kim. The Regressive Prophet: Understanding Jonah's Journey through the Motif of Descent and Ascent. 2025; 31(4), 25-57. Available from: doi:10.24333/jkots.2025.31.4.25
Kyoung Sik Kim. "The Regressive Prophet: Understanding Jonah's Journey through the Motif of Descent and Ascent" Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies 31, no.4 (2025) : 25-57.doi: 10.24333/jkots.2025.31.4.25
