God, Humanity, and Meaning in the Book of Jonah

This chapter contends that the Book of Jonah is centrally concerned with the haunting possibility that human life is meaningless. Jonah the character sees human backsliding everywhere. He concludes that there is no point to human life—or human speech—and expresses that through his near-total silence. God responds with a number of “living parables,” in which episodes in Jonah's life point to something beyond themselves. Most poignantly, the parable of the sprouting and withering kikayon plant teaches Jonah that God can have interests in our lives that go beyond our own, which in turn addresses his concerns about meaning. The chapter concludes by drawing broader philosophical lessons about the relationship between divine purposes and the meaning of life.