Jonah rises to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Hashem; the great wind and the tempest, the sailors' lots and the confession — 'Take me up, and cast me into the sea' — and a great fish is appointed to swallow Jonah.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
Now the word of Hashem came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying:
verse value 1139
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "and·it·was" (וַֽיְהִי֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "the·word·of·Hashem" (דְּבַר־יְהֹוָ֔ה, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "son·of·Amittai" (בֶן־אֲמִתַּ֖י). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·word·of·Hashem" (root יהוה, 26x in Jonah); "saying" (root אמר, 22x in Jonah). First appearance of the root היה ("and·it·was") in Jonah. First appearance of the root יהוה ("the·word·of·Hashem") in Jonah. Full calculation: וַֽיְהִי֙ [and·it·was] (31) + דְּבַר־יְהֹוָ֔ה [the·word·of·Hashem] (232) + אֶל־יוֹנָ֥ה [to·Jonah] (102) + בֶן־אֲמִתַּ֖י [son·of·Amittai] (503) + לֵאמֹֽר [saying] (271) = 1139.
Ibn Ezra
This is the prophet who prophesied concerning Jeroboam son of Joash. And so it is written of him: 'which the LORD spoke by the hand of His servant Jonah son of Amittai, who was from Gath-hepher.' It is wondrous how it would come to the mind of a wise man who knows God and His deeds, that he would think to flee from before Him, when he is in His hand and all is full of His glory? And how can the prophet who teaches the mouth of God be written as 'he the prophet'?! And the Gaon said: that he went to Nineveh and called against it, and this Scripture did not mention it, like: 'Call him, that he may eat bread.' And I say: this is not like that, for there is no point in mentioning whether he ate or did not eat, or whether they did not call him, only that he met him and spoke with him. And furthermore: if Jonah was full of the word of God, why was he fleeing, when he said, 'Therefore I fled beforehand to Tarshish'?! And now behold we have seen that Moses did not want to go on God's mission, to bring forth His people, and even more so Jonah that he go to admonish Nineveh. And so our sages said: that he demanded the honor of the Son. And now I will hint to you a secret: there is one who composes rhymes by his very nature, without study, and there is one who needs study, and when he receives [prophecy] thus he can also refrain from receiving, and the latter is easier than the former; and all the prophets besides Moses, after the glory of God passed before him, their prophecy is all in visions, even in dreams -- therefore I said concerning Abraham our father regarding prophecy, concerning the trial by God and taking the knife, and his ear was inclined to hear speedily, and when I searched all of Scripture I did not find the word 'fleeing,' only 'clinging.'
Concerning the word peney ('before,' lit. face-of) -- like: 'and from before You I will flee,' and 'Jephthah fled from before his brothers.' Now, I did not find in the prophecy of Jonah that Jonah fled 'mipney' [because of] the Lord, but rather 'milifney' [from before] the Lord. And it is written: 'As the LORD lives, before whom I have stood.' Now, all the time that one is receiving [prophecy], it is 'lifney' -- before the Lord; and so: 'And Cain went out from before the LORD' -- therefore, after it: 'and from before You I shall hide, for the face of the earth is before the LORD.' And it is further written: 'to enter into the clefts of the rocks and into the crevices of the cliffs, from the terror of the LORD'; and it wrote: 'to go with them to Tarshish from before the LORD.' And the wise will understand.
Radak
And the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying. This is the prophet concerning whom we have not seen a prophecy written for him except this one that he prophesied against Nineveh. But we found for him a prophecy, only it was not written, for it is written in the book of Kings: he restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel which He spoke by the hand of His servant Jonah son of Amittai the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher. And there is in this matter a dispute in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory. Some said: Jonah sought the honor of the son and did not seek the honor of the Father -- meaning to say, he had concern for the honor of Israel; therefore he fled to outside the Land, which is not a place of prophecy, in order that God should not send him to Nineveh, for he knew that they would be near to repentance, and there would thereby be punishment upon Israel. And he did not have concern for the honor of God blessed be He. And this is what is said: and the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time -- a second time He spoke with him, and not a third. And they raised an objection: Is it not written which He spoke by the hand of His servant Jonah son of Amittai the prophet? And they answered: concerning the affair of Nineveh He did not speak with him except the second time, and not a third. And some of them said: He did not speak with him except concerning the matter of Nineveh, and not concerning another matter, except the second time, and not a third. And what it says which He spoke by the hand of His servant Jonah son of Amittai -- meaning to say, just as the people of Nineveh turned from bad to good, so too in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash they turned from bad to good. And this prophet was from the tribe of Zebulun as appears, for Gath-hepher was the name of his city, and it was in the portion of Zebulun, as it is written: Gath-hepher, Eth-kazin. And one ought to ask: why was this prophecy written in the Holy Writings, and it is entirely about Nineveh which was among the nations of the world, and there is no mention of Israel in it, and none of the prophets is like it besides it? And we can explain that it was written as a moral lesson for Israel: behold, a foreign nation who are not of Israel was near to repentance, and in the first time that the prophet rebuked them they returned in complete repentance from their evil. But Israel -- the prophets rebuke them morning and evening, and they do not return from their wickedness. And furthermore, to make known the great wonder that God blessed be He did with the prophet, that he was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights and lived. And furthermore, that the fish vomited him up. And furthermore, to teach that God blessed be He has compassion on those who do repentance from whatever nation they may be, and forgives them -- and all the more so when they are many.
Malbim
Regarding "And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah": our Sages said (in the chapter of HeChalil) that Jonah was the son of Amittai from his mother's side, from the tribe of Asher; he was the son of the widow who sustained Elijah, and whom Elijah brought back to life. And from his father's side he was from the tribe of Zebulun, as it is written in Kings: "Jonah, son of Amittai, from Gath-hepher." And Gath-hepher was in the territory of Zebulun (Joshua 19:13). And it is clear from Kings that he was the one who anointed Jehu (as our Sages stated), and he prophesied to Jeroboam son of Joash that he would restore the boundary of Israel from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah. And none of this was of any avail, for Israel did not return in repentance until they were prepared to go into exile at the hand of the king of Assyria; indeed Assyria was already ruling over them. Therefore the Lord spoke to him.
’Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me.’
verse value 2523
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "go" (לֵ֧ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Nineveh" (אֶל־נִֽינְוֵ֛ה, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "on" (עָלֶ֑יהָ), "that·went·up" (כִּֽי־עָלְתָ֥ה), "their·evil" (רָעָתָ֖ם). 10 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root קום ("rise") in Jonah. First appearance of the root הלך ("go") in Jonah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'on', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: ק֠וּם [rise] (146) + לֵ֧ךְ [go] (50) + אֶל־נִֽינְוֵ֛ה [to·Nineveh] (152) + הָעִ֥יר [the·city] (285) + הַגְּדוֹלָ֖ה [the·great] (53) + וּקְרָ֣א [and·call] (307) + עָלֶ֑יהָ [on] (115) + כִּֽי־עָלְתָ֥ה [that·went·up] (535) + רָעָתָ֖ם [their·evil] (710) + לְפָנָֽי [to·my·face] (170) = 2523.
Rashi
"And proclaim over it." My proclamation.
