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 coasts of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea, in the wild fields, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel which he spake through his servant Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.
He answered them saying, "The evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign; but there shall no sign be given to them, 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 at the day of judgment with this nation, and condemn them: for they amended at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
The forward nation, and adulterous, seeketh a sign: and there shall none other sign be given unto them, but the sign of the prophet Jonah." So left he them and departed.
When the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil nation. They seek a sign, and there shall no sign be given them, but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the son of man be to this nation. read more. The queen of the south shall rise at the judgment, with the men of this generation, and condemn them. For she came from the end of the world, to hear the wisdom of Solomon: and behold a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh shall rise at the judgment, with this generation, and shall condemn them: 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 coasts of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea, in the wild fields, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel which he spake through his servant Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet, which was of Gathhepher. For the LORD had seen how that the affliction of Israel was exceeding bitter, in so much that the prisoned and the forsaken were at an end. And there was no helper unto Israel. read more. And the LORD had not yet said that men should put out the name of Israel from under heaven. And therefore he helped 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 as he walked in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam hid himself and his wife also from the face of the LORD God, among the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called Adam and said unto him, "Where art thou?" read more. And he answered, "Thy voice I heard in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked, and therefore hid myself."
And the LORD said unto Cain, "Why art thou angry, and why lowerest thou? Knowest thou not, if thou dost well thou shalt receive it?
Then sent he forth a dove from him, to wete whether the waters were fallen from off the earth. And when the dove could find no resting place for her foot, she returned to him again unto the ark, for the waters were upon the face of all the earth. And he put out his hand and took her and pulled her to him into the ark.
And Moses said unto the LORD, "O my Lord. I am not eloquent, no not in times past and namely since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow mouthed and slow tongued."
Moreover, your children, which ye said should be a prey; and your sons, which know neither good nor bad this day; they shall go in thither and unto them I will give it, and they shall enjoy it.
And he went a day's journey into the wilderness, and when he was come sat down under a Juniper tree, and desired for his soul, that he might die, and said, "It is now enough, O LORD, take my soul; for I am not better than my fathers."
But Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD heard him. For he had seen the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them. And therefore the LORD gave Israel a deliverer and they went out from under the hands of the Syrians. And the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before time. read more. Nevertheless they departed not from the sin of the house of Jeroboam which made Israel sin, but walked therein. And there remained a grove also in Samaria still:
Nevertheless they departed not from the sin of the house of Jeroboam which made Israel sin, but walked therein. And there remained a grove also in Samaria still: But there were left of the people, to Jehoahaz, but fifty horsemen and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen - for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like threshed chaff.
When Elisha was fallen sick of the sickness whereof he died, Joash king of Israel came to him and wept to him, and said, "O father, father! The chariot of Israel and the horsemen of the same!" And Elisha said unto him, "Bring bow and arrows." And he brought to him bow and arrows. read more. And he said to the king of Israel, "Put thine hand upon the bow, and when he had put his hand upon the bow, Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands." Then he said, "Open a window eastward," and he opened. And Elisha said, "shoot," and he shot. And he said, "The arrow of salvation of the LORD; and the arrow of salvation against the Syrians: For thou shalt beat the Syrians in Aphek till thou have consumed them." Then he said, "Take arrows," and he took. Then he said to the king of Israel, "Smite the ground," and he smote thrice and ceased. And the man of God was angry with him and said, "Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times, and then thou hadst smitten the Syrians till thou hadst consumed them: where now thou shalt beat them but thrice." When Elisha was dead and buried the soldiers of the Moabites came into the land, the year following. And it chanced, as they were burying a man, that they spied the Soldiers, and therefore cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha. And as soon as the man came and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood up on his feet.
and wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD: for he turned in nothing from the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which made Israel sin. He restored the coasts of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea, in the wild fields, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel which he spake through his servant Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.
