Jonah 1:9
in Jonah 1“I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear Jehovah, the God of heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry land.
KJV
And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.
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This verse in Jonah 1
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I am an Hebrew - This was the name by which Israel was known to foreigners. It is used in the Old Testament, only when they are spoken of by foreigners, or speak of themselves to foreigners, or when the sacred writers mention them in contrast with foreigners . So Joseph spoke of his land Gen 40:15, and the Hebrew midwives Exo 1:19, and Moses’ sister Exo 2:7, and God in His commission to Moses Exo 3:18; Exo 7:16; Exo 9:1 as to Pharaoh, and Moses in fulfilling it Exo 5:
This site's exposition
Come, and let us cast lots
on Jonah 1:7-9
Come, and let us cast lots treats the lot as a recognized way of finding out a hidden offender among the crew, and it falls on Jonah exactly as his own flight had already marked him out before any question was asked. The sailors press him with a string of questions, occupation, country, people, and his answer overturns them all at once: I am an Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. Gill and Keil both note the irony of the confession, a man who has just tried to run from this God now naming him as maker of the very sea presently trying to kill him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
A commentator
Philoxenus of Mabbug13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 7 -- Second Discourse on the Fear of God · Written before 523.
proposed
And concerning Jonah it is also written, "He feared before the Lord and fled to Joppa." For although his fear was born of simplicity, yet like a man who feared God he fled in order that he might not draw nigh to the work which …
A commentator
Gregory of NazianzusIN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:107 · Written before 390.
proposed
It was not likely that such a prophet should be ignorant of the design of God, which was to bring about, by means of threat, the escape of the Ninevites from the threatened doom, according to his great wisdom and unsearchable judgments and according to his ways which are beyond our tracing and finding out.… To imagine that Jonah hoped to hide himself at sea and escape by his flight the great eye of God is surely utterly absurd and stupid, and unworthy of credit, not only in the case of a prophet but even in the case of any sensible person, who has only a slight perception of God, whose power is over all.
"And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land." LXX: 'and he replied: I am a worshipper of the Lord, and I revere God of the heavens who made the sea and the dry land'.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), not only of the nation of Israel, but of their religion, which they received from their fathers. He is a Hebrew, and therefore is the more ashamed to own that he is a criminal; for the sins of Hebrews, that make such a profession of religion and enjoy such privileges, are greater than the sins of others, and more exceedingly sinful.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
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.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
I fear the Lord - In this Jonah was faithful. He gave an honest testimony concerning the God he served, which placed him before the eyes of the sailors as infinitely higher than the objects of their adoration; for the God of Jonah was the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land, and governed both. He also honestly told them that he was fleeing from the presence of this God, whose honorable call he had refused to obey. See Jon 1:10.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
“What is this that you have done?” —Why have you done this, to flee from before such a Ruler?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עִבְרִ֣י | ʾivri | [am] a Hebrew | H5680 → | |
| אָנֹ֑כִי | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֞ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֤י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יָרֵ֔א | yare' | [am] fearing | H3373 → | |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשָׂ֥ה | ʾasah | he made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַיָּ֖ם | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַיַּבָּשָֽׁה׃ | haiyabashah | the dry land | H3004 → | 14 times |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֖םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
עִבְרִ֣י[am] a Hebrew
ʾivriH5680 →
אָנֹ֑כִיI
ʾanokhiH595 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֞הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֤י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙the heavens
hashamayimH8064 →
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יָרֵ֔א[am] fearing
yare'H3373 →
אֲשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
עָשָׂ֥הhe made
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַיָּ֖םthe sea
haiyamH3220 →396 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַיַּבָּשָֽׁה׃the dry land
haiyabashahH3004 →14 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Nehemiah 9:6You alone are the LORD. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give…
it leads to
- Isaiah 37:16
“O LORD of Hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.
- Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
- Revelation 4:11
“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and came to be.”
- Deuteronomy 10:14
Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, and the earth and everything in it.
- Deuteronomy 6:4
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One.
- Isaiah 37:16
Through
Nehemiah 1:4When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
it leads to
- Daniel 9:3
So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
- Psalms 137:1
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
- Ezra 10:1
While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, a very large assembly of Israelites—men, women, and children—gathered around him, and the people wept bitterly as well.
- Daniel 9:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Jonah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Gregory of Nazianzus, IN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:107; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 7 -- Second Discourse on the Fear of God.