Jonah is carefully and neatly structured into four acts (the chapters):

Act one: Jon 1:1-16 Pagan sailors converted
Scene one: Jonah’s commission 1:1-3
Scene two: On a ship in a storm Jon 1:4-16

Jon 1:17 (MT & LXX 2:1) bridge

Act two: Jon 2:1-10 Jonah talks to God
Scene three: in the belly of the fish
Introduction 2:1 (2:2 in MT & LXX)
Jonah’s psalm of thanksgiving 2:2-9

Jon 2:10 (MT & LXX 2:11) Bridge

Act three: Jon 3:1-10 Ninevite’s converted
Scene four: Jonah’s second commission 3:1-3
Scene five: Nineveh Jon 3:4-9

Jon 3:10 bridge (God’s response to Ninevite repentance)

Act four: Jon 4:1-11 God talks with Jonah
Scene six: God asks: Is it right for Jonah to be angry? Jon 4:1-4
Scene seven: Outside Nineveh God asks a second time Jon 4:5-11

Tags: Jonah, Narrative, Structure