Reference: Jonah
American
One of the minor prophets, was a native of Gath-hepher, in Zebulun, 2Ki 14:25. Being ordered of God to prophesy against Ninevah, probably in or before the reign of Jeroboam 2, which begun 825 B. C., he endeavored to avoid the command by embarking at Joppa for Tarshish, in order to fly as far as possible in the opposite direction. But being overtaken by a storm, he was thrown overboard at his own request, and miraculously preserved by being swallowed by a large fish. See WHALE. Several Greek and Roman legends seem to have been borrowed from this source. After three days, typical of our Savior's stay in the tomb, the fish cast Jonah out upon the shore; the word of the Lord a second time directed him to go to Nineveh, and he obeyed. The allusions of the narrative to the vast extent and population of this city, are confirmed by other ancient accounts and by modern investigations. See NINEVEH. At the warning word of the prophet, the Ninevites repented, and the destruction threatened was postponed; but the feelings of Jonah at seeing his predictions unfulfilled and the enemies of God's people spared, rendered necessary a further exercise of the forbearance of God. See GOURD.
The literal truth of the narrative is established by our Savior's repeated quotations, Mt 12:39-41; 16:4; Lu 11:29-32. It is highly instructive, as showing that the providential government of God extends to all heathen nations, and that his grace has never been confined to his covenant people.
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He restored the borders of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he had spoken by the hand of his slave Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gathhepher.
But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah; for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. read more. The men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and no sign shall be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And he left them and departed.
And gathering the people unto him, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign, and no sign shall be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. read more. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment against the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
Easton
a dove, the son of Amittai of Gath-hepher. He was a prophet of Israel, and predicted the restoration of the ancient boundaries (2Ki 14:25-27) of the kingdom. He exercised his ministry very early in the reign of Jeroboam II., and thus was contemporary with Hosea and Amos; or possibly he preceded them, and consequently may have been the very oldest of all the prophets whose writings we possess. His personal history is mainly to be gathered from the book which bears his name. It is chiefly interesting from the two-fold character in which he appears, (1) as a missionary to heathen Nineveh, and (2) as a type of the "Son of man."
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He restored the borders of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he had spoken by the hand of his slave Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gathhepher. For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter, for there was no one shut up nor any left nor any to help Israel; read more. and the LORD had not yet determined to blot out the name of Israel from under heaven; therefore, he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam, the son of Joash.
Fausets
("dove".) (Ge 8:8-9, seeking rest in vain, fleeing from Noah and the ark; so Jonah). Parentage, date. Son of Amittai of Gath Hepher in Zebulun (2Ki 14:25-27, compare 2Ki 13:4-7). Jeroboam II "restored the coast from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel which He spoke by the hand of His servant Jonah" etc. (See HAMATH.) "For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter; for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any (i.e., none married or single, else confined or at large, as a) helper for Israel." Israel was at its lowest extremity, i.e early in Joash's reign, when Jehovah (probably by Jonah) promised deliverance from Syria, which was actually given first under Joash, in answer to Jehoahaz' prayer, then completely under Jeroboam II. (See JEHOAHAZ.) Thus, Jonah was among the earliest of the prophets who wrote, and close upon Elisha who died in Joash's reign, having just before death foretold Syria's defeat thrice (2Ki 13:14-21).
Hosea and Amos prophesied in the latter part of the 41 years' reign of Jeroboam II. The events recorded in the book of Jonah were probably late in his life. The book begins with "And," implying that it continues his prophetic work begun before; it was written probably about Hosea's and Amos' time. Hosea (Ho 6:2) saw the prophetical meaning of Jonah's entombment: "after two days will He revive us, in the third day He will raise us up;" primarily Israel, in a short period (Lu 13:32-33) to be revived from its national deadness, antitypically Messiah, raised on the third day (Joh 2:19; 1Co 15:4); as Israel's political resurrection typifies the general resurrection, of which Christ's resurrection is the firstfruits (Isa 26:19; Eze 37:1-14; 1Co 15:22-23; Da 12:2). The mention of Nineveh's being "an exceeding great city" implies it was written before the Assyrian inroads had made them know too well its greatness.
