Interesting never heard this before.
The date when Jonah was written is
uncertain. Because of certain features of the language of the book and because of its theological themes, many scholars conclude that the book was written sometime between
500-400 B.C.E., after the
Babylonian exile.
Enter the Bible - Books: Jonah
www.enterthebible.org/oldtestament.aspx?rid=19
Ahab became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of
Asa, king of Judah, and reigned for twenty-two years, according to 1 Kings.
[2] William F. Albright dated his reign to 869–850 BC, while
E. R. Thiele offered the dates 874–853 BC.
[3] Most recently, Michael D. Coogan has dated Ahab's reign to 871–852 BC.[4]
Elijah's raising of the widows son would have had to take place sometime during Ahab's reign, during the 3 year drought. Jonah seems to be somewhere around 824 BC---
Historians consider the biblical account about Jonah's warning against Nineveh as a pious fiction, however, the Gospels refer to it as a real story (Lk 11:29-32). The book of Jonah, despite its brevity, gives some verifiable information regarding Nineveh, a very old city, which disappeared completely after its destruction in 612 BCE. The dimensions mentioned seem colossal, however they agree with the accounts of Herodotus (The Histories I:178), Ctesias (Persica §3) and Strabo (Geography XVI:1:3). Moreover, these dimensions, seemingly boundless, yet have been confirmed by archaeology.
The text of 2 Kings 14:23-25 relates the mission of Jonah with the accession of Jeroboam II, as pointed out Josephus (Jewish Antiquities IX:205-207), which illuminates the reason and the urgency of his mission, because this particular year coincides with the death of Shalmaneser III (824/823 BCE). The coincidence in time sheds light on the strange role of Jonah. When Jonah comes to Assyria the situation was this: the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III who resided in the new capital Kalhu was dying, his son Shamshi-Adad V was commissioned, as new Crown prince, to quell the revolt headed by his brother Assur-danin-pal who led 27 cities as former Crown prince and consequently King of Nineveh (Jonah 3:6). Jonah's mission was therefore a success since Assyrian expansionism to the Mediterranean coast will cease, at least for 80 years. The fact that Jonah was swallowed by a big fish is often mocked but this unique event is rationally possible, moreover, the biblical text describes it as a divine intervention (Jonah 1:17).
Jonah vs King of Nineveh: Chronological, Historical and Archaeological Evidence by Gerard Gertoux | Glasstree
Jonah is identified as a
prophet and servant of God during the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel (2 Kings 14:24-25)—
between 792 and 753 B.C. (Nelson’s NKJV Study Bible). Jonah’s name means “dove”; and his commission, as recorded in the book of Jonah, was to convey a message from God to the Assyrian capital of Nineveh.
I don't see how this could be possible. The widow and her son were pagans from Zarepheth (Syria). Jonah was a Jew from northern Galilee.
2Ki_14:25 He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.
Is Amittai being called the prophet who was of Gathepher? There is no other information about his father. But if Jonah is the son of a prophet---his mother would not have been a pagan.
Even if she had been a pagan--the miracles of Elijah would have converted her and her son.
Ahab 871–852 BC.
Jeroboam between 792 and 753 B.C.
Cant find anything about Jonah's age, that's about a 100 year gap there. They don't seem to be living that long right then.