He restored the coasts of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea, in the wild fields, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel which he spake through his servant Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet, which was of Gathhepher. For the LORD had seen how that the affliction of Israel was exceeding bitter, in so much that the prisoned and the forsaken were at an end. And there was no helper unto Israel. read more. And the LORD had not yet said that men should put out the name of Israel from under heaven. And therefore he helped them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.
But as soon as thou didst turn thy face from me, I was troubled.
One deep calleth another with the voice of thy water-pipes, all thy waves and water floods are gone over me.
{To the Chanter, upon Shoshannim, of David} Save me, O God; for the waters are come in, even unto my soul. I stick fast in the deep mire, where no ground is; I am come into deep waters, so that the floods run over me.
Whither shall I go then from thy spirit? Or, whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I climb up into heaven, thou art there; if I go down to hell, thou art there also. read more. If I take the wings of the morning, and remain in the uttermost part of the sea, even there also shall thy hand lead me, and thy righthand shall hold me.
Then I said, "O woe is me! For I am lost: inasmuch as I am a man of unclean lips, and dwell among people that hath unclean lips also. For mine eyes have seen the King and LORD of Hosts."
But as for thy dead men and ours, that be departed, they are in life and resurrection. They lie in the earth, they wake, and have joy: for thy dew is a dew of life and light. But the place of the malicious Tyrants is fallen away.
Behold, bitter as gall was my pensiveness: so sore longed I for health. And it was thy pleasure to deliver me from the filthy pit: for thou it is, O Lord, that hath cast all my sins behind thy back.
Then said I, "Oh LORD God, I cannot speak, for I am yet but young."
And therefore gird up thy loins, arise, and tell them all that I give thee in commandment. Fear them not; I will not have thee to be afraid of them.
For my people hath done two evils: They have forsaken me, the well of the water of life; and digged them pits, yea, vile and broken pits, that hold no water.
Thou art the comfort of Israel. All that forsake thee, shall be ashamed. And they that depart from thee shall be written in the earth. For they have lost the LORD that is the fountain of the water of life.
May any man hide himself so, that I shall not see him, sayeth the LORD? Do not I fulfill heaven and earth, sayeth the LORD?
The hand of the LORD came upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and let me down in a plain field that lay full of bones. And he led me round about by them, and behold, the bones that lay upon the field were very many, and marvelous dry also. read more. Then said he unto me, "Thou son of man: thinkest thou these bones may live again?" And I answered, "O LORD God, thou knowest." And he said unto me, "Prophesy thou upon these bones, and speak unto them, 'Ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus sayeth the LORD God unto these bones: Behold, I will put breath into you, that ye may live. I will give you sinews, and make flesh grow upon you, and cover you over with skin: and so give you breath, that ye may live and know that I am the LORD.'" So I prophesied, as he had commanded me: and as I was prophesying, there came a noise and a great motion, so that the bones ran every one to another. Now when I had looked, behold, they had sinews, and flesh grew upon them: and above they were covered with skin, but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, "Thou son of man, prophesy thou toward the wind: prophesy, and speak to the wind, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: Come, O thou air, from the four winds, and blow upon these slain, that they may be restored to life.'" So I prophesied, as he had commanded me: then came the breath into them and they received life, and stood up upon their feet: a marvelous great sortie. Moreover, he said unto me, "Thou son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, we are clean cut off.' Therefore prophesy thou, and speak unto them, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: Behold, I will open your graves, O my people, and take you out of your sepulchers, and bring you into the land of Israel again. So shall ye know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you out of them. My spirit also will I put in you, and ye shall live: I will set you again in your own land, and ye shall know that I am the LORD which have said it, and fulfilled it indeed.'"
Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to perpetual shame and reproof.
He hath wounded us, and he shall bind us up again; after two days shall he quicken us, in the third day he shall raise us up, so that we shall live in his sight.
They will not dwell in the LORD's land, but Ephraim turneth again into Egypt, and eateth unclean things among the Assyrians.
