Jonahchapter 1
17 verses · Jonah, by tradition · 8th century BC · The Twelve
Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,
Introduction
Jonah, by tradition, The Twelve, Jonah Overview.
This chapter opens the book of Jonah, the one prophetic book told almost wholly as a story about its prophet, with a single line of his preaching. The prophet is Jonah son of Amittai, a man of the northern kingdom whom 2 Kings 14:25 places in the reign of Jeroboam II. The book was kept for Israelites who feared Assyria and had little wish to see its capital spared. Listen for the direction of every movement in the chapter. Listen also for who in it comes to fear the LORD. The foreigners in this chapter are drawn with more sympathy than the prophet.
Context
- Who
- Israelites who knew Assyria only as the terror gathering on the horizon
- What
- A narrative of the prophet's call to Nineveh, his flight by sea, and the storm that brings him to account before a crew of foreign sailors.
- Where
- The port of Joppa on the coast of Israel, and a ship on the Mediterranean bound for Tarshish, a port far to the west.
- When
- The reign of Jeroboam II of Israel, about 793 to 753 BC, on the evidence of 2 Kings 14:25.
- Why
- To show that the LORD rules the sea and the nations, and that His servant cannot run from His presence or His commission.
Historical context
Jonah is the only prophet in the Old Testament sent to preach to a foreign capital, and the first thing he does is buy a ticket in the other direction.
Show the rest of the historical context, 4 more paragraphs
Joppa was Israel's practical outlet to the sea, a poor natural harbor with a reef line, but the closest port to the hill country. Ships there were Phoenician-run traders working the Mediterranean coast, and a Hebrew from inland farm country would have found the crew, the language, and the gods on board all foreign.
Tarshish is thought by many to be Tartessos in southern Spain, at the far western end of the known world. Whether or not that identification is right, the direction is the point: Nineveh lay far to the northeast, up the Tigris; Tarshish was as far west as a ship could go.
The sailors' response to the storm is completely ordinary for the time. Each man cried to his own god, a mixed crew carried mixed religion, and then they threw the cargo overboard, which was the standard emergency measure, and then they cast lots. Casting lots to find who had offended a god was a normal ancient procedure, not superstition at the margins.
What is not ordinary is the sailors. When Jonah tells them to throw him over, they row harder instead, trying to save him, and only give up when they cannot. Pagan sailors come off better in this chapter than the prophet does.
Significance
An Israelite hearing this would feel the sting immediately. The man with the true God on board is asleep below deck while foreigners pray, and the foreigners end up fearing the LORD and offering sacrifice.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
Jonah's own words are the chapter's confession: he says he fears the God who made the sea and the dry land, while running across that sea to escape Him. The first hearers were being shown that knowing the right thing about God is not the same as obeying Him.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
This chapter opens the one book of the Prophets that a synagogue reads whole on a single afternoon. The site's table in src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts records that Jonah is read as the prophetic reading of the afternoon service on the Day of Atonement, followed by the closing verses of Micah on God pardoning iniquity. It cites Babylonian Talmud Megillah 31a, which names the reading for that service. The reason the table gives is the book's subject, a city that repents and is spared. Probed for this lane, the same table printed parashot 0 and haftarah 0 for this chapter, so the book has no weekly portion and serves as the Haftarah of no Sabbath. A congregation hears the flight to Tarshish once a year, at the afternoon service of the fast.
How it is read
The commentators begin by asking why the book is in Scripture at all. Radak puts the question plainly, since the whole prophecy concerns a gentile city and does not mention Israel. "There is no book like it among the Prophets." His answer is that it was written as an object lesson for Israel. "Here is a gentile people, not Israelites, who readily repent. After the prophet reproves them once, they turn back from their wickedness in perfect repentance" (Radak on Jonah 1:1:1, the Sefaria Community Translation, CC0).
Rashi reads the flight out of the same concern. Jonah fled to the sea "for the Shechinah does not rest outside the Holy Land". His reason for refusing Nineveh is given in his own voice. "The gentiles are quick to repent. Should I prophesy to them and they repent, I will be found condemning Israel, who do not heed the words of the prophets" (Rashi on Jonah 1:3:1). Rashi is quoted from The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, CC-BY. The note names the Mechilta as its source. Rashi adds that Jonah paid the ship's hire in advance, against the custom of paying on leaving, and names Pirké d'Rabbi Eliezer ch. 10 and Tanhuma, Vayikra 8 (Rashi on Jonah 1:3:2).
