TEXT [Commentary]

  I.   The Prophet at Sea (1:1–2:10)

A.   Jonah’s Commission and Response (1:1-3)

1 The LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”

3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the LORD. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the LORD by sailing to Tarshish.

NOTES

1:1 The LORD gave this message. Lit., “and the word of the Lord came.” Similar opening formulae occur in the OT over 100 times, each used to express divine communication to a prophet. The reception of the word of the Lord authenticated one as God’s prophet. The exact Hebrew idiom wayehi [TH2050.1/1961, ZH2256/2118] (and it came to pass), however, appears as an opening phrase in a prophetic book only here and in Ezekiel.

Jonah. Jonah’s name means “dove.” Although various fanciful attempts have been made to relate the prophet’s name symbolically to such matters as the plot of the narrative or to conditions in the northern kingdom, the common use of animal names for human beings in Hebrew makes such reconstructions precarious at best.

son of Amittai. Jonah’s full designation identifies him with the prophet from Gath-hepher, who prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II (2 Kgs 14:25). Taken at face value, this phrase indicates that the following narrative tells of events that took place in the first half of the eighth century BC (see Introduction). If it could be determined whether this episode in Jonah’s life took place before or after that which is recorded in 2 Kings, it would have a distinct bearing on one’s understanding of the prophet’s spiritual odyssey.

1:2 Get up and go. Lit., “Arise! Go!” The double imperatives carry with them a sense of urgency. Since Hebrew syntax dictates that the major stress in such cases is on “the going” (Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, §120g [286-287]), Jonah is to respond immediately to the Lord’s command. Similar injunctions were given to Elijah (1 Kgs 17:9) and Jeremiah (Jer 13:6).

the great city of Nineveh. Like the Hebrews’ own Jerusalem (Jer 22:8), Nineveh was termed a “great city” (cf. also Babylon, Dan 4:30; Gibeon, Josh 10:2). While the adjective could indicate size here, it may also have to do with the city’s status or prominence (Wiseman 1979:35-36)—perhaps both are intended. By ancient Near Eastern standards, Nineveh was a sizeable and illustrious city. Nineveh’s greatness serves as an important thematic thread woven throughout the fabric of the book (cf. 3:2-3; 4:11). Nineveh was a city with a long and important history stretching back to the third millennium BC, and God was concerned for the people in this city.

Announce my judgment against it. The root qara’ [TH7121, ZH7924] is used with great frequency in the book (see Introduction). Here it is used with the preposition ‘al [TH5921, ZH6584], thus “preach against.” Although some commentators equate the force of this phrase with qara’ ’el [TH413, ZH448] (preach unto), Keil (1954:389) may be correct in insisting on their differentiation. The NLT has preserved the distinction (cf. 3:2).

I have seen how wicked its people are. Lit., “their wickedness has come up before me.” The cause for the Lord’s judgment against Nineveh is spelled out (cf. 3:8, 10). The noun translated “wicked” here (ra‘ah [TH7451B, ZH8288]) is used elsewhere in Jonah in various senses and provides a thematic thread in three of the four chapters of the book (see Introduction). Sadly, Nineveh’s extreme wickedness and cruelty would only intensify in the following century, as attested by Nahum and Zephaniah.

1:3 Jonah got up. God instructed Jonah to get up, and so he did; but he arose to follow a course opposite to that which the Lord had commanded him.

to get away from the LORD. The Hebrew text indicates that Jonah was attempting to flee from the presence of the Lord. Unlike Jeremiah (Jer 17:16), Jonah was a runaway prophet. Although Nineveh’s case had come up before God, Jonah would go “in the opposite direction”—away from the Lord’s presence. The play on words and ideas is instructive. As Limburg (1993:43) points out, “Only Cain, the murderer, is described in the Bible as making a similar attempt to run ‘away from the presence of the LORD’ (Gen 4:16).” Since Jonah himself acknowledged that God is the maker of heaven and earth (1:9) and since he was probably acquainted with the older story of Job (cf. Job 23:10; 38:4-14), he presumably would have been aware that no one could be out of the view of the omnipotent Creator and sustainer of the earth (cf. Ps 139:7-10). Thus, the motivation for Jonah’s flight must be sought in something other than his physical removal from God. While Stuart (1987:450) suggests that “Jonah, the ardent nationalist, therefore, attempted to flee to a place where no fellow believers would be found, hoping that this would help insure that God’s word would not come to him again,” Calvin and others (cf. Allen 1976:205; D. Alexander 1988:101) are probably correct in affirming that the phrase simply indicates that Jonah is announcing his unwillingness to serve God in this capacity. Thus Laetsch (1956:222) observes, “To flee from His presence = to refuse to serve Him in this office.”

He went down. This is the first of several instances of Jonah’s “going down.” Although Stuart (1987:437-438, 451-452) points to the simplicity of vocabulary in the Jonah narrative and the natural use of “going down” in the various occasions where the term is used in the book, the literary plays in the use of this and other items of vocabulary seem far too well-placed to be so easily dismissed.