They will not dwell in the LORD's land, but Ephraim turneth again into Egypt, and eateth unclean things among the Assyrians.
that they should not go again into Egypt. And now is Assyria their king: for they would not turn unto me.
that they may be scattered away from Egypt, as men scare birds: and frayed away, as doves used to be, from the Assyrians' land: and that because I would have them tarry at home, sayeth the LORD.
Therefore will I cause you be carried away beyond Damascus,' sayeth the LORD, whose name is the God of Hosts."
Therefore will I cause you be carried away beyond Damascus,' sayeth the LORD, whose name is the God of Hosts."
Well, take heed, O ye house of Israel,' sayeth the LORD God of hosts. 'I will bring a people upon you, which shall trouble you: from the way that goeth toward Hamath, unto the brook in the meadow.'"
"Rise and get thee to Nineveh that great city and preach unto them, how that their wickedness is come up before me." And Jonah made him ready to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and gat him down to Joppa, and found there a ship ready to go to Tarshish, and paid his fare, and went aboard, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
And Jonah made him ready to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and gat him down to Joppa, and found there a ship ready to go to Tarshish, and paid his fare, and went aboard, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
And he said, "In my tribulation I called unto the LORD, and he answered me: out of the belly of hell I cried, and thou heardest my voice.
And I thought that I had been cast away out of thy sight. But I will yet again look toward thy holy temple. The water compassed me even unto the very soul of me; the deep lay about me, and the weeds were wrapped about mine head. read more. And I went down unto the bottom of the hills, and was barred in with earth on every side forever. And yet thou, LORD my God, broughtest up my life again out of corruption.
And I went down unto the bottom of the hills, and was barred in with earth on every side forever. And yet thou, LORD my God, broughtest up my life again out of corruption.
They that observe vain vanities, have forsaken him that was merciful unto them.
And the LORD prepared as it were a wild vine which sprang up over Jonah, that he might have shadow over his head, to deliver him out of his pain. And Jonah was exceeding glad of the wild vine.
And God said unto Jonah, "Art thou so angry for thy wild vine?" And he said, "I am angry a good, even unto the death."
He answered them saying, "The evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign; but there shall no sign be given to them, 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 at the day of judgment with this nation, and condemn them: for they amended at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
The men of Nineveh shall rise at the day of judgment with this nation, and condemn them: for they amended at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
Then said Jesus unto them, "My soul is heavy even unto the death. Tarry ye here: and watch with me."
And there arose a great storm of wind, and dashed the waves into the ship, so that it was full. And he was in the stern asleep on a pillow. And they awoke him, and said to him, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" read more. And he rose up and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, "Peace and be still." And the wind allayed, and there followed a great calm:
And it followed, when the time was come that he should be received up, then he set his face to go to Jerusalem: and sent messengers before him. And they went, and entered into a city of the Samaritans to make ready for him. read more. But they would not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. When his disciples, James, and John, saw that, they said, "Lord, wilt thou that we command that fire come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elijah did?" Jesus turned about, and rebuked them saying, "Ye know not what manner spirit ye are of. The son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." And they went to another town.
For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the son of man be to this nation.
For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the son of man be to this nation.
And he said unto them, "Go ye and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and heal the people today and tomorrow, and the third day I make an end. Nevertheless, I must walk today and tomorrow, and the day following: For it cannot be, that a prophet perish any other where, save at Jerusalem.
Jesus answered, and said unto them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will rear it up again."
nor yet consider that it is expedient for us, that one man die for the people, and not that all the people perish."
Wherefore he saith, "Awake thou that sleepest, and stand up from death, and Christ shall give thee light."
For the wrath of man worketh not that which is righteous before God.
Hastings
JONAH
1. The man Jonah.
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and from thence goeth along eastward toward the sun rising, to Gathhepher, Ethkazin, and goeth to Rimmon, Methoar, and Neah.
And he went a day's journey into the wilderness, and when he was come sat down under a Juniper tree, and desired for his soul, that he might die, and said, "It is now enough, O LORD, take my soul; for I am not better than my fathers."
