Jonah 4:8 - Exposition

A vehement east wind; Septuagint, πνεύματι καύσωνι ( James 1:11 ) συγκαίοντι "a scorching, burning wind;" Vulgate, vento calido et urenti ( Hosea 13:15 ). The word translated "vehement" is also rendered "silent," i.e. sultry. Pusey and Hitzig rather incline to think it may mean the autumn or harvest wind. Either interpretation is suitable, as, according to Dr. Thomson, there are two kinds of sirocco, equally destructive and annoying—the violent wind, which fills the air with dust and sand; and the quiet one, when scarcely any air is stirring, but the heat is most overpowering. Beat upon the head . The same word for the effect of the rays of the sun as in Psalms 121:6 and elsewhere. Trochon quotes Ovid, 'Metam,' 7.804—

"Sole fere radiis feriente cacumiua primis."

"The sun with earliest rays

Scarce smiting highest peaks."

Rich, 'Koordistan,' 1.125, "Just as the moon rose, about ten, an intolerable puff of wind came from the northeast. All were immediately silent, as if they had felt an earthquake, and then exclaimed, in a dismal tone, 'The sherki is come.' This was indeed the so much-dreaded sherki, and it has continued blowing ever since with great violence from the east and northeast, the wind being heated like our Bagdad sauna, but I think softer and more relaxing. This wind is the terror of these parts." "Few European travellers," says Layard, "can brave the perpendicular rays of an Assyrian sun. Even the well seasoned Arab seeks the shade during the day, and journeys by night unless driven forth by necessity or the love of war" (quoted by Dr. Pusey, in loc ). He fainted (see note on Amos 8:13 , where the fame word is used of the effects of thirst: comp. Jonah 2:7 ). His position on the east of the city ( Psalms 121:5 ) exposed him to the full force of the scorching sun and wind. Wished in himself to die; literally, asked for his soul to die; Septuagint, ἀπελέγετο τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ , "despaired of his life" ( 1 Kings 19:4 ). The expression implies that he asked God to grant him his life to do with it what he liked. In his self-will and impatience he still shows his dependence upon God. He may have had in his mind the precedent of his great master Elijah, though his spirit is very different (see note on Psalms 121:3 above). Better for me to die . His wish for death arose from his now assured conviction that God's mercy was extended to the heathen. He argued from the sudden withering of the gourd that he was not to stay there and see the accomplishment of his wishes, and, in his impatience and intolerance, he would rather die than behold Nineveh converted and saved.