The Book of Jonah

CHAPTER BY CHAPTER VERSE BY VERSE BIBLE STUDY
*Join our Mailing List and be notified when new study materials are posted
Watchmen Bible Study Group Go to our home page @ www.biblestudysite.com

JONAH STUDY #1 [Jonah 1:1 - 1:17]

The following format will be used in our study of the scriptures:

* The actual text of the verses will be in red text, beginning at the left margin.

* Commentary and explanations from the Author regarding the aforementioned embolden, underlined and reference numbered words will be in black text, indented.

* The text of other Bible verses, supplied for documentation of comments and for cross-reference, will be in plain brown text, double indented.

(The words that are to be expounded on within a verse are embolden and underlined, with an asterisk and a small number (*1, *2, *3,...) following them. By following this numbering system, below the verse, you can find explanations and definitions, as well as cross referenced scriptures).

Example:

Genesis 3:5
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened*1, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Explanations from above verse: *1 your eyes shall be opened = This is the second lie in the Bible, and satan is also the author of this one. Remember from verse one, that the tree that the serpent wants Eve to partake of means: "To close the eyes," as in being deceived, and losing sight of the only commandment from God at that time, which is supplied below:

Gen 2:17 (The first commandment from God to man)
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (KJV)

Utilizing this text format, it allows the reader to have an uncluttered and unconfused page to read off of their monitor; and should be just as clear in downloaded printed form, whether in color or black and white. The colored coded verses and highlighted words are in a different font, and will be distinguishable in black and white printing. The colored segments of text are restricted to the verses of the subject scripture, so as to use minimal colored ink if you chose to print them out to read later. This format is used throughout the In-depth Bible study series on this site.

Let's begin our study with a prayer for wisdom and understanding from our Heavenly Father, in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

The Book Of Jonah

CHAPTER 1

Jonah 1:1-17:

1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah*1 the son of Amittai*2, saying,

Explanations from above verse: *1 the word of the LORD came unto Jonah = This signifies that these are the words of Almighty God Himself as He speaks to Jonah. *2 son of Amittai = The same Jonah that we are reading about was born to a man named 'Amittai,' and it is written of in [2nd Kings 14:25]. The name 'Amittai' in the Hebrew tongue means: "The Truth of Jehovah (God)."

2 Arise, go to Nineveh*1, that great city, and cry against it*2; for their wickedness*3 is come up before me*4.

Explanations from above verse: *1 Nineveh = Nineveh was founded in [Gen 10:11] and is at the time of this writing the Capitol of Assyria. Nineveh is of Babylonian origin and the people there were heathen, worshiping other gods including a fish god named Dagon. The fish was worshiped among the Philistines and also in Assyria as the emblem of fecundity; Dagon, half man half fish; Hence the worship is forbidden [Duet 4:18]. *2 cry against it = Make a firm proclamation against the people of Nineveh. God was angry with Nineveh because of what they were doing there. *3 their wickedness = Nineveh was noted for violence and cruelty of all kinds. *4 come up before me = God sees what is going on there and He doesn't like it. When God doesn't like something that means He's getting ready to instill correction.

3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

Explanations from above verse: In the prior verse God told Jonah to "rise up and go" to Nineveh to warn them to change, but Jonah "Rose up and fled" away from Nineveh, thus disobeying God. At first glance it might appear that Jonah was a disobedient man, for he disobeyed Almighty God; but in reality Jonah was a good man who had found favor with God. So why would a good servant of God disobey Him?

Jonah was an Israelite, and he knew that God was going to use Nineveh (Assyria) to punish Israel by putting Israel into Assyrian captivity. Of course Israel would in fact go on to be held captive by Assyria anyway, as God's will is always done, but Jonah was willing to sacrifice himself (mistakenly of course) in order to save his nation.

Jonah feared that if he did as God had told him to and went to Nineveh to instruct them to change their ways and follow the one and only True God, they might do so and then they would be strengthened to take Israel captive, having found grace in God's eyes through their repentance. Jonah thought that if he did not make the proclamation to Nineveh that they would not repent of their ways, and thus would be themselves destroyed by God. In Jonah's mind, this would save Israel from the then destroyed Ninevites. He was mistaken, and as we continue on, we will see God's correction of Jonah. The moral of this book is that man can not frustrate the plan of God, and as we will see through Jonah, you cannot run from God.