He restored the coasts of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea, in the wild fields, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel which he spake through his servant Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.
And his sons, and the sum of the tax that came to him, and the foundation of the house of God, are written in the story of the book of kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
'Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured and destroyed me, he hath made me an empty vessel. He swallowed me up like a dragon, and filled his belly with my delicates: he hath cast me out. He hath taken my substance away and the thing that was left me hath he carried unto Babylon,' sayeth the daughter that dwelleth in Zion. 'Yea, and my blood also, unto the Chaldeans,' sayeth Jerusalem. read more. Therefore thus sayeth the LORD: Behold, I will defend thy cause, and avenge thee: I will drink up her sea, and dry up her water springs. Babylon shall become a heap of stones, a dwelling place for dragons, a fearfulness and wondering, because no man dwelleth there. They shall roar together like lions, and as the young lions when they be angry, so shall they bend themselves. In their heat I shall set drink before them, and they shall be drunken for joy: Then shall they sleep an everlasting sleep, and never wake, sayeth the LORD. I shall carry them down to be slain like sheep, like whethers and goats. O how was Sheshach won? O, how was the glory of the whole land taken? How happeneth it that Babylon is so wondered at among the Heathen? The sea is risen over Babylon, and hath covered her with his great waves. Her cities are laid waste, the land lieth unbuilded and void: it is a land where no man dwelleth, and where no man traveleth through. Moreover, I will visit Bel at Babylon: and the thing that he hath swallowed up, that same shall I pluck out of his mouth. The Gentiles also shall run no more unto him; yea, and the walls of Babylon shall fall.
The word of the lord came unto the prophet Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying,
And Jonah made him ready to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and gat him down to Joppa, and found there a ship ready to go to Tarshish, and paid his fare, and went aboard, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. But the LORD hurled a great wind in to the sea, so that there was a mighty tempest in the sea: insomuch that the ship was like to go in pieces. read more. And the mariners were afraid and cried every man unto his god, and cast out the goods that were in the ship in to the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah gat him under the hatches and laid him down and slumbered. And the master of the ship came to him and said unto him, "Why slumberest thou? Up! And call unto thy god, that God may think on us, that we perish not." And they said, one to another, come and let us cast lots, to know for whose cause we are thus troubled. And they cast lots. And the lot fell upon Jonah.
And they said, one to another, come and let us cast lots, to know for whose cause we are thus troubled. And they cast lots. And the lot fell upon Jonah. Then they said unto him, "Tell us for whose cause we are thus troubled: what is thine occupation, whence comest thou, how is thy country called, and of what nation art thou?"
Then they said unto him, "Tell us for whose cause we are thus troubled: what is thine occupation, whence comest thou, how is thy country called, and of what nation art thou?" And he answered them, "I am a Hebrew: and the LORD God of heaven which made both sea and dry land, I fear."
And he answered them, "I am a Hebrew: and the LORD God of heaven which made both sea and dry land, I fear." Then were the men exceedingly afraid and said unto him, "Why didst thou so?" For they knew that he was fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
Then were the men exceedingly afraid and said unto him, "Why didst thou so?" For they knew that he was 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 cease from troubling us?" For the sea wrought, and was troublous.
Then they said unto him, "What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may cease from troubling us?" For the sea wrought, and was troublous. And he answered them, "Take me and cast me in to the sea, and so shall it let you be in rest: for I know it is for my sake, that this great tempest is come upon you."
And he answered them, "Take me and cast me in to the sea, and so shall it let you be in rest: for I know it is for my sake, that this great tempest is come upon you." Nevertheless the men assayed with rowing to bring the ship to land: but it would not be, because the sea so wrought and was so troublous against them.
Nevertheless the men assayed with rowing to bring the ship to land: but it would not be, because the sea so wrought and was so troublous against them. Wherefore they cried unto the LORD and said, "O LORD let us not perish for this man's death, neither lay innocent blood unto our charge: for thou LORD, even as thy pleasure was, so thou hast done."
