The Hebrew phrase "melek nineveh" ("king of Nineveh") is found in the Old Testament only in Jonah 3:6. This article wants to show that the title is not an anachronism. Why did the author ignore the usual designation "king of Assyria," found thirty times in 2 Kings 18-20? The common custom was to give provincial capitals the same name as the province. This could explain the fact that the book says the "city" was a three-day walk (3:3).