Jonah 1:1

Jonah Tries to Run from the Lord

1:1 The Lord said ¹  to Jonah son of Amittai, ² 

Matthew 12:39-40

12:39 But he answered them, ³  “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 12:40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish ⁴  for three days and three nights, ⁵  so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

Matthew 16:4

16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then ⁶  he left them and went away.

[1:1]  ¹ tn Heb “The word of the Lord.” The genitive noun in the construction דְּבַר־יְהוָה (dÿvar-yÿhvah, “word of the Lord”) could function as a possessive genitive (“the Lord’s word”; see IBHS 145 §9.5.1g), but more likely it functions as a subjective genitive (“the Lord said”; see IBHS 143 §9.5.1a). The Aramaic translation of Jonah 1:1 (Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Bible are known as Targums) interprets the Hebrew as “There was a word of prophecy from the Lord” (cf. Tg. Hos 1:1).

[1:1]  ² tn Heb “The word of the Lord was to Jonah…saying….” The infinitive לֵאמֹר (le’mor, “saying”) introduces direct discourse and is untranslated in English.

[12:39]  ³ tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[12:40]  ⁴ tn Grk “large sea creature.”

[12:40]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Jonah 1:17.

[16:4]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.