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Jonah
Chapter Four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JONAH 4
This
chapter gives us an account of Jonah's displeasure at the repentance of the
Ninevites, and at the Lord's showing mercy unto them, Jonah 4:1; the
angry prayer of Jonah upon it, Jonah 4:2; the
Lord's gentle reproof of him for it, Jonah 4:4; his
conduct upon that, Jonah 4:5; the
gourd prepared for him; its rise, usefulness, and destruction, which raised
different passions in Jonah, Jonah 4:6; the
improvement the Lord made of this to rebuke Jonah, for his displicency at the
mercy he showed to the Ninevites, and to convict him of his folly, Jonah 4:9.
Jonah 4:1 But
it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry.
YLT
1And it is grievous unto
Jonah -- a great evil -- and he is displeased at it;
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. Jonah was
"mirabilis homo", as one calls him, an "amazing man"; the
strangest, oddest, and most out of the way man, for a good man and a prophet,
as one shall ever hear or read of. Displeased he was at that, which one would
have thought he would have exceedingly rejoiced at, the success of his
ministry, as all good men, prophets, and ministers of the word, do; nothing
grieves them more than the hardness of men's hearts, and the failure of their labours;
and nothing more rejoices them than the conversion of sinners by them; but
Jonah is displeased at the repentance of the Ninevites through his preaching,
and at the mercy of God showed unto them: displeased at that, on account of
which there is joy in heaven among the divine Persons, Father, Son, and Spirit,
and among the holy angels, even over one repenting sinner; and much more over
many thousands, as in this case: displeased at that which is the grudge, the
envy, and spite of devils, and which they do all they can to hinder: and the
more strange it is that Jonah should act such a part at this time, when he
himself had just received mercy of the Lord in so extraordinary a manner as to
be delivered out of the fish's belly, even out of the belly of hell; which one
would think would have warmed his heart with love, not only to God, but to the
souls of men, and caused him to have rejoiced that others were sharers with him
in the same grace and mercy, reasons of this strange conduct, if they may be
called reasons, are supposed to be these: one reason was, his own honour, which
he thought lay at stake, and that he should be reckoned a false prophet if
Nineveh was not destroyed at the time he had fixed; but the proviso implied,
though not expressed,
"except
ye repent,'
secured
his character; which was the sense of the divine Being, and so the Ninevites
understood it, or at least hoped this was the case, and therefore repented, and
which the mercy shown them confirmed: nor had Jonah any reason to fear they would
have reproached him with such an imputation to his character; but, on the
contrary, would have caressed him as the most welcome person that ever came to
their city, and had been the instrument of showing them their sin and danger,
and of bringing them to repentance, and so of saving them from threatened ruin;
and they did him honour by believing at once what he said, and by repenting at
his preaching; and which is testified by Christ, and stands recorded to his
honour, and will be transmitted to the latest posterity: another reason was his
prejudice to the Gentiles, which was unreasonable for, though this was the
foible of the Jewish nation, begrudging that any favours should be bestowed
upon the Gentiles, or prophesied of them; see Romans 10:19; yet a
prophet should have divested himself of such prejudices, as Isaiah and others
did; and, especially when he found his ministry was so blessed among them, he
should have been silent, and glorified God for his mercy, and said, as the
converted Jews did in Peter's time, "then God hath granted unto the
Gentiles repentance unto life", Acts 11:18; to do
otherwise, and as Jonah did, was to act like the unbelieving Jews, who
"forbid" the apostles to "preach to the Gentiles, that they
might be saved", 1 Thessalonians 2:16.
A third reason supposed is the honour of his own countrymen, which he thought
would be reflected on, and might issue in their ruin, they not returning from
their evil ways, when the Heathens did: a poor weak reason this! with what
advantage might he have returned to his own country? with what force of
argument might he have accosted them, and upbraided them with their impenitence
and unbelief; that Gentiles at one sermon should repent in sackcloth and ashes,
when they had the prophets one after another sent them, and without effect? and
who knows what might have been the issue of this? lastly, the glory of God
might be pretended; that he would be reckoned a liar, and his word a falsehood,
and be derided as such by atheists and unbelievers; but here was no danger of
this from these penitent ones; and, besides, the proviso before mentioned
secured the truth and veracity of God; and who was honoured by these persons,
by their immediate faith in him, and repentance towards him; and his grace and
mercy were as much glorified in the salvation of them as his justice would have
been in their destruction.
Jonah 4:2 2 So
he prayed to the Lord,
and said, “Ah, Lord,
was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled
previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful
God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing
harm.