PERSONAL REALITY. The pagan fable of Hercules springing into a sea monster's jaws and being three days in its belly, when saving Hesione (Diodor. Sic. 4:42), is rather a corruption of the story of Jonah than vice versa, if there be any connection. Jerome says, near Joppa lay rocks represented as those to which Andromeda was bound when exposed to the sea monster. The Phoenicians probably carried the story of Jonah to Greece. Our Lord's testimony proves the personal existence, miraculous fate, and prophetical office of Jonah. "The sign of the prophet Jonah, for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights (both eases count the day from, and that to, which the reckoning is) in the heart of the earth" (Mt 12:39-41).
Jonah's being in the fish's belly Christ makes a "sign," i.e. a real miracle typifying the like event in His own history, and assumes the prophet's execution of his commission to Nineveh; "the men of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold a greater than Jonah is here." The miracle is justified by the crisis then in the development of the kingdom of God, when Israel by impenitence was about to fall before Assyria, and God's principle of righteous government needed to be exhibited in sparing Nineveh through the preaching of Jonah, spared himself after living entombment. The great Antitype too needed such a vivid type.
CANONICITY, DESIGN. It seemed strange to Kimchi that this book is in the canon, as its only prophecy concerns Nineveh, a pagan city, and does not mention Israel, of whom all the other prophets prophesy. The strangeness is an argument for the inspiration of the sacred canon; but the solution is, Israel is tacitly reproved. A pagan city repents at a strange prophet's first preaching, whereas Israel, God's elect, repented not, though admonished by their own prophets at all seasons. An anticipatory dawn of the "light to lighten the Gentiles," Jonah was a parable in himself: a prophet of God, yet a runaway from God; drowned, yet alive; a preacher of repentance, yet one that repines at repentance resulting from his preaching. God's pity and patience form a wonderful contrast to man's self will and hard hearted pettiness. His name, meaning "dove," symbolizes mourning love, his feeling toward his people, either given prophetically or assumed by him as a watchword of his feeling. His truthfullness (son of Amirtai, i.e. truth) appears in his so faithfully recording his own perversity and punishment.
His patriotic zeal against his people's adversaries, like that of James and John, was in a wrong spirit (Lu 9:51-56). He felt repugnance to deliver the Lord's warning to Nineveh ("cry against it," Jon 1:2), whose destruction he desired, not their repentance. Jonah was sent when he had been long a prophet, and had been privileged to announce from God the restoration of Israel's coasts. God's goodness had not led them to repent (2Ki 13:6; 14:24). Amos (Am 5:27) had foretold that Israel for apostasy should be carried "captive beyond Damascus," i.e. beyond that enemy from which Jeroboam II had just delivered them, according to the prophecy of Jonah, and that they should be "afflicted from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of the wilderness" (the southern bound of Moab, then forming Israel's boundary), i.e. the very bounds restored by Jeroboam II, for "the river of the arabah" or "wilderness" flowed into the S. end of "the sea of the plain" or Dead Sea (2Ki 14:25; Am 6:14).
Hosea too (Ho 9:3) had foretold their eating unclean things in Assyria. Instinctively Jonah shrank from delivering a message which might eventuate in Nineveh being spared, the city by which Israel was to suffer. Pul or Ivalush III (Rawlinson, Herodotus) was then king. (See ASSYRIA), and by Pal the first weakening of Israel afterward took place. "Jonah sought the honour of the son (Israel), and sought not the honour of the Father" (God) (Kimchi, from rabbinical tradition). Jonah is the only case of a prophet hiding his prophetical message; the reluctance at first was common to many of them (Isa 6:5; Jer 1:6,17; Ex 4:10). His desire was that Nineveh's sudden overthrow, like Sodom's, might produce the effect which his words failed to produce, to rouse Israel from impenitence.
HISTORY. Jonah embarked at Joppa for the far off Tartessus of Spain or Tarshish in Cilicia; compare as to the folly of the attempt Ps 139:7-10; Ge 3:8-10; Jer 23:24. However, "from the presence of the Lord" (Jon 1:3) means not from His universal presence, which Jonah ought to have known is impossible, but from ministering in His immediate presence in the Holy Land. The storm, the strange sleep (of self hardening, weariness, and God forgetfulness; contrast Mr 4:37-39, spiritually with Eph 5:14), the lot casting, and detection of Jonah and casting into and consequent calming of the sea, followed.
