May 17, 2018: The film The Story of Jonah: A Lesson in Courage and Mercy premieres, 2 days after another Biblical film had, The Book of Job. Directed by M. Stephen Lett, it credits none of the actors. Nevertheless, it has become the definitive cinematic telling of the story of the Prophet Jonah.
The Bible's Book of Jonah does not say when he lived, but he is mentioned in 2nd Kings, 14:25, which means he lived during the time of King Jeroboam II of Israel, who reigned from 786 to 746 BC. Jonah is sent by God to prophesy the destruction of Nineveh, near the modern-day city of Mosul, in northern Iraq, for their great wickedness and offenses to Him.
But Jonah instead attempts to run from God, by going to Jaffa, which is now part of the Tel Aviv area, and sailing to Tarshish, whose modern location is not clear, but both the Italian island of Sardinia and the coast of Spain have been suggested.
If Jonah thought this would get him away from God, he thought wrong. A huge storm arises, and the sailors, realizing that it is no ordinary storm, come to believe that Jonah is to blame. He offers to be thrown overboard, so that the storm will cease. They do. Jonah is miraculously saved by being swallowed by a "great fish," which is usually misidentified as a "whale." In other words, rather than representing potential death for Jonah, the fish saved him.
After 3 days and 3 nights, Jonah offers God a prayer of thanksgiving, and vows to carry out his mission. The fish spits Jonah out, and he travels to Nineveh, telling the people of the city, "In forty days, Nineveh shall be overthrown." The people believe him, and the King of Nineveh puts on sackcloth and sits in ashes, making a proclamation which decrees fasting, the wearing of sackcloth, prayer, and repentance. God sees the people of the city repentant, and spares them and their city.
Jonah's experience is also mentioned in the Quran, and his survival of his experience makes his story popular with children, with songs written about him.
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May 17, 2018 was a Thursday. These 9 games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-2 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins, 7-0 at LoanDepot Park in Miami. Kenta Maeda allowed 2 hits over 8 innings, and Kenley Jansen completed the 4-hit shutout.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 10-5 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres, 5-4 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 4-2 at Guaranteed Rate Field (now just "Rate Field") in Chicago.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Los Angeles Angels, 7-1 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Carlos González singled home the winning runs in the top of the 12th inning.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-2 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.
Football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were in progress, but no games were played on this day. One game was played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals, 4-2 at the Capital One Arena in Washington.