YLT
2and he prayeth unto
Jehovah, and he saith, `I pray Thee, O Jehovah, is not this my word while I was
in mine own land -- therefore I was beforehand to flee to Tarshish -- that I
have known that Thou [art] a God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and
abundant in kindness, and repenting of evil?
And he prayed unto the Lord,.... But in a very
different manner from his praying in the fish's belly: this was a very
disorderly prayer, put up in the hurry of his spirit, and in the heat of
passion: prayer should be fervent indeed, but not like that of a man in a
fever; there should be a warmth and ardour of affection in it, but it should be
without wrath, as well as without doubting: this is called a prayer, because
Jonah thought it to be so, and put it up to the Lord as one. It begins in the
form of a prayer; and it ends with a petition, though an unlawful one; and has
nothing of true and right prayer in it; no celebration of the divine Being, and
his perfections; no confession of sin, ore petition for any blessing of
providence or grace; but mere wrangling, contending, and quarrelling with God:
and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when
I was yet in my country? in Judea, or in Galilee, at Gathhepher; was not this what I
thought and said within myself, and to thee, that this would be the issue and
consequence of going to the Ninevites; they would repent of their sins, and
thou wouldst forgive them; and so thou wouldst be reckoned a liar, and I a
false prophet? and now things are come to pass just as I thought and said they
would: and thus he suggests that he had a greater or better foresight of things
than God himself; and that it would have been better if his saying had been
attended unto, and not the order of him to Nineveh; how audacious and insolent
was this!
therefore I fled before unto Tarshish; before he
could have a second order to Nineveh: here he justifies his flight to Tarshish,
as if he had good reason for it; and that it would have been better if he had
not been stopped in his flight, and had gone to Tarshish, and not have gone to
Nineveh. This is amazing, after such severe corrections for his flight, and
after such success at Nineveh:
for I know that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow
to anger,
and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil; this he knew
from his own experience, for which he had reason to be thankful, and from the
proclamation of God, in Exodus 34:6; which
be seems to have respect unto; and a glorious one it is, though Jonah seems to
twit and upbraid the Lord with his grace and mercy to men, as if it was a
weakness and infirmity in him, whereas it is his highest glory, Exodus 33:18; he
seems to speak of him, and represent him, as if he was all mercy, and nothing
else; which is a wrong representation of him; for he is righteous as well as
merciful; and in the same place where he proclaims himself to be so, he
declares that he will "by no means clear the guilty", Exodus 34:7, but
here we see that good men, and prophets, and ministers of the word, are men of
like passions with others, and some of greater passions; and here we have an
instance of the prevailing corruptions of good men, and how they break out
again, even after they have been scourged for them; for afflictions, though
they are corrections for sin, and do restrain it, and humble for it, and both purge
and prevent it, yet do not wholly remove it.
Jonah 4:3 3 Therefore
now, O Lord,
please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to
live!”
YLT
3And now, O Jehovah, take, I
pray Thee, my soul from me, for better [is] my death than my life.'
Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me,.... Or,
"my soul"F24את נפשי "animam meam", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus,
Junius & Tremellins, Piscator, Drusius, Cocceius. . This, as Drusius
remarks, may be observed against those that think the soul is not immortal; for
by this it appears that it my be taken from the body, and that it exists
separate from it, and does not die with it; and since the body dies upon its
removal, for "the body without the spirit is dead", as James says;
death is expressed by this phrase, Job 27:8; here
Jonah allows that God is the God of life, the author and giver of it, and is
the sole disposer of it; it is in his own power to take it away, and not man's:
so far Jonah was right, that he did not in his passion attempt to take away his
own life; only desires the Lord to do it, though in that he is not to be
justified; for though it may be lawful for good men to desire to die, with
submission to the will of God; that they might be free from sin, and serve him
without it, and be with Christ, and in the enjoyment of the divine Presence, as
the Apostle Paul and others did, 2 Corinthians 5:6;
but not through discontent, as Elijah, 1 Kings 19:4; or
merely to be rid of troubles, and to be free from pain and afflictions, as Job,
Job 6:1; and much
less in a pet and passion, as Jonah here, giving this reason for it,
for it is better for me to die than to live; not being
able to bear the reproach of being a false prophet, which he imagined would be
cast upon him; or, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi, that he might not see the evil come
upon Israel, which he feared the repentance of the Ninevites would be the
occasion of, Jonah was in a very poor frame of spirit to die in; this would not
have been dying in faith and hope in God; which graces cannot be thought to be
in lively exercise in him when he was quarrelling with God; neither in love to
God, with whom he was angry; nor in love to men, at whose repentance, and
finding mercy with the Lord, he was displeased.