Ibn Ezra takes up the other reason given for the flight and rejects it. Some explained that Jonah feared he would be called a false prophet when God forgave the city. Ibn Ezra calls them incorrect, because the forty days were not spoken until the second commission, and he sides with the sages. "Our sages of blessed memory were correct when they said that Jonah was distressed, for Israel's sake, that the people of Nineveh would escape [their fate]" (Ibn Ezra on Jonah 1:2:1). Ibn Ezra is quoted from the Sefaria Community Translation, CC0. Rashi gives the reading Ibn Ezra rejects at the fourth chapter, so the two commentators part on the book's central question.
The rest of Rashi's notes follow the ship. Every one of the seventy nations was on board, each man calling to his own god (Rashi on Jonah 1:5:2). The sailors cast lots because the other ships were sailing calmly while theirs was breaking, which he takes from Pirké d'Rabbi Eliezer (Rashi on Jonah 1:7:1). They asked what Jonah's work was, in case he had been negligent in it (Rashi on Jonah 1:8:2). They rowed like men digging a tunnel (Rashi on Jonah 1:13:1). Their prayer was against the sin of laying a hand on his life (Rashi on Jonah 1:14:1). Their vows at the end were vows "that they would proselytize" (Rashi on Jonah 1:16:1). Shorter glosses stand at 1:2:1, 1:4:1, 1:5:1, 1:6:1, 1:6:2, 1:7:2, 1:8:1 and 1:10:1.
The corpus carries six further notes on this chapter without an English text. Five are Ibn Ezra, marked linked because Sefaria holds no English version of the ref, at Ibn Ezra on Jonah 1:4:1, 1:9:1, 1:11:1, 1:12:1 and 1:15:1. The sixth is Malbim on Jonah 1:1:1, marked linked because the licence Sefaria reports does not permit keeping the text.
What the rabbis say
The corpus carries forty rabbinic locators on this chapter and the text of none, so each is cited here and none is quoted. On the first verse, the word of the LORD coming to Jonah, it holds Midrash Tanchuma, Shemot 18:4, Sanhedrin 89a:23, Sifrei Devarim 177:1 and Vayikra Rabbah 22:3. On the second, the charge against Nineveh, it holds Bereshit Rabbati, Parashat Noah 2, Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 11:5:3, Midrash Tanchuma, Toldot 12:3 and Shemot Rabbah 45:1.
The flight to Tarshish draws the longest run. On the third verse the corpus holds Avot DeRabbi Natan, Recension B 47:1, Bereshit Rabbah 21:5, Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Nedarim 4:4 and Ein Yaakov, Nedarim 4:7. It holds Jerusalem Talmud Sukkah 5:1:3 and 5:1:4, Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Pischa 1:16 and 1:18, and Midrash Aggadah, Numbers 30:15:10. Rashi's note on the same verse names the Mechilta, which is where this run and the commentary meet.
The storm follows. On the fourth verse the corpus holds Bereshit Rabbah 24:4, Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 9:2:10, Kohelet Rabbah 1:6:1, Midrash Tehillim 87:1, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 10:3 and Vayikra Rabbah 15:1. On the sixth, the captain waking the sleeper, it holds Pesikta Rabbati 47:1 and Tractate Kallah Rabbati 6:4. On the ninth, Jonah's confession of who he is, it holds Avot DeRabbi Natan, Recension B 10:4 and Otzar Midrashim, Selection of Various Tales, The Woman Who Was Stoned 23.
The end of the chapter runs through Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, the source Rashi names for the lots. On the twelfth verse the corpus holds Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Pischa 1:19, Midrash Tanchuma, Vayikra 8:1 and Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 10:4. On the thirteenth it holds Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 10:5, and on the fourteenth Midrash Tanchuma, Terumah 9:9. On the fifteenth, the sea growing calm, it holds Aggadat Bereshit 8:2, Midrash Tanchuma, Vayeshev 3:3, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 10:6 and Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 550:2. On the sixteenth, the sailors' vows, it holds Midrash Sekhel Tov, Bereshit 43:18:1, Midrash Tanchuma, Tzav 14:1 and Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 10:10. On the seventeenth it holds Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 10:7. What each of them teaches is a saying of the rabbis, and is reported as theirs wherever this site quotes one.