Ibn Ezra
Arise, Nineveh -- the royal capital of Assyria, and it is today desolate. And the sages of Israel in the land of Greece say: that it is the one called 'Antiochia' -- but I do not know [this]. Now, He did not command him to say: 'Yet forty days,' but only that their evil had come up before [Him]. And he who explains: that he [Jonah] feared he would be called a false prophet when God relented from the evil -- did not speak correctly, for this reason was not given to him except the second time, for there it is written: 'the proclamation that I proclaim unto you' and it is still forty days. And furthermore: how would the prophet disobey the mouth of God because of his fear that the men of Nineveh would call him a false prophet, and what harm would this do him, since he would not dwell with them?! And furthermore: the men of Nineveh were not fools, for why would God send prophecy against them only that they return to Him, and if they do not return the decree would be fulfilled against them; and were it not that they knew this truth, that if they return to God He would relent from the evil -- how then would they call him a false prophet?! And the correct [view] is what our ancients, of blessed memory, said: that it grieved him [Jonah] that they would escape, for the sake of Israel. And behold we found it written: 'a great city to God' -- [meaning] they feared God from of old. And he who explains: that it was a great and precious city in God's eyes to destroy it -- this is not the way of language, for it is written: 'so may my soul be great in the eyes of the LORD' -- and not 'to the LORD'; and behold here it is written 'to God,' and it is written: 'all the nations are as nothing before Him,' and He would not care if they are many; and the meaning of 'to God' is that they feared God in former days, only now in Jonah's days they began to do evil, and were it not that they were initially God-fearing men He would not have sent His prophet to them. And behold we have seen that it repented with a complete repentance -- there is nothing like it -- and you will not find it written that they broke down the altars of the Baalim, or cut down idols; and behold from this we learn that they were not idolaters.
Radak
Arise, go to Nineveh, and cry against it, for their evil has come up before Me. And it did not write what he should cry against it, except from what is cried against it at the end, and Nineveh was overthrown -- we learn that this cry He told him to cry against it, for their evil has come up before Me. We learn that God blessed be He watches over even the nations of the world when their evil grows great in violence. And so too in the generation of the flood, and in the men of Sodom, for the earth was full of violence. And violence destroys the settling of the world, and God blessed be He desires the settling of the world. But in other sins they are not considered before Him such that He should watch over them, except in Israel alone, as it is said: you only have I known of all the families of the earth -- as explained in the prophecy of Amos.
Metzudat David
And proclaim against it. Meaning, that he shall reprove them and warn them, in the manner of a prophet; and He had still not explained to him what he should proclaim:
For their evil has come up. The evils that they commit have come up on high to stand before [God] to bring an indictment against them (and since Nineveh is the head of the kingdom of Assyria, the rod of the anger of the Omnipresent, blessed be He, He desired to bring them back to good, so that they would continue to be a strap of chastisement over Israel):
Malbim
Questions: We find nowhere that the Lord would send a prophet from the children of Israel specifically to go to a province among the nations and bring them back in repentance, for this is something exclusive to Israel, upon whom Divine providence rests, as our Sages of blessed memory said. And Scripture states explicitly, 'For the nations that you are dispossessing listen to soothsayers, etc. -- but as for you, not so -- etc. -- a prophet -- etc.' So what made the matter of Nineveh different, that He sent Jonah to them? And why did Jonah not heed the voice of the Lord -- should he not have run joyfully to turn people back from their evil way? And what does it matter that they are not of the children of Israel? And how did Jonah transgress the word of the Lord by suppressing his prophecy, when a prophet who suppresses his prophecy is liable to death? Why did it say, 'proclaim against it,' without specifying to him what he should proclaim? And the second time it said, 'proclaim against it the proclamation that I speak to you'?
"Arise, go to Nineveh, cry against it"—that they return in repentance. The mission was not for Nineveh's own sake, for we find that God did not send a prophet from Israel to turn gentiles back to repentance, for God's watchfulness did not attach itself to sending a prophet except to Israel. But the watchfulness over Nineveh was for Israel's sake: after Assyria was prepared to be the rod of God's wrath to oppress Israel, who had incurred judgment from the Omnipresent, God desired to turn them back in repentance, so that they would be prepared to carry out His decree against Israel. And also so that the complainer would not ask, "Why do You look on the treacherous and keep silent when the wicked devours the one more righteous than he?"—God desired to show that Assyria had more merit than Israel: they heard the words of the prophet and did repentance, while Israel hardened their necks and would not hear. And when Jonah knew that from this mission would grow harm for Israel, therefore he devised thoughts not to go on this mission. He preferred to lose himself at sea rather than be the cause of harm to Israel. And Abarbanel already wrote that for this reason our Sages said that Jonah demanded honor for the Son but not for the Father, and that he gave his life on behalf of Israel (as stated in Mekhilta, Parshat Bo), for in this depended the salvation of Israel and their honor for both reasons mentioned. Now, the first time He did not send him with a specific prophecy, as in the second time when He told him, "Cry against it the cry with which I command you"—namely what he cried out: "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." At that time the decree was not yet sealed, and He did not send him in the capacity of a prophet announcing a divine decree; if He had sent him in such a matter he would not have transgressed God's words, for "a prophet who suppresses his prophecy is liable to death." Rather, He told him simply "cry against it," meaning that he should cry in their ears words of moral instruction and reproof to turn them from their sins. And He explained to him that "their evil is come up before Me": when the evil rises in a full measure, the evil comes before God to bring accusations; then their evil comes and accuses them. And when the decree is sealed, then the evil descends—namely, the harsh decree from above downward. And at that time the decree was not yet sealed; only the evil was accusing them. And He sent him to admonish them, not to announce their sentence. Therefore Jonah reasoned that this did not fall under "a prophet who suppresses his prophecy," for he was not sent to prophesy but to admonish; he would only transgress a positive commandment that God commanded him to admonish. And therefore...
But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Hashem; and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, from the presence of Hashem.
verse value 6528
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 88 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "in·it" (בָּהּ֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Tarshish" (תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 1215: to·Tarshish, to·Tarshish. 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "Joppa" (יָפ֜וֹ), "and·found" (וַיִּמְצָ֥א), "ship" (אֳנִיָּ֣ה). The root תרשישה appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 26x in Jonah). First appearance of the root ברח ("to·flee") in Jonah. First appearance of the root תרשישה ("to·Tarshish") in Jonah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 15 words.
Rashi
“To flee to Tarshish.” Tarshish is the name of a sea, and it is outside the Land [of Israel]. He said, “I will flee to the sea, for the Divine Presence does not rest in the Diaspora.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “As you live, I have agents like you whom I can send after you to bring you back from there.” This is like a parable of a priest's slave who fled from his master and entered a cemetery. His master said to him, “I have slaves like you whom I can send after you to bring you back from there.” And what did Jonah see that made him unwilling to go to Nineveh? He said, “The idolaters are close to repentance. If I speak to them and they repent, then I will be found holding Israel accountable, for they do not heed the words of the prophets.”
"And he paid its fare." He paid its fare in advance; it is not the custom of seafarers to pay the fare of the ship until the time of departure, but he paid in advance. Moreover, he paid the fare for the entire journey.
Ibn Ezra
And he arose, and went down to Joppa -- The Gaon said: that Tarshish is Tarsus. And Rabbi Mevasser says: that it is the city of Tunis, in Africa.
