Jonah 1

Chapter 1 1 And the word of Jehovah came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, to that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness has ascended before my face." 3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah, and went down to Joppa, and found a ship, which was going to Tarshish; and he paid the fare, and went down into it,, that he might go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah. 4 And Jehovah sent a strong wind on the sea, and a great tempset arose in the sea, and the ship was thought to be breaking: 5 And the mariners feared, and cried every one to his god, and cast out the wares, which were in the ship, into the sea, that it might be lightened of them; but Jonah had gone down to the sides of the ship; and he lay down and slept. 6 And the pilot came to him, and he said to him, — "What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call on thy God, if so be that God will show himself propitious to us, that we may not perish." 7 And they said each to his friend, — "Come and let us cast lots, that we may know for what cause is this evil come upon us." And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

The dishonour Jonah did to God in refusing to obey his orders, and to go on the errand on which he was sent (v. 3): But Jonah, instead of rising to go to Nineveh, rose up to flee to Tarshish, to the sea, not bound for any port, but desirous to get away from the presence of the Lord; and, if he might but do that, he card not whither he went, not as if he thought he could go any where from under the eye of God's inspection, but from his special presence, from the spirit of prophecy, which, when it put him upon this work, he thought himself haunted with, and coveted to get out of the hearing of. Some think Jonah went upon the opinion of some of the Jews that the spirit of prophecy was confined to the land of Israel (which in Ezekiel and Daniel was effectually proved to be a mistake), and therefore he hoped he should get clear of it if he could but get out of the borders of that land. (1.) Jonah would not go to Nineveh to cry against it either because it was a long and dangerous journey thither, and in a road he knew not, or because he was afraid it would be as much as his life was worth to deliver such an ungrateful message to that great and potent city.

For this purpose he embarked at Joppa; but the Lord having sent a violent tempest while he was upon the sea, the mariners, with great fear, cried each of them to his god. In the meantime Jonah slept in the hold; whereupon the pilot wakened him; and they who were in the ship cast lots to know how this tempest was occasioned. The lot falling upon Jonah, they asked him who he was, and what he had done to bring upon them such a storm? He told them he was a Hebrew; that he worshipped the God of heaven; was one of his prophets; and fled from his presence to avoid going to Nineveh, whither he was sent. They asked him what was to be done to secure them from shipwreck? He replied: Throw me into the sea, and the tempest will cease. God prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. This fish, according to some, was a whale; or, as others say, the lamia, canis carcharias, or the sea-dog. The prophet continued in the fish three days and three nights. He cried unto the Lord, and the Lord heard him, and commanded the fish to cast him upon the shore, as it is believed, at the foot of a mountain which projects a great way into the sea, between Berytus and Tripoli. Others think it was upon the coast of Cilicia, two leagues north from Alexandretta. After this the word of the Lord came a second time to Jonah, and directed him to go to Nineveh.

[Bible] And Jehovah hath cast a great wind on the sea, and there is a great tempest in the sea, and the ship hath reckoned to be broken; and the mariners are afraid, and cry each unto his god, and cast the goods that [are] in the ship into the sea, to make [it] light of them; and Jonah hath gone down unto the sides of the vessel, and he lieth down, and is fast asleep. And the chief of the company draweth near to him, and saith to him, `What — to thee, O sleeper? rise, call unto thy God, it may be God doth bethink himself of us, and we do not perish.` And they say each unto his neighbour, `Come, and we cast lots, and we know on whose account this evil [is] on us.` And they cast lots, and the lot falleth on Jonah. And they say unto him, `Declare to us, we pray thee, on what account this evil [is] on us? what [is] thine occupation, and whence comest thou? what [is] thy country, seeing thou art not of this people?` And he saith unto them, `A Hebrew I [am], and Jehovah, God of the heavens, I am reverencing, who made the sea and the dry land.` And the men fear a great fear, and say unto him, `What [is] this thou hast done!` for the men have known that from the face of Jehovah he is fleeing, for he hath told them. And they say unto him, `What do we do to thee that the sea may cease from us, for the sea is more and more tempestuous?` And he saith unto them, `Lift me up, and cast me into the sea, and the sea doth cease from you; for I know that on my account this great tempest [is] upon you.` And the men row to turn back unto the dry land, and are not able, for the sea is more and more tempestuous against them. And they cry unto Jehovah, and say, `We pray Thee, O Jehovah, let us not, we pray Thee, perish for this man`s life, and do not lay on us innocent blood, for Thou, Jehovah, as Thou hast pleased, Thou hast done.` And they lift up Jonah, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceaseth from its raging;

But Jehovah sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest upon the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. And the mariners were afraid, and cried every one unto his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to be lightened of them. But Jonah had gone down into the lower part of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. And the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, sleeper? arise, call upon thy God; perhaps God will think upon us, that we perish not. And they said each one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. And they said unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us: what is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear Jehovah, the God of the heavens, who hath made the sea and the dry [land]. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, What is this thou hast done? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of Jehovah: for he had told them. And they said unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea grew more and more tempestuous. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that because of me this great tempest is upon you.

2. Now I cannot but think it necessary for me, who have promised to give an accurate account of our affairs, to describe the actions of this prophet, so far as I have found them written down in the Hebrew books. Jonah had been commanded by God to go to the kingdom of Nineveh; and when he was there, to publish it in that city, how it should lose the dominion it had over the nations. But he went not, out of fear; nay, he ran away from God to the city of Joppa, and finding a ship there, he went into it, and sailed to Tarsus, in Cilicia 19 and upon the rise of a most terrible storm, which was so great that the ship was in danger of sinking, the mariners, the master, and the pilot himself, made prayers and vows, in case they escaped the sea: but Jonah lay still and covered [in the ship,] without imitating any thing that the others did; but as the waves grew greater, and the sea became more violent by the winds, they suspected, as is usual in such cases, that some one of the persons that sailed with them was the occasion of this storm, and agreed to discover by lot 20 which of them it was. When they had cast lots, 21 the lot fell upon the prophet; and when they asked him whence he came, and what he had done? he replied, that he was a Hebrew by nation, and a prophet of Almighty God; and he persuaded them to cast him into the sea, if they would escape the danger they were in, for that he was the occasion of the storm which was upon them