Sources: Radak, Radak on Jonah 1:1:1, the Sefaria Community Translation, reported CC0; Ibn Ezra, Ibn Ezra on Jonah 1:2:1, the Sefaria Community Translation, reported CC0; Ibn Ezra on Jonah 1:4:1, 1:9:1, 1:11:1, 1:12:1 and 1:15:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no English text; Rashi, Rashi on Jonah 1:2:1 to 1:16:1, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, reported CC-BY; Malbim, Malbim on Jonah 1:1:1, cited by ref because the licence Sefaria reports does not permit keeping the text; The Sefaria corpus, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/jonah/1.json, the 40 Talmud and Midrash locators of this chapter; The site's own files, src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, the festival reading for Jonah citing Babylonian Talmud Megillah 31a, probed for this chapter and printing parashot 0 and haftarah 0.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Go to Nineveh: and he paid the fare to Tarshish
Jonah 1:1-3
the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: Jonah is the prophet of 2 Kings 14:25, where the LORD spoke "through His servant Jonah son of Amittai" under Jeroboam the second. Nineveh is the Assyrian capital, whose empire would carry Israel away within a century. Verse 3 names the flight twice: "away from the presence of the LORD."
Jonah 1:1
"Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me." Apart from that which the Septuagint translates as, "the noise of their wickedness has risen up even to me", it has translated the rest similarly. Jonah is sent to the gentiles to condemn Israel, because Nineveh had to repent, but the Israelites still persisted in their sin.
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1patristic
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Jonah 1:1
“Jonah--meaning in Hebrew, "dove." Compare Ge 8:8, 9, where the dove in vain seeks rest after flying from Noah and the ark: so Jonah. GROTIUS not so well explains it, "one sprung from Greece" or Ionia, where there were prophets called Amythaonidæ. Amittai--Hebrew for "truth," "truth-telling"; appropriate to a prophet.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Nineveh's sin has reached the judge, in the language of a court where a crime is reported to the one who must rule. Matthew Henry calls it wickedness done with a high hand. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown add that the mission would shame Israel, whose many prophets went unheeded.
Jonah 1:2
“Jonah, however, is sent to Nineveh, not solely for Nineveh's good, but also to shame Israel, by the fact of a heathen city repenting at the first preaching of a single stranger, Jonah, whereas God's people will not repent, though preached to by their many national prophets, late and early. Nineveh means "the residence of Ninus," that is, Nimrod.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Jonah 1:2
“They made a profession of true religion, they boasted that they were a holy people; circumcision was also to them a symbol and a pledge of God's covenant; yet they despised all the Prophets, so that their teaching among them was wholly useless.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
Jonah 1:2
“Go to Nineveh - This was the capital of the Assyrian empire, and one of the most ancient cities of the world, Gen 10:10; and one of the largest, as it was three days’ journey in circumference. Ancient writers represent it as oblong; being in length one hundred and fifty stadia, and ninety in breadth, the compass being four hundred and eighty stadia. Now as the stadium is allowed to have been equal to our furlong, eight of which make a mile, this amounts to fifty-four English miles: see on Jon 3:3 (note).”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
away from the presence of the LORD: Twice in one verse the phrase frames the flight. Spurgeon holds that Jonah knew he could not escape God's reach and was refusing to serve in His presence, where a prophet stood. Adam Clarke records Spain, Tarsus in Cilicia and Ceylon among the places proposed for Tarshish.
Jonah 1:3
"But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD." The Septuagint here is similar. The prophet knows by an inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that the repentance of the people is the destruction of the Jews. In this situation it is not that he is trying to save Nineveh, but that moreover he does not want to see it destroyed. In another place Moses prays for his people: "if you can spare them this sin, spare them; if not, erase me from your book that you have written" [Ex.
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1patristic
3 more voices on this verse
Jonah 1:3
“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord,.... He was not obedient to the heavenly vision; he rose up, but not to go to Nineveh, but to Tarshish, the reverse of it; to the sea, as the Targum, the Mediterranean sea, which lay west, as Nineveh was to the east.”
Jonah 1:3
“But (And) Jonah rose up to flee ... from the presence of the Lord - literally “from being before the Lord.” Jonah knew well, that man could not escape from the presence of God, whom he knew as the Self-existing One, He who alone is, the Maker of heaven, earth and sea. He did not “flee” then “from His presence,” knowing well what David said Psa 139:7, Psa 139:9-10, “whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?”
