On these high holy-days TheTorah has been discussing the Prophet to the Ninevites, Jonah. Jack Sasson points out that the book in our canon echoes aspects of the calling of Elijah to Prophecy. It reads like Hebrew text its author(s) aimed to inject similarly, into the 3-4 Reigns narratives.
If so, Jonah's last editor gave up the attempt. He shifted it (belatedly) into the Twelve Scrolls of the lesser Prophets. It wouldn't enjoy much support in Qumran (neither did Ruth) although, for us, the Gospels will note it (in Jesus' name) as foreshadowing of Christ's sojourn in Sheol.
I must at this point wonder if there existed Hebrew books of Elijah and Elisha before they got spliced into the Deuteronomic History. Was Ruth a similar attempt? It may be that Deuteronomic editors sifted available content such that 1-4 Reigns gathered Elijah and Elisha, but ignored such as Ruth. Of course the Deuteronomists were never going to accept Tobit.
Anyway after the Exile, Jonah's books, if they did exist 500 BC - or even centuries earlier which this blog is not ruling out - would have been considered Diaspora texts. Esther was a Diaspora text, as were the sources for Daniel. Jonah aimed at the right time for 3-4 Reigns... but the wrong place.
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