Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Jonah
Jonah is the account of a reluctant prophet and a relentless, merciful God. Sent to Israel's cruel enemy, Jonah runs the opposite way, only to learn that no one can outrun God, and that His compassion reaches even those we would rather see destroyed. Jesus made Jonah's three days in the fish a sign of His own resurrection. This commentary walks through it verse by verse.
About This Commentary
The Book of Jonah tells the story of Jonah son of Amittai, a real prophet of Israel (2 Kings 14:25), whom God sent to preach to Nineveh, the capital of the feared Assyrian empire. Instead of obeying, Jonah fled by ship in the opposite direction, was overtaken by a storm, thrown into the sea, and swallowed by a great fish. Delivered and sent again, he preached to Nineveh, which repented, and the book ends with God teaching His narrow-hearted prophet the wideness of divine mercy.
This commentary covers Jonah verse by verse, with the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, verified background, and an Apostolic reading. Jonah's three days and three nights in the belly of the fish are, by Jesus' own words, a sign of His death, burial, and resurrection (Matthew 12:40), making this small book a vivid pointer to the gospel. References are given at the foot of each chapter.
All 4 chapters of Jonah are complete, from the prophet's flight and the great storm, through his prayer from the fish and Nineveh's repentance, to God's closing question that lays bare the wideness of His mercy.
Author
Jonah son of Amittai, a prophet of Israel; his name means 'dove.'
Setting
A commission to Nineveh, capital of Assyria, and Jonah's flight.
Key Themes
God's inescapable call and His mercy, even to enemies.
Sign of Jonah
Three days in the fish, a picture of Christ's resurrection (Matthew 12:40).
Translation
King James Version (KJV) throughout.
The Chapters
Jonah Commentary
The chapters below are available now. The rest are being written and will open here as they are finished and verified.
Jonah 1:1-17
Running from God
Called to Nineveh, Jonah sails the opposite way from the presence of the LORD, a great storm exposes his rebellion, he is cast into the sea, and God prepares a great fish to swallow him.
Read Chapter 1 →Jonah 2:1-10
Salvation Is of the LORD
The prophet's prayer from the belly of the fish, 'out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice,' faith's 'yet I will look again toward thy holy temple,' the sign of Jonah pointing to Christ's death and resurrection, and the great confession, 'Salvation is of the LORD.'
Read Chapter 2 →Jonah 3:1-10
The People of Nineveh Believed God
The word of the LORD coming 'the second time' to the failed prophet, the blunt preaching 'Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown,' and the astonishing repentance of the great city, from the king to the least, so that 'God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them.'
Read Chapter 3 →Jonah 4:1-11
Should Not I Spare Nineveh?
The prophet's anger at God's mercy, his confession that God is 'a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger,' the lesson of the gourd and the worm, and the book's final unanswered question of compassion, 'should not I spare Nineveh, that great city?'
Read Chapter 4 →