Ἰωνᾶς G2495
Jonah — the OT prophet whose sign (three days in the great fish) Jesus invokes as a type of his own death and resurrection.
All nine NT occurrences of Ionas refer to the OT prophet Jonah, and all appear in a single theological context: Jesus's invocation of 'the sign of Jonah' as the only sign given to an unbelieving generation. The three days Jonah spent in the belly of the great fish prefigure the Son of Man's three days in the heart of the earth (Matt 12:39-41; 16:4; Luke 11:29-30,32). Jesus also points to the Ninevites' repentance at Jonah's preaching as a rebuke — someone greater than Jonah is here, yet this generation refuses to repent. The Hebrew name (Yonah, meaning 'dove') adds an evocative layer that early Christians would not have missed.
Senses
1. of ōnas — The OT prophet Jonah (Hebrew Yonah, 'dove'), referenced exclusively in the context of Jesus's 'sign of Jonah' discourse. Jesus draws a typological parallel between Jonah's three days in the great fish and the Son of Man's three days in the earth (Matt 12:39-40; 16:4; Luke 11:29-30), and contrasts the Ninevites' repentance with the unbelief of his own generation (Matt 12:41; Luke 11:32). Multilingual glosses (French 'Jonas,' German 'Jona,' Spanish 'Jonas') consistently transliterate the name. All nine occurrences cluster in the Synoptic 'sign of Jonah' pericopes, making this one of the most typologically concentrated proper nouns in the NT. 9×
AR["مِن-يُونَانَ","مِنْ-يونانَ","يونانَ","يونانُ","يُونَانَ","يُونَانُ"]·ben["যোনা","যোনার","যোনার-চেয়ে"]·DE["Jona"]·EN["Iōnas","of-Iōnas"]·FR["Jonas"]·heb["יוֹנָה","מִיּוֹנָה","מִיוֹנָה"]·HI["इōन-क","इōनस","इōनस-के","इōनस-से","योना","योना-का","योना-से"]·ID["Yunus","dari-Yunus"]·IT["Giona"]·jav["Yunus","Yunus.","Yunus;","tinimbang-Yunus"]·KO["요나","요나가","요나보다","요나의"]·PT["de-Jonas"]·RU["Иона","Ионы"]·ES["Ionâs","Iōnâ","Iōnâs","de-Ionâs","de-Iōnâ","que-Ionâs"]·SW["-ya-Iōnâs","Iōnas","Iōnâs","kuliko-Iōnas","kuliko-Iōnâs","ya-Iōnas","ya-Iōnas;","ya-Iōnâs"]·TR["Yunus","Yunus'tan","Yunus'un"]·urd["یوناہ","یوناہ-سے","یوناہ-کی","یونس","یونس-سے"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
Ἰωνᾶς, -ᾶ, ὁ (Heb. יוֹנָה), Jonah, the prophet: Mat.12:39-41 16:4, Luk.11:29-30, 32.† (From Abbott-Smith. LSJ has no entry)