And he paid its fare -- not all of the ship's fare, only what he was obligated to pay for his share.
Radak
And Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. How could he be able to flee, when David said: whither shall I flee from Your presence? Rather, "from before" [מלפני] is not the same as "from the presence of" [מפני], for the prophet was full of wisdom and knowledge, and how could he think to flee from the presence of the Lord? Rather, it was "from before the Lord" that he was thinking [of fleeing], for the meaning of "from before" speaks of one who is before the Lord, and that is the spirit of prophecy. For he thought that if he would go out from the Land of Israel to outside the Land, the spirit of prophecy would not rest upon him. And he refused to go on this mission, for Jonah said: the nations are near to repentance; and if I go to them on the mission of God blessed be He, they will return from their evil ways, and they [the people of Israel] will be found guilty, because I and the other prophets go to them constantly on the mission of God blessed be He, and they do not return from their evil ways. Therefore he refused to go on this mission. And so our Sages, of blessed memory, explained that because of this he refrained, for he said: the Divine Presence does not rest outside the Land. And because the nations are near to repentance, and in order not to render Israel guilty, he fled. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: I have one like you.
And the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea. Rabbi Berkhia said: A person seeks to flee, and flees to a place where he is able to stand [find refuge]. Could there be a person who flees to one who is himself a fugitive? The sea fled from before [God], as it is said: "the sea saw and fled" (Psalms 114:3) -- yet you fled to the sea? And the Targum Yonatan [renders] "from before the Lord": from before the One in Whose name he had prophesied.
And he went down to Jaffa. From his city, which is Gath-hepher, or from Jerusalem he went down to Jaffa, which is on the shore of the sea, and it is a harbor of ships. And one who enters the sea is called going down, as it is said: they that go down to the sea in ships -- for the shore of the sea is a low place opposite the rest of the dry land. And my master and father, of blessed memory, explained that he is called going down opposite the ship, which is deep, and he goes down into it, as it says: and he found a ship, and he went down into it. And so too it says: and Jonah went down to the inner parts of the ship, and so too: they that go down to the sea in ships.
And he found a ship going to Tarshish. "Coming" [בָּאָה] -- its accent is on the last syllable [milra], meaning to say that it was prepared to go and to come to Tarshish.
And he paid its fare. The fare that was due to be paid to it -- he said to pay it, or he paid it from the beginning. And in aggadic interpretation: he paid the fare of the entire ship in order that it would hasten to go and not wait for merchants and merchandise, because he wished to flee quickly. And they supported from this that prophecy does not rest except upon a wealthy person.
Metzudat David
To flee to Tarshish. That is outside the Land, a place where prophecy does not rest upon the prophets; hence it says, from before the Lord. Meaning, from the place that is before the Lord, and that is the Land of Israel, which is the place of receiving prophecy; for he feared that prophecy would come to him again and He would explain what he should cry out, and he would be compelled to go; and moreover, the preservation of Nineveh was evil for Israel, therefore he did not wish to be a messenger in the matter, for it was better in his eyes that they should remain in their wickedness and perish, and not be an adversary to Israel. And our Sages said that Jonah thought: the nations are close to repentance, and they will render Israel, who do not hasten to repent, culpable:
And went down to Jaffa. A place where ships set sail:
Going to Tarshish. It was prepared to go and come to Tarshish:
And he paid his fee. He hastened to pay the fare beforehand; moreover, he paid the fare for the entire ship so that it would hasten to depart:
To go with them. With the men of the ship:
Metzudat Zion
Tarshishah. To Tarshish — which is the name of a place.
Yafō. The name of the city by the harbor.
Oniyyā. A ship.
Malbim
Questions: Why did he flee to Tarshish? And if it was so that the word of God should not reach him, had not God already commanded him, and he refused to go on the mission—what difference whether he refused once or whether he refused twice? And why did he flee to the sea and not to the desert and from there to foreign lands? Yet the sea is ready for prophecy, as it is written that God revealed Himself to Ezekiel in foreign lands because he was in a place of waters. And the wording "ba'ah [comes to] Tarshish" is not grammatically correct; he should have said "holekhet Tarshishah [going to Tarshish]".
"And Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish." Because he feared lest He send him a second time and put a word of prophecy in his mouth that he would go in the capacity of a prophet, in which case he would be compelled to go. Therefore he hastened to flee from before the Lord. And Abarbanel already observed that there is a difference between "from before the Lord" and "from the presence of the Lord": "from the Lord" refers to His knowledge and watchfulness—and how can one flee from God's watchfulness, and where can one flee from before Him? But "from the presence of the Lord" comes to mean attachment and the indwelling of the Shekhinah, in that one stands and walks before the Lord and cleaves to Him. And he desired to flee to foreign lands where the Shekhinah does not rest, and from there He would not send him to prophesy. Now, he chose to go by sea rather than flee to foreign lands by desert, because prophecy could fall at times even in foreign lands, when the spirit came upon him once in the Land of Israel, as it is written regarding Ezekiel: "the word of the Lord came to him"—he prophesied in foreign lands because he had already prophesied in Israel. And Elijah, when he fled into the desert from Jezebel, saw Divine visions on Mount Horeb. Therefore he went up to the ship, for he reasoned that while on the ship the spirit of God would not come upon him: either because those who go to sea have unsettled minds from the distress of the sea until they reach land, as our Sages stated; or because then he would not be in solitude, for those on the ship were idol worshippers—all of which would prevent the Shekhinah from resting upon him. And this is what it says: "and he went down into it to go with them to Tarshish"—he desired to go with them in their company. And our Sages already explained that he paid the fare of the entire ship, as it says "and he paid the fare." And this is clear from what it says: "and he found a ship coming to Tarshish"—it should have said "a ship going to Tarshish." But the ship was now coming from Tarshish. It was the custom of ship-owners not to return immediately on the day of their arrival, but to wait several days until they found the complement of passengers crossing by that route to fill the ship's fare. And Jonah hastened to pay the fare of the entire ship. And he had two intentions in this: either that the ship would leave immediately, or that they would not find many souls on the ship. After he knew that those who crossed on the ship would be in danger, he did not want many souls to perish.
But Hashem hurled a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
verse value 1819
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 51 letters. Notable word values: "into·the·sea" (אֶל־הַיָּ֔ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "in·the·sea" (בַּיָּ֑ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "great·wind" (רֽוּחַ־גְּדוֹלָה֙, 8 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "and·Hashem" (וַֽיהֹוָ֗ה), "hurled" (הֵטִ֤יל), "great·wind" (רֽוּחַ־גְּדוֹלָה֙). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·Hashem" (root יהוה, 26x in Jonah). First appearance of the root טול ("hurled") in Jonah. First appearance of the root ים ("in·the·sea") in Jonah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·sea', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַֽיהֹוָ֗ה [and·Hashem] (32) + הֵטִ֤יל [hurled] (54) + רֽוּחַ־גְּדוֹלָה֙ [great·wind] (262) + אֶל־הַיָּ֔ם [into·the·sea] (86) + וַיְהִ֥י [and·it·was] (31) + סַֽעַר־גָּד֖וֹל [tempest·great] (373) + בַּיָּ֑ם [in·the·sea] (52) + וְהָ֣אֳנִיָּ֔ה [and·ship] (77) + חִשְּׁבָ֖ה [thought] (315) + לְהִשָּׁבֵֽר [to·be·broken] (537) = 1819.
