Jonah Commentary


Introduction to Commentaries and Studies
MARK ADAMS
Sermons on Jonah
PAUL APPLE
Commentary on Jonah
Excerpt from this recommended resource - Apple quotes from many excellent resources - here is an example from Pastor Thomas Leake of Hope Bible Church...
The Reluctant Evangelist -- The Fleeing Prophet
Text highlights the grandeur of the mercy of the God of Israel.
Chaps. 1-2 – God’s Mercy on Jonah
Chaps. 3-4 – God’s Mercy on Nineveh
Introduction:
Favorite passage for the liberals to bash; they like to make fun of the story; but they come with presuppositions that there cannot be an omnipotent miracle-working God; Story is not about the fish (never called a whale in the account); greatest miracle in the book is God’s Sovereign Mercy upon a rebellious, sinful people.
The content focuses more on the messenger than on the message – different in that respect from the other minor prophets; a running narrative; didactic history; not a prophetical oracle; you read the story and learn the lesson; don’t get bogged down in the details; from literary, artistic standpoint it is a masterpiece; a great read
Cf. some of the clever outlines of other commentators:
Chap. 1 – “I won’t go”
Chap. 2 – “OK, I’ll go”
Chap. 3 – “Here I am”
Chap. 4 – “I knew I shouldn’t have come”
I. (Jonah 1:1-3) The Opening A. (:1) Who Was Jonah?
Name means “dove”; father’s name means “truthful, loyal” Matt. 12:41 – Jonah was a real person preaching to real people; 2 Kings 14:25; ministered during reign of Jeroboam II in N. Kingdom of Israel
B. (:2) What did God want Jonah to do?
What’s the big deal in being commissioned to preach judgment to Nineveh? We need to place ourselves in his shoes and try to understand how he felt. Would have been an astonishing command to any Jew. Nineveh was a very wicked city – among many wicked cities it is singled out – something very bad; similar to Sodom and Gomorrah; but no missionaries were ever sent to Sodom and Gomorrah; God did not have mercy on them; It was not normally God’s method in OT times to send out missionaries to Gentile nations; in fact Jonah is the only prophet to have received such a call; The world was to come to Israel to worship the true God; the Great Commission reversed all of this
C. (Jonah 1:3) Jonah’s Response = refusing God’s Commission
How could a little prophet like Jonah stand up against God? Everything in this book obeys God – the wind, the sea, the fish, the heathen sailors… Did Jonah think he was going to be successful in fleeing God? He knew the doctrines of the character of God – His omnipresence, etc.; he wasn’t surprised when he got caught; He was attempting to flee from the special manifested presence of God in Jerusalem (same language used of Cain in Gen. 4:16)
Fleeing his calling; his service obligation; smooth sailing at first; no problems; looked like the coast is clear; maybe feeling relieved; God allows us our own plans; we might think that all will be well; but eventually judgment catches up to us; cf. Harvest Principle
II. (Jonah 1:4-16) The Storm
A. (Jonah 1:4-9) The Storm Hits
A great wind; we give names to storms today; delayed response by God; He did not send this storm immediately; Ps. 104
Whatever you call on in your moment of need is your god;
Sailors = Rope pullers; Phoenicians; large decked ship
They were desperate = willing to throw valuable cargo overboard;
Contrast: Christ sleeping peacefully in boat in the midst of a storm – He had every right to be at peace; Jonah’s was a false peace
Irony: you have a pagan captain instructing Jonah to call on his God; Unbelievers involved in rebuking the prophet of God
“Arise” = same command word used by God in the original commission
“lots” were often viewed as valid in the Scriptures – Acts 1:26 – little stones from ankle bones; “You can roll the dice, but God determines the outcome”
The jig is up; identified himself as a “Hebrew
B. (Jonah 1:10-14) The Storm Worsens
These experienced sailors were terrified; could not be a worse scenario; If they kept Jonah in the boat they would perish; if they threw him overboard they would be guilty of the blood of an innocent man (not convicted of any crime);
How could you do this to us?
