Discovery BoxJonah 3:10
Context3:10 When God saw their actions – they turned 1 from their evil way of living! 2 – God relented concerning the judgment 3 he had threatened them with 4 and he did not destroy them. 5
Jonah 4:10
Context4:10 The Lord said, “You were upset 6 about this little 7 plant, something for which you have not worked nor did you do anything to make it grow. It grew up overnight and died the next day. 8
Jonah 1:8
Context1:8 They said to him, “Tell us, whose fault is it that this disaster has overtaken us? 9 What’s your occupation? Where do you come from? What’s your country? And who are your people?” 10
Jonah 1:13
Context1:13 Instead, they tried to row 11 back to land, 12 but they were not able to do so 13 because the storm kept growing worse and worse. 14
[3:10] 1 tn This clause is introduced by כִּי (ki, “that”) and functions as an epexegetical, explanatory clause.
[3:10] 2 tn Heb “from their evil way” (so KJV, ASV, NAB); NASB “wicked way.”
[3:10] 3 tn Heb “calamity” or “disaster.” The noun רָעָה (ra’ah, “calamity, disaster”) functions as a metonymy of result – the cause being the threatened judgment (e.g., Exod 32:12, 14; 2 Sam 24:16; Jer 18:8; 26:13, 19; 42:10; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; HALOT 1263 s.v. רָעָה 6). The root רָעָה is repeated three times in vv. 8 and 10. Twice it refers to the Ninevites’ moral “evil” (vv. 8 and 10a) and here it refers to the “calamity” or “disaster” that the
[3:10] 4 tn Heb “the disaster that he had spoken to do to them.”
[3:10] 5 tn Heb “and he did not do it.” See notes on 3:8-9.
[4:10] 6 tn Heb “were troubled.” The verb חוּס (khus) has a basic three-fold range of meanings: (1) “to be troubled about,” (2) “to look with compassion upon,” and (3) “to show pity, to spare [someone from death/judgment]” (HALOT 298 s.v. חוס; BDB 299 s.v. חוּס). Clearly, here God is referring to Jonah’s remorse and anger when the plant died (vv. 7-9), so here it means “to be troubled about” (HALOT 298 s.v. 1.c) rather than “to pity” (BDB 299 s.v. c). Elsewhere חוּס describes emotional grief caused by the loss of property (Gen 45:20) and the death of family members (Deut 13:9 [ET 13:8]). The verb חוּס is derived from a common Semitic root which has a basic meaning “to pour out; to flow” which is used in reference to emotion and tears in particular. This is seen in the Hebrew expression תָחוּס עֵין (takhush ’en, “the eyes flow”) picturing tears of concern and grief (c.f., Gen 45:20; Deut 13:9 [ET 13:8]). The verb חוּס will be used again in v. 11 but in a different sense (see note on v. 11).
[4:10] 7 tn The noun קִיקָיוֹן (qiqayon, “plant”) has the suffixed ending וֹן- which denotes a diminutive (see IBHS 92 §5.7b); so it can be nuanced “little plant.” The contrast between Jonah’s concern for his “little” plant (v. 10) and God’s concern about this “enormous” city (v. 11) could not be greater! Jonah’s misplaced priorities look exceedingly foolish and self-centered in comparison to God’s global concern about the fate of 120,000 pagans.
[4:10] 8 tn Heb “which was a son of a night and perished [as] a son of a night.”
[1:8] 11 tn Heb “On whose account is this calamity upon us?”
[1:8] 12 tn Heb “And from what people are you?”
[1:13] 16 sn The word translated row is used in Ezekiel to describe digging through a wall (Ezek 8:8; 12:5, 7, 12). Its use in Jonah pictures the sailors digging into the water with their oars as hard as they could.
[1:13] 17 sn The word for land here is associated with a Hebrew verb meaning “to be dry” and is the same noun used in v. 9 of dry ground in contrast with the sea, both made by the
[1:13] 18 tn Heb “but they were not able.” The phrase “to do so” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[1:13] 19 tn Heb “the sea was walking and storming.” See the note on the same idiom in v. 11.