Rashi
It was thought to be broken; it appeared as though it was breaking:
Ibn Ezra
And the LORD cast -- 'cast' is a figurative expression, and the reason is that He cast it [the wind] from the dry land; therefore they could not return [the ship] to the land, for this was only at the place where the sea joins the river, and it is close to the shore, for it is always rough for ships. And the proof that it was so, is that he said: 'And You cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; a river surrounded me.'
And the ship reckoned [it would break] -- like: 'when a land sins against Me.'
Radak
"And the Lord hurled"..."it thought to be broken" -- in the sense of an extended/figurative expression, meaning to say that the men of the ship thought that the ship would break apart.
Metzudat David
Cast. He sent forth and drew toward the sea a great wind, and there was a great storm at sea:
And the ship. Meaning, the men of the ship thought that the ship would break apart from the force of the wind driving it with much tossing and rocking from the lifting of the waves, and the heaviness of the ship cargo impeded the driving forward, and that was a cause for the ship breaking apart:
Metzudat Zion
Haṭṭēl. The sense of driving or propelling; for "and a driving wind" (Numbers 12) — Onkelos: nəṭal ("it went forth / set out").
Saʿar. A shaking of waves from the storm.
Chashavah. From the root meaning "to think, to calculate."
Malbim
"And the Lord cast a mighty wind into the sea." He explained that this wind was not the natural state of the sea at that time, for it was not the season for storms. Rather, God cast it by watchfulness. And sometimes a storm comes from the land, and then the wind blows from one side and drives the ship to the opposite side, and then the wind is found over the entire surface of the sea. But this wind stood in the depths of the sea from the waters themselves, for sometimes the wind comes from the abyss of the waters. "And it was around this ship." Our Sages already said that the other ships passed in peace, for there was no wind at all. And from this the sailors perceived that it was a providential punishment. And regarding "and the ship threatened to break apart," Abarbanel wrote that the ship would not break in mid-sea but would sink; it would not break unless the wind cast it upon the rocks of the shore. And therefore he explained that the men of the ship, from their fear that the ship would sink in the waves and breakers of the sea, devised thoughts to turn the ship toward land so that it would break there, in a way that some would be saved by being near the shore. And this is great difficulty, for afterward it says "and the men rowed to return to the shore." A complete verse (Ezekiel 27:26): "An east wind broke you in the midst of the sea." For the wind breaks the mast and sails of the ship, which are the ship's foundation, as it says in Gittin page 28.
And the mariners were afraid, and cried every man to his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it to them. But Jonah was gone down into the innermost parts of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
verse value 4311
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 94 letters. Notable word values: "into·the·sea" (אֶל־הַיָּ֔ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "man" (אִ֣ישׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·his·God" (אֶל־אֱלֹהָיו֒, 7 letters). 14 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "the·mariners" (הַמַּלָּחִ֗ים), "and·cried" (וַֽיִּזְעֲקוּ֮), "to·his·God" (אֶל־אֱלֹהָיו֒). The root איל appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root ירא ("and·feared") in Jonah. First appearance of the root איש ("man") in Jonah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·upon·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 6 words.
Rashi
The sailors. People who steer the ship:
“Every man to his god.” From the seventy nations of the gentiles, they were there.
Ibn Ezra
And the sailors feared -- the counselors of the ship, like: 'your sailors and your helmsmen.' Yefet said: that they were carrying salt.
To the sides of the ship -- to one of the sides of the ship, like: 'and he was buried in the cities of Gilead.'
And he lay and slept -- from the distress and rage of the sea; perhaps he had not entered [the lower part of] the ship before this.
Radak
And the mariners were afraid. They are the holders of the oars.
To the innermost part of the ship. To one of the hinder parts; and so too: "and he was buried in the cities of Gilead" (Judges 12:7), and: "a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9).
Metzudat David
And the mariners feared. Those who propelled the ship were frightened, and each of them cried out to pray to his own pagan deity:
And they cast. They threw the vessels from the ship into the sea to lighten the load upon it, so that it might be able to drive forward without impediment:
To the aftermost. Meaning, to one of the aft sections; likewise, and he was buried in the cities of Gilead (Judges 12:7):
Metzudat Zion
Ha-malachim. So are called the crewmen of the ship; and likewise "all the ships of the sea and their sailors" (Ezekiel 26).
Vayyatilu. The sense of casting away, like "and I will cast you" (Jeremiah 16).
Yarketay. Behind or side, like "the flank of the altar" (Leviticus 1).
Vayirdam. It is deep sleep; likewise "he fell asleep and was weary" (Judges 4).
Malbim
Questions: After he saw the danger, should he not have returned from his sin and said, "I have sinned," and told the ship-owners to take him back on the road to Assyria and fulfill the word of the Lord? Rather than losing himself at sea for nothing? And why did he go down into the hold of the ship? For it is known that when the ship sinks, those lying in the hold of the ship die first, unlike those who are on the ship above, who can be saved by a plank or the like. And why did he seek death?
"And the sailors feared." And through their fear they cried, each to his god, in that they believed that this wrath came through the anger of their gods. And they also took human measures: they cast the cargo that was on the ship into the sea so that the ship would lighten and rise on the waters and not sink. But Jonah went down into the hold of the vessel and lay down and slept. And his intention was that he feared that when the ship sank and he fell into the sea, God might command the waves of the sea to toss him from wave to wave until he was cast to land, like the case of Rabbi Akiva in Yevamot. Therefore he went down into the hold of the vessel. For there is a difference between a "vessel" and a "ship": a "vessel" refers to the part of the ship that is covered and enclosed above, and it is the lower chamber of the ship, from where one would not fall into the sea but the waters of the sea would come over him and he would drown there (as ruled in the responsa of the Mabit, who permitted the women whose husbands drowned in the chamber of the vessel [to remarry], since in his opinion it does not have the law of "waters that have no end," for the waters of the sea come into the chamber). And he also had another reason for this: since he knew that this storm was on his account, and if he died first the storm would cease and the people of the ship would be saved, he went down into the hold of the vessel, where the water would enter first and choke him, and then the people of the vessel who were standing above would be saved.
So the shipmaster came to him, and said to him: ‘What do you mean that you sleep? arise, call upon your God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.’
verse value 3336
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 68 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֖וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "great" (רַ֣ב, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·your·God" (אֶל־אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 47: to·him, perhaps. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "and·approached" (וַיִּקְרַ֤ב), "great" (רַ֣ב), "a cord" (הַחֹבֵ֔ל). 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 22x in Jonah). First appearance of the root אל ("to·him") in Jonah. First appearance of the root לו ("to·him") in Jonah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'sleeping', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 9 words.
Rashi
Rav HaChovel: The captain of the sailors, who are also called "chovlei hayam" (those who ply the sea), and in the foreign tongue, "Gubernayil."
What is it to you that you are asleep? What is it to you to be asleep? Now is not the time for sleep.
"It will be thought of." It is a term denoting thought, as in (Psalms 147): 'ashtonotav' [his thoughts], and 'u'malka ashit' [and the king intended/planned] (Daniel 7).
Ibn Ezra
And the captain came to him -- the leader, for 'sailors' -- they were the ones raising the ropes, the ropes of the mast. And Rabbi Moses said: from the root of 'stratagems.'