Jonah 4:4 4 Then
the Lord
said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
YLT
4And Jehovah saith, `Is
doing good displeasing to thee?'
Then said the Lord, dost thou well to be angry? A mild and
gentle reproof this; which shows him to be a God gracious and merciful, and
slow to anger; he might have answered Jonah's passionate wish, and struck him
dead at once, as Ananias and Sapphira were; but he only puts this question, and
leaves it with him to consider of. Some render it, "is doing good displeasing
to thee?"F25ההיטב חרה
לך "num benefacere ira est tibi?" Montanus.
art thou angry at that, because I do good to whom I will? so R. Japhet, as Aben
Ezra observes, though he disapproves of it: according to this the sense is, is
doing good to the Ninevites, showing mercy to them upon their repentance, such
an eyesore to thee? is thine eye evil, because mine is good? so the Scribes and
Pharisees indeed were displeased with Christ for conversing with publicans and
sinners, which was for the good of their souls; and the elder brother was angry
with his father for receiving the prodigal; and of the same cast Jonah seems to
be, at least at this time, being under the power of his corruptions. There
seems to be an emphasis upon the word "thou"; dost "thou"
well to be angry? what, "thou", a creature, be angry with his
Creator; a worm, a potsherd of the earth, with the God of heaven and earth?
what, "thou", that hast received mercy thyself in such an
extraordinary manner, and so lately, and be angry at mercy shown to others?
what, "thou", a prophet of the Lord, that should have at heart the
good of immortal souls, and be displeased that thy ministry has been the means
of the conversion and repentance of so many thousands? is there any just cause
for all this anger? no, it is a causeless one; and this is put to the
conscience of Jonah; he himself is made judge in his own cause; and it looks as
if, upon self-reflection and reconsideration, when his passions cooled and
subsided, that he was self-convicted and self-condemned, since no answer is
returned. The Targum is,
"art
thou exceeding angry?'
and
so other interpreters, Jewish and ChristianF26"Nonne vehemens
ira est tibi?" Pagninus; "numquid vehementer indignaris, multumne
(valdene) iratus est?" Vatablus; so Kimchi and R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed,
fol. 47. 2. , understand it of the vehemency of his anger.
Jonah 4:5 5 So
Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made
himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would
become of the city.
YLT
5And Jonah goeth forth from
the city, and sitteth on the east of the city, and maketh to himself there a
booth, and sitteth under it in the shade, till that he seeth what is in the
city.
So Jonah went out of the city,.... Had not the
inhabitants of it repented, he had done right to go out of it, and shake the
dust of his feet against it; or, in such a case, had he gone out of it, as Lot
out of Sodom, when just going to be overthrown; but Jonah went out in a sullen
fit, because it was to be spared; though some render the words, "now Jonah
had gone out of the city"F1ויצא
"exicrat autem", Mercerus; "exivit", Cocceius. ; that is,
before all this passed, recorded in the preceding verses; and so Aben Ezra
observes, that the Scripture returns here to make mention of the affairs of
Jonah, and what happened before the accomplishment of the forty days:
and sat on the east side of the city; where he
might have very probably a good sight of it; and which lay the reverse of the
road to his own country; that, if the inhabitants should pursue him, they would
miss of him; which some suppose he might be in fear of, should their city be
destroyed:
and there made him a booth; of the boughs of trees,
which he erected, not to continue in, but for a short time, expecting in a few
days the issue of his prediction:
and sat under it in the shadow; to shelter him from the
heat of the sun:
till he might see what would become of the city; or,
"what would be done in" it, or "with" itF2מה יהיה בעיר
"quid esset futurum in civitate", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius,
Tarnovius; "quid fieret in ea urbe", Vatablus. ; if this was after he
knew that the Lord had repented of the evil he threatened, and was disposed to
show mercy to the city; and which, as Kimchi thinks, was revealed to him by the
spirit of prophecy; then he sat here, expecting the repentance of the Ninevites
would be a short lived one; be like the goodness of Ephraim and Judah, as the
morning cloud, and early dew that passes away; and that then God would change
his dispensations towards them again, as he had done; or however he might expect,
that though the city was not totally overthrown, yet that there would be
something done; some lesser judgment fall upon them, as a token of the divine
displeasure, and which might save his credit as a prophet
Jonah 4:6 6 And
the Lord
God prepared a plant[a] and made
it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from
his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant.