Jonah 1:3
“This is the only case of a prophet, charged with a prophetical message, concealing it. from the presence of the Lord--(Compare Ge 4:16). Jonah thought in fleeing from the land of Israel, where Jehovah was peculiarly present, that he should escape from Jehovah's prophecy-inspiring influence.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
A storm, a sleeping prophet, and lots that fall on him
Jonah 1:4-6
Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea: The LORD hurls a great wind upon the sea, and the ship Jonah boarded becomes the means of his arrest. The sailors each cry out to his own god, while Jonah sleeps. A pagan captain calls the prophet of the LORD to prayer: "Get up and call upon your God."
Jonah 1:4
“But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea,.... He took a wind out of his treasures, and hurled it, as the word (w) signifies, into the sea: "into that sea" (x); that part of it where the ship was Jonah was in. Winds are at the command of God, which he raises at his pleasure, and fulfil his will, and are servants of his that obey his orders: this here was sent in pursuit of Jonah, to stop him in his voyage, when he thought he had got clear off, and was safe enough.”
each cried out to his own god: The crew prays and works while the prophet sleeps below deck. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that sailors in danger called on every god they knew. Chrysostom says the ship grew no lighter when the cargo went over, because its heaviest load was the sin of the man asleep.
Jonah 1:5
“Then the mariners were afraid,.... Perceiving that the storm was not an ordinary, but a supernatural one; and that the ship and all in it were in extreme danger, and no probability of being saved. This shows that the storm must be very violent, to frighten such men who were used to the sea, and to storms, and were naturally bold and intrepid. The word used signifies "salters", so called from the salt sea they used, as they are by us "mariners", from "mare", the "sea"; though R.”
1 more voice on this verse
Jonah 1:5
“And cried, every man unto his God - They did what they could. “Not knowing the truth, they yet know of a Providence, and, amid religious error, know that there is an Object of reverence.” In ignorance they had received one who offended God. And now God, “whom they ignorantly worshiped” Act 17:23, while they cried to the gods, who, they thought, disposed of them, heard them. They escaped with the loss of their wares, but God saved their lives and revealed Himself to them. God hears ignorant prayer, when ignorance is not willful and sin.”
A pagan wakes the prophet to pray. Albert Barnes renders the captain's question as what ails you, as though the sleep were a sickness in the common danger. His hope rests on whether this God will consider them, and the king of Nineveh voices the same hope at 3:9.
Jonah 1:6
"So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest you, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not." LXX: "and the helmsman come to him and he said to him, what are you doing sleeping? Get up, and call upon your God. If he can find a way to save us then we may not die. It is natural that each one has more confidence in someone else when they feel themselves to be in such danger.
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Jonah 1:6
“The shipmaster - Either the captain or the pilot. Arise, call upon thy God - He supposed that Jonah had his god, as well as they had theirs; and that, as the danger was imminent, every man should use the influence he had, as they were all equally involved in it.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Jonah 1:7-9
The lot was a known way to find a hidden offender, and it falls on Jonah before any question is asked. His answer names the LORD as the God "who made the sea and the dry land," while he runs from this God across that sea.
Jonah 1:7
“Come, and let us cast lots - This was a very ancient mode of endeavoring to find out the mind of Divine Providence; and in this case it proves that they supposed the storm to have arisen on account of some hidden crime of some person aboard. A philosopher being at sea in a violent storm. when the crew began to call earnestly to the gods for safety, he said, “Be silent, and cease your prayers; for should the gods know that you are here, we shall all be lost.””
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Jonah 1:7
"And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah." LXX: 'and they said to each other: come, let us draw lots to see who it is that has brought this wickedness upon us. And they drew lots, and the lot fell to Jonah.' They knew the ways of the sea and knew the causes of the storms and winds in such weather.
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1patristic
Jonah 1:7
“Cast into the sea and swallowed by a fish, ver. 11-17. Commentary on Chapter I 2. That great city - It is said to have been one hundred and fifty furlongs in length, that is eighteen miles and three quarters, and eleven miles and one quarter in breadth.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Jonah 1:7
“Come, and let us cast lots - Jonah too had probably prayed, and his prayers too were not heard.”
The lot has already pointed at Jonah, and still the sailors ask questions before they accuse. Adam Clarke calls the questions a gentle way of bringing the charge home, leaving him room to make the best of his case. Each question narrows toward the God he serves.
