Jonah — Chapter 1

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1Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

2Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

3But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

4But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

5Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

6So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.

7And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

8Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

9And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.

10Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

11Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.

12And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

13Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.

14Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.

15So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

16Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.

17Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

1Now the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

2Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

3But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah; and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah.

4But Jehovah sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

5Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it unto them. But Jonah was gone down into the innermost parts of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

6So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.

7And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

8Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; what is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

9And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear Jehovah, the God of heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry land.

10Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, What is this that thou hast done? For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Jehovah, because he had told them.

11Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea grew more and more tempestuous.

12And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

13Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get them back to the land; but they could not: for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.

14Wherefore they cried unto Jehovah, and said, We beseech thee, O Jehovah, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man`s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for thou, O Jehovah, hast done as it pleased thee.

15So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging.

16Then the men feared Jehovah exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice unto Jehovah, and made vows.

17And Jehovah prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

1The Lord’s message came to Jonah son of Amittai,

2“Go immediately to Nineveh, that large capital city, and announce judgment against its people because their wickedness has come to my attention.”

3Instead, Jonah immediately headed off to Tarshish to escape from the commission of the Lord. He traveled to Joppa and found a merchant ship heading to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard it to go with them to Tarshish, far away from the Lord.

4But the Lord hurled a powerful wind on the sea. Such a violent tempest arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break up!

5The sailors were so afraid that each cried out to his own god and they flung the ship’s cargo overboard to make the ship lighter. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold below deck, had lain down, and was sound asleep.

6The ship’s captain approached him and said, “What are you doing asleep? Get up! Cry out to your god! Perhaps your god might take notice of us so that we might not die!”

7The sailors said to one another, “Come on, let’s cast lots to find out whose fault it is that this disaster has overtaken us.” So they cast lots, and Jonah was singled out.

8They said to him, “Tell us, whose fault is it that this disaster has overtaken us? What’s your occupation? Where do you come from? What’s your country? And who are your people?”

9He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

10Hearing this, the men became even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” (The men said this because they knew that he was trying to escape from the Lord, because he had previously told them.)

11Because the storm was growing worse and worse, they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will calm down for us?”

12He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea so that the sea will calm down for you, because I know it’s my fault you are in this severe storm.”

13Instead, they tried to row back to land, but they were not able to do so because the storm kept growing worse and worse.

14So they cried out to the Lord, “Oh, please, Lord, don’t let us die on account of this man! Don’t hold us guilty of shedding innocent blood. After all, you, Lord, have done just as you pleased.”

15So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging.

16The men feared the Lord greatly and earnestly vowed to offer lavish sacrifices to the Lord.

17(2:1) The Lord sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

1Now Yahweh’s word came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

2“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.”

3But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid its fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh.

4But Yahweh sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty storm on the sea, so that the ship was likely to break up.

5Then the mariners were afraid, and every man cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship, and he was laying down, and was fast asleep.

6So the ship master came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God! Maybe your God will notice us, so that we won’t perish.”

7They all said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know who is responsible for this evil that is on us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

8Then they asked him, “Tell us, please, for whose cause this evil is on us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? Of what people are you?”

9He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land.”

10Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “What have you done?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Yahweh, because he had told them.

11Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm to us?” For the sea grew more and more stormy.

12He said to them, “Take me up, and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will be calm for you; for I know that because of me this great storm is on you.”

13Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get them back to the land; but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them.

14Therefore they cried to Yahweh, and said, “We beg you, Yahweh, we beg you, don’t let us die for this man’s life, and don’t lay on us innocent blood; for you, Yahweh, have done as it pleased you.”

15So they took up Jonah, and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased its raging.

16Then the men feared Yahweh exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh, and made vows.

17Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Videos
Reflection

Summary

God calls Jonah to preach against Nineveh, but Jonah flees by ship to Tarshish — God sends a great storm, and Jonah is thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish appointed by the LORD.

Authorship & Background

Author: Jonah son of Amittai (2 Kings 14:25). Set approximately 780-760 BC. Key theme: God's mercy extends beyond Israel to all nations — even Israel's enemies (Nineveh/Assyria). Jonah resists; God persists. "Salvation is of the LORD" (2:9). Jesus references Jonah as a sign (Matthew 12:39-40).
Classification: Prophetic Narrative — The Reluctant Prophet Flees Key Themes: Running from God's call, the futility of flight, God's sovereignty over nature, pagan sailors more responsive than God's prophet, going "down" — into the ship, into sleep, into the sea
Historical Context: Jonah is unique among the prophets — a NARRATIVE about the prophet rather than a collection of his oracles. God calls Jonah to preach to Nineveh — the capital of Assyria, Israel's most feared enemy. Assyria was known for extreme cruelty: impaling captives, skinning people alive, deporting entire populations. Jonah doesn't want them saved — he wants them DESTROYED. So he flees. But you cannot outrun God. The chapter traces Jonah's descent: "down" to Joppa, "down" into the ship, "down" to sleep, "down" into the sea. Running from God is always DOWNWARD. Ironically, the pagan sailors show more faith than the prophet: they pray, they reluctantly sacrifice Jonah, and they worship the LORD.
Structure:
  • The Call: Go to Nineveh (vv.1-2)
  • The Flight: Down to Tarshish (v.3)
  • The Storm: God Pursues (vv.4-6)
  • The Lots: Jonah Exposed (vv.7-10)
  • The Sacrifice: Thrown Overboard (vv.11-16)
  • The Fish: God Provides (v.17)

Map & Geography

  • Joppa (modern Jaffa/Tel Aviv) — Mediterranean port city where Jonah boards a ship fleeing God's call.
  • Tarshish (likely Tartessus in modern Spain) — the farthest west one could sail; the exact OPPOSITE direction from Nineveh.
  • Nineveh (modern Mosul, Iraq) — capital of the Assyrian Empire, located on the Tigris River, approximately 500 miles northeast of Israel.

Videos

The Bible Project — Jonah Overview (Video)

Animated overview of the book of Jonah showing the literary structure, key themes, and how this book fits into the larger biblical narrative. Excellent visual introduction.

Reflection

  • 1. Running from God is always DOWNWARD (v.3). Down to Joppa, down into the ship, down to sleep, down into the sea. Disobedience never takes you UP. If your life trajectory is descending, ask: what call am I running from?
  • 2. Your disobedience affects others (v.4-5). The storm hit the entire ship. Jonah's rebellion didn't just affect him — innocent sailors nearly died. Your sin NEVER stays private. Others are caught in your storm.
  • 3. Sleeping during a storm (v.5). You can be so deep in rebellion that you're unconscious to the chaos you've created. The captain has to wake you. Is there someone trying to wake you up right now? Listen.
  • 4. God "prepared" the fish (v.17). What looks like disaster is actually rescue. The fish isn't punishment — it's a submarine to shore. Sometimes God's interventions look like catastrophe but are actually deliverance in disguise.
  • 5. The pagan sailors feared God more than the prophet did (v.16). Humbling. Sometimes "outsiders" respond to God's power more genuinely than lifelong believers. Don't assume your status equals your faith.