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Adad-Nirari III: Jonah’s Assyrian King?
Marc Madrigal
6–8 minutes

Adad-Nirari III was king of the Assyrian Empire and reigning roughly from
805-782 BCE. The Saba'a Stele of Adad-Nirari III recording some of Adad-
Nirari’s campaigns was discovered in 1905 in the Sinjar Mountains of
Syria.
The Stele dates from around 800 BCE and provides one of the earliest
archaeological records of the name Palestine (Pa-la-áš-tu). The inscription mentions
an Assyrian raid against the king of Aram and the details of the eventual tribute
received. The translation of the stele is as follows:
“In (my) fifth year of reign, when I took my seat on the royal throne in might, I
mobilized (the forces of my) land. (To) the wide spreading armies of Assyria I gave
the order to advance against Palashtu (Palestine). I crossed the Euphrates at its
flood. The wide-spreading, hostile kings, who in the time of Shamshi-Adad, my
father, had rebelled and withheld their tribute. At the command of the gods Assur,
Sin, Shamash, Adad, and Ishtar my allies [terror] overwhelmed them and they laid
hold of my feet and I received tribute . I gave the command [to march against
Aram] to Mari’ [Ishutup] in Damascus,[his royal city]. I received 100 talents of gold
and 1,000 talents of silver talents.”
The date and content of this Stele contains some interesting parallels with 2 Kings
13. The events recorded in this stele coincide with the reign Jehoahaz of Israel.
William F. Albright dates his reign to 815–801 BCE. E. R. Thiele suggests 814–798
BCE.
In 2 Kings 13:1-5 we read, “In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah,
king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel at Samaria, and he
reigned seventeen years. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins
of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin; he did not turn from
them. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He gave them
continually into the hand of Hazael king of Aram, and into the hand of Ben-hadad
the son of Hazael. Then Jehoahaz entreated the favor of the Lord, and
the Lord listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram
oppressed them. The Lord gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from under
the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as formerly.”
(NASB)
It is possible that the unnamed deliverer who saved the kingdom of Israel from the
oppression and threat of the Arameans is none other than Adad-Nirari III himself.
The parallelisms between the Biblical text and the reign of Adad-Nirari III
do not end here. In 2 Kings 14 we have the first mention of the prophet Jonah, the
son of Amittai. The story of Jonah is considered by some scholars as an allegory.
Some even reject the historical figure of Jonah himself. Certainly it seems from the
text of 2 Kings 14 that Jonah was understood to be a historical figure. Furthermore
Jesus’ frequent quotes from Jonah seem to suggest that for Jesus, Jonah was a real
historical figure also.
In Luke 11:30 Jesus contrasts his generation with the generation that lived in the
time of Jonah, “For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son
of Man be to this generation.” (ESV)
2 Kings 14 tells us that Jonah lived during the reign of Jeroboam the son of Joash,
king of Israel. William F. Albright dates his reign to 786–746 BC, E. R. Thiele
suggests that he was co-regent with Jehoash 793–782 BC and sole ruler 782–753
BCE.
Both of these dates fall within the reign of Adad-Nirari III (805-782 BCE). Although,
other candidates for Jonah’s “king of Nineveh” do exist, Adad-Nirari III seems to be
an interesting fit due to his little-known monotheistic revolution. For reasons
unknown Adad-Nirari III chose Nabu, the Assyrian god of literacy, scribes and
wisdom, as the sole god to be worshipped.
In his book titled The Ancient World From c. 1400 to 586 B.C., Francis Nicole makes
the following observation: “A strange religious revolution took place in the time of
Adad-nirari III, which can be compared with that of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ikhnaton.
For an unknown reason Nabu (Nebo), the god of Borsippa, seems to have been
proclaimed sole god, or at least the principal god, of the empire. A Nabu temple was
erected in 787 B.C. at Calah, and on a Nabu statue one of the governors dedicated
to the king appear the significant words, 'Trust in Nabu, do not trust in any other
god'.”
Nicole continues: “The favorite place accorded Nabu in the religious life of Assyria is
revealed by the fact that no other god appears so often in personal names. This
monotheistic revolution had as short a life as the Aton revolution in Egypt. The
worshipers of the Assyrian national deities quickly recovered from their impotence,
reoccupied their privileged places, and suppressed Nabu. This is the reason that so
little is known concerning the events during the time of the monotheistic
revolution. Biblical chronology places Jonah's ministry in the time of Jeroboam II, of
Israel, who reigned from 793 to 753 B.C. Hence, Jonah's mission to Nineveh may
have occurred in the reign of Adad-Nirari III, and may have had something to do
with his decision to abandon the old gods and serve only one deity. This explanation
can, however, be given only as a possibility, because source material for that period
is so scanty and fragmentary that a complete reconstruction of the political and
religious history of Assyria during the time under consideration is not yet possible.”
Under this scenario,if indeed Adad-Nirari III is the king of Nineveh, it would seem
reasonable to conclude that by sending Jonah, the God of Israel was
extending a hand of mercy to the very king that had earlier delivered
Israel from the oppression of the Arameans.
Jonah’s message led the population to repentance and in their turn to monotheism
perhaps they identified Jonah’s god with Nabu. Although it is difficult to say with
precise certainty if this is indeed the nature of the events that unfolded, it
nonetheless makes for a compelling possibility!
Marc Madrigal is a member of the Istanbul Protestant Church Foundation in
Turkey.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Luckenbill, Daniel David, Phd. Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia. Vol 1:
Historical Records of Assyria. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago, IL; 1926. p.
261
The Ancient World From c. 1400 to 586 B.C. in Vol. 2 of: Nichol, Francis D., The
Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald
Publishing Association) 1978.
Pasinli, Alpay. Istanbul Archaeological Museums. A Turizm Yayinlari. Istanbul, 2012.