4 But the LORD sent out a great wind*1 into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken*2.

Explanations from above verse: *1 great wind = The 'Ruwach' in the Hebrew language, and it is defined below from the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Wind: Hebrew word #7307 ruwach: A wind, breath, a mind, a spirit; the Spirit of God.

Explanations from above verse (Cont.): *2 was like to be broken = Thought to be breaking apart (presumed to be sinking).

5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god*1, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship*2; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

Explanations from above verse: *1 cried every man unto his god = (Note lower case 'g' in the word god) These sailors were heathen. They believed in many different gods and not the One True God Jehovah. *2 gone down into the sides of the ship = Below deck.

6 So the shipmaster*1 came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper*2? arise, call upon thy God*3, if so be that God*4 will think upon us, that we perish not.

Explanations from above verse: *1 shipmaster = Captain of the ship. *2 What meanest thou, O sleeper = Why are you sleeping at a time like this? *3 call upon thy God = He knows that Jonah is a Hebrew who worships Jehovah, the one true God. He is asking Jonah to petition his God, who is the True God Jehovah, to save their lives. The heathen men on this ship are starting to become believers in Almighty God. There are no heathen or atheists when death is near. *4 God = In the Hebrew language this word is " 'eth Jehovah" and it is translated to: "THE God." Once again we see the ship's Captain pay homage to Jonah's God as THE One True God.

7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots*1, that we may know for whose cause this evil*2 is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah*3.

Explanations from above verse: *1 cast lots = A form of a game of chance with small stones likened to drawing straws or throwing dice to determine the answer to a thing. This was also done by the eleven remaining Apostles when they were trying to decide between two men as to which would be the twelfth Apostle to replace Judas Iscariot [Acts 1:23-26]. *2 for whose cause this evil = To find out who God was mad at, causing this sudden tremendous storm. It must be noted that these sailors were veteran seamen, and they new that this particular storm that had happened upon them, was a strange storm indeed, giving no prior warning whatsoever. As you remember from verse four above, God sent His Spirit upon the waters and caused this terrible storm to come up out of nowhere. It's no doubt that these sailors recognized that this storm was supernatural, this added to their fears that a God mightier than their false gods was at work here. The sailors will be converted to Jehovah, the One True God, before this ordeal is over. *3 the lot fell upon Jonah = It was determined through the casting of lots, that Jonah was the one that had angered God and brought this deadly storm upon them all.

8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee*1, for whose cause this evil is upon us*2; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

Explanations from above verse: *1 we pray thee = We ask you *2 for whose cause this evil is upon us = They are asking Jonah why God is mad at him. The casting of the Lot told them that it was Jonah, but it couldn't tell them why God was mad.

9 And he said*1 unto them, I am an Hebrew*2; and I fear*3 the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land*4.

Explanations from above verse: *1 he said = Jonah is answering them, but he doesn't tell them everything. We will find out the real reason in [Jonah 4:1-3]. *2 Hebrew = Referring to the language spoken. A title used of foreigners. (The word Hebrew means: 'one who crossed over the river' and is outwardly used for 'believers'). *3 fear = Revere. *4 hath made the sea and the dry land = Speaking about how God created everything in the beginning [Gen 1:1 & 1:10].

10 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*1.

Explanations from above verse: *1 Why hast thou. . . = The men are asking Jonah what he had done to bring this upon himself and them. They knew the fact of his flight, but not the reason. We will find out the real reason in [Jonah 4:1-3].

11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought*1, and was tempestuous.

Explanations from above verse: *1 wrought = Grew more and more tempestuous. They are asking Jonah how they can have God cease this storm which is growing worse and worse.

12 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*1.

Explanations from above verse: *1 I know that for my sake . . . = Jonah is telling them to kill him by throwing him into the churning sea because it is Jonah's life that the Lord was seeking. As we read on, we will see that God has plans for Jonah other than drowning him. The lesson here is that if God wants you to accomplish a thing, you will accomplish it, by His intervention if necessary, whether you want to or not.

13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard*1 to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.

Explanations from above verse: *1 rowed hard = The sails now broken off, they are futilely trying to row with oars to the safety of the shoreline.

14 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD*1, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life*2, and lay not upon us innocent blood*3: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee*4.

