Notes on Jonah 1:1-17, 2:1-2, 11

The image "Jonah is Thrown Overboard" first appeared in The Coloured Picture Bible Fr Children, illustrated by Richard Andre. The work is in the Public Domain in the U.S.A.

 

Jonah 1:1-17, 2:1-2, 11 is the reading for Monday of the 27th week in Ordinary time, Year I. Notice that this reading skips over the prophet's prayer, jumping from Jon 2:2 to Jon 2:11. This is because the prayer is not part of the theme for the Mass of the day. The Jonah reading is coupled with the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37), wherein two leading members of Jewish religion compare poorly with the half-Pagan Samaritan, thus providing a parallel with how Jonah is presented.

Jon 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonas (Jonah)...

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah. Verse 1 employs a typical phrase often found in the prophetic literature to introduce a prophet's activity or mission (e.g., 1 Sam 15:10; 1 Kings 6:11); a quotation from a prophet (Jer 7:1, Jer 11:1); a prophet's claim to ministry (Jer 1:4, 11; Ezek 6:1). It can also serve as (or at least as a part of) the superscription to a prophetic book (Hosea 1:1; Joel 1:1; Micah 1:1;Zephaniah 1:1). While many take the verse here as a superscription it is in fact akin to the usage of passages such as 1 Sam 15:10 and 1 Kings 6:11 previously mentioned. It introduces the action of the prophet. The work is very much concerned about Jonah, but not with the content of his message as such. In the entire book Jonah is never identified as a prophet, and the book itself contains only one very brief prophetic oracle (Jonah 3:4).

The name Jonah means "dove", a bird which sometimes was used to symbolize fickleness in the Old Testament (Hosea 7:11). Jonah is certainly presented in this work as silly and capricious. In Psalm 55:7the poet wishes he were a dove so that he might take flight, flee from a treacherous friend. Jonah will flee from the covenanted God of his people as if the Lord had betrayed him for offering the great enemy of the people, the Ninevites (i.e., the Assyrians) the opportunity to repent (Jonah 4:1-3). The sound of those who mourn a disaster is sometimes compared to the cooing of doves (Isaiah 38:14), but Jonah will complain because a disaster has been averted.

Jon 1:2 (the LORD said)  Arise and go to Ninive (Nineveh), the great city, and preach in it: For the wickedness thereof is come up before me.  (Literally, "before my face")
Jon 1:3 And Jonas rose up to flee into Tharsis (Tarshish) from the face of the Lord, and he went down to Joppe (Joppa), and found a ship going to Tharsis (Tarshish): and he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tharsis (Tarshish) from the face of the Lord,

The Lord's very first words introduce one of the major satirical elements of the book. The word and conceptual links and contrasts in these two verses are many, and I'll try to convey some of the significance with color coding. God says to the prophet arise, go to Nineveh...for the wickedness thereof has come up before my face. But Jonah's response is exactly the opposite! He rose up to flee to Tarshish from the face of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, from the face of the Lord.

Notice how the prophet completely reverses what the Lord's intentions were in commanding him to arise and go to Nineveh. He rose up only to flee, and words and phrase such as went down, from, going to, etc all relate to this flight. Twice the flight is represented as being from the presence (face) of the LORD, which forms a contrast with the statement that the Ninevites wickedness has come up before my face (God's face). If the wickedness of the Ninevites is before the face (in the presence) of God, how is it that the prophet, in an act of wickedness, thinks he can flee from that face? He can't; and that fact will be beneficial to the Ninevites. But we have to ask what benefit did Jonah get from it?

The reason for the prophet's response to God's directive is not given until chapter 3:10-4:2~And God saw their works, that they were turned from their evil way: and God had mercy with regard to the evil which he had said that he would do to them, and he did it not. And Jonas was exceedingly troubled, and was angry: And he prayed to the Lord, and said: I beseech thee, O Lord, is not this what I said, when I was yet in my own country? therefore I went before to flee into Tharsis: for I know that thou art a gracious and merciful God, patient, and of much compassion, and easy to forgive evil. When the Prophet learned that the Ninevites wickedness was before God (i.e., present to him), the prophet left the presence of God, knowing that these pagans were being marked out for His mercy and love. The book was written primarily as a critique of those who refused to believe that God can show mercy to whomever he chooses, even one's own most violent enemies: Shall I not spare Ninive, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons, that know how to distinguish between their right hand and their left, and many beasts? ? (Jonah 4:11).

Jon 1:4  But the Lord sent (literally, "hurled") a great wind to the sea: and a great tempest was raised in the sea, and the ship was in danger to be broken.

The words But the LORD indicate that God is responding to the prophet's flight. To stop his prophet's retreat and get him to do his bidding the Lord sent a great wind to the sea. Jonah should have known that the sea would offer him no escape from the Lord: there shall be no flight for them: they shall flee, and he that shall flee shall not be delivered. Though they go down even to hell, thence shall my hand bring them out: and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down. And though they be hid in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them away from thence: and though they hide themselves from my eyes in the depth of the sea, there will I command the serpent and he shall bite them (Amos 9:1-3).

Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me (Psalm 139:7-10).

It is interesting to note that a storm at sea precedes our Blessed Lord's entrance into Pagan territory in the Gospels (see Matt 8:23-34;Mark 4:35-5:2; Luke 8:22-41).

5 And the mariners were afraid, and the men cried to their god: and they cast forth (literally, "hurled') the wares that were in the ship, into the sea, to lighten it of them: and Jonas went down into the inner part of the ship, and fell into a deep sleep. .

And the men cried to their god. As the devout (but misguided) pagan mariners cry to their respective gods Jonah continues his flight from the Lord.

And they cast forth (literally, hurled") the wares that were in the ship, into the sea. As yet the sailors are unaware that it is the Lord God--whom they don't know--who has hurled a great wind at them and caused the tempest (see the word "hurled" in verse 4). As yet they are also unaware that it is NOT their wares that were in the ship that is a danger to them, rather, it is the fleeing prophet who has gone down into the inner part of the ship that is the problem.

Note the re-occurrence of the word down, already used a few times in verse 3 to relate to the prophet's flight: he went down to Joppa andwent on board (literally down into) the ship. Now he has gone down even further, into the inner part of the ship where he has lain down and gone fast asleep.

It may be that the prophet is here parodied as righteous, for he is presented as sleeping the sleep of the righteous who trust in God's power to save: I have slept and have taken my rest: and I have risen up, because the Lord hath protected me (Psalm 3:5. 3:6 in NAB). In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for thou alone, O LORD, makest me dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8. 4:9 in the NAB). As he himself will come to admit, his sense of security is a false one (see Jonah 1:12).

Jon 1:6 And the ship master came to him and said to him: Why art thou fast asleep? rise up call upon thy God, if so be that God will think of us that we may not perish. 

Rise up call upon thy God recalls the command God had given to Jonah in verse 2: Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry (literally "call") against it; for their wickedness has come up before me. The prophet has not listened to the Lord, his God, will he listen to the pagan captain? Notice what the captain's motivation is in asking Jonah to pray to the Lord: Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we do not perish (RSVCE). But it is precisely the fact that Jonah knows the Lord God is willing to save even pagans which is behind the prophet's flight from Him (Jonah 4:2)! The captain is asking Jonah to do for the pagan sailors what God had asked him to do for the pagan Ninevites (act on their behalf). Nothing is said about Jonah responding to the captain and we can probably conclude that he did not. He would rather perish with them rather than be saved with them! (see Jon 4:2-3).It is a strange and perverse sort of martyrdom that seeks the damnation of others!

Jon 1:7 And they said every one to his fellow: Come and let us cast lots, that we may know why this evil is upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonas.

Getting no help from Jonah the sailors decide to cast lots in order to determine who has caused their predicament. This practice was known in both Hebrew and Pagan cultures and is often mentioned in the Bible (e.g., Num 26:55; Joshua 14:2; 1 Sam 10:20-24; Matt 27:35and its parallels; Acts 1:26; etc.). The lot identifies Jonah as the culprit and leads the sailors to ask their questions in the next verse.

Jon 1:8 And they said to him: Tell us for what cause this evil is upon us, what is thy business? of what country art thou? and whither goest thou? or of what people art thou?
Jon 1:9 And he said to them: I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, and the God of heaven, who made both the sea and the dry land.

The prophet's reply to their questions is ironic, and perhaps not altogether truthful. He applies to himself the term Hebrew, a word seldom used in the Old Testament to designate the Israelites once they had come into and secured the promised land. The term "Hebrew" was used to designate the chosen people as foreigners, without land, outside civilized centers, etc. Having left the Holy Land the prophet has reverted back to the state of his ancestors who were despised as foreigners and treated as slaves.

The prophet further declares that I fear the LORD, and the God of heaven, who made both the sea and the dry land. His words are a confession of faith, but also full of irony. The faithful who fear the Lord are obedient (Deut 5:29) and stand in awe and reverence towards God (Psalm 33:8; Psalm 55:19; Lev 19:14; etc.); something Jonah has been loath to do. The confession that the Lord is the God of heaven, who made both the sea and the dry land is also ironic, for the prophet fled to the sea in order to escape the God he knows is its master! Recall Amos 9:1-3 and Psalm 139:7-8 I quoted above, commenting on verse 4.

Jon 1:10 And the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him: Why hast thou done this? (For the men knew that he fled from the face of the Lord: because he had told them.)

The fear of the pagans is motivated by what Jonah has done in fleeing from the presence of the Lord. The fear Jonah claims to exhibit towards his God does not exist, and it is this that causes the pagans to fear, indeed, to fear the God they don't even know. Once again their devotion, however minimal and darkened it might be, is contrasted with Jonah's which is thoroughly hypocritical. Their question why hast thou done this? echoes God's question to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:13. It is the question a prophet might ask a sinner (1 Sam 13:10-14). No one can escape their disobedience, not even a prophet of God (Isa 6:5).
 

