Jonah 1 Background Information with Maps and Images (Picture Study Bible - Jonah) Free Bible Online

Jonah 1

1 - Now The LORD'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."

3 - But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of The LORD. 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 The LORD.

4 - But the LORD 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.

5 - Then 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.

6 - So 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."

7 - They 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.

8 - Then 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?"

9 - He said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear The LORD, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land."

10 - Then 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 The LORD, because he had told them.

11 - Then 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.

12 - He 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."

13 - Nevertheless 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.

14 - Therefore they cried to The LORD, and said, "We beg you, The LORD, we beg you, don't let us die for this man's life, and don't lay on us innocent blood; for you, The LORD, have done as it pleased you."

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

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

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

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

The Book of Jonah

Jonah 1:9-12 - And 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]. Then 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. Then 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. And 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.

Jonah 4:10-11 - Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and [also] much cattle?

The Old Testament - A Brief Overview

Bible Survey - Jonah
Hebrew Name - Yonah "Dove"
Greek Name - Ionas (Greek form of the Hebrew)
Author - Jonah (According to Tradition)
Date - 862 BC Approximately
Theme - God's Mercy on Nineveh
Types and Shadows - In Jonah Jesus is the One crying out

Jonah was sent by God to warn the people of Nineveh that God was going to judge them. Rather than go Jonah chose to flee in the opposite direction, because the Assyrians were cruel and wicked. Jonah boarded a ship that was found for the city of Tarshish when a great storm came in a time of the year that the storms do not happen. The sailors finally  agreed at Jonah's request to throw him overboard, and when they did a great sea monster prepared by God swallowed Jonah. After a period of three days Jonah repented and agree to obey the Lord and the sea monster released Jonah on the third morning. Jonah came to the land of the Assyrians and pronounced God's judgment upon Nineveh, and as a result the people of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah and God spare the city. Afterward Jonah was very upset that God would spare such a wicked city and that he would show mercy on the Gentiles ( non-Jews). Jonah observed a plant and learned a lesson about God's love for all mankind. - The above text is © Rusty Russell - Bible History Online and must be sourced for use on a website.

The book of Jonah is about an event that Jesus said took place in history. The man Jonah was the main character of the book, he was the son of Amittai (Jonah 1:1), and a native of Gathhepher, which was a city of the tribe of Zebulun in the northern Galilee region. Jonah was a prophet of the Lord and he was called to deliver a message of repentance to the city of Nineveh which was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians were among the most wicked peoples of the ancient world, and they were well-known for their cruelty. Jonah refused to go and boarded a ship bound for Tarshish, which at that time was the farthest part of the Mediterranean Sea, Spain. A violent storm emerged out of nowhere and the sailors had no choice but to cast Jonah overboard, at his request. Jonah was suddenly swallowed by a great sea monster which had been prepared by the Lord for this purpose.

Jonah, being alive in the belly of the great sea monster considered himself in the "belly of Sheol" and finally agreed to obey God. After he was released from the great fish he came to Nineveh and preached  God's judgment crying, " yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown" (Jonah 3:4) and when the people of Nineveh heard this they repented and God spared the city. Jonah became very angry at God because a Gentile nation, and such an evil one, would receive mercy from the Lord. God taught Jonah an important lesson about his love and mercy for all mankind, by the lesson of the gourd.

God probably chose the Assyrians to receive his mercy because they were the most wicked, and the lesson needed to be learned that God is a God of mercy to everyone, even the most wicked.

Later Jesus spoke about Jonah as a type of Christ. As Jonah was in the belly of the great sea monster for three days and for three nights and was released the third day (Jonah 1:17 and Jonah 2:10), so Christ was in the heart of the earth (Hades) for three days and three nights and be raised the third day (Matthew 12:40-41).

It is interesting that the very place where Jonah boarded the ship was Joppa, the same city where Peter in the New Testament was called by God to come and share the good news about Jesus Christ to a Gentile man who lived in Joppa named Cornelius (Acts 10).

Outline of the Book of Jonah

The contents of the book may be analyzed further as follows:

1 - Jonah hears his call and flees

2 - Jonah cries out to God from the "belly of Sheol"

3 - This time Jonah obeys and Nineveh repents

4 - Jonah's lesson about God's mercy

Jonah Resources

The Divided Kingdom
The Northern Kingdom of Israel
The Southern Kingdom of Judah
The Assyrian Captivity
The Babylonian Captivity
The Return From Babylon
The Prophets
The Messiah

The Book of Jonah

More About the Book of Jonah
Jonah in the Picture Study Bible
Chart of the Prophets of Israel and Judah
Timeline of the Ancient World
Back to the Old Testament
Back to Bible History Online