God had nothing against these sailors;
Jonah not suicidal but making a confession that he was worthy of death and of being sacrificed to save the others; these were noble sailors – still tried to row harder to reach land and save Jonah; but the storm kept worsening;
What God decrees always comes to pass; He is in control of all history
C. (Jonah 1:15-17) The Storm Ceases – storm = life-changing encounter
1) Spiritual pilgrimage of the sailors: began with self effort; turned to their gods; then turned to God of Israel = genuine conversion experience; convinced that Jonah had died; even if they had seen the big fish, they would not have interpreted that as God’s mercy or deliverance Psalm 107:23ff; 76:11 the storm humbled these strong, self-sufficient men You can tell their repentance and confession was genuine because it was followed by vows of obedience (not some phony foxhole conversion) God was merciful in granting them repentance
2) Spiritual pilgrimage of Jonah – he had some time to think before the fish swallowed him; he was almost half-drowned by that time This is example of didactic poetry – Hebrews loved poetry = it taught history; emphasis not on rhyming but on comparisons and contrasts; restatement, enhancement; increase in intensity, etc. – Transition to Chap. 2 Conclusion: Prov. 3:5-7
ALBERT BARNES
Commentary on Jonah
BRIAN BELL
Sermon Notes on Jonah
JOSEPH BENSON
Commentary on Jonah
BIBLE.ORG RESOURCES
Resources that Reference Jonah
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
BIBLICAL ART
Related to Jonah
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR
Anecdotes, illustrations, etc
Be a Berean - Not Always Literal
CHARLES BOX
Commentary on Jonah
JOHN CALVIN
Commentary on Jonah
His prayers are excellent
CAMBRIDGE BIBLE FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
Jonah Commentary
ADAM CLARKE
Jonah Commentary
See critique
THOMAS CONSTABLE
Expository Notes
Jonah
J N DARBY
Synopsis on Jonah
BOB DEFFINBAUGH
Sermon Notes
Jonah
CHARLES ELLICOTT
Jonah Commentary
Be a Berean: Not always a literal interpretation. 
EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY
Jonah Commentary
George Adam Smith
ARNOLD FRUCHTENBAUM
Israelology - Commentaries on Israel
Note: This resource is listed because it has numerous commentary notes that relate to the OT Prophetic Books
A C GAEBELEIN
Commentary on Jonah
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
JOHN GILL
Commentaries on Jonah
Not always literal (see example)
DOUG GOINS
Sermons on Jonah
Peninsula Bible Church
SCOTT GRANT
Sermons on Jonah
Peninsula Bible Church
DAVID GUZIK
Commentary on Jonah
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
Nineveh (pictures) - Ancient historians say that Nineveh was the largest city in the world at that time. It was the large, important capital of a dominating empire—surely an intimidating place to go.
ROBERT HAWKER
Commentary on Jonah
EBENEZER HENDERSON
Commentary on Jonah
1845
James Rosscup writes "This 1858 work supplies much help on matters of the text, word meaning, resolving some problems, etc. Some have found it one of the most contributive sources in getting at what a text means." (Commentaries for Biblical Expositors: An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Works)
MATTHEW HENRY
Commentary on Jonah
HOMILIES
On Jonah
HOMILETICAL COMMENTARY
Commentary on Jonah
Interesting Resource Be a Berean - Not Always Literal
H A IRONSIDE
Commentary on Jonah
JAMIESON, FAUSSET, BROWN
Commentary Critical and Explanatory
Jonah
THE UNABRIDGED VERSION IS BELOW
S LEWIS JOHNSON
Sermons on Jonah
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
KEIL & DELITZSCH
Jonah Commentary
PAUL KRETZMANN
Jonah Commentary
Lutheran Perspective
LANGE COMMENTARY ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
Jonah Commentary
Note relevant maps and picture in left column
ALEXANDER MACLAREN
Sermons on Jonah
J VERNON MCGEE
Commentary on Jonah
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
J Vernon McGee's book -- Jonah Dead or Alive - Pdf 35 Pages of Pithy Commentary on Jonah
J VERNON MCGEE
Thru the Bible
Commentary on Jonah
Literal, futuristic interpretation
F B MEYER
Our Daily Homily
Devotional Commentaries on Jonah
MISCELLANEOUS RESOURCES
Commentaries, Sermons, Devotionals
JONAH- RESOURCES
GENERAL
THE THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL LIBRARY ON GALAXIE.COM
An annual $50 or monthly $5 subscription (click here) is required to view the entire article but will give you access to literally thousands of conservative articles. Click the following links to search by topic, author, or bible reference.
Sample articles…
GREGG ALLEN
JACK ARNOLD
BEST COMMENTARIES JONAH
DON ANDERSON
GEORGE BARNA -  RESULTS OF A SURVEY:
 Among Christians:
  • 61% knew that Jonah is a book of the Bible
  • 27% said it is not,
  • 12% had no idea.
