Jonah 1:1-17

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 1:8

‘Then they said to him, “Tell us, we pray you, for whose cause this evil is on us. What is your occupation, and from where do you come? What is your country, and of what people are you?” Convinced that they had now found the culprit they asked him to explain why this evil had come upon them, and in doing so asked him for details of his occupation, nationality and native land. They wanted to know what kind of a God they were dealing with.. read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 1:9

‘And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear YHWH, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land.” ’ Jonah answered in terms that they could understand. ‘Hebrew’ was the description used by outsiders of Israelites. It had originally arisen because they were a nomadic people with no permanent ties to the land in which they lived. Habiru was originally a name given to landless and stateless people (e.g. Israel, both in Egypt and when they arrived in Canaan, Abraham ‘the Hebrew’, an... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 1:10

‘Then the men were hugely afraid, and said to him, “What is this that you have done?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of YHWH, because he had told them.’ When the men heard that YHWH was a God of the sea they were terrified, and knowing from what he had said earlier that he was fleeing from ‘the presence of YHWH’, they asked him to consider what he had done. It was now clear to them that it was because of Jonah that all this was coming on them. To flee from the presence... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 1:11

‘Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.’ Then they asked him, as one who would know his God’s requirements, what they could do to pacify Him so that the sea would become calm, for the storm was getting worse and worse. read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 1:12

‘And he said to them, “Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea, so will the sea be calm for you, for I know that for my sake this great tempest is on you.” ’ As a prophet his reply was that, recognising that this great storm had arisen because of him (for his sake), they must throw him into the sea as a kind of appeasement offering to YHWH. Then the sea would become calm for them. he had made the decision that he was ready to die to save the ship and the crew. read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 1:13

‘Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get themselves back to the land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.’ However, to the men’s credit, they were loath to offer him as a human sacrifice, and began to put in every effort to row the ship to the shoreline, probably hoping to disembark Jonah and thus satisfy the gods. In those days ships would often hug the coast, precisely in case of such a storm as this. But it was all in vain, for the storm merely got... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 1:14

‘For which reason they cried to YHWH, and said, “We beseech you, O YHWH, we beseech you, do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not lay on us innocent blood, for you, O YHWH, have done as it pleased you.” ’ When all proved vain they recognised that they were left with little alternative, and began to cry to YHWH, as Jonah’s offended God, not to cause them to perish because of what this man had done, and because He wanted to take Jonah’s life. And they begged that they might not be... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 1:15

‘So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.’ Then they took up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and no doubt to their great astonishment, discovered that the sea immediately began to quieten down and eventually ceased from its raging. Here was evidence of the mercy of YHWH, for He had heard their cry and had done what they asked, revealing that YHWH was not only the God of Israel but the God of all men, and was the answerer of prayer to all who... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 1:16

‘Then the men feared YHWH greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to YHWH, and made vows.’ And the result was that the men recognised in YHWH a God Who had to be taken into account, and they paid Him due awed reverence, and offered a sacrifice to Him, and made vows, presumably vowing to continue to honour Him in the future. This would no doubt be done once they had landed, possibly by a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Thus Jonah, who had fled because he did not want to take the message of YHWH to... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 1:17

‘And YHWH prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly (innards) of the fish three days and three nights.’ Meanwhile YHWH had not forgotten YHWH and as God of land and sea had already made provision for Jonah by arranging for a large fish to be in the area, so that as Jonah began to drown in the turbulent seas, the fish might swallow him. And when it did he was inside the fish for ‘three days and three nights’, which in Israelite terminology indicated ‘a day or two’. (A... read more

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