
370 BC to 350 BC, Psalm 29: Jonah.
This generation is that of the years between 370 BC and 350 BC. JC.
(extract of the psalm 29 associated to this generation, verses 1 and 2 )
- A song of David. Prepare for the Lord, [you] sons of the mighty; prepare for the Lord glory and might.
- Prepare for the Lord the glory due His name; prostrate yourselves to the Lord in the place beautified with sanctity.
Nineveh is roughly the current city of Mosul (although today the cities of Mosul and Nineveh exist separately in modern Iraq).
The successor of Sennacherib, Assurbanipal, tried to continue the expansion of his father and made it largely benefit Nineveh. The succession of Assurbanipal will not resist the external assaults, and Nineveh eventually fell into the hands of the Medes associated with neo-Babylonian Nabopolassar in 612 BC. It is Babylon that will become the new capital of the conquerors, from where will then leave the assault towards Jerusalem which will see the destruction of the Temple and the exile of the tribe of Judah.
The favorable geographical location on the banks of the Tigris and close to rich land makes this place an ideal center for the construction of a city. Nineveh or its environs was therefore to be an important metropolis for the generation that interests us and was to bring together many Jews whether they came from the ten tribes of Israel exiled by Sennacherib or from the tribe of Judah exiled by Nebuchadnezzar.
- And [1] the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying:
- Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim against it, for their evil has come before Me.
- Now [2] the Lord cast a mighty wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, and the ship threatened to be broken up.
(extract of the psalm 29 associated to this generation, verses 3 and 7 )
- The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; the Lord is over the vast waters.
- The voice of the Lord is in strength; the voice of the Lord is in beauty.
- The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, yea, the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
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- He causes them to dance like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.
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- The voice of the Lord cleaves with flames of fire.
- The voice of the Lord causes the desert to quake;
- It is likely that it was in the wilderness that the word of the Lord was sent to Jonah a second time.
- the Lord causes the desert of Kadesh to quake.
- The voice of the Lord will frighten the hinds and strip the forests, and in His Temple everyone speaks of His glory.
- The Lord sat [enthroned] at the flood; the Lord sat as King forever.
- The Lord shall grant strength to His people; the Lord shall bless His people with peace.
- The hind is the symbol of God’s forgiveness (see Psalm 22) to his people, the sign that even if the worst has been decided, a return to good can nullify the most fearful divine decrees.
[1] Yonah – Jonah – Chapter 1, verses 1 and 2
[2] Yonah – Jonah – Chapter 1, verse 4