THE BOOK OF JONA H. CHAPTER I. 1 Now the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah the 2 son of Amittai, saying; Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against her: for their wickedness is come up before me. 3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah: and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish, and paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah. 1. Jonah] He was of Gath-hepher in the tribe of Zebulon, a part of Lower Galilee. Josh. xix. 13. He prophesied in the reign of Jeroboam the Second, king of Israel; who began to reign 823 years before Christ, and reigned in Samaria 41 years. See 2 Kings xiv. 23---25. 2. Nineveh] The capital of the Assyrian empire. See the notes c. iii. 3. iv. 11: and on Nahum; c. i. 1. iii. 18. ---cry] Proclaim as a Propbet. ---against her] Or, concerning her. Noldius, §. 10. ---for their wickedness] Or, that their wickedness, &c. Nold §. 20. 3. ---to flee] Jonah might consider this mission as an uncommon, unprofitable, and dangerous one. He certainly thought that his veracity as a prophet would be affected by God's merciful change of purpose. c. iv. 2. This and other parts of his conduct deserve censure. But men endued with extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, and made the instruments of declaring God's will to mankind, have occasionally been subject to great human infirmities, and have even contracted great guilt. See 1 Kings xiii. 18, 20. Matth. vii. 22. Acts xv. 39. 1 Cor. xiii. 2. Gal. ii. 11. Tarshish] Bochart says that there were two places of this name: one, Tartessus in Spain, which Stephanus de Urbibus places near the pillars' of Hercules; the other in the Indian 4 And Jehovah sent forth a great wind upon the 5 sea; and there was a great tempest in the sea: and it was thought that the ship would be broken in pieces. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his God. And they cast forth the things which were in the ship into the sea, to be lightened of them. But Jonah was gone down to the sides of the 6 hold; and lay, and was in a sound sleep. And the ship-master came near unto him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call unto thy God: perhaps God will think upon us, that we perish not. 17 And they said one § to another, Come and let us cast lots; that we may know for whose cause this 8 evil hath happened unto us. And they cast lots; and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for what cause this evil hath happened unto us. What is thy business? and Hebr. cast forth. +was thought to be broken What to thee. § every man to his neighbour. ocean, near Ophir or Taprobana, which island is usually thought to be the modern Ceylon. To this latter men sailed from Eziongeber on the Red Sea. 2 Chron. xx. 36, 36. Geogr. 1. iii. c. vii. p. 171. ed. Lugd. Bat. fol. 1707. Cocceius and Taylor (see ww in each) think that Tarshish may denote a distant country, whether to the east or to the west; like our Indies. Some derive it from n to view, and www to delight: and thus it may signify a country abounding with desirable productions. 4. thought] Houbigant supposes, that the original word should be written at length, T: putabatur fractum iri. 5. ---to be lightened] So Houbigant: pnb and V. 6. render the word passively. --of the hold] The covered part of the ship. 6. ship-master] The Hebrew may be rendered," the chief man, even the pilot:" or, "the chief of the crew" which latter is the rendering of Syr. and Chald. 8. for what cause] is most naturally understood of things, Gen. xxxiii. 8. Judg. xiii. 17. 1 Sam. xviii. 18. Mic. i. 5. See Nold. §. 5. note. See also Buxtorf's thes. gramm. p. 392. whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of 9 what people art thou? And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear Jehovah the God of hea10 ven, who made the sea and the dry land. Then were the men | exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of Jehovah: for he 11 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 tempes12 tuous. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; and the sea* shall be calm unto you: for I know that because of me this 13 great tempest is upon you. Nevertheless the men Hebr. feared with great fear. *was flying. + may rest from upon us. went and was tempestuous. § shall rest from upon you. -comest thou] In the original the verb is future: which tense has often the force of the present. 9. ---an Hebrew] ó. Arab. render" a servant of Jehovah:” because they ready, contracted for . See Lud. Cappell. comm. p. 19. fol. Amst. and Dr. Kennicott's dissert. gen. § 25, subjoined to his Hebrew bible. 10. fled] v. 6. and 13 MSS. and one printed edition, in Dr. Kennicott's bible, read m. 11. What shall we do] Moerlius quotes the following passage from Orpheus's Argonautics. Πολλα δε μερμηρίζον ενι φρεσι πευκαλίμησι, Η μεν αποφθίσωσι, και ιχθυσι κυρμα βαλωσι And much they doubted in their prudent minds, Wretched Medea, and avert their fate. v. 1168. 66 ---grew more and more tempestuous] That this is the true rendering, see Taylor's conc. root 450; n. 27, 32. The Syriac version makes the words part of the address to Jonah: quoniam mare ecce it et turbat se contra nos: for the sea groweth more and more tempestuous." Many MSS. and some editions, ascer וסוער tain the participial form by reading 12. cast me forth] Many MSS. and some ed. read m; and v. 15, b. The points have often excluded the formative letters; which ought to be restored in a correct edition of the text. G |