Jonah
Jonah 1
Chapter I · Vol. III, pp. 1447–1449
1 Jonah, sent by God to Nineveh, fleeth to Tarshish. 4 He is overtaken by a tempest, 11 thrown into the sea, 17 and swallowed by a fish.
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that cgreat city,1 and cry against it; for dtheir wickedness is come up before me.
c Ge.10.11,12. ch.3.3. Zep.2.3,15. Na.2.1,8.
1 It was situated on the eastern bank of the Tigris, opposite to the modern Mosul, about 280 miles north of Babylon. According to Diodorus Siculus, it was a parallelogram 20 miles long and 12 broad; consequently rather more than 60 miles in compass. It was surrounded by walls 100 feet in height, so broad that three chariots could drive abreast, and defended by 1500 towers, each 200 feet high—truly a 'great city.'—C.
3 But Jonah erose up to gflee unto hTarshish,2 from the ipresence of the LORD, and went down to jJoppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
e Ge.25.34. Nu.24.25. Ps.94.8.
g Ne.6.11. Ge.3.8; 4.16. Ja.5.17. Ex.4.13. ch.4.2.
2 Tarshish. Many places being so named, it is impossible to decide to which the prophet meant to retreat. Tarsus in Cilicia, Carthage in Africa, and Tartissus in Spain, have all been suggested; while some think it a general name for 'the sea.' That it was not the eastern Tarshish to which vessels sailed from Ezion-geber, on the Red Sea, the embarkation at Joppa, a port in the Mediterranean, proves certain.—C.
i Ps.139.7.
4 But the LORD ksent out3 a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like4 to be broken.
5 Then the mariners were afraid, and lcried every man unto his god, and ncast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship;5 and he lay, and owas fast asleep.
5 Into the sides of the ship. Into one of the sleeping berths situated in the sides of the ship.—C.
l Ro.1.20-25; 2.14,15. 1 Ki.18.26. Is.44.18-20; 45.20.
n Ac.27.18,19. Job 2.4.
6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, pWhat meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, callq upon thy God, rif so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us scast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and tthe lot fell upon Jonah.
8 Then said they unto him, uTell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; vwhat is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?
9 And he said unto them, xI am an Hebrew; and I yfear the LORD,6 the zGod of heaven, awhich hath made the sea and the dry land.
x Ro.3.1,2. Ps.147.19,20. Phi.3.5.
6 Or, JEHOVAH.
z Is.42.5,8. Je.10.10,11; 32.17; 51.15,19.
a Ps.146.6.
10 Then were the men exceedingly 7afraid,8 and said unto him, bWhy hast thou done this? For the men knew that he cfled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
7 Heb. afraid with great fear, Da.5.6,9. Is.33.14.
8 Though heathens, as appears from each having his peculiar tutelary god (ver. 5), yet, like most other heathens, they did not deny the Deity, but merely the sole Deity, of Jehovah; and when they heard of him as the God of the sea, and saw the evidence of the fact in the storm and the confession of Jonah, they became afraid. They seem to have been ignorant and superstitious, but, in their own way, pious men, open to conviction, and, most probably, converted to the knowledge and worship of the true God. See ver. 14-16.—C.
b Ps.76.7,8. Ge.39.9. Je.50.7.
c See ver. 3. Job 27.22.
11 Then said they unto him, dWhat shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us?9 for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.1
9 Heb. silent from us.
1 Or, grew more and more tempestuous. Heb. went and was, &c.
12 And he said unto them, eTake me up, and cast me forth into the sea: so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that gfor my sake this great tempest is upon you.
13 Nevertheless, the men rowed2 hard to bring it to the land; hbut they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
2 Heb. digged.
h Pr.21.30. Ps.76.7. 1 Co.10.22. Pr.11.21.
14 Wherefore they icried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, jlet us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, kO LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.
Notes
Ver. 1. The word of the Lord. Not a mere vocal word, but, according to Ge. 15. 1-18; 17. 22, a visible manifestation of 'the Word that was with God, and was God.' C.
Ver. 17. A great fish—commonly supposed to be a whale (as most in accordance with Mat. 12.40), though the species is not here mentioned by the prophet, nor does it necessarily signify a whale even in Matthew. For the purpose of preservation, however, the whale seems most appropriate; as, without supposing the prophet to have descended into the stomach (which the text does not necessarily require), the mouth of a common whale presents a cavity from 6 to 8 feet wide, from 10 to 12 feet high, and from 15 to 16 feet long; which would contain an abundant supply of air, continually renewed by the creature's ascent to the surface. The fact that whales are not found in the Mediterranean is of no weight, inasmuch as they may have been there abundantly, and extirpated by the fishers, as they have been in other seas and the lower latitudes of the Atlantic. But as the whole transaction was a miracle, it is not necessary to have recourse to these facts in defence of the narrative; it is enough to know there is nothing beyond the power and mercy of God, when wisdom requires their exhibition. C.
Reflections.—God's ministers must either send or bear his message as he directs them. But even good men will often take the most foolish methods to evade difficult and dangerous duties. And Providence may seem at first to favour their projects; but rebellion against God will at last awaken terrible storms in consciences and societies; and saints may become a plague to heathens themselves, and need their rebukes for their wickedness and deep unconcern. In troubles it highly becomes us to inquire into the sinful cause. In sinning, we seldom think how mischievous the consequences may be: and in vain we indulge the most secret wickedness, when God can so easily discover it. Yea, shameful is it when ministers and saints are forced to confess their secret rebellions to his open enemies. But when men are truly humbled for sin, they will readily submit to either shame or suffering for it. And if sin has raised a storm, we never must hope for peace till it be removed by remission and repentance. Those who acknowledge their guilt with openness and grief are entitled to our deepest compassion. But even natural conscience, if awakened, will startle at the very appearance of murder. There is no striving against the counsels of God: his will must be done: and if, with prayer, we follow his direction, we may trust him with the issue. While alarming providences produce short appearances of religion in sinners, God often strangely marks his dominion over and direction of his creatures, and affords marvellous protection to his offending saints.