Commentary on the Book of Jonah: Haimo of Auxerre

by Haimo of Auxerre, Deborah Everhart (Translator)

Haimo of Auxerre's Commentary on the Book of Jonah was probably written as a study text for scholars in the monastery. His basic method is to present a verse from the Book of Jonah, then offer condensed versions of the diverse and occasionally contradictory interpretations of that verse that were available to him. For example, he displays familiarity with the commentaries written earlier by Jerome and Origen. He provides allegorical, literal, moral, and ecclesiastical interpretations. He moves freely between the language of his commentary and the language of the Bible, and he demonstrates the interrelatedness of his own text and biblical teachings. Sometimes he recalls interpretations from earlier in his own commentary. This rich interrelatedness makes Haimo's commentary both challenging and satisfying. In his work we can see the medieval mind at work, trying to interpret not only the biblical text but also his own world.

52 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1993

Reviews

[Katie]

The Book of Jonah is one of the more engaging books of the Bible, for three reasons:

(1) It has an interesting balance of God at his more vengeful and God at his more merciful. He manages to threaten a whole boat full of presumably innocent people in order to rein in a wayward prophet; he also spares a sinful city when it begins a penitential fast.

(2) There's lots of nice symbolism, from seas and tempests to vines of ivy.

(3) It involves a guy getting tossed out into the sea and eaten by a giant fish.

Haimo of Auxerre's commentary isn't particularly earth shattering, but it's readable a well done, giving a nice glimpse at how Carolingian commentators were good at balancing multiple strands of interpretation all at once. There's a particular care given here to drawing out the parallels between Jonah and Christ, where Jonah's historical/Old Testament tale is matched up point-by-point with the more mystical tale of Christ.

[Adam Carnehl]

Haimo (died around 875 A.D.) was a Benedictine monk at Auxerre and the teacher of Heiric who, in turn, was the teacher of Remigius (c. 841 - 908). Together these three monks wrote some of the most important commentaries on biblical texts during the Carolingian Renaissance. This commentary on Jonah has been wrongly attributed over the years to other men named Haimo, but contemporary scholarship has mostly reached a consensus that its true author is the 9th century monk of Auxerre.

Haimo's commentary is heavily dependent on Jerome's commentary on the Twelve (published in an English translation by IVP and called "Commentaries on the Twelve Prophets"). It is, as many Carolingian monastic commentaries were, compilations and paraphrases (seldom with any attributions) of earlier patristic texts that were highly regarded and obtainable/available.

Haimo practices the allegorical method and sees in the short, four-chapter book of Jonah an over-arching story about Christ. Jonah's name and calling, his sea journey, his escapade in the giant fish, his exit from the fish, his journey to Nineveh, his mission there, his rest under the vine, and even his final complaints to God are all seen as veiled prefigurements of the life and ministry of Christ. Haimo shows how Jonah means "dove" and also "mourning one" because Christ would be confirmed by the Dove (Holy Spirit) and would mourn over Jerusalem (Matt. 23:37-39). He is called to go to Nineveh because Christ is called to preach to the Gentiles. Jonah ventures to Tarshish because Tarshish is, according to Haimo, "contemplation of joy." The salvation of the world was Christ's joy. The waters raging against the boat signify the enemies raging against Christ and calling for His crucifixion. The hesitancy of the sailors to kill a just man (Jonah 1:14) prefigure the hesitancy of Pilate to kill a just man (Matt. 27:24). The big fish is hell, which swallows Christ because it is lured to do so by God. However, the "bait" (Christ's earthly body) ends up catching hell, and the divinity explodes forth three days later (on Easter). A three day journey to Nineveh is only one day for Jonah because the Triune God - Father, Son, Holy Spirit - is actually one God and not three. The message to the city is Christ's post-resurrection message to the nations. Etc.

There aren't many ancient/medieval commentaries on Jonah, so this one is very valuable for showing how the traditional, allegorical-Christological reading passed into the early Middle Ages. For Haimo the allegories are quite plastic; by that I mean they do not always hold rigidly or fit the NT antitypes perfectly. For example, Haimo interprets the running away of Jonah as the Son coming down to earth from heaven. Jonah's negative example is a type for a positive reality. I think that other interpreters were hesitant to turn negative examples (let alone stories of wickedness) into positive, Christ-centered realities, but I'm not certain about this. It seems to me that OT evil usually prefigures NT evil, or, evil in the current life of the Church. Haimo is at pains to show that virtually everything about Jonah is, indeed, allegorical for Christ. Even the worm that eats the vine is Christ! Even Jonah who complains to God is Christ! Haimo connects the worm to Psalm 22:6 (which is certainly creative) and shows how Jonah's complaint is a looking-ahead to Christ's complaint in the garden (Luke 22:42) and also His desire for the salvation of His own people.

All in all, this is a fascinating commentary where a medieval monk often takes an interpretive licence that moderns would be uncomfortable doing. He shows how Christ is found throughout the book, and demonstrates how God's love for the Gentiles (Nineveh) makes them into a great city (Church) with 120,000 saved (see Jonah 4:11, which is mystically understood as the multiplication of the ones gathered at Pentecost - Acts 1:15 - and also as several other numerological mysteries which stand for or suggest the Church).

[Jonah Shiramizu]

A very interesting look into the book of Jonah and the themes throughout the Bible that come from it, as well as a perspective as to what a commentary mightve looked like to a biblical scholar in the 8th century.
An easy read with interesting themes, I wouldn't say this is a must read for Christians, but is for sure a fun one.