Ben Zvi recognizes the contention over the rhetorical nature of Jonah 4:11, and so explores how a question written with two readings that inform each other is metaprophetic. Rhetorical questions may challenge their preceding text, and in this case it is whether to pity Nineveh, the city Jonah was called to prophesy destruction. This approach is mindful of the perspective of the intended readership, Yehud’s literati. Ben Zvi first demonstrates that literati contemporary to when this text was written knew rhetorical questions as a literary device. The surrounding text is also composed in a manner to raise awareness to Jonah’s rhetorical question. In fact, the Book of Jonah’s theme of repentance and the implications for a learning moment are suited to the audience’s taste.