YLT
6And Jehovah God appointeth
a gourd, and causeth it to come up over Jonah, to be a shade over his head, to
give deliverance to him from his affliction, and Jonah rejoiceth because of the
gourd [with] great joy.
And the Lord God prepared a gourd,.... So the Septuagint
render the word; but some say that a worm will not touch that; Jerom renders it
an ivy; but neither the gourd nor that rise upwards without some props to
support them. The Hebrew word is "kikaion", the same with the "kiki",
or "cici", of HerodotusF3Euterpe, sive l. 2. c. 94. ,
DioscoridesF4L. 4. c. 164. , StraboF5Geograph. l. 17. p.
566. , and PlinyF6Nat. Hist. l. 15. c. 7. ; a plant frequent in
Egypt, of which the Egyptians made an oil; hence the TalmudistsF7Misa.
Sabbat, c. 2. sect. 1. T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 21. 2. make mention of the oil of
"kik", which Reshlakish says is the "kikaion" of Jonah; and
which is the same that the Arabians call "alcheroa" or
"alcherva", according to Samuel ben HophniF8In Kimchi in
loc. , MaimonidesF9In Misna Sabbat, c. 2. sect. 1. , BartenoraF11In
ib. , and JeromF12In loc. ; and which is well known to be the
"ricinus", or "palma Christi"; and which, by the
description of it, according to all the above writers, bids fairestF13Vid.
Weidlingt. Dissert. de Kikaion, apud Thesaur. Theolog. Phil. Dissert. vol. 1.
p. 989. & Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 2. c. 24. p. 293,294. & l. 4.
c. 27. p. 623. & Geograph. par. 1. Colossians 918,919.
& Liveleum in loc. to be here intended; it rising up to the height of a
tree, an olive tree, having very large broad leaves, like those of vines, or of
plantain; and springing up suddenly, as Pliny says it does in Spain; and
Clusius affirms he saw at the straits of Gibraltar a ricinus of the thickness
of a man, and of the height of three men; and Bellonius, who travelled through
Syria and Palestine, saw one in Crete of the size of a tree; and DietericusF14Antiqu.
Bibl. par. 1. p. 82. , who relates the above, says he saw himself, in a garden
at Leyden, well furnished and enriched with exotic plants, an American ricinus,
the stalk of which was hollow, weak, and soft, and the leaves almost a foot and
a half; and which Adolphus Vorstius, he adds, took to be the same which Jonah
had for a shade; with which agrees what DioscoridesF15Apud Calmet's
Dictionary, in the word "Kikaion". says, that there is a sort of it
which grows large like a tree, and as high as a fig tree; the leaves of it are
like those of a palm tree, though broader, smoother, and blacker; the branches
and trunk of it are hollow like a reed: and what may seem more to confirm this
is, that a certain number of grains of the seed of the ricinus very much
provoke vomiting; which, if true, as MarinusF16Arca Noae, tom. 2.
fol. 135. observes, the word here used may be derived from קוא,
which signifies to vomit; from whence is the word קיא,
vomiting; and the first radical being here doubled may increase the
signification, and show it to be a great emetic; and the like virtue of the
ricinus is observed by othersF17Hillerus in Hierophytico, par. 1. p.
453. apud Burkium in loc. . Jerom allegorizes it of the ceremonial law, under
the shadow of which Israel dwelt for a while; and then was abrogated by Christ,
who says he was a worm, and no man: but it is better to apply it to outward mercies
and earthly enjoyments, which like this plant spring out of the earth, and have
their root in it, and are of the nature of it, and therefore minded by earthly
and carnal men above all others; they are thin, slight, and slender things;
there is no solidity and substance in them, like the kiki, whose stalk is
hollow as a reed, as Dioscorides says; they are light and empty things, vanity
and vexation of spirit; spring up suddenly sometimes, and are gone as soon;
some men come to riches and honour at once, and rise up to a very great pitch
of both, and quickly fall into poverty and disgrace again; for these are very
uncertain perishing things, like this herb or plant, or even as grass, which
soon withers away. They are indeed of God, who is the Father of mercies, and
are the gifts of his providence, and not the merit of men; they are disposed of
according to his will, and "prepared" by him in his purposes, and
given forth according to them, and in his covenant to his own special people,
and are to them blessings indeed:
and made it to come up over Jonah; over his
head, as follows; and it may be over the booth he had built, which was become
in a manner useless; the leaves of the boughs of which it was made being
withered with the heat of the sun; it came over him so as to cover him all
over; which may denote both the necessity of outward mercies, as food and
raiment, which the Lord knows his people have need of; and the sufficiency of
them he grants, with which they should be content:
that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his
grief; either from the vexation of mind at the repentance of the
Ninevites, and the mercy shown them; this being a refreshment unto him, and
which he might take as a new token of the Lord's favourable regard to him, after
