Bible Commentaries
Jonah 1

Verses 1-11

IV

THE BOOK OF JONAH

Jonah is both the author and the hero of the book by this name. He was the son of Amittai, a reference to whom is also found in 2 Kings 14:25: "He [Jeroboam II] restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath unto the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of Jehovah, the God of Israel, which he spake by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher." There can be no doubt as to the identity of this Jonah and the one mentioned in Jonah I: I since this name occurs nowhere else as the "son of Amittai, the prophet." This passage not only accords with Jonah 1:1 in giving the father’s name but it also gives us Jonah’s place of residence and the times in which he prophesied. The place of his birth was Gath-hepher, a town in Zebulun (Joshua 19:13) about three, miles northeast of Nazareth which shows that he was a prophet of the Northern Kingdom. The time in which he lived is clearly shown to be the reign of Jeroboam II, the "Indian Summer" of Israel’s history after the division of the kingdom (2 Kings 14:23-29).

There are several traditions relating to Jonah. (1) It is claimed by some that "Jonah"’ means grieving and "Amittai" means true, from which arose the improbable opinion that Jonah was the son of the widow of Zarephath, whom Elijah raised to life, because of what she said when she received him from the dead (1 Kings 17:24). (2) It is also supposed by some that Jonah was the boy who attended Elijah into the wilderness. (3) There is another tradition that he was the young man sent to anoint Jehu. (4) And singularly enough, there is the tradition that he was the husband of the Shunammite woman who extended hospitality to Elisha. (5) Respecting his burial place, there is a tradition that he was buried pear Nineveh and another, that he was buried at Gathhepher, his birthplace. It is needless to say that these traditions are without foundation in history but they indicate somewhat the impress of this striking character upon the literature of the world.

There is a reference to this prophecy of Jonah in Tobit 14:4-6; Tobit 14:15, an apocryphal book, in which Nineveh is said to have been overthrown according to this prophecy of Jonah. There are three references to Jonah the prophet in the Koran, viz: In chapter X, p. 157, there is a reference to the repentance of the Ninevites at the preaching of Jonah; in chapter XXXVII, p. 338, there is an account of Jonah’s commission, disobedience, and experience in the sea; in chapter LXVIII, p. 421, there is a reference to his sea experience, God’s mercy to him and his election unto righteousness. In Josephus’ Jewish Antiquities IX, 10:1-2, we have an account of Jonah’s prophecies, both to Jeroboam II and his call and prophecy to Nineveh. He adds several items of detail to the story of Jonah’s extraordinary experience in the sea, giving his objective as Tarsus in Cilicia and the point of landing as the Euxine Sea. There is little weight of authority to these statements but they indicate a conviction as to the historicity of the book of Jonah.

There are three legends that illustrate the extraordinary features of the book of Jonah, viz: (1) Hesione and Hercules, (2) Andromeda and Perseus, and (3) Saint George and the Dragon. These legends, the scenes of which are located on the Mediterranean Sea, reflect, perhaps, the impression made upon the ancient mind by this story of Jonah.

There are several scriptural references to the book, viz: 2 Kings 14:25; Matthew 12:39-41; Matthew 16:4; Luke 11:29-30, the import of which is that the book is historical and that Jonah is typical of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The purpose of this book is threefold: (1) To teach the bigoted Israelites that salvation is for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews; (2) to give a genuine lesson on repentance, ½ as illustrated, (a) in Jonah, (b) in the Ninevites and (c) lad God himself; (3) to typify Christ. I

The occasion of this prophecy against Nineveh was the moral corruption of the Ninevites, "For their wickedness is come up before me" (Jonah 1:1). To this, other prophets add their testimony: "Woe to the bloody city I" (Nahum 3:1). "This is a joyous city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none else besides me" (Zephaniah 2:15).

