Jonah’s flight (chaper one)

ANALYSIS VERSE 5:

1. 
   The natural sequence of events surrounding this ferocious storm rouses panic amid the crew “Then the sailors became afraid, and every man cried to his god”.
   
2. 
   Their collective fear demonstrates the dire nature the situation had become.
   
3. 
   These swarthy mariners would have been professionals not unaccustomed to high and stormy seas.
   
4. 
   They obviously perceived the situation as a life and death matter as their ship is being hammered.
   
5. 
   The sudden onslaught of the storm to such a degree had left them credulous.
   
6. 
   The text literally reads, “and they cried out, each man, unto his gods (plural)”.
   
7. 
   Men often become religious when faced with the prospect of death.
   
8. 
   The term “gods – elohiym” implies the various cultures from which the crew had been assembled.
   
9. 
   According to their diverse races and religions, they prayed to their tutelary (having guardianship of a person; like, “patron saints”) deities.
   
10. 
    Of course they were praying to idols and perceived supernatural beings such as the Phoenician Yamm, god of the sea; Melqart, the patron god of Tyre, Baal, etc.
    
11. 
    Not unlike praying to patron saints or angels (e.g. the angel Michael, St. Christopher, Mary, ad nauseum).
    
12. 
    Prayer to pagan/non-existent deities is evil, ineffectual activity, a thought lost on the unbeliever. 1Kgs.11:5-8; 18:20-40; 20:23-30; Jer.11:12
    
13. 
    In the midst of their fear, they began action they conclude as a life saving measure to keep their vessel seaworthy, “and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them”.
    
14. 
    They resort to extreme measures as their actions mean they are giving up the very source of their livelihood.
    
15. 
    While on the surface, this may see prudent, the fact is their sacrifice ultimately is unnecessary. Cp.vss.14-15
    
16. 
    Principle: Fear easily leads to over-reactive consequences and poor judgment.
    
17. 
    An interesting ironic contrast is also seen in the Hiphil verb “they caused to throw –tul”, as it is the same term used of the Lord “hurling” His wind of wrath in vs.3.
    
18. 
    It can’t be missed that as God pursues these men with impending death, they pursue relieving themselves of any physical encumbrances they consider non-essential to living.
    
19. 
    The crew was chucking their assets overboard faster than a one-legged blind man trying to hop across a busy street.
    
20. 
    Fact: When faced with the prospect of certain death, all your physical life pursuits and details aren’t going to mean crap.
    
21. 
    These sailors only considered their potential wealth as a yoke on their life as they face death.
    
22. 
    This sense of burden is brought out in the literal Hebrew phrase of “to cause to lighten from upon them (3/m/pl suffix. = the sailors, not the ship)”.
    
23. 
    Application: You can’t serve mammon and God both. Mat.6:24
    
24. 
    In stark contrast to the praying and scrambling by the crew, we see Jonah’s disposition, “But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down, and fallen sound asleep”.
    
25. 
    Again we see language of Jonah “going down below – yarad”, the same verb used in vs.3 (2x).
    
26. 
    His continuing physical descent during his travel equates to his ensuing spiritual freefall.
    
27. 
    Jonah was on the fast track of the path of reversionism apart from waking up spiritually.
    
28. 
    The irony can’t be missed: Just as Nineveh must repent to avoid destruction, so must Jonah to avoid destroying his Ph₂ walk.
    
29. 
    Unlike the drama topside, Jonah was totally oblivious to their plight and his.
    
30. 
    This parallels his spiritual blindness in disobedience to the POG, just as with the Ninevites.
    
31. 
    They needed him and he needed them in order to fulfill his prophetic office.
    
32. 
    The phrase, “into the hold of the ship” looks to the recessed flanks of the vessel below deck protected from the elements.
    
33. 
    The noun used here for “ship – sephiynah” literally means to “cover in” emphasizing this fact.
    
34. 
    While not told when specifically, Jonah had gone below to catch some “zzzs”.
    
35. 
    The verb “fallen sound asleep - radam” indicates he had gone into a very deep sleep.
    
36. 
    The Niphal voice is passive indicating an outside agent inducing this sleep.
    
37. 
    Some suggest God put him into this state.
    
38. 
    A more natural rendering looks to the physical and psychological conditions.
    
39. 
    Jonah’s sleeping berth was probably hammock style, commonly used on ships today.
    
40. 
    He had reclined earlier and the lulling action of the waves rocked him to sleep with a sense of security and comfort.
    
41. 
    Any increased rocking would be inconsequential to the subconscious of deep sleep.
    
42. 
    Further, it is not an uncommon phenomenon for people seeking to avoid pressures in life to escape with a deep sleep.
    
43. 
    Who knows, he might have had some wine earlier and coupled with physical exhaustion enhanced by mental and emotional gyrations, just conked out.
    
44. 
    His physical sleep pictures his spiritual slumber. Cf.Eph.5:11-15; 1The.5:4-6
    

JONAH REBUKED BY AN UNBELIEVER

EXEGESIS VERSE 6:

~D"_r>nI ^åL.-hm; Alß rm,aYOðw: lbeêxoh; br:ä ‘wyl'ae br:Ûq.YIw: ^WTT Jonah 1:6

al{ïw> Wnl'Þ ~yhi²l{a/h' tVeó[;t.yI yl;úWa ^yh,êl{a/-la, ar"äq. ~Wq…

`dbe(anO
^NAS Jonah 1:6 So the captain approached him and said, "How is it that you are sleeping? w + brq (waw - conseq. + qarab - v/Qal/IPF/3/m/s; "So he approached/ came near") la, (el - prep. w/ 3/m/s/suff.; "unto him") br; + h; + lbexo (rab - n/com./m/s/constr.; "a chief or head of" + d.a. + chobel - n/comm./m/s/abso.; "the sailors/those bound in service"; i.e., "the captain or shipmaster") w + rma +l (waw - conseq. + -amar - v/Qal/IPF/3/m/s; "and said" + lamed - prep. w/ 3/m/s/suff.; "to him"; understood in the English; not translated) hm' + l (mah - interr. pro. + lamed - prep. w/ 2/m/s/suff; "Why in reference to you?/How is it that you?") ~dr (radam - v/ptc./Niph/m/s; "have you been sleeping"; same vs.5) Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish." ~wq (qum - v/Qal/Imp/m/s; "Arise/get up"; same as vs.2,3) arq (qara - v/Qal/Imp/m/s; "call out/summon") la, + ~yhil{a/ (el - prep. + elohiym - n/m/pl/constr. w/ 2/m/s/suff.; "to your god) yl;Wa + tv[ (-ulay - adv.; "perhaps/suppose"; here expresses hope; + -ashat - v/Hithpael/IPF/3/m/s; reflexive; "He Himself will think/will be concerned") h; + ~yhil{a/ +l (d.a. + elohiym - n/m/pl; "the god"; + lamed - prep. w/ 1/com./pl; "in reference to us/about us") w + al{ + dba (waw - conj. + lo - neg. + -abad - v/Qal/IPF/1/com/pl; "so that we will not perish/and we won't die")