DID YOU KNOW?
The answer
He knew God was merciful. In Jonah 4:2 he says he fled "for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment." Chapter 1 never gives a reason. Jonah only says it after Nineveh is spared.
Why it’s interesting
Prophets arguing with God in prayer is an old pattern. Abraham asks, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" (Genesis 18:25), and Amos begs God to spare Israel (Amos 7:2). Jonah argues too, but he is angry that God spared a city.
Scholarly consensus
Learn the Bible.
Not just the stories, but the history, authorship, and scholarship behind it.