Verse 4
Jonah subjected himself to dangers that Israel and the entire ancient Near East viewed as directly under divine control when he launched out on the sea. The sea to them was the embodiment of the chaotic forces that humans could not control or tame (cf. Psalms 24:2; Psalms 33:7; Psalms 65:7; Psalms 74:13; Psalms 77:19; Psalms 89:9; Psalms 114:3; Psalms 114:5; Isaiah 27:1; Isaiah 51:10; Isaiah 63:11; Jeremiah 5:22; Jeremiah 31:35; et al.). Jonah was desperate to get away from where he thought God might come after him (cf. Genesis 3:8). Nevertheless God used the wind to bring the prodigal prophet to the place He wanted him to be (cf. Genesis 1:2).
"It was gracious of God to seek out His disobedient servant and not to allow him to remain long in his sin." [Note: Charles L. Feinberg, Jonah, Micah, and Nahum, p. 15.]
In the Hebrew text the last part of this verse is literally, "the ship thought she would be broken in pieces," a graphic personification.
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