He will consider -- like: 'his thoughts (עשתונות) have perished'; and similarly: 'ashtei asar' (eleven), because that number is like two reckonings, general and particular; and similarly: 'God will think of me.'
Radak
And the captain came to him. The greatest among the sailors, for the sailors are called hovelim because they draw and untie the ropes of the mast according to their skill, and hovel is a general term for the handlers. And so too the Targum [renders it]: "rav safanaya" -- it is a noun of the same pattern as "the remainder" in "and the remainder we devoted to destruction" (1 Samuel 15:15). And likewise it will be a general term for the handlers, and he is the great one who leads the ship -- at his command the sailors draw and untie the ropes.
"Let him relent" [יתעשת] -- let him be appeased; and so too: "his thoughts have perished" (Psalms 146:4) -- the thoughts of his will. And so too in Aramaic: "u-malka ashit le-kadmuteih" -- meaning to say, he was pondering. And Targum Yonatan [renders it]: "yitrachem" -- let him have compassion.
Metzudat David
What is with you, O sleeper? What is with you that you fell asleep, as if saying, are you not sensing that we stand in danger?:
Call upon your god. Pray before Him:
Perhaps the god will think of us. Through prayer, perhaps the god will have regard for us so that we not perish:
Metzudat Zion
Rav ha-chovel. The officer, the leader of the ship; for "rav" means chief, likewise "the officers of the king" (Jeremiah 41); and the crewmen of the ship are called chovelim because they pull on the ropes of the sail to turn it toward the wind; likewise "they are your sailors" (Ezekiel 27).
Ulai. Its sense is like "perchance, perhaps."
Yitʿasēt. The matter of a plan or thought, like "his plans are destroyed" (Psalms 146).
Lānū. Upon us.
Velo naavad. The vav stands in place of a shin (meaning "lest"); likewise "and they shall take for Me an offering" (Exodus 25:2) — the meaning is that they should take.
Malbim
"And the captain came near him." He is the one who leads the ship, since all hope was lost from him of being saved by natural means. And he reasoned that this unusual storm that came only upon this ship was because of the decree that was sealed on the people of the ship. And when they all cry out to their gods it may be that God will be comforted and annul the decree. But when one of them is sleeping, not calling to God, then the decree will remain upon him, and the ship will sink on his account. And regarding this he said, "Arise, call to your God! Perhaps God will think of us," meaning perhaps He will change His thoughts to another thought and annul the decree, and we will not perish.
And they said every one to his fellow: ‘Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us.’ So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
verse value 4382
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 77 letters. Notable word values: "to·us" (לָ֑נוּ) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "man" (אִ֣ישׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·they·said" (וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 645: lots, lots. 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "to·shouting" (אֶל־רֵעֵ֗הוּ), "come" (לְכוּ֙), "and·let·us·cast" (וְנַפִּ֣ילָה). The root נפל appears 3 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 22x in Jonah). First appearance of the root נפל ("and·let·us·cast") in Jonah. First appearance of the root גורל ("lots") in Jonah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·us', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 5 words.
Rashi
“Come, let us cast lots.” They saw that the other ships were traveling safely on the sea, while theirs was breaking apart. They said, “It is because of one of us.” We find this in Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer:
"On whose account." Through the deeds of which of us [did this happen]?
Ibn Ezra
And they said -- Some say: that there were other ships there and they were able to leave, and this one alone was in distress, therefore they said: 'come and let us cast lots.'
For whom -- on account of whom; and similarly, ʿal ha-shal [2 Samuel 6:7].
Radak
And they said, Come, and let us cast lots. There is wonder in this matter: how did they think that because of the men of this ship there was a great tempest in the sea? And were there not other ships in the sea? And do all the ships that have a tempest in the sea cast lots among their men, [to know] on whose account the evil is? And I found in Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer: a great tempest came upon them in the sea, and to their right and to their left all the ships passed and returned in peace, in the calm of the sea. But the ship in which Jonah went down -- was in great distress, for it seemed about to break apart. They said: on whose account is this evil to us? -- let us know, on whose account is this evil to us, because of whom is it.
Metzudat David
And they said. The men of the ship:
Lots. They said, let us cast many lots, for they did not wish to rely on a single lot; for perhaps by chance it fell upon this man, but when it falls many times upon one person, it will appear that this is not chance:
On whose account. On account of whom has this evil of danger come upon us.
The lot. Meaning, every single lot:
Metzudat Zion
Lĕkhū. The sense of urgency.
Beshelmi. On account of whom?
Malbim
Questions: What was the counsel in casting lots? Would not the lot necessarily fall on one of them? And how does this clarify that he is the sinner? For it is possible that the storm came for all of them, and yet the lot would fall only on one alone. And why did it say "let us cast lots" in the plural, while everywhere one says "he cast the lot" in the singular, for the lot is singular in its judgment?
"And they said, each to his companion." Afterward they agreed to cast lots, by means of which they would know on whose account this evil [had come]. And its explanation: they would cast many lots one after another. If the sin depended on all of them, the lot would fall each time on a different person, and then they would know that all were liable. And if it fell each time on one person, then they would know that he was the liable one. Now, it might happen that even though the lot fell on one person, he was not the liable one through whom the storm came, but rather he was the man who knew who the liable one was and what was the cause of the evil. And this too is included in what it says, "and we shall know for what cause this evil is upon us." For the man upon whom the lot fell—either the evil is on his account, or he knows and will inform them for what cause the evil [came]. And the text relates that they cast many lots, and each time the lot fell on Jonah, not on anyone else.
Then said they to him: ‘Tell us, we pray you, for whose cause this evil is upon us: what is your occupation? and whence do you come? what is your country? and of what people are you?’
verse value 3849
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 72 letters. Notable word values: "to·us" (לָ֔נוּ) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "what?" (מָ֣ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "what·your·occupation" (מַה־מְּלַאכְתְּךָ֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 86: to·us, to·us. 10 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "tell·now" (הַגִּידָה־נָּ֣א), "in·that" (בַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר), "for·whom·the·evil" (לְמִי־הָרָעָ֥ה). The root לנו appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 22x in Jonah). First appearance of the root נגד ("tell·now") in Jonah. First appearance of the root אתה ("you") in Jonah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·us', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 8 words.
Rashi
"Tell us now, on whose account." Who sinned, that on account of this, this evil has come upon us?
"What is your work?" Perhaps you transgressed in your trade.
"And from where do you come?" Perhaps a decree was issued against the people of that place, even though you were not party to it.
"And of what people are you?" Perhaps your people have sinned.
Ibn Ezra
And they said -- He who explains: that they asked to know from what people he was, and from what land, perhaps a death decree fell upon them from heaven -- did not speak correctly, for if God decreed against a people, if there was not in the city one of them upon whom it was decreed, but only in another place with other people, why would the others fear, as if they were implicated because He decreed upon him alone to die. And it is the custom of most people to live from their livelihood, and a person's work points to his speech; and why did he enter to go to one place? And there are lands whose people are mostly good, and so it is known today.
Radak
And they said. Tell us now, on whose account is this evil to us. -- You are the one because of whom this distress came to us. Tell us: what is your occupation? -- for what sin have you been caught? What is your occupation? Perhaps it is an occupation of deceit and violence, and because of this you are guilty.