The annals of Assyria are nothing but a register of militarycampaigns, spoilations, and cruelties. Their monuments display men of calm and unmoved ferocity, whose moral and mental qualities are overborne by the faculties of the lower, brutal nature." – LATARD, Nineveh and Babylon, p. 631.

The style of this book is simple, pure Hebrew. The author believed that God prepared everything and the book bears the stamp of a simple, truthful narrative. It is not prophecy, in the strict sense of the word, but history, inserted among the prophets because written by a prophet. There is no moralizing I and no reflection. The tale is told graphically and has quite a dramatic interest, advancing in regular stages to the conclusion, and leaving an impression upon the mind as though its various scenes had been enacted before the eyes of the reader.

The miraculous element of the book is twofold: (1) the physical, (2) the moral. The physical miracles are the experience of Jonah in the sea and the incident of the gourd.

The moral miracle is the salvation of the Ninevites. There are three great doctrines illustrated in the incidents of the book. (1) There is the great doctrine of the resurrection set forth in this book symbolically. No one can doubt this who reads Matthew 12:39-41. (2) There is set forth here in the most dramatic action the great doctrine of genuine repentance. Man and beast together wear the symbols of penitence. (3) There is here illustrated God’s great, forbearing mercy, and loving-kindness. See his forbearance toward wicked Nineveh and his great loving kindness as here displayed toward a lost world.

Nineveh, the great city here referred to, was founded by Nimrod, a descendant of Ham (Genesis 10:11; Micah 5:6), as a colony from Babylon which is proved by the monuments of Assyria. After this simple statement in Genesis the record is silent respecting Nineveh for a long time. The next mention of these people we find in the prophecy of Balaam (Numbers 24:22; Numbers 24:24), that Assyria should carry Israel away captive and the ships from Greece should afflict Assyria. The next reference to Assyria is found in Psalms 83:8 which finds its historical reality in 2 Chronicles 20:1-4. This is an account of Assyria under Shalmaneser II joining with Moab and Ammon against Israel under Jehoshaphat at which time the Israelites were victorious. This is the real beginning of Assyria’s strength and greatness. Her power is now beginning to be felt for the first time in her history. This brings us in the Bible account of Assyria up to the time of Jonah and Jeroboam II, where Nineveh again enters by name on the biblical record. This reappearing of the name Nineveh is incidental, and shows that the Bible does not profess to give an orderly and systematic history of the world. The record here in Jonah says that Nineveh was a "great city." It was located on the Tigris River and in the shape of a parallelogram, sixty miles around and three days’ journey on a straight line through it. Its walls were sixty feet high, with 1,500 towers, 200 feet high. The walls were broad enough on top to receive three chariots driving side by side. It is almost certain that this city was larger than Babylon, especially if we include in the estimate its suburbs. Jonah calls it "an exceeding great city of three days’ -journey" and with 120,000 infants, all of which indicate that Nineveh was no ordinary city.

Nineveh was destroyed by the combined forces of the Medes and Babylonians, the Median king being Cyaxares and the city was complete. Xenophon with 10,000 Greeks passed by it two centuries later and did not even mention it, unless he referred to it as one of the "uninhabited" cities of which he speaks. The remains of this city must have been in evidence in the days of the Roman emperors, since Tacitus refers to a Nineveh on the Tigris, and there is another reference to it as late as the thirteenth century.

The ruins now present a rampart and foss, four miles in circuit, with a moss-covered wall about twenty feet high. The archaeologists in recent years have done much to make Nineveh live before the minds of this generation. Their discoveries of the libraries have thrown a flood of light on the history of these people of the Far East; but the Bible account of Nineveh and the rest of the Oriental empires remains unmolested. The Ninevites worshiped the fish god and in excavating in this vicinity many stone images of a fish have been found with a man coming out of its mouth. There is evidently a connection between Jonah’s experience and these stone images. This seems to be a confirmation of the story of Jonah as a sign to the Ninevites. Since they worshiped the fish god, the Lord accredited Jonah unto them by means of such a miracle as would leave no doubt in their minds as to the superior power of Jehovah over their object of worship.