Jonah 1:8
"Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray you, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence do you come? what is thy country? and of what people art you?" LXX: 'and they said to him, 'tell us how this wickedness has come upon us: what is your occupation, where do you come from, where you are going to, from which country, and which people you are from?' '.
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Jonah 1:8
“Tell us - for whose cause - A very gentle method of bringing the charge home to himself, and the several questions here asked gave the utmost latitude to make the best of his own case.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Jonah's answer is true and damning at once. He names the LORD as maker of the sea and the dry land while running from Him across that sea. Matthew Henry says the sins of a people who make such a profession are greater than the sins of others.
Jonah 1:9
“Jonah was but the reflection of Israel's backsliding from God, and so must bear the righteous punishment. The guilt of the minister is the result of that of the people, as in Moses' case (De 4:21). This is what makes Jonah a suitable type of Messiah, who bore the imputed sin of the people.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Jonah 1:10-11
The men grow "even more afraid" on learning that a prophet is "fleeing from the presence of the LORD," since he had told them himself. They ask Jonah what they must do "to calm this sea for us," so the remedy must come from the fugitive.
Jonah 1:10
“Then were the men exceedingly afraid - Before, they had feared the tempest and the loss of their lives. Now they feared God. They feared, not the creature but the Creator. They knew that what they had feared was the doing of His Almightiness. They felt how awesome a thing it was to be in His Hands. Such fear is the beginning of conversion, when people turn from dwelling on the distresses which surround them, to God who sent them. Why hast thou done this? - They are words of amazement and wonder.”
Thrown into the sea, and the sea grew calm
The sailors ask the guilty man for the remedy, since he must know best how his God is appeased. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read in the question a wish to save him if they can. The sea gives them no time.
Jonah 1:11
“What shall we do unto thee? - They knew him to be a prophet; they ask him the mind of his God. The lots had marked out Jonah as the cause of the storm; Jonah had himself admitted it, and that the storm was for “his” cause, and came from “his” God . “Great was he who fled, greater He who required him. They dare not give him up; they cannot conceal him. They blame the fault; they confess their fear; they ask “him” the remedy, who was the author of the sin.”
1 more voice on this verse
Jonah 1:11
“What shall we do unto thee?--They ask this, as Jonah himself must best know how his God is to be appeased. "We would gladly save thee, if we can do so, and yet be saved ourselves" (Jon 1:13, 14).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Jonah 1:12-13
Jonah answers the sailors' question himself with "cast me into the sea," and he names himself as the cause of "this violent storm". The men do not act on his word at once. They row "to get back to dry land," trying to save him, "but they could not."
Jonah 1:12
“I know that for my sake - I am not worthy to live; throw me overboard. God will not quiet the storm till I am cast out of the ship. Here was deep compunction; and honest avowal of sin; and a justification of the displeasure which God had now manifested.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Jonah 1:12
“It is not parting with our money that will pacify conscience; no, it is the Jonah that be thrown overboard. Jonah is herein a type of Christ, that he gives his life a ransom for many; but with this material difference, that the storm Jonah gave himself up to still was of his own raising, but that storm which Christ gave himself up to still was of our raising.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Jonah 1:12
“THESE mariners manifested most commendable humanity. They were not willing, even though it were to preserve their own lives, to cast overboard an innocent man. Therefore they first used their best endeavors. And when these failed they made a solemn appeal to God, entreating Him not to lay upon them innocent blood—and then, since necessity has no law, Jonah, as a last resource was given up to the boisterous element, but not till every effort had been made to save him. We should he very careful of human life, doing nothing which even indirectly may destroy or injure it.”
the men rowed hard: The sailors refuse the prophet's own sentence and try to row back to land. Matthew Henry names two reasons, their dread of innocent blood and their pity for a man who had condemned himself. The sea closes that way too.
Jonah 1:13
“The men rowed hard - , literally “dug.” The word, like our “plowed the main,” describes the great efforts which they made. Amid the violence of the storm, they had furled their sails. These were worse than useless. The wind was off shore, since by rowing alpine they hoped to get back to it. They put their oars well and firmly in the sea, and turned up the water, as men turn up earth by digging. But in vain! God willed it not. The sea went on its way, as before.”
Jonah 1:14-16
The sailors now pray to the LORD by name. When the sea grows calm they "feared the LORD greatly," offered "a sacrifice to the LORD" and made vows. Calvin and Keil point out that the chapter ends with Gentiles fearing and worshipping the LORD before Jonah has preached at Nineveh.
