Nineveh’s
repentance is a pre-requisite for God to turn his anger. This is reflected in
the fact that God relents only after the people of Nineveh turn from
their evil ways (3:10). Nonetheless, it is divine sentiment that causes God to
relent, not Nineveh’s repentance. This is apparent in God’s explanation of why
he turned his anger and decided not to destroy Nineveh, “You are concerned about
the busy . . . and should I not be concerned about Nineveh?” אתה חסת על הקיקיון
. . . ואני לא אחוס על נינוה (4:10-11). The root ḥws (“concern”) tends to
occur in the company of roots for mercy (rḥm and ḥml) and appears
to connote a sense of pity and compassion. (It describes God’s compassion for
his adopted child in Ezekiel 16). The root indicates that God’s concern for
Nineveh is so great that he is compelled to refrain from destroying its
inhabitants in his anger. (Deena E.
Grant, Divine Anger in the Hebrew Bible [The Catholic Biblical Quarterly
Monograph Series 52; Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf and Stock, 2014], 146)