There is an abundance of literature on this book but I will name only a few of the very best helps to its interpretation. The boat commentaries are Pusey’s Minor Prophets and the "Pulpit Commentary." The "Expositor’s Bible" is the worst that could be mentioned. Dr. A. J. Rowland’s monograph on Jonah is very fine. The article on Jonah in Smith’s Bible Dictionary is a pretty fair article. Sampey’s Syllabus is fine. A sermon on Jonah by Melville, a Scotch preacher, is able and good. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, and Matthew Henry are also good.

The chapters constitute the divisions of the analysis of this book, as follows:

I. Jonah’s mission, disobedience, and punishment (Jonah 1:1-17)

1. His call, commission, and flight (Jonah 1:1-3)

2. God’s intervention and Jonah’s revelation (Jonah 1:4-10)

II. Jonah’s prayer, thanksgiving, and deliverance (Jonah 2:1-10)

1. His prayer (Jonah 2:1-7)

2. His thanksgiving (Jonah 2:8-9)

3. His deliverance (Jonah 2:10)

III. Jonah’s recall, obedience, and success (Jonah 3:1-10)

1. His recall (Jonah 3:1-2)

2. His obedience (Jonah 3:3-4)

3. His success (Jonah 3:5-10)

IV. Jonah’s displeasure and correction (Jonah 4:1-11)

1. His displeasure (Jonah 4:1-5)

2. His correction (Jonah 4:6-11)

The word "now" (Jonah 1:1), is the same word in the Hebrew that is translated "and" at the beginning of several of the historical books and forms a connecting link, thus showing a continuation of history, or, as in this case, connecting revelation with revelation.

We come across the expression, "the word of Jehovah," in our Bible first in Genesis 15:1 and there it means the Son of God, the Logos of John 1:1. There seems to be the same meaning here. The word of Jehovah came "saying."

We find three parallels in the Bible to Jonah 1:2, "their wickedness has come up before me," viz: (1) the case of Cain, (2) the case of the flood, and (3) the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, in each of which most solemn judgment followed. The striking difference in this case and those mentioned above is the repentance of the Ninevites which moved God to repentance and averted the awful judgment.

In his going from the presence of Jehovah, Jonah renounced his prophetic office; he went away from "standing before Jehovah"; gave up his credentials and "took to the woods" (waters), to Tarshish, a city in Spain, far away from the Jehovah country. Thus he thought to leave the land of Jehovah was to get away from the call of Jehovah. Alas! many a man has tried the policy of Jonah to his own sorrow. Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh, (1) because of his hatred for the idolatrous Gentiles, (2) because of his fear that God would show them mercy and his prediction would be discredited, (3) because of Nineveh’s growing strength and if spared she would become Israel’s rival and (4) because, perhaps, he feared ill treatment at the hands of the cruel and ferocious Assyrians.

In Jonah 1:4, "he paid the fare thereof," we have a picture of the preacher renouncing his call of God upon which he must pay his own way, a hard fare indeed when one has lost the divine favor. But he sends a messenger after him, viz: a storm, and sometimes the fires of affliction are kindled all about him and sore distress comes upon him. God must be obeyed. See Psalms 107:23-32. But what the significance of "cast forth the wares" (Jonah 1:5)? This expression illustrates the fact that there is something to do besides to pray. Work is the handmaiden of prayer. Jonah’s being asleep is an illustration of a man who is guilty of sin, more especially the backslider. Sin stupefies and therefore they need to be aroused. A fine text: “O sleeper, arise." Casting lots was one way of finding out the will of Jehovah. Compare Acts 1:26 et multa al. This was simply a method of casting the vote. Jonah, understanding fully that the trouble was all on account of him, asked that they dispose of him by casting him into the sea and let him take the chance for his life, but the sailors saw only death for Jonah in such procedure and were not willing to take the risk of having upon them innocent blood. As the last resort they yielded.