 Among non-Christians in the survey:  
  • 29% knew that the Book of Jonah could be found in the Bible
  • 27% said it could not,
  • 34% were not sure.
WILLIAM D. BARRICK
BIBLE.ORG
BIBLE FOR CHILDREN
W J BEECHER
CHRISTIAN ANSWERS
CHRISTIAN FRIEND
STEVEN COLE
MARK COPELAND - Executable Outlines
WILLIAM COWPER
When Jonah sunk beneath the wave,
He thought to rise no more;
But God prepared a fish to save,
And bear him to the shore.
EDWARD B. DAVIS
SAMUEL DAVIES
DICTIONARY ARTICLES
CHARLES FEINBERG
JERRY GIFFORD
  1. Six Signs We Need to Return to God, Jonah 1
  2. God Wants You Back, Jonah 1-2
  3. Confinement, Communion, and Confession, Jonah 2
  4. A Second Chance with God, Jonah 3
  5. A Heartless Prophet, Jonah 4
GOTQUESTIONS
GOSPEL COALITION
GREG HERRICK
HOLMAN
  • Holman Christian Standard Bible Study Bible - well done study Bible notes
  • Sample of the quality of the HCSB Study Bible notes -
    Jonah 1:1 Jonah in Hebrew means "dove." His father's name Amittai means "faithful [is Yahweh?]."
    Jonah 1:2 Nineveh on the east bank of the Tigris River became the Assyrian capital after 705 B.C., well after Jonah's day. Its ruins are found in the northern part of modern Iraq, opposite the city of Mosul 220 miles northwest of Baghdad. For Jonah, Nineveh was an arduous journey of over 500 miles to the northeast of Samaria. His probable route—first traveling north and then east—would have made the trip closer to 600 miles. God's holiness is offended by sin. He showed Himself judge of the world by holding these distant pagans accountable for their wickedness, though He also showed His mercy by commanding His prophet to warn them.
    Jonah 1:3 To flee... from the LORD's presence is to attempt the impossible since God is everywhere, though people still try. (See Jonah 4:2 for why he fled.) Joppa on the Mediterranean coast just south of modern Tel Aviv was one of Israel's few natural seaports. The location of Tarshish is uncertain. Its association with ships (1Ki 10:22) suggests it was near the sea. The "ships of Tarshish" used by King Jehoshaphat on the Red Sea were probably merchant ships of design similar to those used by sailors from Tarshish on the Mediterranean Sea. Tarshish has sometimes been identified with Paul's home of Tarsus in Cilicia or the city of Tharros on the island of Sardinia west of Italy. But the most probable identification of Tarshish is the Phoenician colony of Tartessus, located on the Guadalquivir River on the southwestern coast of Spain about 2,000 miles west of Palestine. This is about as far in the opposite direction from Nineveh that Jonah could have gone.
    Jonah 1:3,10 - Barach usually means flee, occurring four times with malat ("escape"; 1Sa 19:12) and once, translated escape (Jdg 9:21), with synonymous nus (160x; "flee"). Barach often portrays stealthy flight, while nus regularly depicts open flight. Barach describes slaves running away (1Ki 2:39). It suggests go home (Num 24:11) or go back (Neh 13:10) when people flee homeward. As hurry (Song 8:14), it connotes urgent speed rather than flight.
    Jonah 1:5-6 Jonah's spiritual decline is depicted in parallel with the descriptions of his response to God's call. He was told to "get up" (Jonah 1:2) to go to Nineveh, but instead he "went down to Joppa" (v. 3), "went down" to the ship (Jonah 1:3) and finally went down to the lowest part of the vessel. Eventually he will be swallowed by a fish and sink down to the foundations of the mountains at the bottom of the sea (Jonah 2:6). Only then did he hit bottom and begin to go back up. His deep sleep in the midst of a storm also symbolizes his spiritual condition. It may have been a symptom of depression stemming from his willful disobedience.
    Jonah 1:9 Worship (HCSB translation) is literally "fear." Fear of God in the OT is the respect that a person has for God, causing him to turn from evil and obey God's commandments (Gen 22:12; Job 1:8; 28:28; Pr 8:13). Ironically God's prophet Jonah showed no such fear by his disobedience. It is also ironic that Jonah fled to avoid preaching to Gentiles in Nineveh, but now found himself preaching to Gentiles in the ship. Yahweh means "He is [present]" and is God's personal name in the OT, ordinarily rendered in translation as Lord in small caps (as in Jonah 1:1,3,4,10,16,17). The substitution in translation of the title Lord for the personal name Yahweh goes back to postexilic Jewish reluctance to pronounce the divine name. Neither Jonah nor these sailors had any qualms about using the term Yahweh at this time.
