June 2, 2019 - Chapter Nine
Today's chapter details the sermon that Ishmael hears in the chapel. Fittingly, the minister's topic is the biblical Book of Jonah, which was referenced first in the front matter. A few points came to mind in reading this chapter.
First, the preacher notes that the line about God summoning up a "great fish" to swallow Jonah is the last liine of the first chapter of the four-chapter book. This is true in the King James Version but not in the Masoretic Hebrew version, in which it is actually the first line of the second chapter. This is unlikely a deliberate point chosen by Melville -- the Christian version is the Bible most often consulted. That said, it is odd that the KJV and other versions break the chapters in this manner, given that the action of the "great fish" swallowing Jonah is discrete from that of the first chapter.
Second, it's amusing that the preacher leaves out the command given to Jonah by God -- "never mind now what that command was" -- although he does specifically mention the command (to preach God's word to the Assyrians of Nineveh) later in the sermon, emphasizing his point of repentance and its important. The obvious analogy is that of God to the ship's captain and Jonah to the sailor. Whether Ahab and Ishmael will fulfill these roles remains to be seen.
Third and finally, the preacher omits the action of the final chapter of Jonah, in which Jonah laments his fate and is confronted by God to realize that God loves the Assyrians as much as Jonah loves the plant that gives him shade. On this matter, it's less clear whether Melville's omission is deliberate or not. That said, it's certain we'll see Jonah mentioned again in the novel.
First, the preacher notes that the line about God summoning up a "great fish" to swallow Jonah is the last liine of the first chapter of the four-chapter book. This is true in the King James Version but not in the Masoretic Hebrew version, in which it is actually the first line of the second chapter. This is unlikely a deliberate point chosen by Melville -- the Christian version is the Bible most often consulted. That said, it is odd that the KJV and other versions break the chapters in this manner, given that the action of the "great fish" swallowing Jonah is discrete from that of the first chapter.
Second, it's amusing that the preacher leaves out the command given to Jonah by God -- "never mind now what that command was" -- although he does specifically mention the command (to preach God's word to the Assyrians of Nineveh) later in the sermon, emphasizing his point of repentance and its important. The obvious analogy is that of God to the ship's captain and Jonah to the sailor. Whether Ahab and Ishmael will fulfill these roles remains to be seen.
Third and finally, the preacher omits the action of the final chapter of Jonah, in which Jonah laments his fate and is confronted by God to realize that God loves the Assyrians as much as Jonah loves the plant that gives him shade. On this matter, it's less clear whether Melville's omission is deliberate or not. That said, it's certain we'll see Jonah mentioned again in the novel.
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