TYPICAL SIGNIFICANCE. Jonah reflected' Israel's backsliding and consequent punishment; type of Messiah who bears our imputed guilt and its punishment; compare Ps 42:7; 69:1-2; Joh 11:50. God spares the prayerful penitent: (1) the pagan sailors, (2) Jonah, (3) Nineveh. He sank to the "bottom" of the sea first, and felt "the seaweed wrapped about his head" (Jon 2:5-6), then the God-prepared great fish (the dog fish, Bochart; in any view a miracle is needed, the rest is conjecture). The prophet's experiences adapted him, by sympathy, for fulfilling his office to his hearers. God's infinite resources in mercy, as well as judgment, appear in Jonah's devourer becoming his preserver. Jonah was a type to Nineveh and Israel of death following sin, and of resurrection on repentance; preeminently of Christ's death for sin and resurrection by the Spirit of God (Mt 12:40). Jonah in his thanksgiving notices that his chief punishment consisted in the very thing which his flight had aimed at, being "cast out of God's sight" (Jon 1:3; 2:4,8; Jer 2:13; 17:13).
Hezekiah's hymn is based on it (Isa 38:17; Jon 2:6). Jehovah's next message (more definite and awful than the former) was faithfully delivered by Jonah: "yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be destroyed." Jonah, himself a living exemplification of judgment and mercy, was "a sign (an embodied
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And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto the man and said unto him, Where art thou? read more. And he replied, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Then the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Also he sent forth a dove from him to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground, but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were still upon the face of the whole earth. Then he put forth his hand and took her and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
Then Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither up until now, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy slave; but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue.
Moreover your little ones, whom ye said should be a prey and your children who in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in there, and unto them will I give it, and they shall inherit it.
But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and desiring to die, he said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers.
But Jehoahaz grieved before the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. (And the LORD gave Israel a saviour so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians, and the sons of Israel dwelt in their tents as beforetime. read more. With all this, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked in them; and the grove also remained in Samaria.)
With all this, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked in them; and the grove also remained in Samaria.) Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like dust to be tread upon.
Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness of which he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel, and the horsemen thereof! And Elisha said unto him, Take the bow and the arrows. And he took unto him the bow and the arrows. read more. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thy hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it; and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. And he said, Open the window towards the east. And when he opened it Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD's salvation, and the arrow of salvation from Syria; for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, until thou have consumed them. And he said again, Take the arrows. And he took them. Then he said to the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote three times, and stopped. Then the man of God was angry with him, and said, If thou would have smitten five or six times; then thou would have smitten Syria until thou had consumed it; whereas now thou shalt smite Syria three times. And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha; and when the dead man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. He restored the borders of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he had spoken by the hand of his slave Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gathhepher.
He restored the borders of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he had spoken by the hand of his slave Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gathhepher. For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter, for there was no one shut up nor any left nor any to help Israel; read more. and the LORD had not yet determined to blot out the name of Israel from under heaven; therefore, he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam, the son of Joash.
LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong; thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.
Deep calls unto deep at the voice of thy waterspouts; all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire where there is no standing; I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
Where shall I go from thy spirit? or where shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend to the heavens, thou art there: if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there. read more. If I take the wings of the dawn and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Then I said, Woe is me! for I am dead because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of the hosts.
Thy dead shall live, and together with my body they shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the covering of light, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
Behold, for peace I had great bitterness; but it has pleased thee to deliver my life from the pit of corruption, for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
Then I said, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I do not know how to speak: for I am a child.
Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and thou shalt arise and speak unto them all that I shall command thee; do not fear them lest I confound thee before them.
For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters to hew them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
O hope of Israel! LORD, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed; and those that depart from me shall be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.
Can any hide himself in hiding places that I shall not see him? said the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? said the LORD.