    Jonah 1:12-15 Rather than submitting to God, Jonah asked these men to kill him by throwing him overboard. Yet despite Jonah's confession of guilt, these pagan Gentiles had moral scruples about sending a man to his death and tried to row ashore instead. Only after they saw no other option and had prayed that Yahweh would not hold them accountable for taking a human life did they throw Jonah into the sea. The integrity and spiritual sensitivity of these Gentiles would have shocked Israelite readers of this book, confronting their belief that non-Hebrews were unworthy of God's mercy. Certainly this is a lesson Jonah himself needed.
    Jonah 1:16 When the sea calmed, these Gentile sailors then feared the LORD in the sense of revering and worshiping Him (see note at Jonah 1:9). Jonah, who was fleeing from a mission to preach to Gentiles, had unintentionally converted an entire crew of Gentile sailors.
    Jonah 1:17 The huge fish that swallowed Jonah was not necessarily a whale. Yarns of a sailor surviving Jonah-like in a whale have been widely repeated in recent centuries, but no account has ever been authenticated. Three days and three nights parallels Christ's resurrection on the third day (Mt 12:40).
DAVID HOLWICK
THOMAS A KEMPIS
There is no worse enemy, nor one more troublesome to the soul, than you are to yourself, if you are not in harmony with the Spirit.
WILLIAM KELLY
STEVE KRELOFF
JAMES FREEMAN - MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
JOHN MACARTHUR
LOGAN MARSHALL - The Wonder Book of Bible Stories
EUGENE H MERRILL
J R MILLER
G CAMPBELL MORGAN
  • G Campbell Morgan's devotional/practical thoughts make good fodder for sermon preparation!
  • Jonah - Living Messages
J VERNON MCGEE
MIDDLETOWN BIBLE
C H MACKINTOSH
DAVID MALICK
MONERGISM
WILLIAM NICHOLSON
NIV STUDY BIBLE
OVERVIEW BOOK CHART
T T PEROWNE
Commenting on Matthew 12:42 Perowne writes "Is it possible to understand a reference like this on the nonhistoric theory of the book of Jonah? The future Judge is speaking words of solemn warning to those who shall hereafter stand convicted at his bar. Intensely real he would make the scene in anticipation to them, as it was real, as if then present, to himself. And yet we are to suppose him to say that imaginary persons who at the imaginary preaching of an imaginary prophet repented in imagination, shall rise up in that day and condemn the actual impenitence of those his actual hearers."
J C PHILPOT
WIL POUNDS
MAX I REICH
RON RITCHIE
RBC BOOKLET
REFORMATION STUDY BIBLE
JAMES SMITH
RUSSELL SMITH
C H SPURGEON
We may never plead providential arrangement as an excuse for doing wrong.… [Jonah] walks on the quay, and the first thing he sees is a ship going to Tarshish!… I pray you never blaspheme God by laying your sins on the back of His providence.
God is in our comforts, for He prepared a plant to shade Jonah (Jonah 4:5–6). God is in our bereavements and losses, for He prepared a worm to destroy the plant (Jonah 4:7). God is in our severest trials, for He prepared a vehement wind to make Jonah miserable (Jonah 4:8).
CHARLES SWINDOLL
A W TOZER
If God said that Jonah was swallowed by a whale, then the whale swallowed Jonah, and we do not need a scientist to measure the gullet of the whale.
JAMES VAN DINE
WARREN WIERSBE
Those who consider the Book of Jonah an allegory or a parable should note that 2 Kings 14:25 identifies Jonah as a real person, a Jewish prophet from Gath Hepher in Zebulun who ministered in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II (793–753 B.C.). They should also note that our Lord considered Jonah a historic person and pointed to him as a type of His own death, burial, and resurrection (Matt. 12:41; Luke 11:32).