Joppa. This port city (modern Jaffa) is known to have existed at least from the seventeenth century BC (Kaplan and Kaplan 1976:2.532-541). Known as Yapu in the fourteenth-century BC Egyptian Amarna Letters and Yappu in the neo-Assyrian inscriptions, it was likely controlled by the Philistines in the early centuries of the first millennium BC. Because it was the only natural harbor on the south Palestinian coast, it was important as a seaport for the area (2 Chr 2:16; Ezra 3:7). In New Testament times, the apostle Peter visited there, staying at the home of Simon, a tanner (Acts 9:43). Joppa was the location of Peter’s well-known vision regarding ritual purity and from which he was sent to meet with the Roman centurion Cornelius (Acts 10:1–11:18).

he found a ship. Sasson (1990:81) points out that “the verb matsa’ [TH4672, ZH5162] . . . often involves an unexpected discovery or good fortune. From Jonah’s perspective, as contrasted to the reader’s or the author’s, the fact that he found a ship going to the earth’s other extremity must have promised a successful flight from God.”

Tarshish. The location of Tarshish is uncertain. (For details, see my remarks in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary 4.103, 4.169.) Although several sites have been suggested, Allen (1976:205) is probably correct in following Albright’s dictum: “There were doubtless at least as many Phoenician settlements which bore the name Tarshish as there were ‘New Towns’ [= Carthage].” Wherever its location, the point is that Jonah was attempting to go as far west from Nineveh (which lay to the east) as he possibly could. Tarshish was grouped with other lands beyond the sea that had not heard of God nor seen his glory (Isa 66:19).

bought a ticket. Several expositors have suggested that Jonah paid the total expenses for the whole ship. While the Hebrew phrase can be understood to mean “paid its (the ship’s) hire,” the matter is far from certain. The jettisoning of the cargo (1:5), as well as the ship’s indicated destination, would tend to suggest that the ship had already been loaded for its intended voyage and that Jonah had stumbled fortuitously upon it as it was about to set sail. If so, it may be best to retain the traditional understanding as reflected in the NLT (cf. LXX, Vulgate, NIV, NRSV).

the LORD. This is Yahweh (yhwh [TH3068, ZH3378]), the name of the covenant God of Israel; it is found ten times in ch 1, five times in chs 2 and 4, and two times in ch 3. The generic term for God, ’elohim [TH430, ZH466], occurs some twelve times, while the compound designation yhwh ’elohim is found four times. The term ’el [TH410A, ZH446] occurs but once (4:2). Several expositors have commented on the careful deployment of the names. Thus Limburg (1993:45-47) thinks yhwh is used to refer to the God a Hebrew would know, but ’elohim is employed when speaking of a god known to non-Israelites. He suggests further that the compound yhwh ’elohim is a transitional name, while the single occurrence of ’el is due to traditional creedal formulations.

COMMENTARY [Text]

The opening words of the book remind all who read them that God is a God of revelation. His will and his standards have been communicated to mankind, and the Scriptures are that revelation. Therefore, even when reading a good story in the Bible, such as that of Jonah, the believer is to remember that the account has a divine purpose, both for those involved in the various episodes and for those who read them. Paul puts it well, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17).

This opening passage of Jonah also indicates that God does indeed call and commission some to be his special ambassadors. Whether a Jeremiah of Old Testament times (Jer 1:4-10) or a Paul of New Testament days (Acts 9:1-19; Gal 1:10-17), those who would serve as pastors or missionaries should be conscious of God’s claim upon them (Eph 4:11).[63]

These verses also testify to the nature and character of God. An omniscient God, he knew not only the state of affairs in Nineveh and with his prophet, but was and is cognizant of all that takes place on earth (Prov 15:3; Isa 46:10; Jer 23:23-25; Heb 4:13). The Scriptures also reveal that in addition to knowing the hearts of all people, God cares about their well-being. The great city of Nineveh was in a desperate state. The word translated “wicked” (ra‘ah [TH7451B, ZH8288]) can also be used of personal or corporate troubles or calamities. As such, it is admirably suited to depict not only Nineveh’s recent calamitous events (see Introduction), but its moral perversity that may have occasioned such troubles.[64] If God has such concern for the welfare of a people that merited only his judgment (cf. 4:11; 2 Pet 3:9), how much more should believers understand that God knows their every need and longs to lead them into increasingly productive and satisfying lives.

This passage also teaches us about disobedience. God’s disobedient prophet had willfully turned away from a sovereign God who wanted him to be an instrument of his will. One might think, “How shocking!” Yet how easy it is for all of us to do the same.[65] Like Jonah, each one of us must come to realize that because God is not only sovereign but truly omnipotent, disobedience is both useless and foolish (cf. 1 Sam 15:23). As Jonah was to pay a heavy price for his sinful behavior, so sin always pays heavy wages to those in its employ (Prov 14:11; Rom 6:23). May God help each of us to be obedient, faithful, and profitable servants so that we may experience the Lord’s good favor not only throughout this life but also in that to come (Ps 31:23; Matt 25:23; 2 Tim 1:12).