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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It was he who restored Israel's border from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word the Lord, the God of Israel, had spoken through His servant, the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath-hepher.
But He answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. read more. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation; and look-something greater than Jonah is here!
An evil and adulterous generation wants a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." Then He left them and went away.
As the crowds were increasing, He began saying: "This generation is an evil generation. It demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. read more. The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and look-something greater than Solomon is here! The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation, and look-something 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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It was he who restored Israel's border from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word the Lord, the God of Israel, had spoken through His servant, the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath-hepher. For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter. There was no one to help Israel, neither bond nor free. read more. However, the Lord had not said He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so He delivered them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.
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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Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" read more. And he said, "I heard You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid."
Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you furious? And why are you downcast?
Then he sent out a dove to see whether the water on the earth's surface had gone down, but the dove found no resting place for her foot. She returned to him in the ark because water covered the surface of the whole earth. He reached out and brought her into the ark to himself.
But Moses replied to the Lord, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent-either in the past or recently or since You have been speaking to Your servant-because I am slow and hesitant in speech."
Your little children whom you said would be plunder, your sons who don't know good from evil, will enter there. I will give them the land, and they will take possession of it.
but he went on a day's journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, "[I have had] enough! Lord, take my life, for I'm no better than my fathers."
Then Jehoahaz sought the Lord's favor, and the Lord heard him, for He saw the oppression the king of Aram inflicted on Israel. Therefore, the Lord gave Israel a deliverer, and they escaped from the power of the Arameans. Then the people of Israel dwelt in their tents as before, read more. but they didn't turn away from the sins that the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. Jehoahaz walked in them, and the Asherah pole also remained standing in Samaria.
but they didn't turn away from the sins that the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. Jehoahaz walked in them, and the Asherah pole also remained standing in Samaria. Jehoahaz did not have an army left, except for 50 horsemen, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them, making them like dust at threshing.
When Elisha became sick with the illness that he died from, Jehoash king of Israel went down and wept over him and said, "My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!" Elisha responded, "Take a bow and arrows." So he got a bow and arrows. read more. Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, "Put your hand on the bow." So the king put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king's hands. Elisha said, "Open the east window." So he opened it. Elisha said, "Shoot!" So he shot. Then Elisha said, "The Lord's arrow of victory, yes, the arrow of victory over Aram. You are to strike down the Arameans in Aphek until you have put an end to them." Then Elisha said, "Take the arrows!" So he took them, and he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground!" So he struck the ground three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end to them, but now you will only strike down Aram three times." Then Elisha died and was buried. Now marauding bands of Moabites used to come into the land in the spring of the year. Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a marauding band, so they threw the man into Elisha's tomb. When he touched Elisha's bones, the man revived and stood up!
He did what was evil in the Lord's sight. He did not turn away from all the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit. It was he who restored Israel's border from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word the Lord, the God of Israel, had spoken through His servant, the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath-hepher.
It was he who restored Israel's border from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word the Lord, the God of Israel, had spoken through His servant, the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath-hepher. For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter. There was no one to help Israel, neither bond nor free. read more. However, the Lord had not said He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so He delivered them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.
Lord, when You showed Your favor, You made me stand like a strong mountain; when You hid Your face, I was terrified.
Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your billows have swept over me.
Save me, God, for the water has risen to my neck. I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no footing; I have come into deep waters, and a flood sweeps over me.
Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. read more. If I live at the eastern horizon [or] settle at the western limits, even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will hold on to me.
Then I said: Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, [and] because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.
Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For you will be covered with the morning dew, and the earth will bring forth the departed spirits.
Indeed, it was for [my own] welfare that I had such great bitterness; but Your love [has delivered] me from the Pit of destruction, for You have thrown all my sins behind Your back.
But I protested, "Oh no, Lord God ! Look, I don't know how to speak since I am [only] a youth."
"Now, get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them or I will cause you to cower before them.
For My people have committed a double evil: They have abandoned Me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.
Lord, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away from Me will be written in the dirt, for they have abandoned the fountain of living water, the Lord.
Can a man hide himself in secret places where I cannot see him?"-the Lord's declaration. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?"-the Lord's declaration.
The hand of the Lord was on me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them. There were a great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very dry. read more. Then He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I replied, "Lord God , [only] You know." He said to me, "Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord God says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord." So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. As I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man. Say to it: This is what the Lord God says: Breath, come from the four winds and breathe into these slain so that they may live!" So I prophesied as He commanded me; the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army. Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look how they say: Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off. Therefore, prophesy and say to them: This is what the Lord God says: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them, My people, and lead you into the land of Israel. You will know that I am the Lord, My people, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put My Spirit in you, and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do [it]." [This is] the declaration of the Lord.
Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, and some to shame and eternal contempt.
He will revive us after two days, and on the third day He will raise us up so we can live in His presence.
They will not stay in the land of the Lord. Instead, Ephraim will return to Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.
They will not stay in the land of the Lord. Instead, Ephraim will return to Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.