Jonah and Nahum are the only books in the Bible that end with questions, and both books have to do with the city of Nineveh. Nahum ends with a question about God’s punishment of Nineveh (Nahum 3:19), while Jonah ends with a question about God’s pity for Nineveh. This is a strange way to end such a dramatic book as the Book of Jonah. God has the first word (Jonah 1:1–2) and God has the last word (Jonah 4:11), and that’s as it should be, but we aren’t told how Jonah answered God’s final question. It’s like the ending of Frank Stockton’s famous short story “The Lady or the Tiger?” When the handsome youth opened the door, what came out: the beautiful princess or the man-eating tiger? We sincerely hope that Jonah yielded to God’s loving entreaty and followed the example of the Ninevites by repenting and seeking the face of God. The famous Scottish preacher Alexander Whyte believed that Jonah did experience a change of heart. He wrote, “But Jonah came to himself again during those five-and-twenty days or so, from the east gate of Nineveh back to Gath Hepher, his father’s house.” Spurgeon said, “Let us hope that, during the rest of his life, he so lived as to rejoice in the sparing mercy of God.” After all, hadn’t Jonah himself been spared because of God’s mercy?.....But the real issue isn’t how Jonah answered God’s question; the real issue is how you and I today are answering God’s question. Do we agree with God that people without Christ are lost? Like God, do we have compassion for those who are lost? How do we show this compassion? Do we have a concern for those in our great cities where there is so much sin and so little witness? Do we pray that the Gospel will go to people in every part of the world, and are we helping to send it there? Do we rejoice when sinners repent and trust the Savior? All of those questions and more are wrapped up in what God asked Jonah. We can’t answer for him, but we can answer for ourselves. Let’s give God the right answer.
Jonah saw God’s will as punishment. Jesus saw God’s will as nourishment (John 4:34).
It is what Jonah does that is important, not so much what he says. In chapter 1, he is a “prodigal son” who wanted to flee to the far country and avoid obeying God’s will. In chapter 2, he prays for forgiveness and restoration, and God graciously grants his requests. In chapters 3 and 4, he is an “elder brother” who grudgingly obeys and then sits outside the city hoping for judgment to fall! Yet in all this, he is a “sign” of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the one greater than Jonah (Matt. 12:39–41).
According to Jonah chapter 1, everything cooperated with the Lord except Jonah—the wind and the sea, the great fish, and even the heathen sailors. Jonah would not try to rescue the pagan city of Nineveh from destruction, but the unconverted sailors tried to rescue Jonah. Yet Jonah was the cause of their peril!
THOMAS WATSON
Jonah was sent into the whale's belly to make his sermon for Nineveh.
WIKIPEDIA
WORLD JEWISH BIBLE SOCIETY
JONAH- RESOURCES
COMMENTARIES AND SERMONS
J. G. BELLETT
RICH CATHERS
STEVEN COLE
MARK DEVER
ERNEST L EASLEY
EASY ENGLISH
W. W. FEREDAY
BRUCE GOETTSCHE
GOSPEL COALITION
GRACE INSTITUTE
JAMES GRAY
J HAMPTON KEATHLEY
J HAMPTON KEATHLEY
WILLIAM KELLY
DAVID LEGGE
JOHN MACARTHUR
WILLIAM MACDONALD
J MIKE MINNIX
D L MOODY - Notes from His Bible
Jonah 1:3. It is impossible to flee from God’s presence. Ps. 139:7. Give up the vain attempt to-day. Jonah “paid his fare” and never got it refunded. Sin is an expensive business. He took the wrong boat—the wrong track.
Jonah 1:4. Disobedience always leads us into troubled waters.
Jonah 1:5.The want of pardon is the only spring of a servile man’s duty. He plies his prayers as sailors do the pumps—only in a storm, or when fearful of sinking.
Jonah 1:11. Sin in the soul is like Jonah in the ship. It turns the smoothest water into a tempestuous sea.
Jonah 1:13, 14.  The unavailing efforts of the Mediterranean oarsman have their counterpart,—
a. In our efforts to convert others.
b. In our efforts to convert our families.
c. In our efforts to convert ourselves.
The cure is—Cry to God.
Jonah 3:2. After all the delay and discipline, Jonah had to go back to his first starting-place.
Jonah 4:7.Unbelief in the heart is like the worm in Jonah’s gourd—an unseen adversary.
