How was Nineveh "a city of three days' journey"?

What does the Bible mean in Jonah 3:3 when it calls Nineveh "a city of three days' journey"? One possibility is that this phrase is an idiom used to talk about a very large city. In this case, the three days should not be taken literally but as a figure of speech.  Another explanation is that the city was so large that it would take three days to walk its circumferance. This particular explanation is very unlikely since we are about to see Jonah enter a day's journey into the city in verse 4. If the distance is taken to be a literal measurement of Nineveh's size, it should be taken as diameter, not circumference, since Jonah is clearly walking a day's journey into the city and not around it. The problem with interpreting it as a measure of diameter is that according to typical estimates of a day's journey in ancient times, a journey of three days would be about sixty miles, and that seems unrealistically large based on archaeological and historical data.  Another explanation is that it would take Jonah three days to traverse the entire city on foot and carry out his prophetic mission.  This also seems very unlikely based upon the context that Jonah begins to enter a day's journey into the city when he preaches his message. Yet another explanation is that Nineveh was three days from where Jonah was deposited on the dry land, but again, this does not fit the context. In the final analysis, the most likely explanation is that "a journey of three days" is talking about the literal distance it would take to cross the city of Nineveh, but that the suburbs of Nineveh are also being included. Although the city proper was not anything like 60 miles in diameter, the city and its surrounding villages were that size. Jonah's mission was to preach to the people of Nineveh, and that would include the people living in the suburbs as well as in the city itself. 

In verse 4, Jonah begins to enter a single day's journey into the city, and he issues the proclamation that God has given him. If Nineveh is a city of three days' journey, then he is less than halfway across the city and is still far from its center. The idea here seems to be that Jonah is only in the early stages of fulfilling his mission to preach to Nineveh, and this already results in almost universal repentance from the Ninevites. Before he has even reached the middle of the city, the Ninevites are already believing God and repenting as Jonah's proclamation spreads like wildfire. 

Jonah's proclamation of Nineveh's destruction does not contain any explicit instructions, and on the surface, it appears to be unconditional. However, we know from other passages that it is in God's nature to spare nations that repent, even after he pronounces their destruction (Jer. 18:7-10). We are only given five words of Jonah's proclamation in Jonah 3:4b since the Biblical author is clearly just giving a synopsis of what was preached. Jonah's preaching likely included specifics about the sins they were guilty of, as well as possibly giving more detail about their impending destruction. Nevertheless, the important thing here is that there is no invitation for the Ninevites to repent and be spared. This is why later in the chapter, the king of Nineveh is not completely sure that even their extreme repentance will save them (Jon. 3:9). 

The first statement made about the Ninevites' response to Jonah's proclamation is that they believed God. This indicates a recognition on their part that Jonah was actually delivering a message from God himself. The fact that the men of Nineveh believed God is startling in light of the fact that so many other prophets throughout the Bible are disbelieved. In modern times as well, Biblical preaching is frequently disregarded, especially among the heathen. The Old Testament's economical style of storytelling may be leaving out some details that would explain why the multitudes of Nineveh believed God. 

One possible explanation for the Ninevites believing Jonah's message is that he was taken more seriously due to his ordeal in the belly of the whale. Although there is no mention in the book of Jonah itself that the Ninevites were even aware of Jonah being swallowed by a whale, there is evidence from the New Testament that they knew what had happened. Luke 11:30 states that "Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites," just as Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection would be a sign to his own generation. Jonah's experience could only be a sign to the Ninevites if they knew about him being swallowed by the whale. There are a few possibilities for how they could have known this. On the one hand, there may have been witnesses to Jonah being regurgitated upon the shore. This is the most likely explanation, and it would be parallel to the witnesses of Christ's resurrection that proclaimed what they saw to the world. On the other hand, Jonah himself may have told the Ninevites what happened to him. In either case, it is very likely that the story was validated by physical damage that Jonah sustained while spending three days in the whale's belly. The book of Jonah is silent on these points, but the sign of Jonah being swallowed by a whale and living to tell the tale would have had a profound impact on the Ninevites, and it would explain their rapid conversion.  

Jonah as a Picture of the Jews at the time of Christ

The book of Jonah is about a prophet of Israel who did not understand that God is the God of the whole Earth. His view of God was so centered on the geography of Israel, that he thought he could flee the presence of God by simply sailing to a distant land. When he was commanded to preach to a heathen nation, he refused because he had no interest in the repentance of people outside of Israel. Unfortunately, Jonah was not unique in this regard. Jonah represents a mentality that many Israelites shared throughout their history. The book of Jonah functions as a rebuke of those Jews who later would have no desire for the Gentiles to be saved. Although Jonah and his fellow Israelites may not have cared about the fate of the heathen, God himself is the savior of the entire world and wants all men to be saved.

Conversion of the Heathen is Possible

A major theme of the book of Jonah is that the heathen are not a lost cause, and they should not be written off as inevitably doomed. Already in Jonah 1, a ship full of heathen sailors worship the true God as a result of hearing God's word and seeing his mighty works in the sea (Jon. 1:16). In Jonah 3, the men of Nineveh repent on a scale that is unparalleled elsewhere in Scripture (Jon. 3:5) The Word of God is powerful, and its ability to change hearts and minds should never be underestimated. It is important that Christians do not pick and choose whom to evangelize since it is impossible to know who will be receptive to the Gospel. The command is to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). If this command is carried out, people will inevitably be saved (Psa. 126:6). 