Israel will not return to the land of Egypt and Assyria will be his king, because they refused to repent.
They will be roused like birds from Egypt and like doves from the land of Assyria. Then I will settle them in their homes. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration.
So I will send you into exile beyond Damascus." Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name. He has spoken.
So I will send you into exile beyond Damascus." Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name. He has spoken.
But look, I am raising up a nation against you, house of Israel- [this is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the declaration of the Lord, the God of Hosts- and they will oppress you from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of the Arabah.
"Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because their wickedness has confronted Me." However, Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord's presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, from the Lord's presence.
However, Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord's presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, from the Lord's presence.
I called to the Lord in my distress, and He answered me. I cried out for help in the belly of Sheol; You heard my voice.
But I said: I have been banished from Your sight, yet I will look once more toward Your holy temple. The waters engulfed me up to the neck; the watery depths overcame me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. read more. I sank to the foundations of the mountains; the earth with its prison bars closed behind me forever! But You raised my life from the Pit, Lord my God!
I sank to the foundations of the mountains; the earth with its prison bars closed behind me forever! But You raised my life from the Pit, Lord my God!
Those who cling to worthless idols forsake faithful love,
Then the Lord God appointed a plant, and it grew up to provide shade over Jonah's head to ease his discomfort. Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant.
Then God asked Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?" "[Yes,]" he replied. "It is right. I'm angry enough to die!"
But He answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation; and look-something greater than Jonah is here!
The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation; and look-something greater than Jonah is here!
Then He said to them, "My soul is swallowed up in sorrow -to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with Me."
A fierce windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him up and said to Him, "Teacher! Don't you care that we're going to die?" read more. He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Silence! Be still!" The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
When the days were coming to a close for Him to be taken up, He determined to journey to Jerusalem. He sent messengers ahead of Him, and on the way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for Him. read more. But they did not welcome Him, because He determined to journey to Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?" But He turned and rebuked them, and they went to another village.
For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.
For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.
He said to them, "Go tell that fox, 'Look! I'm driving out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete My work.' Yet I must travel today, tomorrow, and the next day, because it is not possible for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem!
Jesus answered, "Destroy this sanctuary, and I will raise it up in three days."
You're not considering that it is to your advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish."
for what makes everything clear is light. Therefore it is said: Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and the Messiah will shine on you.
for man's anger does not accomplish God's righteousness.
Hastings
JONAH
1. The man Jonah.
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From there, it went east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher and to Eth-kazin; it extended to Rimmon, curving around to Neah.
but he went on a day's journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, "[I have had] enough! Lord, take my life, for I'm no better than my fathers."
It was he who restored Israel's border from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word the Lord, the God of Israel, had spoken through His servant, the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath-hepher.
Concerning his sons, the many oracles about him, and the restoration of the Lord's temple, they are recorded in the Writing of the Book of the Kings. His son Amaziah became king in his place.
"Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me. He has set me aside like an empty dish; he has swallowed me like a sea monster; he filled his belly with my delicacies; he has vomited me out," says the inhabitant of Zion; "Let the violence [done] to me and my family [be done] to Babylon. Let my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea," says Jerusalem. read more. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am about to plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her fountain run dry. Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a jackals' den, a desolation and an object of scorn, without inhabitant. They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs. While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast, and I will make them drunk so that they revel. Then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with male goats. How Sheshach has been captured, the praise of the whole earth seized. What a horror Babylon has become among the nations! The sea has risen over Babylon; she is covered with its turbulent waves. Her cities have become a desolation, a dry and arid land, a land where no one lives, where no human being passes through. I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make him vomit what he swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him; even Babylon's wall will fall.
The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:
However, Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord's presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, from the Lord's presence. Then the Lord hurled a violent wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. read more. The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw the ship's cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep. The captain approached him and said, "What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god. Maybe this god will consider us, and we won't perish." "Come on!" the sailors said to each other. "Let's cast lots. Then we will know who is to blame for this trouble we're in." So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.
"Come on!" the sailors said to each other. "Let's cast lots. Then we will know who is to blame for this trouble we're in." So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah. Then they said to him, "Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we're in. What is your business and where are you from? What is your country and what people are you from?"
Then they said to him, "Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we're in. What is your business and where are you from? What is your country and what people are you from?" He answered them, "I am a Hebrew. I worship Yahweh, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land."
He answered them, "I am a Hebrew. I worship Yahweh, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land." Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, "What is this you've done?" For the men knew he was fleeing from the Lord's presence, because he had told them.
Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, "What is this you've done?" For the men knew he was fleeing from the Lord's presence, because he had told them. So they said to him, "What should we do to you to calm this sea that's against us?" For the sea was getting worse and worse.
So they said to him, "What should we do to you to calm this sea that's against us?" For the sea was getting worse and worse. He answered them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea so it may quiet down for you, for I know that I'm to blame for this violent storm that is against you."
He answered them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea so it may quiet down for you, for I know that I'm to blame for this violent storm that is against you." Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not because the sea was raging against them more and more.
Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not because the sea was raging against them more and more. So they called out to the Lord: "Please, Yahweh, don't let us perish because of this man's life, and don't charge us with innocent blood! For You, Yahweh, have done just as You pleased."
So they called out to the Lord: "Please, Yahweh, don't let us perish because of this man's life, and don't charge us with innocent blood! For You, Yahweh, have done just as You pleased." Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.
Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. The men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. read more. Then the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish:
Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish: I called to the Lord in my distress, and He answered me. I cried out for help in the belly of Sheol; You heard my voice.
I called to the Lord in my distress, and He answered me. I cried out for help in the belly of Sheol; You heard my voice. You threw me into the depths, into the heart of the seas, and the current overcame me. All Your breakers and Your billows swept over me.
You threw me into the depths, into the heart of the seas, and the current overcame me. All Your breakers and Your billows swept over me.
You threw me into the depths, into the heart of the seas, and the current overcame me. All Your breakers and Your billows swept over me. But I said: I have been banished from Your sight, yet I will look once more toward Your holy temple.
But I said: I have been banished from Your sight, yet I will look once more toward Your holy temple.
But I said: I have been banished from Your sight, yet I will look once more toward Your holy temple. The waters engulfed me up to the neck; the watery depths overcame me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.
The waters engulfed me up to the neck; the watery depths overcame me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.
The waters engulfed me up to the neck; the watery depths overcame me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. I sank to the foundations of the mountains; the earth with its prison bars closed behind me forever! But You raised my life from the Pit, Lord my God!
I sank to the foundations of the mountains; the earth with its prison bars closed behind me forever! But You raised my life from the Pit, Lord my God!
I sank to the foundations of the mountains; the earth with its prison bars closed behind me forever! But You raised my life from the Pit, Lord my God! As my life was fading away, I remembered the Lord. My prayer came to You, to Your holy temple.
As my life was fading away, I remembered the Lord. My prayer came to You, to Your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols forsake faithful love,
Those who cling to worthless idols forsake faithful love, but as for me, I will sacrifice to You with a voice of thanksgiving. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation is from the Lord!
but as for me, I will sacrifice to You with a voice of thanksgiving. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation is from the Lord! Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: "Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach the message that I tell you." read more. So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord's command. Now Nineveh was an extremely large city, a three-day walk.
So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord's command. Now Nineveh was an extremely large city, a three-day walk. Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed, "In 40 days Nineveh will be overthrown!" read more. The men of Nineveh believed in God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth-from the greatest of them to the least. When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he issued a decree in Nineveh: By order of the king and his nobles: No man or beast, herd or flock, is to taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink water. read more. Furthermore, both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God. Each must turn from his evil ways and from the violence he is doing. Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His burning anger so that we will not perish. Then God saw their actions-that they had turned from their evil ways-so God relented from the disaster He had threatened to do to them. And He did not do it.
He prayed to the Lord: "Please, Lord, isn't this what I said while I was still in my own country? That's why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from [sending] disaster.
The Lord asked, "Is it right for you to be angry?" Jonah left the city and sat down east of it. He made himself a shelter there and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city. read more. Then the Lord God appointed a plant, and it grew up to provide shade over Jonah's head to ease his discomfort. Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant. When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, and it withered. As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah's head so that he almost fainted, and he wanted to die. He said, "It's better for me to die than to live." Then God asked Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?" "[Yes,]" he replied. "It is right. I'm angry enough to die!" So the Lord said, "You cared about the plant, which you did not labor over and did not grow. It appeared in a night and perished in a night. Should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals?"
Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come.
An evil and adulterous generation wants a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." Then He left them and went away.
As the crowds were increasing, He began saying: "This generation is an evil generation. It demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.
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
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It was he who restored Israel's border from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word the Lord, the God of Israel, had spoken through His servant, the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath-hepher.
Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, and some to shame and eternal contempt.
He prayed to the Lord: "Please, Lord, isn't this what I said while I was still in my own country? That's why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from [sending] disaster.
But He answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. read more. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation; and look-something greater than Jonah is here!
An evil and adulterous generation wants a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." Then He left them and went away.
This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.
As the crowds were increasing, He began saying: "This generation is an evil generation. It demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. read more. The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and look-something greater than Solomon is here! The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation, and look-something greater than Jonah is here!
"You aren't from Galilee too, are you?" they replied. "Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee." [
But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to oppose what Paul was saying by insulting him.
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.
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It was he who restored Israel's border from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word the Lord, the God of Israel, had spoken through His servant, the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath-hepher.
He prayed to the Lord: "Please, Lord, isn't this what I said while I was still in my own country? That's why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from [sending] disaster.
But He answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation; and look-something greater than Jonah is here!
An evil and adulterous generation wants a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." Then He left them and went away.
As the crowds were increasing, He began saying: "This generation is an evil generation. It demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so also the Son of Man will 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.
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The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation; and look-something greater than Jonah is here!
The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation, and look-something greater than Jonah is here!