ROBERT MORGAN
NETBIBLE
PRECEPT MINISTRIES
RAY PRITCHARD - well done, very practical messages
ADRIAN ROGERS
AREND REMMERS
JOHN STEVENSON
RICK WARREN
WARREN WIERSBE
W. T. P. WOLSTON
JONAH 1
JOHN KITTO
SCOTT GRANT
JOHN MACARTHUR
JOHN PIPER
C H SPURGEON
NETBIBLE NOTES
JOSEPH PARKER
JAMES MERRITT
ROB SALVATO
SERMON STARTER
WARREN WIERSBE
J VERNON MCGEE
DON FORTNER
ALEXANDER MACLAREN
TODAY IN THE WORD
W A CRISWELL
PHIL NEWTON
ALAN CARR
JOHN CALVIN
JOHN DANIEL JONES 
RON RITCHIE
F B MEYER
D L MOODY
GRANT RICHISON
DAVID LEGGE
JOHN CALVIN
DAVID STRAIN
WIL POUNDS
ARCHIBALD THOMAS ROBERTSON 
JONAH 2
J VERNON MCGEE
ROB SALVATO
NETBIBLE NOTES
WARREN WIERSBE
C H SPURGEON
DON FORTNER
DEREK THOMAS
JOHN PIPER
PHIL NEWTON
GRANT RICHISON
F B MEYER
JOHN DUNCAN
DAVID STRAIN
TERRY TRIVETTE
ALEXANDER MACLAREN
J VERNON MCGEE
JONAH 3
ROB SALVATO
J VERNON MCGEE
SCOTT GRANT
NETBIBLE NOTES
WARREN WIERSBE
C H SPURGEON
TODAY IN THE WORD
F B MEYER
W A CRISWELL
ALEXANDER MACLAREN
RON RITCHIE
GRANT RICHISON
FRANKLIN KIRKSEY
ALAN STEWART
JOHN KITTO
DAVID STRAIN
PHIL NEWTON
JOHN PIPER
ALAN CARR
JONAH 4
JOHN KITTO
SCOTT GRANT
MARK ADAMS
J VERNON MCGEE
ROB SALVATO
NETBIBLE NOTES
WARREN WIERSBE
C H SPURGEON
GRANT RICHISON
MICHAEL CAMPBELL
DAVID STRAIN
PHIL NEWTON
DAVID LEGGE
F B MEYER
JAMES HASTINGS
HENRY MORRIS
DEFENDER'S STUDY BIBLE NOTES
BOOK OF JONAH
Conservative notes from Dr Morris who approaches the text seeking it's literal meaning in the context. Millennial. Click the words or phrases after the Scripture for the Study Notes and note that they are from the KJV translation.
Jonah 1 Commentary
Jonah 2 Commentary
Jonah 3 Commentary
Jonah 4 Commentary
ROBERT NEIGHBOUR
Wells of Living Water Commentary
Jonah
NET BIBLE NOTES
Commentary Notes on Jonah
  • Jonah 1 Commentary - excerpts
    Jonah 1:2 - Heb “Arise, go.” The two imperatives without an intervening vav (קוּם לֵךְ, qum lekh; “Arise, go!”), form a verbal hendiadys in which the first verb functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal force: “Go immediately.” This construction emphasizes the urgency of the command.

    Jonah 1:2 Nineveh was the last capital city of ancient Assyria. Occupying about 1800 acres, it was located on the east bank of the Tigris River across from the modern city of Mosul, Iraq. The site includes two tels, Nebi Yunus and Kouyunjik, which have been excavated on several occasions.

    Jonah 1:3 Heb “he arose to flee.” The phrase וַיָּקָם לִבְרֹחַ (vayyaqam livroakh, “he arose to flee”) is a wordplay on the LORD’s command (קוּם לֵךְ, qum lekh; “Arise! Go!”) in v. 2. By repeating the first verb קוּם the narrator sets up the reader to expect that Jonah was intending to obey God. But Jonah did not “arise to go” to Nineveh; he “arose to flee” to Tarshish. Jonah looks as though he was about to obey, but he does not. This unexpected turn of events creates strong irony. The narrator does not reveal Jonah’s motivation to the reader at this point. He delays this revelation for rhetorical effect until 4:2–3.

    Jonah 1:3 Three times in chap. 1 (in vv. 3 and 10) Jonah’s voyage is described as an attempt to escape away from the LORD—from the LORD’s presence (and therefore his active awareness; compare v. 2). On one level, Jonah was attempting to avoid a disagreeable task, but the narrator’s description personalizes Jonah’s rejection of the task. Jonah’s issue is with the LORD himself, not just his commission. The narrator’s description is also highly ironic, as the rest of the book shows. Jonah tries to sail to Tarshish, in the opposite direction from Nineveh, as if by doing that he could escape from the LORD, when the LORD is the one who knows all about Nineveh’s wickedness and is involved in all that happens to Jonah throughout the book. Compare Jonah’s explanation when talking with the LORD (see 4:2).