There are three distinct things affirmed in Jonah 2:16, which need special notice, viz: (1) that they feared Jehovah, (2) that they offered sacrifice unto Jehovah, and (3) that they made vows, the explanation of which is, that Jonah had convinced them that Jehovah had brought the storm and therefore he was the one who was to be appeased. As to the nature of their fear, sacrifice, and vows we are not told but we are not to suppose that it was the reverential fear that brings salvation. It is probable that they acknowledged Jehovah as one of their gods after this event but there is nothing here to show that they accepted Jehovah as the only God to the exclusion of their own gods.

The fish that swallowed Jonah may have been a whale of the kind found in the Mediterranean Sea which is able to swallow a man whole, or it may have been the white shark of the same waters, as it is sometimes found in this section twenty-five feet long and has been known to swallow a man whole, and even a horse. There have been found in this sea three kinds of sea-animals that could easily swallow a man, viz: the Great Spermaceti Whale, the White Shark, and the Rorqual, one specimen of which has been found in this sea seventy-five feet long. So the contention that no whale or fish that could swallow a man is found in these parts is utterly baseless.

Jonah’s hymn is evidently made up of quotations from other passages of Scriptures which a comparison of the following passages will prove: Jonah 2:2 equals Psalms 120:1; Jonah 2:3 equals Psalms 42:7; Psalms 18:4; Jonah 2:4 equals Psalms 31:22; Jonah 2:5 equals Psalms 18:40; Psalms 18:5; Jonah 2:7 equals Psalms 18:6 (last clause) and Psalms 142:3; Jonah 2:8 equals Psalms 31:6-7. These correspondences could not have been fortuitous: the one poet must have had sounding in his mind the language of the other. Jonah evidently was well acquainted with the Psalms. "Lying vanities" in Jonah 2:8 means idolatry and indicates a strong characteristic of heathen worship.

The second commission to Jonah is recorded in Jonah 3:1-2: "And the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee." The circumstances of this second commission are as follows: Jonah had had his extraordinary experience in the sea and had, doubtless, returned home, allowing sufficient time for the news of this great and singular event to reach Nineveh, thus preparing the way for Jonah’s preaching by accrediting Jonah to them in a way that would impress them with the superiority of Jonah’s God over their fish god. There are three distinct things here relative to God’s relation to the ministry that need to be emphasized, viz: (1) God calls his ministers by a direct appeal to them: "and the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah, saying"; (2) God selects the field of labor for his ministers: "Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city"; (3) God gives the message: "and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee." This is a fine example of what the preacher ought to be, viz: God-called, God-appointed, and God-instructed. With these three essentials in his life and work the minister knows no failure.

The "yet" in Jonah 3:4 indicates an implied promise; that this was not an announcement of an absolute decree of God, but was a conditional decree. God repented when they repented. Note that there are three particular cases of repentance in this book: (1) the preacher repents; (2) the people repent; (3) God repents. Observe the order. When the preacher repents, the people generally repent, and when the preacher and the people repent, God always repents. The "yet" here indicates God’s attitude toward a sinner. Though he thunders the law of Sinai over the sinner’s head, it is only that the sinner may be prepared to hear the voice from Calvary. "Yet forty days and "Nineveh shall be overthrown," but the "forty days" furnish space for repentance.

