The story of Jonah, often read as a simple children's story, is a multifaceted and elaborate narrative with serious intent. Treating the biblical book as a fictitious story based on real locations and recognizable persons, Jonah's World examines the background to the story and draws on social science approaches to describe its imaginative world. The book explores the geography, theology, myth, human characters, natural landscape, and the ideology behind the story to uncover a vision of reality shaped by literary technique. Jonah's World will be invaluable to students and scholars seeking a new approach to the reading of this colourful text.

"Useful for students and scholars as a unique reading of Jonah and an introductory exemplar of social-science readings of the Hebrew Bible.'"

Source: Religious Studies Review

"An excellent introduction to Biblical stories. Jonah's World deserves a place of honour on every reading list for courses on the book of Jonah. It poses the right questions and supplies lots of information to guide readers towards the ancient world.'"

Source: Journal of Hebrew Scriptures

"Deserves attention for the light it throws on the social world that produced the ever-fascinating story of Jonah.'"

Source: Review of Biblical Literature