English · ASV

Jonah 1

Listen to this chapter
0:00 0:00

Jonah Called to Nineveh, Flees to Tarshish 1–3

1
Now the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ​
2
Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. ​
3
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah; and he went down to Joppa, and 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 Jehovah. ​

The LORD Sends a Great Storm 4–10

4
But Jehovah sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. ​
5
Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it unto them. But Jonah was gone down into the innermost parts of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. ​
6
So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if 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 cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. ​
8
Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; what is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?
9
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. ​
10
Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, What is this that thou hast done? For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Jehovah, because he had told them. ​

Jonah Is Cast into the Sea 11–16

11
Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea grew more and more tempestuous.
12
And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. ​
13
Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get them back to the land; but they could not: for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. ​
14
Wherefore they cried unto Jehovah, and said, We beseech thee, O Jehovah, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for thou, O Jehovah, hast done as it pleased thee. ​
15
So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging.
16
Then the men feared Jehovah exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice unto Jehovah, and made vows. ​

Jonah in the Great Fish: His Prayer and Deliverance 17

17
And Jehovah prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Jonah 1

Verse 1

Jonah the son of Amittai — The prophet who 'restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain', 'which was of Gathhepher' (2 Kings 14:25), under Jeroboam the son of Joash (14:23), the king of Amos 1:1. Yonah is the Hebrew name for a dove; Amittai comes from emet, truth. The formula returns in 3:1, 'the second time'.

Verse 2

that great city — Nineveh was founded by Asshur (Gen 10:11). 'Great' (gadol) is the book's key word, in 13 of its 48 verses, for the city, the wind, the fear and the fish. 'Wickedness' is ra'ah, 'evil', the word later used of the storm (1:7), of Nineveh's 'evil way' (3:8) and of the 'evil' God turns from (3:10). Nahum 3:1 calls it 'the bloody city'.

Verse 3

to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD — Barach, 'flee', is the verb of Ps 139:7, 'whither shall I flee from thy presence?', and of Jonah's own words in 4:2, 'I fled before unto Tarshish'. He 'went down' (yarad) to Joppa, into the ship, and in v.5 into its sides. Tarshish is named with 'the isles afar off' (Isa 66:19) and as the port of a gold-bearing 'navy' (1 Kings 10:22).

Verse 4

the LORD sent out a great wind — Tul, 'sent out', is to hurl: the LORD hurls the wind, and the sailors hurl the wares (v.5) and Jonah (vv.12, 15). 'Was like to be broken' is literally that the ship 'thought' (chashab) to be broken. The wind answers the LORD's word, as in Ps 107:25, 'he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind'.

Verse 5

cried every man unto his god — The sailors (mallach, found elsewhere only of Tyre's crews in Ezek 27:9, 27, 29) pray each to his own god and throw the cargo overboard. Jonah has 'gone down' and lies 'fast asleep' (radam), the deep sleep of Sisera in Judg 4:21. Christ is also asleep in a storm when the disciples ask 'carest thou not that we perish?' (Mark 4:38).

Verse 6

arise, call upon thy God — The shipmaster uses the LORD's own verbs to Jonah: 'Arise' (qum) and 'call' (qara, 'cry against it' in v.2), after Jonah had 'rose up' in the other direction (v.3). His hope, 'that we perish not', is the hope Nineveh's king expresses in 3:9: 'Who can tell if God will turn and repent… that we perish not?'

Verse 7

the lot fell upon Jonah — 'The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD' (Prov 16:33). By lot Achan was found, tribe by tribe and man by man (Josh 7:16–18). The sailors ask 'for whose cause this evil is upon us', and Jonah answers in v.12 with the same short word, 'for my sake'. 'Evil' is ra'ah, the word of v.2.

Verse 9

I am an Hebrew — 'Hebrew' is the name foreigners give Israelites (Gen 39:14; 1 Sam 4:6), and Jonah gives it to the sailors who ask his country and people. 'I fear' is yare, from the root of the sailors' fear in vv.5, 10, 16. 'The God of heaven' is a title used in Ezra 1:2; 'made the sea and the dry land' draws on Ps 95:5, and the 'dry land' (yabbashah) is where they try to row in v.13.

Verse 10

exceedingly afraid — Literally 'feared a great fear' (gadol, yirah), the expression repeated in v.16, 'feared the LORD exceedingly'. Here the fear is of what Jonah's God has done; in v.16 it is the fear of the LORD himself. 'Why hast thou done this?' recalls the question put to Eve, 'What is this that thou hast done?' (Gen 3:13). The men know 'because he had told them' (v.9).

Verse 12

Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea — Jonah uses the verb tul of vv.4 and 5, and his 'for my sake' answers the sailors' 'for whose cause' (vv.7, 8). The sea that 'wrought' and was 'tempestuous' (sa'ar, like the 'tempest' of v.4) will be calm (shathaq), the verb of Ps 107:30, 'they be quiet', after the storm.

Verse 13

rowed hard — Chathar is to dig; the oars dig into the water as one digs 'through the wall' (Ezek 12:5). 'To bring it to the land' uses shuv, to turn back, the verb of 3:8–10, 'let them turn every one from his evil way'. The 'land' is the 'dry land' of v.9, and the sea 'wrought, and was tempestuous against them' as before.

Verse 14

We beseech thee, O LORD — The sailors, who cried each to his own god in v.5, now use the divine name. Anna, 'we beseech thee', is the word with which Jonah opens his complaint in 4:2, 'I pray thee, O LORD'. 'Innocent blood' is the phrase of Deut 21:8 and Jer 26:15, and 'as it pleased thee' echoes Ps 115:3, 'he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased'.

Verse 16

feared the LORD exceedingly — The fear of v.10 is now turned to the LORD himself, with 'a sacrifice' (zebach) and 'vows' (neder), the same two things Jonah promises from the fish: 'I will sacrifice unto thee… I will pay that that I have vowed' (2:9). The 'men' are the sailors who began with 'every man unto his god' (v.5).

Verse 17

the LORD had prepared a great fish — Manah, 'prepared', is used four times in the book: the fish (1:17), the gourd (4:6), the worm (4:7) and the east wind (4:8). 'Fish' is dag, the plain word, and Matt 12:40 speaks of 'the whale's belly', applying the three days and three nights to the Son of man 'in the heart of the earth'.