"Believed God" in Jonah 3:5 is equivalent to "believed on God" and is saving faith, as with Abraham. Fasting and sackcloth are external evidences of repentance. In Jonah 3:7 we see the call to real fasting and repentance. In Jonah 3:8 the animals lowing for fodder were crying to God. The prayers of the people and the crying of the cattle make a powerful appeal to God. But praying and crying were not enough. "Let them turn every one from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands" and show by this his real earnestness, as in the New Testament exhortation: "Let him that stole steal no more but return what he has stolen." Restitution is a law of forgiveness. This passage is equalled in the New Testament by John the Baptist’s preaching and Paul’s preaching at Ephesus. This is both a moral and spiritual miracle. It is the biggest case of conversion in the Old Testament on a foreign field. Jonah was the first foreign mission preacher and had but one credential. Some say people cannot be moved religiously by fear but it is a mistake. People are influenced both by the fear of punishment and by the hope of reward. The motive in Luke 15 is "Joy in heaven." "Ye shall likewise perish except ye repent." Preach love always, but don’t leave out hell.

Jonah was much displeased with and angry at the Lord’s attitude, but the Lord dealt gently with him giving him the lesson of the gourd (Jonah 4:6-11). It was not right for Jonah to be angry at what God did, nor is it ever right to be angry at what God does, especially in the salvation of the people. In this connection he gives the reason for his unwillingness to go to Nineveh at the outset, but he was wrong in his attitude toward the people of Nineveh. This attitude culminated in madness at Jehovah’s attitude toward them and went to the extent of wishing for death. But it is a very cowardly thing to wish for death under such circumstances.

To this foolishness of Jonah the Lord answered that Jonah’s regard for the gourd was but a small matter compared to his regard for the 120,000 infants and the much cattle of Nineveh. This is a beautiful lesson of God’s attitude toward the irresponsible and gives us a splendid Old Testament view of God’s attribute of mercy.

As Jonah, after his resurrection, became a missionary to the Gentiles, so Christ after his resurrection declared his "all authority" and commissioned his church to go to the ends of the world. The resurrection had a marvelous effect in enlarging the commission.

QUESTIONS

1. What are the traditions relating to Jonah?

2. Who was Jonah and what the time of his writing?

3. What references to this book in literature and what is the testimony in each case?

4. What three legends may be mentioned as illustrating the extraordinary features of the story of Jonah?

5. What are the scriptural references to the book and what the import of their teaching?

6. What is the purpose of this book?

7. What is he occasion of this book and how is it proved from the history of Nineveh?

8. What of the style and character of the book?

9. What of the miraculous element of the book?

10. What doctrines illustrated by the incidents of the book?

11. Give an account of Nineveh.

12. What the form of idolatry in Nineveh at this time and what the evidence of Jonah’s impress on the Ninevites?

13. What helps on this book commended?

14. What is the analysis of this book?

15. What is the force of the word "now" of verse I?

16. Where do we first find the expression, "the word of Jehovah," in the Bible and what does it mean there?

17. What parallels to Jonah 1:2, "their wickedness is come up before me," do we find elsewhere in the Bible and what striking difference in this case?

18. What is the meaning of "Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah"?

19. What Jonah’s reasons for not wanting to go to Nineveh?

20. What is the meaning and application of Jonah 1:4, "he paid the fare thereof"?

21. What is the significance in Jonah 1:5 of "cast forth the wares"?

22. What is the suggestion from Jonah’s being asleep?

23. What of casting lots in Jonah 1:7?

24. What is the remedy for the case as proposed by Jonah and how did it meet the approval of the sailors?

25. How do you explain, their fearing Jehovah and sacrificing unto him?

26. What of the fish that swallowed Jonah?

27. What is the relation of Jonah’s hymn to other passages of Scripture?

28. What is the meaning of "lying vanities" in Jonah 2:8?

29. What Jonah’s second commission, what its circumstances and what three things in this commission, illustrative of God’s relation to the minister and his work?

30. What is the force of "yet" in Jonah 3:4?

31. What are the points of Jonah 3:5-10?

32. How did Jonah receive the fact of the conversion of the Ninevites and God’s mercy to them and how did God deal with him?

33. Was it right for Jonah to be angry, what the extent of his madness and what do you think of his wish?

34. What was Jehovah’s answer to all this foolishness of Jonah?

35. How is the relation of the resurrection and the commission of Christ illustrated in this book?