| Jonah 1:1
| Now *the word of the Lord came to Jonas, the son of Amathi, saying:
| Year of the World about 3197, Year before Christ 807.
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| Jonah 1:2
| Arise, and go to Ninive, the great city, and preach in it: for the wickedness thereof is come up before me.
| Ninive, the capital city of the Assyrian empire. (Challoner) --- It was 150 stadia long and 90 broad, (Diod. ii.) on the western bank of the Tigris. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 6:13.) --- Mosul, which some mistake for it, stands on the northern side. See Genesis 10:10. At the time when Jonas preached, Ninive would contain about 600,000, Jonas 4:11. They were people less favoured by God, (Acts 14:15.; Calmet) but not abandoned. (Theodoret) --- God took sufficient care of all his creatures, and foretold many things relating to foreign nations. (Calmet) --- Romans 3:29. (Worthington) --- For the. Septuagint add, "cry of," Genesis iv., and xviii. (Haydock)
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| Jonah 1:3
| And Jonas rose up to flee into Tharsis from the face of the Lord, and he went down to Joppe, and found a ship going to Tharsis: and he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tharsis from the face of the Lord.
| Tharsis. Which some take to be Tharsus of Cilicia, others to be Tartessus of Spain, others to be Carthage. (Challoner) --- Joppe, now Jaffa, (Menochius) a miserable seaport. (Haydock) --- It was formerly the best near Jerusalem, (2 Paralipomenon 2:16.) though very dangerous. (Josephus, Jewish Wars 3:15. or 29.) --- It is said to have been built before "the inundation" of the world, (Mela. 1:11.) and was famous for the adventure of Andromeda, rescued by Perseus from a sea monster. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 5:13.) (Calmet) --- Lord. He feared being accounted a false prophet, (Worthington) knowing how much God was inclined to shew mercy, (chap. 4:2.) and being disheartened at the difficulty of the undertaking, like Moses and Gedeon. (Calmet) --- He might also think that if the Ninivites repented, it would be a reflection on the obstinacy of the Jews. (St. Gregory, Mor. 6:13.) (St. Jerome)
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| Jonah 1:4
| But the Lord sent a great wind into the sea: and a great tempest was raised in the sea, and the ship was in danger to be broken.
| Broken. Seeing no natural cause of such a sudden tempest, they concluded (Worthington) that some on board must be guilty; as the sailors argued (Haydock) when the noted atheist, Diagoras, was in similar circumstances. (Calmet) --- They had recourse to lots, and the prophet consented by God's inspiration, (Worthington) though this is not written, (Haydock) and the lots were superstitious. (Menochius) --- The oriental writers add many things to this sufficiently marvellous account. (Lyranus; D'Herbelot.) (Calmet)
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| Jonah 1:5
| And the mariners were afraid, and the men cried to their god: and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship, into the sea, to lighten it of them: and Jonas went down into the inner part of the ship, and fell into a deep sleep.
| God. They were idolaters, ver. 6. --- Wares, which is commonly done in storms. (Calmet) --- This loss was in punishment of their sins; though they seem not devoid of some fear of God and man. (Haydock) --- Sleep. This is a lively image of the insensibility of sinners, fleeing from God, and threatened on every side with his judgments; and yet sleeping as if they were secure. (Challoner) --- Yet Jonas was sleeping through grief. (St. Jerome) (Matthew 26:40.) (Calmet)
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| Jonah 1:6
| And the shipmaster came to him, and said to him: Why art thou fast asleep? rise up, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think of us, that we may not perish.
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| Jonah 1:7
| And they said every one to his fellow: Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know why this evil is upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonas.
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| Jonah 1:8
| And they said to him: Tell us for what cause this evil is upon us, what is thy business? of what country art thou? and whither goest thou? or of what people art thou?
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| Jonah 1:9
| And he said to them: I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made both the sea and the dry land.
| Fear, and therefore fly from the face of the Lord, ver. 3, 10. (Haydock) --- He knew that God is every where, ver. 3., and Psalm 133:8. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "I worship." Fear is often taken in this sense. (Haydock)
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| Jonah 1:10
| And the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him: Why hast thou done this? (for the men knew that he fled from the face of the Lord: because he had told them.)
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| Jonah 1:11
| And they said to him: What shall we do to thee, that the sea may be calm to us? for the sea flowed and swelled.
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| Jonah 1:12
| And he said to them: Take me up, and cast me into the sea, and the sea shall be calm to you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
| Cast me. God intimates that he required this sacrifice. (Menochius)
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| Jonah 1:13
| And the men rowed hard to return to land, but they were not able: because the sea tossed and swelled upon them.
| Hard. They were unwilling to destroy the prophet, (Calmet) fearing to incur fresh guilt by thus treating one who had intrusted his life to them. (Josephus, Antiquities 9:11.)
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| Jonah 1:14
| And they cried to the Lord, and said: We beseech thee, O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.
| Blood. We act thus by his direction, and through necessity.
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| Jonah 1:15
| And they took Jonas, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased from raging.
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| Jonah 1:16
| And the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and sacrificed victims to the Lord, and made vows.
| Lord. They were converted by this prodigy, and offered sacrifice immediately, or (Calmet) when they came to port. (Menochius) --- All know by the light of reason that sacrifice and vows are acceptable to the Lord. (Worthington)
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