Wherefore they cried unto the LORD and said, "O LORD let us not perish for this man's death, neither lay innocent blood unto our charge: for thou LORD, even as thy pleasure was, so thou hast done." And then they took Jonah, and cast him into the sea: and the sea left raging.
And then they took Jonah, and cast him into the sea: and the sea left raging. And the men feared the LORD exceedingly: and sacrificed sacrifice unto the LORD: and vowed vows. read more. But the LORD prepared a great fish, to swallow up Jonah. And so was Jonah in the bowels of the fish three days and three nights.
And Jonah prayed unto the LORD his god out of the bowels of the fish.
And Jonah prayed unto the LORD his god out of the bowels of the fish. And he said, "In my tribulation I called unto the LORD, and he answered me: out of the belly of hell I cried, and thou heardest my voice.
And he said, "In my tribulation I called unto the LORD, and he answered me: out of the belly of hell I cried, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me down deep in the midst of the sea; and the flood compassed me about: and all thy waves and rolls of water went over me.
For thou hadst cast me down deep in the midst of the sea; and the flood compassed me about: and all thy waves and rolls of water went over me.
For thou hadst cast me down deep in the midst of the sea; and the flood compassed me about: and all thy waves and rolls of water went over me. And I thought that I had been cast away out of thy sight. But I will yet again look toward thy holy temple.
And I thought that I had been cast away out of thy sight. But I will yet again look toward thy holy temple.
And I thought that I had been cast away out of thy sight. But I will yet again look toward thy holy temple. The water compassed me even unto the very soul of me; the deep lay about me, and the weeds were wrapped about mine head.
The water compassed me even unto the very soul of me; the deep lay about me, and the weeds were wrapped about mine head.
The water compassed me even unto the very soul of me; the deep lay about me, and the weeds were wrapped about mine head. And I went down unto the bottom of the hills, and was barred in with earth on every side forever. And yet thou, LORD my God, broughtest up my life again out of corruption.
And I went down unto the bottom of the hills, and was barred in with earth on every side forever. And yet thou, LORD my God, broughtest up my life again out of corruption.
And I went down unto the bottom of the hills, and was barred in with earth on every side forever. And yet thou, LORD my God, broughtest up my life again out of corruption. When my soul fainted in me, I thought on the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, even into thy holy temple.
When my soul fainted in me, I thought on the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, even into thy holy temple. They that observe vain vanities, have forsaken him that was merciful unto them.
They that observe vain vanities, have forsaken him that was merciful unto them. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving, and will pay that that I have vowed, that saving cometh of the LORD."
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving, and will pay that that I have vowed, that saving cometh of the LORD." And the LORD spake unto the fish: and it cast out Jonah again upon the dry land.
Then came the word of the LORD unto Jonah again, saying, "Up, and get thee to Nineveh that great city, and preach unto them the preaching which I bade thee." read more. And he arose and went to Nineveh at the LORD's commandment. Nineveh was a great city unto God, containing three days journey.
And he arose and went to Nineveh at the LORD's commandment. Nineveh was a great city unto God, containing three days journey. And Jonah went to and entered into the city even a day's journey, and cried, saying, "There shall not pass forty days but Nineveh shall be overthrown." read more. And the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed fasting, and arrayed themselves in sackcloth, as well the great as the small of them. And the tidings came unto the king of Nineveh, which arose out of his seat, and did his apparel off and put on sackcloth, and sat him down in ashes.
And the tidings came unto the king of Nineveh, which arose out of his seat, and did his apparel off and put on sackcloth, and sat him down in ashes. And it was cried and commanded in Nineveh by the authority of the king and of his lords, saying, "See that neither man or beast, ox or sheep taste ought at all, and that they neither feed or drink water." read more. And they put on sackcloth both man and beast, and cried unto God mightily, and turned every man from his wicked way, and from doing wrong in which they were accustomed, saying, "Who can tell whether God will turn and repent, and cease from his fierce wrath, that we perish not?" And when God saw their works, how they turned from their wicked ways, he repented on the evil which he said he would do unto them, and did it not.