And the hand of the LORD was upon me and took me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the midst of a field which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about; and, behold, there were very many upon the face of the field; and they were very dry. read more. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Then he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones hear the word of the LORD. Thus hath the Lord GOD said unto these bones: Behold, I will cause spirit to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay nerves upon you and will bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin and put spirit in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. So I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I prophesied, there was a thunder, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And I beheld, and behold nerves upon them and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no spirit in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit, Thus hath the Lord GOD said: Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe upon these slain, and they shall live. And I prophesied as he commanded me, and the spirit entered into them, and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, all these bones are the house of Israel; behold, they say, Our bones have dried, and our hope is lost, and in ourselves we are totally cut off. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus hath the Lord GOD said: Behold, O my people, I open your graves and will cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall cause you to rest upon your own land; then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it and performed it, said the LORD.
And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth shall be awakened, some for eternal life, and some for shame and everlasting confusion.
After two days he shall give us life: in the third day he will resurrect us, and we shall live in his sight.
They shall not remain in the land of the LORD; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt and to Assyria where they shall eat unclean food.
They shall not remain in the land of the LORD; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt and to Assyria where they shall eat unclean food.
He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king because they refused to be converted.
As a bird they shall move speedily out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will place them in their houses, saith the LORD.
Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, said the LORD, whose name is The God of the hosts.
Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, said the LORD, whose name is The God of the hosts.
But, behold, I will raise up against you Gentiles, O house of Israel, said the LORD God of the hosts, and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.
Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD and went down to Joppa, 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 fleeing from the presence of the LORD.
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD and went down to Joppa, 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 fleeing from the presence of the LORD.
and said, I cried by reason of my tribulation unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and thou didst hear my voice.
Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will see thy holy temple again. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul, the depth closed me round about; the weeds were wrapped about my head. read more. I descended to the roots of the mountains; the earth put her bars about me for ever; yet thou hast brought up my life out of the grave, O LORD my God.
I descended to the roots of the mountains; the earth put her bars about me for ever; yet thou hast brought up my life out of the grave, O LORD my God.
Those that observe lying vanities forsake his mercy.
And the LORD God prepared a gourd and made it to come up over Jonah that it might be a shadow over his head to deliver him from his evil. So Jonah was exceeding glad for the gourd.
And God said to Jonah, Art thou so angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah; for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
The men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
Then he said unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; tarry ye here and watch with me.
And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow; and they awoke him and said unto him, Master, dost thou not care that we perish? read more. And as he arose, he rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
And it came to pass when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem and sent messengers before his face; and they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him. read more. And they did not receive him because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elijah did? But he turned and rebuked them and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to lose men's souls, but to save them. And they went to another village.
For as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
For as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
And he said unto them, Go ye and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
Jesus answered and said unto them, Dissolve this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation be lost.
Therefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead, and the Christ shall shine upon thee.
for the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God.
Hastings
JONAH
1. The man Jonah.
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and from there passes eastward toward the sunrising to Gittahhepher, to Ittahkazin, and goes out to Remmonmethoar around Neah;
But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and desiring to die, he said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers.
He restored the borders of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he had spoken by the hand of his slave Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gathhepher.
Now concerning his sons, and of the multiplication that he did of the taxes and the repairing of the house of God, behold, they are written in the story of the book of the kings. And Amaziah, his son, reigned in his stead.
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me; he has made me an empty vessel, he has swallowed me up like a dragon; he has filled his belly with my delicates; he has cast me out. The violence against me and my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. read more. Therefore thus hath the LORD said: Behold, I judge thy cause and shall take thy vengeance; and I will dry up her sea and make her flowing waters dry. And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and a hissing, without an inhabitant. They shall roar together like lions; they shall roar as lions' whelps. In their heat I will place their feasts before them, and I will make them drunken that they may rejoice and sleep an eternal sleep and not wake, said the LORD. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats. How is Sheshach a prey! and how is she who was the praise of the whole earth taken! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the Gentiles! The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. Her cities were devastated, the land dry and desert, a land in which no man dwells, neither shall any son of man pass thereby. And I will visit Bel himself in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up; and the Gentiles shall not flow together any more unto him; and the wall of Babylon shall fall.
Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying,
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD and went down to Joppa, 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 fleeing from the presence of the LORD. But the LORD caused a great wind to rise up in the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship thought she would be broken. read more. And the mariners were afraid, and everyone called unto his god, and they cast forth the vessels that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; he lay and was fast asleep. So the shipmaster came to him and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that he will have compassion upon us that we not perish. And each one said 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.
And each one said 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. Then they said unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, why this evil is come upon us; What is thine occupation? and from where dost thou come? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?
Then they said unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, why this evil is come upon us; What is thine occupation? and from where dost thou come? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, God of the heavens, who has made the sea and the dry land.
And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, God of the heavens, who has made the sea and the dry land. Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD because he had told them.
Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD because he had told them. Then they said unto him, What shall we do unto thee that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea rose higher and was wroth.
Then they said unto him, What shall we do unto thee that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea rose higher and was wroth. 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.
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. Nevertheless the men rowed hard to turn the ship to land, but they could not; for the sea rose higher and was wroth against them.
Nevertheless the men rowed hard to turn the ship to land, but they could not; for the sea rose higher and was wroth against them. And they cried unto the LORD and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for the soul of this man, and do not lay upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.
And they cried unto the LORD and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for the soul of this man, and do not lay upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. So they took up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea; and the sea ceased from her raging.
So they took up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea; and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD and made vows. read more. Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,
Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, and said, I cried by reason of my tribulation unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and thou didst hear my voice.
and said, I cried by reason of my tribulation unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and thou didst hear my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about; all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about; all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about; all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will see thy holy temple again.
Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will see thy holy temple again.
Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will see thy holy temple again. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul, the depth closed me round about; the weeds were wrapped about my head.
The waters compassed me about, even to the soul, the depth closed me round about; the weeds were wrapped about my head.
The waters compassed me about, even to the soul, the depth closed me round about; the weeds were wrapped about my head. I descended to the roots of the mountains; the earth put her bars about me for ever; yet thou hast brought up my life out of the grave, O LORD my God.
I descended to the roots of the mountains; the earth put her bars about me for ever; yet thou hast brought up my life out of the grave, O LORD my God.
I descended to the roots of the mountains; the earth put her bars about me for ever; yet thou hast brought up my life out of the grave, O LORD my God. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer entered in unto thee in thy holy temple.
When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer entered in unto thee in thy holy temple. Those that observe lying vanities forsake his mercy.
Those that observe lying vanities forsake his mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed; that saving comes of the LORD.
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed; that saving comes of the LORD. And the LORD spoke unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. read more. So Jonah arose and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.
So Jonah arose and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be destroyed. read more. So the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he threw his robe from him and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes.
For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he threw his robe from him and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing; let them not feed, nor drink water: read more. but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily unto God; and let each one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his fierce anger, that we not perish? And God saw their works, because they turned from their evil way, and he repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them, and he did not do it.
And he prayed unto the LORD and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was this not what I said when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hastened to flee unto Tarshish, for I knew that thou art a gracious God and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy, and dost repent when thou art come to take punishment.
Then the LORD said, Art thou so angry? And Jonah went out of the city and sat towards the east side of the city, and there made him a booth and sat under it in the shade until he might see what would become of the city. read more. And the LORD God prepared a gourd and made it to come up over Jonah that it might be a shadow over his head to deliver him from his evil. So Jonah was exceeding glad for the gourd. But God also prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd so that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah that he fainted and wished in his soul to die and said, It is better for me to die than to live. And God said to Jonah, Art thou so angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Then the LORD said, Thou hast had pity on the gourd for which thou hast not laboured, neither didst thou make it grow; which came up in a night and perished in a night: And shall I not spare Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons, that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and many animals?
And whosoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him, but whosoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age, neither in the age to come.
A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and no sign shall be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And he left them and departed.
And gathering the people unto him, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign, and no sign shall be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Morish
Jo'nah
Son of Amittai and the prophet of Gath-hepher (in Galilee: cf. Joh 7:52). His prophecy is in the main the history of himself. It shows that the prophet embodied in himself the testimony of God through Israel to the Gentiles (comp. Mt 24:14), and also the important fact that God regards the contrition and turning from evil of a city or nation. Jonah was directed to go and cry against that great city Nineveh; but instead of obeying, he fled from the presence of the Lord. He himself tells us why he fled
See Verses Found in Dictionary
He restored the borders of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he had spoken by the hand of his slave Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gathhepher.
