Jonah 3:6

‘And the news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.'

The news of their response reached the king of Nineveh. The fact that the news had taken some time to reach him may suggest that he was in one of the other sister-cities at the time. And on hearing what had happened, and no doubt Jonah's message, he too responded, rose from his throne, and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. If the forces of Urartu were at present in the ascendancy we can appreciate why such a message as Jonah's might cause such a stir. The idea that Nineveh might be overthrown could well have been seen as a real possibility. An appeal to the gods would then be seen as their only hope. But we are not given the reason, only the result.

The description ‘king of Nineveh' does not conflict with the fact that he was also king of Assyria. To speak of a king in terms of a principal city was common practise (see e.g. 1 Kings 21:1; Deuteronomy 4:2; Deuteronomy 4:23, with Deuteronomy 1:4; Deuteronomy 3:2; Deuteronomy 4:46; Judges 4:17 with Judges 4:2; Judges 4:23). In this case it emphasised his close relationship with Nineveh.