This ancient tale, of a prophet about 800 BC, begins simply.
Jonah 1:1-2, Commission
The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."
The first word of Jonah is hayah, the first word in Judges, 1 Samuel, and Ruth. In this setting, at the beginning of a book, it has the effect of "now" or "it came to pass".
Jonah is told to go preach in Nineveh, to the east in Babylon. We are told little, except that the wickedness of Nineveh has disturbed YHWH.
Jonah is mentioned briefly in 2 Kings 14:25, during the reign of Jeroboam II. Jonah's name means "dove" and Amittai means "faithfulness". Tim Mackie argues that the names dove and faithfulness provide irony, as Jonah will not display these attributes.
A description of Nineveh, a century later, as an arrogant and evil people, appears in Nahum 3.
Jonah 1:3, Response
But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
Despite the commission from God to go east to Nineveh, Jonah instead runs west, to Joppa on the Mediterranean Sea and then sails further east, towards Tarshish. Tarshish, whose real location is unknown, was often viewed as the source of merchant trade in the Mediterranean. This is as far as one travel from Nineveh in the ANE.
Jonah 1:4-6, Storm
Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish."
In reaction to Jonah's flight, YHWH sends a violent storm that frightens the sailor. Jonah, below decks, is awakened by the captain who tells Jonah to do like the others, to pray to his own god for safety. Maybe one of these gods will save the ship.
In the ancient Near East (ANE) the sea represented Chaos. It was a frightening place. Sheol, the place of the dead, lay in its dark depths.
Ellison says that in verse 4 the Hebrew is literally "the ship thought she would be broken into pieces."
Jonah 1:7-10, Who did this?
Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity."
They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?"
He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land."
This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)
Afraid that this storm is indeed a curse, the sailors cast lots and discover that Jonah is the culprit. They interrogate him and learn that he is running away from his god. Indeed, Jonah remarkably not only tells them that he is running away from his god but makes the outrageous claim that his god is not just a small god of one domain but in fact the God of heaven, Who is also the God of Sea and God of Land. This is a very powerful God and surely it is not wise for Jonah to have made this God angry!
Jonah 1:11-12, What should we do?
The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?"
"Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you."
Jonah suggests that the sailors can be freed from his punishment by throwing him into the sea. Jonah is confident that after this is done, the sea should return to normal!
Jonah 1:13-16, Into the sea
Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased." Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.
The sailors attempt to save both themselves and Jonah. When they attempt to get close to shore, the sea becomes wilder and the storm worsens. So the sailors finally throw Jonah overboard. As they do this, they beg that Jonah's god not hold this action against them.
When the sea becomes calm, the sailors realize that Jonah's god is especially powerful and so they make plans to worship that god that controls even the chaotic seas! In the ANE culture, control of the chaotic seas (and the domain of the dead) is especially impressive!
Jonah 1:17, Salvation
But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.
Meanwhile Jonah is sinking in heavy seas. Before he drowns, a fish, provided by God for this purpose, swallows Jonah. Jonah is in the belly of the fish for a time, "three days and three nights". (Ellison argues that, as occurs elsewhere in the Old Testament, the three days/nights is merely a rough measurement of time.)
In the ANE culture, the ancient Leviathan roam in the seas. (See Psalm 74:13-14, Psalm 104:26 and Job 41.) It is possible the ANE listener might have associated this great fish with Leviathan. The significance of YHWH controlling the sea, including leviathan and the dead, for the sailors took on a meaning we have probably lost. (We might recover some of this viewpoint by looking at Matthew 12:40 in the New Testament.)
First published July 8, 2025; updated July 8, 2025
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