Jonah: His Life, Character and Mission

by Patrick Fairbairn

Whereas many commentaries cast Jonah in a very negative light, Patrick Fairbairn seeks to give a balanced and just view of his ministry, actions and motives. Beginning with the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of him in favourable terms, Fairbairn takes each phase of the history and seeks to show the context in which the events took place, the ministry to which Jonah was called and the application of these things in all ages of the church. Anyone preparing messages on this book will find a wealth of material to inspire them and ordinary readers will appreciate the solid tone and warmth of Fairbairn’s writing. Patrick Fairbairn (1805-1874) was a distinguished theologian and pastor in the Free Church of Scotland. He wrote extensively and is widely known not only for his commentaries on Ezekiel, Jonah and the Pastoral Epistles, but also for his monumental works on Typology and the Interpretation of Prophecy and his editorship of The Imperial Bible Dictionary. Originally published in 1849, this edition has been completely re-typeset for issue as an eBook with footnotes placed in a separate section, fully hyperlinked to the text and Hebrew and Greek characters correctly displayed.

162 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 1980

About the author

Rev. Patrick Fairbairn, D.D. (University of Edinburgh, 1826) was a minister and theologian of the Free Church of Scotland. He was Principal and Professor of Church History and Exegesis for the Free Church College from its 1856 founding until his death, and was Professor of Theology at the Free Church Theological College in Aberdeen from 1853.

Reviews

[Michael K.]

I thought this was one of the better books written on Jonah. I thought it was well written, the layout was exceptional, and some of the insights posed about Jonah were interestingly placed. I have a project or two based upon the Book of Jonah and this book will be added to that as a resource.

[Joe Haack]

Fairbairn is idiosyncratic in his view of the overall purpose of Jonah, but shines when it comes to historical contingencies relating to prophetic prediction (chapter 3, verse 10). I skimmed some of his commentary, but was glad to have had it for my sermon preparation.

[Josiah Bates]

Patrick Fairbairn's Jonah commentary was very helpful to me. I love how Fairbairn writes, and he has many insights that other Jonah commentators lack.
If you are studying Jonah for any reason, whether lightly or in great depth, I highly recommend giving this a read.