And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth shall be awakened, some for eternal life, and some for shame and everlasting confusion.
And he prayed unto the LORD and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was this not what I said when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hastened to flee unto Tarshish, for I knew that thou art a gracious God and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy, and dost repent when thou art come to take punishment.
But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah; for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. read more. The men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and no sign shall be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And he left them and departed.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.
And gathering the people unto him, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign, and no sign shall be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. read more. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment against the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search and see, for a prophet has never arisen out of Galilee.
But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy and spoke against that which Paul said, contradicting and blaspheming.
Smith
Jo'nah
(dove), the fifth of the minor prophets, was the son of Amittai, and a native of Gath-hepher.
He flourished in or before the reign of Jeroboam II., about B.C. 820. Having already, as it seems, prophesied to Israel, he was sent to Nineveh. The time was one of political revival in Israel; but ere long the Assyrians were to be employed by God as a scourge upon them. The prophet shrank from a commission which he felt sure would result,
in the sparing of a hostile city. He attempted therefore to escape to Tarshish. The providence of God, however, watched over him, first in a storm, and then in his being swallowed by a large fish (a sea monster, probably the white shark) for the space of three days and three nights. [On this subject see article WHALE] After his deliverance, Jonah executed his commission; and the king, "believing him to be a minister form the supreme deity of the nation," and having heard of his miraculous deliverance, ordered a general fast, and averted the threatened judgment. But the prophet, not from personal but national feelings, grudged the mercy shown to a heathen nation. He was therefore taught by the significant lesson of the "gourd," whose growth and decay brought the truth at once home to him, that he was sent to testify by deed, as other prophets would afterward testify by word, the capacity of Gentiles for salvation, and the design of God to make them partakers of it. This was "the sign of the prophet Jonas."
See Whale
Lu 11:29-30
But the resurrection of Christ itself was also shadowed forth in the history of the prophet.
The mission of Jonah was highly symbolical. The facts contained a concealed prophecy. The old tradition made the burial-place of Jonah to be Gath-hepher; the modern tradition places it at Nebi-Yunus, opposite Mosul.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
He restored the borders of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he had spoken by the hand of his slave Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gathhepher.
And he prayed unto the LORD and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was this not what I said when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hastened to flee unto Tarshish, for I knew that thou art a gracious God and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy, and dost repent when thou art come to take punishment.
But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah;
The men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and no sign shall be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And he left them and departed.
And gathering the people unto him, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign, and no sign shall be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
Watsons
JONAH, son of Amittai, the fifth of the minor prophets, was born at Gathhepher, in Galilee. He is generally considered as the most ancient of the prophets, and is supposed to have lived B.C. 840. The book of Jonah is chiefly narrative. He relates that he was commanded by God to go to Ninevah, and preach against the inhabitants of that capital of the Assyrian empire; that, through fear of executing this commission, he set sail for Tarshish; and that, in his voyage thither, a tempest arising, he was cast by the mariners into the sea, and swallowed by a large fish; that, while he was in the belly of this fish, he prayed to God, and was, after three days and three nights, delivered out of it alive; that he then received a second command to go and preach against Nineveh, which he obeyed; that, upon his threatening the destruction of the city within forty days, the king and people proclaimed a fast, and repented of their sins; and that, upon this repentance, God suspended the sentence which he had ordered to be pronounced in his name. Upon their repentance, God deferred the execution of his judgment till the increase of their iniquities made them ripe for destruction, about a hundred and fifty years afterward. The last chapter gives an account of the murmuring of Jonah at this instance of divine mercy, and of the gentle and condescending manner in which it pleased God to reprove the prophet for his unjust complaint. The style of Jonah is simple and perspicuous; and his prayer, in the second chapter, is strongly descriptive of the feelings of a pious mind under a severe trial of faith. Our Saviour mentions Jonah in the Gospel, Mt 12:41; Lu 11:32. See NINEVEH and See GOURD.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.