And he prayed unto the LORD and said, "O LORD, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? And therefore I hasted rather to flee to Tarshish: for I knew well enough that thou wast a merciful god, full of compassion long before thou be angry, and of great mercy and repentest when thou art come to take punishment.
And the LORD said unto Jonah, "Art thou so angry?" And Jonah gat him out of the city and sat him down on the east side thereof, and made him there a booth and sat thereunder in the shadow, till he might see what should chance unto the city. read more. And the LORD prepared as it were a wild vine which sprang up over Jonah, that he might have shadow over his head, to deliver him out of his pain. And Jonah was exceeding glad of the wild vine. And the LORD ordained a worm against the spring of the morrow morning which smote the wild vine that it withered away. And as soon as the sun was up, God prepared a fervent east wind: so that the sun beat over the head of Jonah, that he fainted again and wished unto his soul that he might die, and said, "It is better for me to die than to live." And God said unto Jonah, "Art thou so angry for thy wild vine?" And he said, "I am angry a good, even unto the death." And the LORD said, "Thou hast compassion on a wild vine, whereon thou bestowedest no labour nor madest it grow, which sprang up in one night and perished in another: And should not I have compassion on Nineveh that great city, wherein there is a multitude of people, even above a hundred thousand that know not their righthand from the left, besides much cattle?"
And whosoever speaketh a word against the son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the holy ghost, it shall not be forgiven him: no, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
The forward nation, and adulterous, seeketh a sign: and there shall none other sign be given unto them, but the sign of the prophet Jonah." So left he them and departed.
When the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil nation. They seek a sign, and there shall no sign be given them, 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 coasts of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea, in the wild fields, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel which he spake through his servant Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.
Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to perpetual shame and reproof.
And he prayed unto the LORD and said, "O LORD, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? And therefore I hasted rather to flee to Tarshish: for I knew well enough that thou wast a merciful god, full of compassion long before thou be angry, and of great mercy and repentest when thou art come to take punishment.
He answered them saying, "The evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign; but there shall no sign be given to them, 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 at the day of judgment with this nation, and condemn them: for they amended at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
The forward nation, and adulterous, seeketh a sign: and there shall none other sign be given unto them, but the sign of the prophet Jonah." So left he them and departed.
And this glad tidings of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.
When the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil nation. They seek a sign, and there shall no sign be given them, but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the son of man be to this nation. read more. The queen of the south shall rise at the judgment, with the men of this generation, and condemn them. For she came from the end of the world, to hear the wisdom of Solomon: and behold a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh shall rise at the judgment, with this generation, and shall condemn them: 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 look, for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet."
When the Jews saw the people, they were full of indignation and spake against those things which were spoken of Paul; speaking against it, and railing on it.
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 coasts of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea, in the wild fields, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel which he spake through his servant Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.
And he prayed unto the LORD and said, "O LORD, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? And therefore I hasted rather to flee to Tarshish: for I knew well enough that thou wast a merciful god, full of compassion long before thou be angry, and of great mercy and repentest when thou art come to take punishment.
He answered them saying, "The evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign; but there shall no sign be given to them, but the sign of the prophet Jonah:
The men of Nineveh shall rise at the day of judgment with this nation, and condemn them: for they amended at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
The forward nation, and adulterous, seeketh a sign: and there shall none other sign be given unto them, but the sign of the prophet Jonah." So left he them and departed.
When the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil nation. They seek a sign, and there shall no sign be given them, but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the son of man be to this nation.
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 at the day of judgment with this nation, and condemn them: for they amended at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
The men of Nineveh shall rise at the judgment, with this generation, and shall condemn them: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah: And behold, a greater than Jonah is here.