Not only is the conversion of the heathen possible, it is also something that God always anticipated and foreshadowed throughout the Bible. The Mosaic law describes other nations hearing about the righteous laws of Israel and being impressed (Deut. 4:6-8). The law also made allowance for foreigners to become naturalized and brought into the nation of Israel by getting circumcised and participating in the Passover (Exo. 12:48). This naturalization is spelled out in more detail later in the book of Ezekiel (Ezek. 47:22-23). Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple also describes people coming to Israel as a result of hearing about the greatness of the LORD from a far country (2 Chron. 6:32). God's house would ultimately become a house of prayer for all nations (Isa. 56:7). Although the Old Testament nation of Israel did not always understand this, it was always God's plan for the entire world to be reached with the Gospel. 

Jonah understood on some level that the conversion of the heathen was possible, which is apparently one of the reasons he did not want to go to Nineveh. In Jonah 4:2, Jonah claims to have anticipated that God would repent of the evil he had planned for Nineveh. This is because Jonah was aware of God's merciful and compassionate nature. If the Ninevites repented, God was likely to spare them, and Jonah wanted Nineveh to be destroyed. When the Ninevites repented, Jonah was angry, and he claimed to have suspected this would happen. Although it was not Jonah's will, the conversion of the Ninevites was the will of God. More broadly, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). Therefore, Christians should seek to convert people of all nations to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

God is Not a Respecter of Persons

Although God had a special covenant relationship with the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, God did not treat people differently based upon their nationality. In the Mosaic law, there are many admonitions not to respect persons in judgment (Deut. 1:17). It is also stated repeatedly that laws should be applied equally to foreigners, as well as those who are born in the land of Israel (Exo. 12:49). God not only commands this, but he also practices it himself (2 Chron. 19:7). The New Testament reiterates the idea that God does not respect any man's person (1 Pet. 1:17), and this of course includes nationality, in addition to economic status and other factors. God deals with people on their own merits and is a fair and impartial judge. 

The idea that God is not a respecter of persons is elaborated on by the Apostle Peter in Acts 10. Peter states that "in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him" (Acts 10:35). This is demonstrated vividly in Jonah 3 when God excepts the repentance of the Ninevites. Jonah does not want the Ninevites to be spared because he considers them wicked heathens who are worthy of punishment. God, on the other hand, sees their faith and repentance, and he extends them the same mercy that he would have extended to his own chosen people in the same circumstances.  According to 2 Chronicles 16:9, God is looking down upon the whole Earth and searching for those whose heart is right with him. He is not only looking down at Israel or the Jewish people.

It is interesting that the Apostle Peter is the "son of Jonah" (John 21:15), and that he is called to minister to Gentiles while he is staying in the city of Joppa (Acts 10:32). Joppa is the city where Jonah went when he refused to preach to the Gentiles (Jon. 1:3). Instead of going to Joppa to flee his commission, Peter departs Joppa to go and fulfill his commission, which makes him the exact opposite of Jonah in that regard. When Peter preaches to the Gentiles in Acts 10, they believe in Christ, and Peter immediately accepts the reality of their conversion and wants them to be baptized (Acts 10:47). Thus Peter is a positive example of a New Testament Israelite who, unlike Jonah, understands and accepts the fact that God is not a respecter of persons.

In the New Testament, it is stated repeatedly that there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek (Rom. 10:12). The specific context here is with respect to salvation. There is an equal opportunity of salvation for both the Jews and the Gentiles. After salvation, the Gentiles are full-fledged members of the church and have equal standing with the Jews who receive Christ as savior. In the New Testament, the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile has been broken down, and the Gentiles have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:13-16). The attitude Jonah exhibits in Jonah 4 never should have existed, but in the New Testament, it is out of the question. 

The Gentiles are More Receptive to the Message of God than Israel

In the book of Jonah, the heathen are more obedient to the word of God than Jonah himself, who represents Israel. In Jonah 1, the foreign sailors have more fear of God than Jonah. In Jonah 3, the Ninevites get right with God, whereas in Jonah 4, Jonah is rebellious and stiff-necked toward God and his Word. This is a foreshadowing of the fact that the Jews will by and large reject the Gospel in the New Testament, while the Gentiles will be saved en masse. Already in Matthew 8, Jesus is marveling at the fact that a Gentile centurion has more faith than anyone he has encountered in the nation of Israel (Matt. 8:10). 

Throughout the book of Acts, the Apostles and early Christians somewhat share Jonah's mentality by wanting to focus their ministry on preaching only to the Jews (Acts 11:19). This is in spite of the fact that they have been clearly commanded to teach all nations (Matt. 28:19). Throughout Acts, it becomes increasingly obvious that the Gentiles are more receptive than the Jews. As a result, the Apostle Paul in particular shifts his focus to preaching to the Gentiles (Acts 18:6). When the Apostle Paul defends his ministry to the crowd at the temple in Jerusalem, they listen to him patiently up to a point. When he arrives at the point in the story where God commands him to leave Jerusalem and go far away to preach to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21), the crowd becomes hostile and calls for him to be killed (Acts 22:22). Their anger at this point in the narrative is bizarre, but it makes perfect sense when one realizes that the audience shares Jonah's contempt for nations other than Israel. 

Conclusion

Jonah is only one man, but he represents the entire nation of Israel and their lack of compassion for the lost Gentiles. This is an attitude that can be seen throughout their history, but it culminates in the events described in the Acts of the Apostles. The Jews are not interested in the Gentiles being saved, even as the Holy Spirit works mightily to accomplish that end. Gentiles are saved by the droves, while the Jews themselves tend to be enemies of the Gospel. The Word of God has the power to convert people of all nationalities and religious backgrounds. God is looking at the heart, and he is not a respecter of persons when it comes to nationality or any other carnal factors. Christians who read the book of Jonah should examine themselves and ensure that they have God's mentality as opposed to Jonah's.