Jonah Chapter 1

“Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, etc.] Or, “and the word of the Lord was”f11; not that this is to be considered as connected with something the prophet had on his mind and in his thoughts when he began to write this book; or as a part detached from a prophecy not now extant; for it is no unusual thing with the Hebrews to begin books after this manner, especially historical ones, of which kind this chiefly is, as the books of Ruth, First and Second Samuel, and Esther; besides, the w, “vau”, is here not copulative, but conversive; doing its office by changing the future tense into the…”

“JONAH'S COMMISSION TO NINEVEH, FLIGHT, PUNISHMENT, AND PRESERVATION BY MIRACLE. (Jon. 1:1-17) Jonah--meaning in Hebrew, "dove." Compare , where the dove in vain seeks rest after flying from Noah and the ark: so Jonah. GROTIUS not so well explains it, "one sprung from Greece" or Ionia, where there were prophets called AmythaonidÃ&brvbr. Amittai--Hebrew for "truth," "truth-telling"; appropriate to a prophet.”

“Now the word of the Lord - , literally, “And, ...” This is the way in which the several inspired writers of the Old Testament mark that what it was given them to write was united onto those sacred books which God had given to others to write, and it formed with them one continuous whole. The word, “And,” implies this. It would do so in any language, and it does so in Hebrew as much as in any other. As neither we, nor any other people, would, without any meaning, use the word, And, so neither did the Hebrews. It joins the four first books of Moses together; it carries on the history through Joshua, Judges, the…”

“That great city - It is said to have been one hundred and fifty furlongs in length, that is eighteen miles and three quarters, and eleven miles and one quarter in breadth. Jonah 1:3”

“1:1–2:10 Jonah initially rejected the Lord’s commission to warn Nineveh of the judgment it had incurred because of its wickedness. 1:1 Jonah son of Amittai was from Gath-hepher, a town located on the border of the tribal areas of Naphtali and Zebulun. He ministered to the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II (793–753 BC; see 2 Kgs 14:25).”

“Jonah: Kg2 14:25; Mat 12:39, Mat 16:4; Luk 11:29, Luk 11:30, Luk 11:32, Jonas Jonah 1:2”

“The narrative commences with ויהי, as Ruth ( Rut 1:1), 1 Samuel ( Sa1 1:1), and others do. This was the standing formula with which historical events were linked on to one another, inasmuch as every occurrence follows another in chronological sequence; so that the Vav (and) simply attaches to a series of events, which are assumed as well known, and by no means warrants the assumption that the narrative which follows is merely a fragment of a larger work (see at Jos 1:1). The word of the Lord which came to Jonah was this: "Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach against it." על does not stand for אל ( Jon…”