Tyndale Open Study NotesJonah 1

Jonah first refused the Lord's command to warn Nineveh about the judgment it faced due to its wickedness.

Jonah, son of Amittai, came from Gath-hepher. This town was on the border between the tribal areas of Naphtali and Zebulun. He served the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II, from 793 to 753 BC (see 2 Kings 14:25).

• By the time of Jonah, Nineveh already had a long history (see Genesis 10:12). It was an important city in the Assyrian Empire until it was destroyed in 612 BC (see Nahum 1–3). Nineveh’s ruins are across the Tigris River from the modern city of Mosul, Iraq.

• great city: See study note on Jonah 3:3.

• Jonah tried to run away from the Lord, but he could not succeed. No one can escape God (Psalm 139:7–10) or disobey his will without facing consequences (Deuteronomy 8:5). Jonah's hesitation to go to Nineveh is understandable. Assyria was an enemy of Israel known for its violence (Jonah 3:8; see also Nahum 3:1–4). Jonah did not want these non-Israelites to have the chance to repent and be saved (Jonah 4:2).

• Joppa was an important port city on the Mediterranean coast (2 Chronicles 2:16; Ezra 3:7); it is now a suburb of modern Tel Aviv.

• Tarshish might have been the port city of Tartessos in Spain, meaning Jonah tried to flee as far as possible in the opposite direction from Nineveh. Tarsus in Asia Minor is another possibility. Some believe Tarshish refers to the sea or any destination reachable by sea.

God's control over nature is a key theme in the book of Jonah (see Jonah 1:4, 9, 13–16, 17; 2:3, 10; 4:6–7).

God may have caused Jonah to keep sleeping to show that the sailors' gods could not help (Jonah 1:6).

• God permitted the use of lots for certain purposes, such as making decisions when people sought his will (see Leviticus 16:8; Joshua 18:6; 1 Chronicles 26:12–16; Acts 1:26). However, divination in general, as it was practiced throughout the ancient world, displeased the Lord because it sought guidance apart from him (Deuteronomy 18:9–13).

• who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us: In the ancient Near East, people often believed that disasters or bad events happened because a god was angry. They assumed that someone had caused offense and needed to be identified.

• a Hebrew: See also Genesis 41:12; Exodus 1:15; 2:11.

• Jonah worshiped the Lord, who, unlike the sailors’ false gods, made and controlled the sea and land. Many believed different gods ruled specific areas and tasks. Calling God the God of the heavens likely showed this deity's superiority, as heaven is the highest realm. The Old Testament consistently states that the Lord is the one true God (see, for example, Deuteronomy 6:4), sometimes using language to show his superiority over false gods imagined by pagan peoples (see Psalm 95:3–5).

Pick me up: Jonah’s calmness in giving this direction is surprising. But he was willing to face death peacefully rather than give the hated Assyrians a chance to repent.

the men rowed hard: They knew Jonah had angered the Lord, but they worried the Lord would be angrier if they killed his prophet.

feared: God's power over the stormy sea led the sailors to worship. Although sacrifices and vows were part of Israelite worship (for example, Psalm 116:17–18), the sailors likely did not fully convert from worshiping false gods. They probably added Israel's God to their list. This situation is deeply ironic. Pagan sailors showed respect and honor toward the Lord, while the Lord’s own prophet dishonored him. The prophet then seemed to sink into the sea and face death (compare study note on Jonah 2:8–9).

• Some critics find it hard to believe that Jonah could survive inside a large fish. They challenge one of the book's main ideas, that God has complete control over nature. If God exists and created nature (Jonah 1:9, 16; see also Genesis 1:21), such a miracle is possible. The book treats the fish story as historical.

• The species of the fish is not specified, nor is it important for the story's meaning. Given God's power, the fish could have been specially created for this event. If God can perform miracles, Jonah's need for air and protection from digestion is not a problem (see Daniel 3:14–27). Some fish, like the whale shark, are large enough for this purpose, and similar events have happened in modern times.

• Jesus later mentioned Jonah's three days and nights in the fish to predict his own time in the grave (Matthew 12:39–41).

• The phrase appointed appears four times in the book, showing God's easy control over nature (Jonah 4:6, 7, 8).