B-Hebrew: The Biblical Hebrew Forum

Having read the book today it occurred to me that the name is from the root ינה 'deviate', related to both זנה and שנה. The prophet eventually accomplishes his mission to a distant land, but by detours and in roundabout ways.
Yet he is the son of an upright and truthful father, אֲמִתַּי (Jonah 1:1.)

Isaac Fried, Boston University

Dear Isaac,

Having read the book today it occurred to me that the name is from the root ינה 'deviate

In the hebrew lexicon it means to oppress, act violently. So just in case you were prone to modern hebrew ideas I checked my modern hebrew dictionary and it also means "to oppress". Also in the lexicon I see no other biblical usage forיונה other than as "dove", "gentle", "timid". It would appear also from the context of Jonah's responses to his calling that this reaction is indicative of someone who was perhaps timid by virtue of his character and weak which is also contained within this meaning. So how did you come up with "deviate" from a biblical hebrew perspective? I mean who can blame him? If I was told to go and preach in Mecca I would be on the next space shuttle to mars. (..and then probably swallowed into the belly of a black hole for three light years)
kind regards
chris

Chris,
I don't think ינה YANAH carries the harsh meaning of 'oppress', but rather the milder meaning of 'mislead, deceive, defraud, lead astray, take for a ride.' Look at Leviticus 25:14-15, where תּוֹנוּ refers to an intended, devious obfuscation concerning the year count to the יוֹבֵל jubilee.

וְכִי תִמְכְּרוּ מִמְכָּר לַעֲמִיתֶךָ אוֹ קָנֹה מִיַּד עֲמִיתֶךָ אַל תּוֹנוּ אִישׁ אֶת אָחִיו בְּמִסְפַּר שָׁנִים אַחַר הַיּוֹבֵל תִּקְנֶה מֵאֵת עֲמִיתֶךָ בְּמִסְפַּר שְׁנֵי תְבוּאֹת יִמְכָּר לָךְ

NIV: "If you sell land to any of your own people or buy land from them, do not take advantage of each other. You are to buy from your own people on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee. And they are to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for harvesting crops."

Possibly, the specific bird names תּוֹר TOR (certainly related to תוּר, 'travel around', then also to דוּר, זוּר, טוּר, יוּר, סוּר, צוּר, שׂוּר) and יוֹנָה YONAH were "at first" more general names for birds observed flying around the house and in the fields.

The English word 'dove' is apparently related to 'dive'.

In spoken ("modern", "Israeli") Hebrew הוֹנָאָה is 'fraud.' And, as I have said, ינה is a variant of זנה - זן, זנן, שנה - שן, שנן, תנה - תן. The association of ינה with 'oppression' comes, methinks, from thinking of it as ענה, which is, essentially, 'drag out, endure.'

Isaac Fried, Boston University