And where do you come from? Perhaps you fled because of an evil that you did there. And what is your country? Perhaps the people of your country are sons of the wicked.
And from what people are you? The mem is a formative [prefix] mem, as though inverted, as if it said: and from what people are you? -- or it may be explained without inversion: this people that you are from, which is it? Whether it is a people hated by the Name, blessed be He, for the wickedness of their deeds.
Metzudat David
Tell us now. Since all the lots fell upon you, tell us now: upon whom -- meaning, in what was the sin, and to whom did you sin, through whose cause this evil of danger came to us? And it is as if they said: if it was a matter of extortion, then it is possible to return the extortion; and if the wrong was done to someone in a matter of cursing or the like, it is possible to appease him with money:
What is your occupation? Meaning, perhaps you engage in a fraudulent occupation and defrauded many people, so that you do not know who is who to return to them the extortion:
And whence do you come? Meaning, perhaps you extorted in the place from which you came; and perhaps the journey is long and it is not possible to go there to return the extortion:
What is your country? Meaning, perhaps you did something contrary to the custom of your country, and as if you sinned against all of them, and who can appease them all?:
And of what people are you? The mem of function is, as it were, transposed, as if it said ומֵאֵי זֶה עַם אַתָּה (u-mei-zeh am attah, "and from what people are you") -- meaning, who is your god? And it is as if they said: perhaps you did something not according to the law of your god, and there is then no possibility of appeasing him with money:
Metzudat Zion
Na. Now.
Umeʾayin. From which place?
Malbim
Questions (verses 8-9): Why did they ask him all these many questions, and he did not answer all of them? And what he said, "the Lord I fear," is not an answer to their questions. And the words "on whose account"—their meaning is not known.
"And they said to him, tell us now, for what cause is this evil upon us." They asked two questions: (a) From the side that he himself was the sinner, they said, "Tell us for what cause is this evil upon us," namely, what sin did you sin for which the evil came. (b) And from the side that he was not the sinner but only knew who the sinner was, they said, "Tell us to whom this evil is upon us," meaning, who among us is causing this. And they added to ask: "What is your occupation, and whence come you, what is your country, and of what people are you?" Because the ancients believed that there was a special ruler over the sea, the god of the sea. And they foolishly imagined about him that he had animosity toward certain specific artisans, whom he did not allow to cross the sea. And therefore they asked, "What is your occupation?" And similarly they said that he had animosity toward specific places, and did not accept people who entered the sea from those places; and therefore they said, "Whence come you?" And similarly that he had animosity toward specific lands, whose inhabitants he hated, and toward specific peoples—according to the vain beliefs of the ancient gentiles. And on this they asked, "What is your country, and of what people are you?".
And he said to them: ‘I am an Hebrew; and I fear Hashem, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land.’
verse value 3913
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 59 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. Verse gematria: 3913 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "I" (אֲנִ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·dry·land" (וְאֶת־הַיַּבָּשָֽׁה, 8 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "Hebrew" (עִבְרִ֣י), "and·Hashem" (וְאֶת־יְהֹוָ֞ה), "heaven" (הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·Hashem" (root יהוה, 26x in Jonah); "and·said" (root אמר, 22x in Jonah). First appearance of the root אני ("I") in Jonah. First appearance of the root יבשה ("and·the·dry·land") in Jonah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 8 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֥אמֶר [and·said] (257) + אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם [to·them] (86) + עִבְרִ֣י [Hebrew] (282) + אָנֹ֑כִי [I] (81) + וְאֶת־יְהֹוָ֞ה [and·Hashem] (433) + אֱלֹהֵ֤י [the·God·of] (46) + הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ [heaven] (395) + אֲנִ֣י [I] (61) + יָרֵ֔א [feared] (211) + אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֥ה [who·made] (876) + אֶת־הַיָּ֖ם [the·sea] (456) + וְאֶת־הַיַּבָּשָֽׁה [and·the·dry·land] (729) = 3913.
Ibn Ezra
And he said -- he answered them concerning the last [question]: that he is of the children of Ever, who are called [so] because they hold the faith of Ever the first, who is the father of all the children of Ever; and he has no fear except of God, from before whom he was fleeing; and he mentioned heaven, earth, and sea; and the meaning is: so that I may know that He acts and rules over all.
Radak
And he said. He answered them with two things in response to their question. Since he said to them: I am a Hebrew -- they knew his people and his land. And since he said: the Lord God of heaven I fear -- he answered their question what is your occupation? for his occupation is not an occupation of deceit, but he fears the Lord and does no wrong. And what he said: who made the sea and the dry land -- because they had a tempest in the sea, he said that God blessed be He made the sea, and He hurled the wind of the tempest into it, and He will quiet it when He wills, and bring us out to the dry land. And he said concerning the heavens God of [heaven], for He guides and judges them. And he said concerning the earth who made [it], whose meaning is set in order, for it was not created from the beginning set in order for the need of the creatures, until the waters were gathered.
Metzudat David
I am a Hebrew. As if saying, you have no need to ask all these questions, for I have not sinned against any human being. And therefore, regarding the question you asked last -- and of what people are you? -- to this he answered: I am a Hebrew. And for additional explanation he said: and the Lord, the God of Heaven, I fear. And as if he thereby indicates that it was against Him [God] that he had sinned:
Who made the sea and the dry land. Meaning, just as He made the dry land, so He made the sea; and in every place His hand rules; and as if he says, behold, even at sea the hand of the Lord has found me, and as if He will compel me to go to prophesy against Nineveh. And this is [Jonah's own] declaration to the Most High: in vain did I flee, thinking that here the word of the Lord would not reach me, and behold, it has, as it were, reached me even here:
Metzudat Zion
Ivri. So are called the Children of Israel; likewise 'one of the children of the Hebrews' (Exodus 1) — because their ancestral source is from across the river.
Malbim
"And he said to them, I am a Hebrew." This is a general answer to all the questions: that he is a Hebrew, and Hebrews are travelers of the sea in ships, and the sea does not oppose them, nor their land, nor the places of their land, for "they dwell at the shores of the seas." And regarding "what is your occupation," he said, "the Lord God of heaven I fear"—he is a prophet attached to God Most High, and the sea does not oppose his occupation and his fear of God.
Because the Lord made the sea and the dry land, and He rules over the swelling of the sea—this was the answer to the four latter questions. And certainly he also answered the main question they asked, about what this evil was, and he informed them that he was fleeing from before the Lord, as it says in the following verse. And Abarbanel explained that what it says, "the Lord I fear," means that I fear His punishment for having fled from before Him.
Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said to him: ‘What is this that you have done?’ For the men knew that he fled from the presence of Hashem, because he had told them.
verse value 3587
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 78 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·from·before" (כִּֽי־מִלִּפְנֵ֤י, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 406: man, man. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "what·is·this" (מַה־זֹּ֣את), "for·knew" (כִּֽי־יָדְע֣וּ), "that·from·before" (כִּֽי־מִלִּפְנֵ֤י). The root ירא appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 26x in Jonah); "and·they·said" (root אמר, 22x in Jonah). First appearance of the root עשה ("you·did") in Jonah. First appearance of the root כי ("for") in Jonah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·did', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 9 words.
