Jonah 1:3

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. BUT JONAH ROSE UP TO FLEE. Jonah's motive for flight is hinted at in Jonah 4:2 - fear that, after venturing on such a dangerous commission to so powerful a pagan city, his prophetic 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 felt a repugnance to discharge a commission to a foreign idolatrous nation, whose destruction he desired rather than their repentance. Jonah had been for some time in exercise of his prophetic office and was sent on this mission in the lat...

Jonah now relates how he sought hiding-places, that he might withdraw himself from the service of God; not that he deceived himself with such a gross notion, as that he would be no longer under the power of God, after having passed over the sea; but he intended to shun, as it were, the light of the present life, by proceeding to a foreign country. He was, no doubt, not only in a disturbed state of mind, when he formed such a purpose, but was utterly confused. It may be asked, why Jonah thus avoided the command of God. The Jews, indulging in frigid trifles in divine things, say that he feared lest, when he came to Nineveh, he should be deprived of the prophetic spirit, as though he were not in the same danger by passing over the sea: this is very frivolous and puerile. And further, they blend things of no weight, when reasons sufficiently important present themselves to us. It was first...

Verse Jonah 1:3. _TO FLEE UNTO TARSHISH_] Some say _Tartessus_, in Spain, near the straits of Gibralter, others, _Tarsus_, in _Cilicia_; and others, _Taprobana_, or the island of Ceylon, formerly called Taprobah; and _Tabrobavagh_ in Sanscrit, to the present day. _AND WENT DOWN TO JOPPA_] This place is celebrated as that where _Andromeda_, daughter of _Cepheus_, was chained to a rock, and exposed to be devoured by a sea-monster, from which she was delivered by the valour of Perseus. It is the nearest port to Jerusalem on that side of the Mediterranean. _AND HE FOUND A SHIP_] The Phoenicians carried on a considerable trade with _Tartessus_, Ezekiel 27:12; and it was probably in one of their ships that Jonah e

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, “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. He refused God’s service, because, as he himself tells God afterward...

EXPOSITION JONAH 1:1 Part I. THE MISSION OF JONAH. HIS DISOBEDIENCE AND PUNISHMENT. JONAH 1:1 § 1. _Jonah is sent to Nineveh to cry against it; but he tries to avoid the mission, and to this end takes ship to Tarshish._ JONAH 1:1 NOW; or, _and_. Some have argued from this commencement that the Book of Jonah is a fragment, the continuation of a larger work; but it is a common formulary, linking together revelations and histories, and is continually used in the Old Testament at the b

BUT JONAH ROSE UP TO FLEE UNTO TARSHISH FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD,.... 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 Psalms 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, Acts 22:3; so Josephus q 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 this difference of interpreters, it is hard to say what place it was: it seems best to understand it of Tarsus. The prophet had better knowledge of Go

Jonah 1:1. _Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 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._ Observe the misconduct of the prophet Jonah. He had a plain command from the Lord, and he knew it to be a command; but he felt that the commission given to him would not be pleasant and honouring to himself, and therefore he declined to comply with it. We see, from his action, how some, who really know God, may act as if they knew him not. Jonah knew that God was everywhere, yet he «rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.» What strange inconsi

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS CHAPTER 1 The Commission of the Prophet ,His Disobedience, and the Consequences _ 1. The commission (John 1:1) _ 2. The disobedience (John 1:3) 3. The consequences (John 1:4) John 1:1. The record begins with the same word with which all historical books in the Bible begin, like Joshua, judges, Ruth, Samuel, etc. The commission given to Jonah was to go to Nineveh, that great city, and to cry against it on account of its wickedness. Nineveh was the great capital of the Assyrian nation; it is mentioned for the first time in...

JONAH 1:1 TO JONAH 2:1; JONAH 2:10. JONAH VAINLY SEEKS TO EVADE THE MISSION TO WHICH GOD APPOINTS HIM. Jonah is bidden by Yahweh to proclaim judgment on Nineveh for its sin, but he hurries in the opposite direction, to Tarshish (p. 381). Why he refused to proclaim such congenial tidings appears only in the sequel (Jonah 4:2). In a very striking way the author indicates the intellectual limitation of Jonah's conception of Yahweh. He rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Three times the phrase occurs, and where every word is meant to tell, the repetition is significant. It is true that Jonah believes that Yahweh can destroy or save Nineveh, and h

ROSE UP TO FLEE. Jonah knew that Assyria was to be God's sword of judgment against Israel. If Nineveh perished, Israel might be saved. God's mercy might arrest this overthrow of Nineveh. Was this why Jonah would sacrifice himself to save his nation? This would explain his flight here, and his displeasure, as clearly stated in Jonah 4:1. When he said (Jonah 1:12), "Take me up", &c., he had counted the cost. He confesses to the men (verses: Jonah 1:9; Jonah 1:10), but not to God. He gave his life to save his People. The type of Christ may have begun here. See Galatians 1:3;...