    Jonah 1:7 - The English word lots is a generic term. In some cultures the procedure for “casting lots” is to “draw straws” so that the person who receives the short straw is chosen. In other situations a colored stone or a designated playing card might be picked at random. In Jonah’s case, small stones were probably used. In the ancient Near East, casting lots was a custom used to try to receive a revelation from the gods about a particular situation. The Phoenician sailors here cried out to their gods and cast lots in the hope that one of their gods might reveal the identity of the person with whom he was angry. CEV has well captured the sentiment of v. 7b: “ ‘Let’s ask our gods to show us who caused all this trouble.’ It turned out to be Jonah.” Heb “the lot fell on Jonah.” From their questions posed to Jonah, it does not appear that the sailors immediately realize that Jonah was the one responsible for the storm. Instead, they seem to think that he is the one chosen by their gods to reveal to them the one responsible for their plight. It is only after he admits in vv. 9–10 that he was fleeing from the God whom he served that they realize that Jonah was in fact the cause of their trouble.
     
  • Jonah 2 Commentary
     
  • Jonah 3 Commentary - excerpt

    Jonah 3:3 - Required three days to walk through it. Although this phrase is one of the several indications in the book of Jonah of Nineveh’s impressive size, interpreters are not precisely sure what “a three-day walk” means. In light of the existing archaeological remains, the phrase does not describe the length of time it would have taken a person to walk around the walls of the city or to walk from one end of the walled city to the other. Other suggestions are that it may indicate the time required to walk from one edge of Nineveh’s environs to the other (in other words, including outlying regions) or that it indicates the time required to arrive, do business, and leave. More information might also show that the phrase involved an idiomatic description (consider Gen 30:36; Exod 3:18; a three-day-journey would be different for families than for soldiers, for example), rather than a precise measurement of distance, for which terms were available (Ezek 45:1–6; 48:8–35). With twenty miles as quite a full day’s walk, it seems possible and simplest, however, to take the phrase as including an outlying region associated with Nineveh, about sixty miles in length.

    Jonah 3:5 - The people of Nineveh believed in God.… Verse 5 provides a summary of the response in Nineveh; the people of all ranks believed and gave evidence of contrition by fasting and wearing sackcloth (2 Sam 12:16, 19–23; 1 Kgs 21:27–29; Neh 9:1–2). Then vv. 6–9 provide specific details, focusing on the king’s reaction. The Ninevites’ response parallels the response of the pagan sailors in 1:6 and 13–16.
     
  • Jonah 4 Commentary

    Jonah 4:2 - The narrator skillfully withheld Jonah’s motivations from the reader up to this point for rhetorical effect—to build suspense and to create a shocking, surprising effect. Now, for the first time, the narrator reveals why Jonah fled from the commission of God in 1:3—he had not wanted to give God the opportunity to relent from judging Nineveh! Jonah knew that if he preached in Nineveh, the people might repent and as a result, God might more than likely relent from sending judgment. Hoping to seal their fate, Jonah had originally refused to preach so that the Ninevites would not have an opportunity to repent. Apparently Jonah hoped that God would have therefore judged them without advance warning. Or perhaps he was afraid he would betray his nationalistic self-interests by functioning as the instrument through which the LORD would spare Israel’s main enemy. Jonah probably wanted God to destroy Nineveh for three reasons: (1) as a loyal nationalist, he despised non-Israelites (cf. 1:9); (2) he believed that idolaters had forfeited any opportunity to be shown mercy (cf. 2:9–10); and (3) the prophets Amos and Hosea had recently announced that God would sovereignly use the Assyrians to judge unrepentant Israel (Hos 9:3; 11:5) and take them into exile (Amos 5:27). If God destroyed Nineveh, the Assyrians would not be able to destroy Israel. The better solution would have been for Jonah to work for the repentance of Nineveh and Israel.