Rashi
"What have you done? Why did you act in this manner, to flee from such a ruler?"
Ibn Ezra
And they feared -- corresponding to what he said, 'I fear.' And they said to him: 'What is this?' -- the meaning: how have you done this, to flee from before God? For he [Jonah] had revealed his secret to them.
Radak
And they were afraid. For he told them: when he said to them and the Lord God of heaven I fear -- they said to him: if so, how was this tempest because of you? He said to them: I am a prophet, and God blessed be He was sending me to Nineveh, and it was hard in my eyes to go to them, and I fled from this, and I went out from the Land of Israel which is the place of prophecy.
Metzudat David
And they feared greatly. Upon hearing that he sinned against the Lord, and there is then no possibility of appeasement with money, therefore they feared exceedingly:
What is this you have done? They did not speak as questioners but as expressing astonishment, as if saying, how have you done such a thing, to rebel against the word of the Lord and flee from the place of prophecy? And its parallel is, what have you done that you stole my heart (Genesis 31:26), which is a matter of astonishment:
For the men knew. It was known to them that he was fleeing from before the Lord, from the place of prophecy:
For he had told them. Meaning, from the words that he spoke, they understood the truth of the matter, as if he told them explicitly:
Malbim
"And the men feared a great fear." For what it said at first, "and the sailors feared," was the fear of danger. But this fear was the fear of God, which is great in its distinction according to the greatness of the essence they feared from Him. "And they said to him, what is this you have done!" See the commentators who reproached him for the evil of his deed, namely, how did you do such an evil thing—to flee from before the Lord? And it explains that they knew this because he told them, as stated in the previous verse.
Then said they to him: ‘What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm to us?’ for the sea grew more and more tempestuous.
verse value 2389
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 45 letters. The shortest word is "to·you" (לָּ֔ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·they·said" (וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 55: sea, sea. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "what?·shall·we·do" (מַה־נַּ֣עֲשֶׂה), "from·upon·us" (מֵֽעָלֵ֑ינוּ). The root ים appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 22x in Jonah). First appearance of the root סער ("and·tempesting") in Jonah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·upon·us', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ [and·they·said] (263) + אֵלָיו֙ [to·him] (47) + מַה־נַּ֣עֲשֶׂה [what?·shall·we·do] (470) + לָּ֔ךְ [to·you] (50) + וְיִשְׁתֹּ֥ק [and·will·be·quiet] (816) + הַיָּ֖ם [sea] (55) + מֵֽעָלֵ֑ינוּ [from·upon·us] (206) + כִּ֥י [for] (30) + הַיָּ֖ם [sea] (55) + הוֹלֵ֥ךְ [going] (61) + וְסֹעֵֽר [and·tempesting] (336) = 2389.
Ibn Ezra
And they said, 'What shall we do' -- the meaning: give us counsel, what shall we do.
And the sea was still -- like: 'and they rejoiced and were silent.'
Radak
And they said. For the sea goes and rages. For we have no hope that the sea will be quiet, for behold it goes and rages more and more.
And the sea will be quiet. A place of the noise of its waves; and so too it says: and they were glad when it was quiet.
Metzudat David
What shall we do to you? What shall we do with you so that the sea will be quiet toward us and will not continue to thunder again with the lifting of the waves?:
For the sea was tempestuous. Meaning, behold, the sea thunders with its waves each time more and more; and therefore there is no leisure to delay and settle upon a matter. For this reason, you say to us: what shall we do with you? And so it shall be done:
Metzudat Zion
Vesoʿer. Shaking by the raising of the waves from the storm.
Malbim
Questions: And what is the question "what shall we do to you"? Had they not already cast lots to know whom to cast into the sea, according to their custom? And even if he had answered that he had sinned nothing, they would still have cast him out.
"And they said to him, what shall we do to you?" They asked him if he desired to return in repentance and take upon himself to go to Nineveh. And perhaps there would be a remedy for them by their returning with him to go to the shore that leads to Nineveh, or by bringing him back to Israel again—and through this the sea would be quiet from us.
And he said to them: ‘Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm to you; for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.’
verse value 3120
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 73 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. Verse gematria: 3120 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֚י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·cast·me" (וַהֲטִילֻ֣נִי, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 86: to·them, into·the·sea. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "lift·me" (שָׂא֙וּנִי֙), "and·cast·me" (וַהֲטִילֻ֣נִי), "from·upon·you" (מֵֽעֲלֵיכֶ֑ם). The root על appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 22x in Jonah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·upon·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 9 words.
Ibn Ezra
And he said -- [he was] desiring and seeking death, rather than have to return to Nineveh; and he would not have said this to them, had he not heard from their mouths that they would cast him [overboard].
Radak
And he said, Because of me. On my account -- that is to say, because of the sin that is mine.
Metzudat David
Take me up. Take me and throw me into the sea, and surely the sea will be quiet toward you, for I know that because of me this great storm came upon you:
Metzudat Zion
Sʾōni. The sense of taking.
Vahaṭiluni. The sense of casting.
Bishēli. On account of me.
Malbim
"And he said to them, pick me up and cast me into the sea." Meaning, I do not desire to return and I do not desire to go to Nineveh. And therefore the storm is not in order to turn me back to my land or to Nineveh. For the storm came to punish me for the past, for I disobeyed the word of the Lord. And this I know clearly: the storm is not for your sake, to punish you for taking me to Tarshish, for this is not God's intention. Rather, on my account this great storm is upon you—to punish me alone, not for your sake. And when I sink in the sea, the sea will be quiet from you.
Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not; for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.
verse value 2476
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·the·dry·land" (אֶל־הַיַּבָּשָׁ֖ה, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "and·they·dug" (וַיַּחְתְּר֣וּ), "to·bring·back" (לְהָשִׁ֛יב), "were·able" (יָכֹ֑לוּ). 11 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root שוב ("to·bring·back") in Jonah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'were·able', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיַּחְתְּר֣וּ [and·they·dug] (630) + הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים [man] (406) + לְהָשִׁ֛יב [to·bring·back] (347) + אֶל־הַיַּבָּשָׁ֖ה [to·the·dry·land] (353) + וְלֹ֣א [and·not] (37) + יָכֹ֑לוּ [were·able] (66) + כִּ֣י [for] (30) + הַיָּ֔ם [sea] (55) + הוֹלֵ֥ךְ [going] (61) + וְסֹעֵ֖ר [and·tempesting] (336) + עֲלֵיהֶֽם [upon·them] (155) = 2476.
Rashi
"And the men rowed hard." They toiled and strove, like one who tunnels through a breach [as a burglar].
Ibn Ezra
And they rowed -- its meaning is 'and they had already rowed.'
And the word 'vayyachteru' -- because those who wield the oars are similar to diggers [the rowing motion resembles digging].
Radak
And they rowed. They grasped the oars to bring the ship to the dry land, for the one who holds the oar and leads it in the sea is like one who digs [i.e., rows] in the sea. And Targum Yonatan [renders]: veshaitin [and they rowed]. And what he said 'to return' -- because the ship had departed from the dry land, and when it comes out to the dry land, behold it is returning to it.
