Jonah 1:3

“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, etc.] He was not obedient to the heavenly vision; he rose up, but not to go to Nineveh, but to Tarshish, the reverse of it; to the sea, as the Targum, the Mediterranean sea, which lay west, as Nineveh was to the east. Tarshish sometimes is used for the sea; (see <194807>Psalm 48:7); he determined to go to sea; he did not care where, or to what place he might find a ship bound; or to Tarsus in Cilicia, the birthplace of the Apostle Paul, (<442203>Acts 22:3); so Josephusf16 and Saadiah Gaon; or to Tunis in Africa, as R. Melasser in Aben Ezra; or to Carthage, as Theodoret, and others; or Tartessus in Spain, as others. Among…”

“flee--Jonah's motive for flight is hinted at in : fear that after venturing on such a dangerous commission to so powerful a heathen city, his prophetical threats should be set aside by God's "repenting of the evil," just as God had so long spared Israel notwithstanding so many provocations, and so he should seem a false prophet. Besides, he may have felt it beneath him to discharge a commission to a foreign idolatrous nation, whose destruction he desired rather than their repentance. This is the only case of a prophet, charged with a prophetical message, concealing it. from the presence of the Lord--(Compare ). Jonah thought in fleeing from the land of Israel, where Jehovah was peculiarly…”

“But (And) Jonah rose up to flee ... from the presence of the Lord - literally “from being before the Lord.” Jonah knew well, that man could not escape from the presence of God, whom he knew as the Self-existing One, He who alone is, the Maker of heaven, earth and sea. He did not “flee” then “from His presence,” knowing well what David said Psalms 139:7, Psalms 139:9-10, “whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me and Thy right hand shall hold me.” Jonah fled, not from God’s presence, but from standing before him, as His servant and minister.…”

“From the presence - From the place where God usually had shewed himself present, by revealing his word and will to his prophets. Perhaps he might think God would not put him upon this work, when he was got into a strange country. Next: Jonah Chapter 2”

“1:3 Jonah’s attempt to get away from the Lord was futile. One cannot escape God (Ps 139:7-10) or disobey his will without consequence (Deut 8:5). Jonah’s reluctance to go to Nineveh is understandable, however. Assyria was an enemy of Israel known for its violence (Jon 3:8; see also Nah 3:1-4). Jonah did not want these non-Israelites to have the opportunity to repent and be saved (Jon 4:2). • Joppa was a key port city on the Mediterranean coast (2 Chr 2:16; Ezra 3:7); it is now a suburb of modern Tel-Aviv. • Tarshish was possibly the port city of Tartessos in Spain, in which case Jonah was attempting to flee as far as imaginable in the opposite direction from Nineveh. Tarsus in Asia Minor is…”

“to flee: Jon 4:2; Exo 4:13, Exo 4:14; Kg1 19:3, Kg1 19:9; Jer 20:7-9; Eze 3:14; Luk 9:62; Act 15:38, Act 26:19; Co1 9:16 from: Gen 3:8, Gen 4:16; Job 1:12, Job 2:7; Psa 139:7-12; Th2 1:9 Joppa: Jos 19:46; Ch2 2:16; Act 9:36 Tarshish: As Jonah embarked at Joppa, a seaport on the Mediterranean, it was probably either Tarsus in Cilicia, or rather Tartessus in Spain, to which he intended to flee. When we reflect how such a message would be received in the streets of London at this day, we shall not wonder at the prophet's reluctance to announce the destruction of the proud and idolatrous Nineveh. Isa 2:16, Isa 23:1, Isa 23:6, Isa 23:10, Isa 60:9; Eze 27:12 Jonah 1:4”

“Jonah sets out upon his journey; not to Nineveh, however, but to flee to Tarshish, i.e., Tartessus, a Phoenician port in Spain (see at Gen 10:4 and Isa 23:1), "from the face of Jehovah," i.e., away from the presence of the Lord, out of the land of Israel, where Jehovah dwelt in the temple, and manifested His presence (cf. Gen 4:16); not to hide himself from the omnipresent God, but to withdraw from the service of Jehovah, the God-King of Israel. (Note: Marck has already correctly observed, that "this must not be understood as flight from the being and knowledge of God, lest we should attribute to the great prophet gross ignorance of the omnipresence and omniscience of God; but as departure…”