The sailors interrogated Jonah about his reasons for travelling on their ship, but it was his failure to live consistently with his convictions that amazed them.
1:7 It appears to have been common among the heathen to cast lots to determine who was responsible for some catastrophe (cf. John 19:24). Saul resorted to this when he could not get a direct response from the Lord (cf. 1 Sam. 14:36-42). Casting lots was a divinely prescribed method of learning God's will in Israel (e.g., Lev. 16:8-10; Num. 26:55-56; 33:54; 34:13; 36:2-3; Josh. 14:2; 15:1; 16:1; et al.). However as practiced by pagans, it was a superstitious practice. In this case God overruled and gave the sailors the correct answer to their request (cf. Prov. 16:33).
". . . Jonah won the lottery--or lost it."29
1:8 The sailors proceeded to interrogate Jonah when they believed they had identified the culprit responsible for their calamity. Had Jonah been involved in some situation that had brought down a curse from someone else that resulted in the storm? Possibly the reason for their trouble had some connection with Jonah's occupation or hometown. His national or ethnic origin might also prove to be the key they sought. Finding the reason for their trouble was what they wanted. They did not ignorantly assume that doing away with Jonah would solve their problem.
1:9 It should have been no surprise to the sailors that Jonah was a Hebrew since they had taken him on board at Joppa, a Hebrew port. This is the name by which the Israelites' neighbors knew them (cf. 1 Sam. 4:6, 9; 14:11). Jonah probably identified himself as a Hebrew as a preamble to explaining that he worshipped Yahweh Elohim, the heavenly God of the Hebrews. The Phoenicians also thought of Baal as a sky god (cf. 1 Kings 18:24). It was the fact that this God made the sea on which they travelled as well as the dry land that convinced the sailors that Jonah had done something very serious. It was obvious to them that Jonah's God was after him and had sent the storm to put him in His hands. Ironically what was so clear to these pagans was obscure to the runaway prophet. When God sovereignly selects someone for special service, that person cannot run and hide from Him. Jonah had not yet learned this lesson.
The title "the God of heaven"is common in the postexilic books (e.g., Ezra 1:2; 7:12; Neh. 1:4; Dan. 2:8). This fact has influenced some scholars to conclude that the Book of Jonah must also date from the same period. However this title was a very old one in Israel's history (cf. Gen. 24:3, 7). Its use on this occasion was particularly appropriate since it expressed the supremacy of Yahweh to polytheistic pagans.
Jonah's confession is a central feature in the narrative. It is the center of a literary chiasmus that begins in verse 4 and extends through verse 16.30
1:10 The sailors' exclamation (rather than question, cf. Gen. 4:10) expressed their incredulity at Jonah's naivete in trying to run away from the God who created the sea by taking a sea voyage. Surely Jonah must have known, they thought, that Yahweh would make their journey perilous. Evidently Jonah had previously told them that he was fleeing from the Lord, but they did not then understand that the Lord was the creator of the sea. Had they known this they probably would not have sold him passage. We need to remember that in the polytheistic ancient Near East people conceived of a multitude of gods each with authority over a particular area of life. A god of the mountains, for example, would have little authority on the plains (cf. 1 Kings 20:23).
Before, the mariners had feared the storm, but now they feared the Lord recognizing the Creator above the creation.31
This pericope, like the previous two, builds to a climax that stresses Jonah's failure. He did not fear his God though, again ironically, the pagan sailors did. Jonah professed faith in a sovereign God, yet by trying to escape from the Lord he denied his belief in God's sovereignty. One cannot flee or hide from a sovereign God.
