Peter Gurry

This is an amazing little work. Clear and lucid, Jobes has not ducked the tough issues in this literary treasure. She avoids idealizing any of the characters and let's the text speak for itself. When the text is silent, Jobes argues, we should be silent. If we are not told why Esther went to the harem we should not speculate. The only weakness was Jobes's discussion of chapter 9 and the Jewish defense. She interprets their self-defense through the lens of Old Testament Holy War, an interpretation I deem unwarranted from the text itself. But judge for yourself. This is a marvelous commentary.

This is the best short commentary you can get on Jonah. It covers all the interpretive issues with skill and care. He also has a great section on the use of Jonah in Christian art. There's a section on Jonah in other religious traditions such as Islam too. In my opinion, you can't get a better brief commentary on this wonderful little book.