וַיָּ֣קָם יוֹנָ֗ה וַיֵּ֛לֶךְ אֶל־נִֽינְוֶ֖ה כִּדְבַ֣ר יְהוָ֑ה וְנִֽינְוֵ֗ה הָיְתָ֤ה עִיר־גְּדוֹלָה֙ לֵֽאלֹהִ֔ים מַהֲלַ֖ךְ שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת יָמִֽים׃
Kaya tumindig si Jonas at pumunta sa Nineve, ayon sa salita ng Walang-Hanggan. Ang Nineve ay isang napakadakilang lungsod sa harap ng Diyos, na tatlong araw na lakarin.
Depths of Yonah
Is this true? Yonah 3:3 describes Nineveh as an exceeding great city, of three days' journey. The Gemara (Pesachim 94b) states that an average person can walk ten Parsah, the equivalent of forty kilometers in one day. This seems to indicate that Nineveh was one hundred and twenty kilometers wide.
Depths of Yonah
Jack also suggests that the description of Nineveh (Yonah 3:3) as an “Ir Gedolah,” “large city”, refers to Nineveh’s large regional influence and authority, rather than its physical size. The term Gadol (large) in Tanach at times refers to influence. Examples include71Translation adapted from Jewish Publication Society 1917 edition.
Depths of Yonah
One could argue that the Tanach's description of the size of Nineveh is hyperbolic. It is intended to convey the great size of Nineveh as noted in Yonah 3:3 which refers to Nineveh as "a great city to God". However, one wonders what purpose would be served by describing Nineveh is such an overstated manner.