Jon 1:11  And they said to him: What shall we do with thee, that the sea may be calm to us? for the sea flowed and swelled.
Jon 1:12  And he said to them: take me up, and cast me into the sea, and the sea shall be calm to you: for I know for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
Jon 1:13  And the men rowed hard to return the land, but they were not able: because the sea tossed and swelled upon them.

What shall we do with thee? In the Old Testament it is common to see people inquire of a prophet concerning what is the best course of action to take in a dangerous situation. The most dangerous situation is sin against God, and it is the case that sometimes people ask what they must do in this situation (Luke 3:10; Acts 2:37). But the situation the sailors find themselves in is not their doing, rather it is Jonah's, hence they ask: what shall we do with thee?

The prophet responds to their question by bidding them to Take me up and cast me into the sea. The word translated here as "cast" would be better translated as "hurl," for it recalls the word used to describe God's hurling the great wind at the ship (verse 4), and the mariners hurling their wares overboard to lighten the ship (verse 5).

Some scholars interpret the words of Jonah as noble, but in fact, he is still trying to escape God and the mission God gave him. His words take me up recall the very first word God spoke to him "arise." His words cast me into the sea reminds us that his descent into the ship (verse 3) and, latter, his descent into the inner parts of the ship were attempts to get away from God's presence and escape his mission. Having shown contempt for the lives of others--the Ninevites and the sailors--he now shows contempt for his own life (we touched upon this above).

The pagan sailors understand this, thus they row hard to bring the ship back to land.They are attempting to save both themselves and Jonah, in contrast to Jonah who would rather save neither them, himself, or the Ninevites. In spite of their hard rowing the sea \tossed and swelled upon them. 

 

Jon 1:13 And they cried to the Lord, and said: We beseech thee, O Lord let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, oh Lord, hast done as it pleased thee. 

 

Their own attempt at saving themselves and Jonah have failed, therefore they cried out to the LORD. Having begun to respond to their situation by calling on their own gods (verse 5), then by bidding Jonah to call on his (verse 6), then asking Jonah what they should do concerning him (verse 11) they themselves now call on the LORD, the God of Jonah, the God Jonah has not yet addressed!

It appears that they have come to the conclusion that God does indeed wish Jonah to be tossed overboard, but not for the reasons the prophet had in mind. This fact becomes evident in Jonah 2:3 (2:4 in the NAB)~For thou (God, not the sailors) didst cast me into the deep. Jonah wanted to escape from his mission by dying in the sea, but God wanted him there in order to bring him to repentance.

What Jonah wanted was evident to the sailors, hence their attempt to avoid it. What God wants is unknown to them and so they act according to the light given them. They have come to conclude that Jonah's God will act as he desires, not thwarted or checked by the contradictory desires and endeavors of men: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. In a prayer they recognize that their fate and Jonah's is in God's hands. Here the sailors provide a contrast to Jonah who did not pray to God, and who continues to attempt to thwart God's doing what he pleases (saving the Ninevites).

 

Jon 1:15  And they took Jonas, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased from raging.
Jon 1:16  And the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and sacrificed victims to the Lord, and made vows. 

Having originally avoided casting Jonah into the sea so that he might not fulfill his desire to avoid his mission (see note on verse 12 above), the sailors cast him into the sea in accord with God's desire and the sea ceased from its raging. The reverential fear of the Lord which the prophet had falsely claimed for himself in verse 9 is now attributed to the pagan sailors who feared the LORD exceedingly. They offered what was, apparently a thanksgiving sacrifice to the LORD and made vows. What these vows (promises) were we are not told. Jonah, who until now has experienced the same storm and dangers as the sailors, will have to nearly die before he is brought to the thought of offering sacrifices and vows (Jonah 2:9; 2:10 in the NAB). Once again the pagans come out looking better than the Prophet.

Jon 1:17 (2:1 in the NAB) Now the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonas: and Jonas was in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights.
 

The LORD prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. The word prepared indicates God's mastery over all creation, men, beasts, plants. He can do with them what he will, and this is a major theological component of the book's overall message. An important caveat is, of course, that man has free will, thus necessitating the need for preachers of repentance, acts of repentance, punishment for sin, etc.

A great fish. Neither the Hebrew or Greek text identifies the beast as a whale though the words used in both translations can be so understood they are much more generic.

And Jonah was in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights. This becomes the sign of Jonah in Jesus preaching (Matt 12:38-42). The sign Jesus speaks of is often associated solely with the resurrection but, as the context makes clear, much more is implied. The sign of Jonah is seen in the intransigence,unbelief and lack of repentance of the scribes, pharisees, and all who imitate them.

Jon 2:1 (2:2 in NAB). And Jonas prayed to the Lord, his God, out of the belly of the fish.
Jon 2:10 (2:11 in NAB). And the Lord spoke to the fish: and it vomited out Jonas upon the dry land.

 

In the reading, the actual prayer of Jonah is passed over since neither his prayer nor the necessity of prayer is the theme of today's readings. The Responsorial takes up Jonah's prayer with the response: "You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord." As is usually the case the response verse helps indicates the Mass theme: The God who rescues others from danger and death expects us to do the same as the sinner Jonah and the despised Samaritan (today's Gospel reading) do (see Lk 10:25-37).