Jonah 1:14
The sailors and the passengers in the book of Jonah say, "We beseech you, O Lord, do not destroy us on account of this man and lay not upon us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you." They do not know the reasons why the prophet, a fugitive servant, deserved to be punished. And yet they justify God and acknowledge the blood of him whose deeds they do not know to be innocent. And in conclusion, they say, "You, O Lord, have done as it pleased you."
Jerome · written before 420 · Against the Pelagians 2.23patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Jonah 1:14
“In the case of the Antitype, Pontius Pilate washed his hands and confessed Christ's innocence, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person." But whereas Jonah the victim was guilty and the sailors innocent, Christ our sacrificial victim was innocent and Pontius Pilate and nil of us men were guilty.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the raging sea grew calm: The calm answers their prayer the moment Jonah enters the water. Jerome notes that the text says they took him up, since he gave himself into their hands. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown set the calm beside Luke 8:24, where the sea obeys Jesus.
Jonah 1:15
“And if we thus by a thorough repentance and reformation cast our sins forth into the sea, never to recall them or return to them again, God will by pardoning mercy subdue our iniquities, and cast them into the depths of the sea too, Mic. vii.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Jonah 1:15
“The text does not say they seized him or that they threw him in, but that they took him, carrying him as one [deserving] respect and honor. They discharged him into the sea not in repugnance; rather, he submitted himself of his own volition into their hands. And the sea ceased [its turmoil] because it found what it sought. When one continues as a fugitive and keeps running away as fast as one can, sooner or later he is caught and stops his running, and whatever was chasing him stands still.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1patristic
made vows to Him: Their fear has found its object, and pagans worship the God of Israel while His prophet sinks. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take it that they sacrificed at once and vowed more for when they landed. Wesley sees the Gentiles turning from idols here.
Jonah 1:16
"Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows." LXX: similar. Before the anger of the Lord the sailors implored their gods under the effect of their fear; after his anger they fear the Lord, that is they revere and worship Him. They do not worship Him in the usual way, as we have seen in the beginning, but with "a great fear", according to that which is said: "from all their spirit and all their heart and all their soul" [Deut. 6:5; Mt. 22:37].
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Jonah 1:16
“Feared the Lord - Perhaps as Jonah's casting over-board was a type of Christ's death, so the effect it had upon the mariners might be a type of the conversion of the Heathen from idols unto God. Made vows - Probably they vowed, they would ever worship him whom Jonah preached, the Creator of heaven and earth.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Jonah 1:16
“Offered a sacrifice - The first perhaps ever offered on board a vessel since the ark floated on the waters of the great deluge; and it is most probable that these heathens, witnessing what was done, became sincere converts to the true God.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
A great fish prepared, and three days in its bellyv. 17
Now the LORD had appointed a great fish: The LORD appoints the fish, and the sea that was to kill Jonah becomes his rescue. At Matthew 12:40 Jesus sets His own "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" beside Jonah's. He gives the same sign at Matthew 16:4 and Luke 11:30.
Jonah 1:17
"Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah." LXX: 'and the Lord ordered a great fish to swallow Jonah'. The Lord commanded death and the underworld to receive the prophet. To the eager jaws of death he seemed a prey: she had such joy in swallowing him, and such sadness in spitting him out. Thus happened what is written in Hosea: "I will be your death, O Death! I will be your bite, Hell!" [Hos. 13:14].
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1patristic
3 more voices on this verse
Jonah 1:17
“Now the Lord had (literally “And the Lord”) prepared - Jonah (as appears from his thanksgiving) was not swallowed at once, but sank to the bottom of the sea, God preserving him in life there by miracle, as he did in the fish’s belly.”
Jonah 1:17
“An illustrious type of Christ, who was buried and rose again according to the scriptures ( 1 Cor. xv. 4 ), according to this scripture, for, as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so was the Son of man three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, Matt. xii. Jonah's burial was a figure of Christ's.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Jonah 1:17
“A great fish - The Hebrew word is, numbered, has appointed him for Jonah's receiver and deliverer. God has the command of all his creatures, and can make any of them serve his designs of mercy to his people.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Keep studying
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Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
E. B. Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2171, Runaway Jonah and the Convenient Ship; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1; John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets; John Chrysostom, Homilies on Repentance and Almsgiving 3.8; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.