JAMES NISBET
Church Pulpit Commentary
Jonah Commentary
PHIL NEWTON
Sermons on Jonah
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
OUR DAILY BREAD
Devotionals related to Jonah
Sermon and teaching illustrations
Radio Bible Class
ARTHUR PEAKE
Commentary on Jonah
PETER PETT
Commentary on Jonah
MATTHEW POOLE
Commentary on Jonah
PULPIT COMMENTARY
Commentary on Jonah
EDWARD B PUSEY
Commentary on Jonah
The Minor Prophets"
(originally published 1860)
James Rosscup writes "This work originally appeared in 1860. The present publication is set up in two columns to the page with the text of the Authorized Version reproduced at the top. Scripture references, Hebrew words, and other citations are relegated to the bottom of the page. The work is detailed and analytical in nature. Introduction, background and explanation of the Hebrew are quite helpful. Pusey holds to the grammatical-historical type of interpretation until he gets into sections dealing with the future of Israel, and here Israel becomes the church in the amillennial vein." (Commentaries for Biblical Expositors: An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Works)
GRANT RICHISON
Verse by Verse Commentaries
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
DON ROBINSON
Sermon Notes
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
ROB SALVATO
Commentary Notes on Jonah
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
C I SCOFIELD
Commentary Notes on Jonah
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
SERMON BIBLE COMMENTARY
Jonah
SERMONS ON JONAH
Sermons arranged by verse
Note: click arrow to go to next sermon.
CHARLES SIMEON
Sermons on Jonah
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
NOTE: If you are not familiar with the great saint Charles Simeon see Dr John Piper's discussion of Simeon's life - you will want to read Simeon's sermons after meeting him! - click Brothers We Must Not Mind a Little Suffering (Mp3 even better)
CHUCK SMITH
Sermon Notes and Commentary
The Book of Jonah
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
Sermon notes are in an outline format.
Jonah Commentary
SPEAKERS COMMENTARY
Commentary on Jonah
C H SPURGEON
Expository Notes
on Jonah
C H SPURGEON
Devotionals
Morning and Evening
Faith's Checkbook
C H SPURGEON
All of Spurgeon's Sermons
Jonah
JOSEPH SUTCLIFFE
Commentary on Jonah
RON TEED
Sermons on Jonah
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
RAY STEDMAN
Sermons on Jonah
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
THIRD MILLENNIUM
Commentary on Jonah
Outline & References
Jonah 1
Jonah 2
Jonah 3
Jonah 4
JOHN TRAPP
Commentary on Jonah
TODAY IN THE WORD
Devotional Commentary on Jonah
BOB UTLEY
Commentary on Jonah
Be discerning: Utley is Amillennial and replaces Israel with the Church. Why listed? Because he has well done grammatical (word and phrase studies) and interesting historical comments
WARREN WIERSBE
Commentary on Jonah
Conservative, Literal Interpretation
Mp3 Audio Recommended. Click to listen or Right click and select "Save Target as" (Each audio ~ 35-40')
THOUGHTS ON
INTERPRETATION
OF PROPHETIC BOOKS
In regard to the OT Prophetic books such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and the 12 "Minor" Prophets, remember that the most accurate interpretation is derived by applying the following principles:
(1) Read the Scripture literally (unless the text is clearly figurative, e.g., Jesus said "I am the door… " Jn 10:9). If one interprets a text symbolically (allegorically, figuratively, spiritualizing) when that text makes good senseliterally, one potentially opens themselves to the danger of inaccurate interpretation, for then the question arises as to who's "symbolic" interpretation is correct and how imaginative one should be in evaluating a "supposed symbol"? Many of the commentaries and sermons on the OT prophetic books unfortunately are replete with non-literal interpretations (except when it comes to Messianic Passages, which are usually interpreted literally). Therefore the watchword when reading any commentary on Old Testament prophecy is caveat emptor ("buyer beware"). Read all commentaries like the Bereans (Acts 17:11-note).
(2) Study the context which is always "king" in interpretation (don't take verses out of context.)
(3) Passages addressed to Israel should be interpreted as directed to the literal nation of Israel and should not be interpreted as addressed to the NT Church, an entity not mentioned in the Old Testament. The promises of Jehovah to the nation of Israel (e.g., see Millennial Promises) remain valid (Jer 31:35, 36, 37, Nu 23:19, Lk 21:33) and have not been passed on to the NT Church because Israel has "defaulted" (See study Israel of God). Remember that while Scripture has only one correct interpretation, there can be many legitimate applications(See Application), and therefore the OT prophetic books are extremely applicable in the lives of NT believers.
(4) Scripture is always the best commentary on Scripture. While an attempt has been made to list resources that adhere to these basic interpretative guidelines, not all the works listed in these collections have been read in detail. Therefore should you discover a resource you feel is NOT conservative and/or orthodox, please email your concerns.
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