Metzudat David
And they rowed. They labored with the oars to bring the ship back to the shore, in the expectation that there they would take Jonah to the shore and they themselves would go on their way:
It went on storming against them. Meaning, the raging of the waves was upon them from the shore, opposite their faces, pushing the ship out into the sea:
Metzudat Zion
Vayachataru. The sense of digging; likewise "if they dig into Sheol" (Amos 9:2). The meaning is that they rowed with their oars in the sea, and it appeared as though they were digging into the sea.
Malbim
Questions: And why did they row now to return to the shore and not do this immediately?
"And the men rowed." And they desired to test this in that they rowed to return to the shore and go back to Jaffa. And if God's main intention was to bring him back to his land from which he fled, should they not be able to return to the shore and bring the fugitive back to his master? But they could not, for the sea continued to storm after Jonah did not return in repentance: he did not bring the storm to silence.
Wherefore they cried to Hashem, and said: ‘We beseech You, O Hashem, we beseech You, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for You, O Hashem, have done as it pleased You.’
verse value 5233
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 83 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "blood" (דָּ֣ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·they·called" (וַיִּקְרְא֨וּ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 26: Hashem, Hashem. 11 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "please·not" (אַל־נָ֣א), "perish" (נֹאבְדָ֗ה), "in·soul·of" (בְּנֶ֙פֶשׁ֙). The root יהוה appears 3 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 26x in Jonah); "and·they·said" (root אמר, 22x in Jonah). First appearance of the root נפש ("in·soul·of") in Jonah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'clean', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 5 words.
Rashi
“Concerning the soul of that man.” Because of the sin of a hand having been laid against his life.
Ibn Ezra
And they cried out -- they all believed in the glorious Name and returned to cry out to Him.
"On account of [this man's] life" -- [meaning] 'for the sake of,' like: 'Jacob served for Rachel.'
As you wished -- for it was clarified to them that because of him the sea was stormy.
Radak
And they cried. It is clear.
Please. With a heh.
Innocent. With an aleph, like those [words] that have an aleph: navi [prophet], nasi [prince].
Metzudat David
Far be it from us that we perish. Let us not now perish through the sin of extending a hand against the soul of this man to throw him into the sea:
And do not lay upon us innocent blood. Meaning, do not count against us as if we shed innocent blood:
For you, O Lord. Meaning, is it not that all is in Your hand, and You have always done as You desired? And if it was Your desire to kill him not through our hands, is it not that there is no restraint in Your hand to kill him alone? But surely the decree is to kill him through our hands:
Metzudat Zion
Ana. The sense of a plea, like "I pray, O Lord, save now" (Psalms 118:25).
Malbim
"And they cried out...' Oh please, let us not perish on account of the life of this man.'" Meaning, if we do not cast him into the sea, will we not perish because of this man's life? For through his sinful life we all perish, and this is not fitting. And if we cast him into the sea, on this account we beseech: do not lay upon us innocent blood, to punish us for his drowning (for even one who is liable to punishment from Heaven and receives his punishment through human hands—the one who kills him is [nonetheless] punished, as it says, "and also the nation whom they shall serve I will judge" [Genesis 15:14], and as they [the Sages] said regarding [the verse] "and God caused it to come to his hand" [Exodus 21:13]).
"For You, O Lord, as You willed, You have done." Meaning, this deed is not attributed to us but to You, who raised the storm and desired to drown him in the sea, and You have done it. For we are compelled to do this, since if we do not cast him into the sea we will all sink. Therefore the deed is attributed to You, not to us.
So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging.
verse value 1335
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 35 letters. Notable word values: "into·the·sea" (אֶל־הַיָּ֑ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "sea" (הַיָּ֖ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "Jonah" (אֶת־יוֹנָ֔ה, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "and·they·lifted" (וַיִּשְׂאוּ֙), "and·cast·him" (וַיְטִלֻ֖הוּ), "and·stood" (וַיַּעֲמֹ֥ד). 7 unique roots are used. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'into·the·sea', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיִּשְׂאוּ֙ [and·they·lifted] (323) + אֶת־יוֹנָ֔ה [Jonah] (472) + וַיְטִלֻ֖הוּ [and·cast·him] (66) + אֶל־הַיָּ֑ם [into·the·sea] (86) + וַיַּעֲמֹ֥ד [and·stood] (130) + הַיָּ֖ם [sea] (55) + מִזַּעְפּֽוֹ [from·its·raging] (203) = 1335.
Ibn Ezra
And they took, from his rage -- figuratively, like: 'furious.'
Radak
And they lifted. It is clear.
Metzudat David
And the sea stood still. It was silent and calmed from the fury of the roaring of its waves:
Metzudat Zion
Vayaʿamod. The sense of ceasing or becoming still, like "they stood, they answered no more" (Job 32).
Miztzaʿapo. The sense of anger, like "I will bear the indignation of the LORD" (Micah 7); regarding the shaking of the waves he says that then it appears as though the sea is angry and enraged.
Malbim
"And they took Jonah and cast him into the sea." Our Sages explained that they first cast part of his body and the sea quieted, and when they lifted him up the storm returned. And this is hinted in what it says "and they took and cast him," that they did not cast him immediately but first held him in their hands and performed many tests, and they saw that by casting him in the sea, it ceased from its storm—in a way that they did not cast him into the sea without examination. For they had many examinations: whether from the quality of the storm that was only on this ship, or from the multitude of lots that all fell on Jonah, or from his own admission, or from the final test that whenever they immersed him in the sea it ceased from its storm.
Then the men feared Hashem exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice to Hashem, and made vows.
verse value 1972
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 51 letters. The shortest word is "fear" (יִרְאָ֥ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·sacrificed·a·sacrifice" (וַיִּֽזְבְּחוּ־זֶ֙בַח֙, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 56: and·sacrificed·a·sacrifice, to·Hashem. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Jonah. Unique to this verse in Jonah (hapax): "and·sacrificed·a·sacrifice" (וַיִּֽזְבְּחוּ־זֶ֙בַח֙), "and·they·vowed" (וַֽיִּדְּר֖וּ), "vows" (נְדָרִֽים). The root ירא appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 26x in Jonah). First appearance of the root נדר ("and·they·vowed") in Jonah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיִּֽירְא֧וּ [and·feared] (233) + הָאֲנָשִׁ֛ים [man] (406) + יִרְאָ֥ה [fear] (216) + גְדוֹלָ֖ה [great] (48) + אֶת־יְהֹוָ֑ה [Hashem] (427) + וַיִּֽזְבְּחוּ־זֶ֙בַח֙ [and·sacrificed·a·sacrifice] (56) + לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה [to·Hashem] (56) + וַֽיִּדְּר֖וּ [and·they·vowed] (226) + נְדָרִֽים [vows] (304) = 1972.
Rashi
And they made vows. That they would convert:
Ibn Ezra
And they feared, and sacrificed -- after their going ashore.
Radak
And they feared. And they offered a sacrifice. How did they offer a sacrifice on the ship? Rather, its meaning is as in its Targum: and they said, 'to offer a sacrifice before the Lord.'
And they made vows. Other vows besides the sacrifice, such as to give charity to the poor.
Metzudat David
And the men feared the Lord greatly. Upon seeing the providence of the Almighty and His might:
And they offered a sacrifice. Meaning, they undertook for themselves to sacrifice to the Lord in the Temple:
And they made vows. To distribute charity to the poor:
Ibn Ezra
Radak
Malbim