Explanations from above verse: *1 they cried unto the LORD = The once heathen sailors are now praying to Jehovah, the btrue God. They have forsaken their false gods. *2 let us not perish for this man's life = Don't kill us because of the sin that Jonah committed. *3 lay not upon us innocent blood = Don't let us be guilty of the murder of Jonah, don't make us do it. They don't want to be judged as murderers. *4 O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee = They are telling God that this is His will, and they only do it because He gives them no choice. They are saying that it is God's will that Jonah be thrown into the violent sea which no man can survive in.

15 So they took up Jonah*1, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging*2.

Explanations from above verse: *1 took up Jonah = Took up with care and did throw him into the sea. For a deeper study on the word 'took up' see: [Gen 47:30, Ex 28:12, Ex 28: 29 &c.] *2 the sea ceased from her raging = They had obeyed God and fulfilled His will by casting Jonah into the sea, therefor God ceased the storm upon the sailors and they saved their lives. The storm suddenly stopped just as it did in [Lk 8:24] by the power of the Holy Spirit.

16 Then the men*1 feared the LORD exceedingly*2, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows*3.

Explanations from above verse: *1 Then the men = Because of this the men... *2 feared the LORD exceedingly = Reverence the Lord totally. *3 offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows = The conversion of the sailors to the One True God Jehovah was now complete. God truly does work in mysterious ways, He used Jonah's plight to save the souls of the entire ship's company.

17 Now the LORD had prepared*1 a great fish*2 to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly*3 of the fish three days and three nights*4. (KJV)

Explanations from above verse: *1 had prepared = This is a special word in the Hebrew, it means to appoint or assign, it never means to create. This was a special fish sent by God on a one-time basis especially for this event. For the value of the word 'prepared' see the other verses that employ it: [Job 7:3 & Dan 1:5,10,11,]. This word will be used later in this same book in: [Jonah 4:6-8]. *2 great fish = It is commonly assumed that this was a whale, but in the manuscripts, the word whale is not used here or in [Matt 12:40] where Christ refers to this fish. Below we see Jesus extend credibility to the story of Jonah, and He establishes Jonah as a 'type' of Himself:

Matt 12:39-41
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's*1 belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. (KJV)

Explanation from verse 40 above: *1 whale's = The word that is translated into: 'whale' is actually from the Greek word ' Ketos' which means: 'large fish':

Whale: Greek word #2785; ketos (kay'-tos); A huge fish (as gaping for prey).

Explanations from above verse 17 in Jonah (Cont.): *3 Jonah was in the belly= Not therefore kept alive in the fishes mouth as some imagine. When thus swallowed up, Jonah must have died, and thus became a 'type' of Christ. The 'as' and 'so' above in [Matt 12:40] require Jonah's death. Jonah would have been no 'type' if he had been miraculously kept alive. For Christ died 'as' Jonah died. *4 three days and three nights = Just as with Christ in the tomb [Mt 12:40], thus fulfilling the 'type.' The verse of [Mt 12:40] is re-supplied below:

Matt 12:40
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

End of Chapter one

Click on Jonah study #2 to go to the next study.
Click on The Book Of Jonah Introduction to go back to the preface study.
Click on Chpt by Chpt, Vs By Vs Study Of The Bible to go to study menu.

Click here to make a personal comment to us at WBSG about this page

In His Service:
Nick Goggin
Watchmen Bible Study Group

 * NOTE : While we do not in any way represent another Ministry on TV with Pastor (A fine Christian Minister) , it is where we at Watchmen Bible Study Group enjoy to study. If you would like to check it out, "The Shepherds Chapel" is on over 250 television stations in the United States, and can be found by that name in any TV guide. It is also on satellite: Galaxy 6 Trans 16. On Direct TV on channel #373 (The Word channel). Also on short wave radio: WHRI & KWHR from Indiana (17.780 MHz @ 0500-0600Hrs, 5.745 MHz @ 0700-0800 Hrs, 13.760 MHz @ 1700-1800Hrs. (All times Universal Time). They also have a website @: www.shepherdschapel.com. Introductory Offer: (another Ministry on TV) has a free introductory package which includes the Mark of the Beast tape which is available to all new students - from the United States, Canada and Mexico call (800) 643-4645 or (501) 787-6026 or write to: The (another Ministry on TV); P.O. Box 416, Gravette, AR 72736 USA.

        NOTE: To insure quality and content integrity, these In-depth Bible Studies are © copyrighted and may only be downloaded for study and shared private use. They may not be reproduced or distributed for sale or publication without prior written approval. Other Web sites are welcome to link up to this Web site.

| To Top |  

(End of page)