We often read stories in the Bible without considering the historical context. As a result, we lose awareness of the historical validity of history. In some cases, stories are used to share a moral concept or as a tool to teach a lesson. The Book of Jonah is an example that will be used to determine whether this particular story describes an accurate account of history or whether it teaches readers a lesson. In the book of Jonah, Jonah (the prophet) is instructed to go to a pagan city (Nineveh) to preach to the Ninevites, in the hope that they will repent of their sins. However, he defies God and goes to Tarshish. Jonah receives the consequences of his actions and Nineveh is ultimately forgiven by God. Although the story of Jonah appears to involve a historically accurate event on the surface, it is nevertheless used to teach a lesson that God is the ultimate decider of who is worthy of forgiveness. Analyzing the historical context, explaining the verses in the book, and interpreting the book as a whole will provide insight into the true purpose of the Book of Jonah, which is to convey a satirical story with a very important lesson. Jonah is dated between 783 and 745 BC and takes place in an ancient Assyrian city, Nineveh. In this particular era, the Assyrians were aggressive and often experienced internal conflicts that resulted in slight change among their leaders. However, time and time again, the Assyrians “nevertheless fell back into their ancient evil ways” (Judisch 154). The Assyrians intimidated and feared the Israelites, which allowed Jonah to not worry about the city of Nineveh when God asked him to help preach to the Assyrians. Nineveh was accused of evils and the Ninevites were...... middle of paper ....... 2013.Bolin, Thomas M. "Should I Not Pity Nineveh Too?" Divine freedom in the book of Jonah. " Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 67 (1995): 109-120. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. November 15, 2013. Cosby, Michael R. Interpreting Biblical Literature: An Introduction to the Biblical Studies. Grantham: Stony Run, 2009. Print. Judisch, Douglas. Concordia Theological Quarterly 63.2 (1999): 144-157. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1993. Print.Martin, Hugh An Exhibition of Jonah: Associates and Authors, 2001. Print.Walton, John H. “The Object. Lesson of Jonah 4:5-7 and the purpose of the book of Jonah. " Bulletin for Biblical Research 2 (1992): 47-57. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. November 14. 2013.