the offence he had given him, and gentle reproof for it; or from the headache,
with which he was thought to have been afflicted, through his vexation; or by
the heat of the sun; or rather it was to shelter him from the heat of the sun,
and the distress that gave him: so outward mercies, like a reviving and
refreshing shadow, exhilarate the spirits, and are a defence against the
injuries and insults of men, and a preservative from the grief and distress
which poverty brings with it:
so Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd; or,
"rejoiced with a great joy"F18וישמח־שמחה
גדולה "et laetatus est----magna laetitia",
Pagninus, Montanus; "et laetabaturque laetitia magna", Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator; "gavisus est gaudio magno", Burkius, ; he was
excessively and above measure glad of it, because of its usefulness to him:
outward mercies are what we should be thankful for; and it is good for men to
rejoice in their labours, and enjoy the good of them; to eat their bread with a
merry heart and cheerfulness; but should not be elevated with them beyond
measure, lifted up with pride, and boast and glory of them, and rejoice in such
boastings, which is evil; or rejoice in them as their portion, placing their
happiness therein, which is to rejoice in a thing of naught; or to overrate
mercies, and show more affection for them than for God himself, the giver of
them, who only should be our "exceeding joy"; and, when this is the
case, it is much if they are not quickly taken away, as Jonah's gourd was, as
follows:
Jonah 4:7 7 But
as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged
the plant that it withered.
YLT
7And God appointeth a worm
at the going up of the dawn on the morrow, and it smiteth the gourd, and it
drieth up.
But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day,.... That God
that prepared this plant to rise so suddenly, almost as soon prepared a worm to
destroy it; for it rose up one night, continued one whole day, to the great
delight of Jonah; and by the morning of the following day this worm or grub was
prepared in, it, or sent to it, to the root of it: this shows that God is the
Creator of the least as well as the largest of creatures, of worms as well as
whales, contrary to the notion of Valentinus, Marcion, and Apelles; who, as
JeromF19Prooem. in Philemon. ad Paulam & Eustochium. says,
introduce another creator of ants, worms, fleas, locusts, &c. and another
of the heavens, earth, sea, and angels: but it is much that. ArnobiusF20Adv.
Gentes, l. 2. p. 95. , an orthodox ancient Christian father, should deny such
creatures to be the work of God, and profess his ignorance of the Maker of
them. His words are,
"should
we deny flies, beetles, worms, mice, weasels, and moths, to be the work of the
King Omnipotent, it does not follow that it should be required of us to say who
made and formed them; for we may without blame be ignorant who gave them their
original;'
whereas,
in the miracle of the lice, the magicians of Egypt themselves owned that the
finger of God was there, and were out of their power to effect; and to the
Prophet Amos the great God was represented in a vision as making locusts or
grasshoppers, Amos 7:1; and
indeed the smallest insect or reptile is a display of the wisdom and power of
God, and not at all below his dignity and greatness to produce; and for which
there are wise reasons in nature and providence, as here for the production of
this worm: the same God that prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah, and a
gourd to shadow him, and an east wind to blow upon him, prepared this worm to
destroy his shade, and try his patience:
and it smote the gourd, that it withered; it bit its
root, and its moisture dried up, and it withered away at once, and became
useless: that same hand that gives mercies can take them away, and that very
suddenly, in a trice, in a few hours, as in the case of Job; and sometimes very
secretly and invisibly, that men are not aware of; their substance wastes, and
they fall to decay, and they can scarcely tell the reason of it; there is a
worm at the root of their enjoyments, which kills them; God is as a moth and
rottenness unto them; and he does this sometimes by small means, by little
instruments, as he plagued Pharaoh and the Egyptians with lice and flies.
Jonah 4:8 8 And
it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and
the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for
himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
YLT
8And it cometh to pass,
about the rising of the sun, that God appointeth a cutting east wind, and the
sun smiteth on the head of Jonah, and he wrappeth himself up, and asketh his
soul to die, and saith, `Better [is] my death than my life.'
And it came to pass when the sun did arise,.... After
that the gourd was smitten and withered; when it was not only risen, but shone
out with great force and heat:
that God prepared a vehement east wind; or, "a
deafening east wind"F21חרישית
"surdefacientem", Munster; "ex surdentem", Montanus;
"surdum", Drusius. ; which blew so strong, and so loud, as R. Marinus
in Aben Ezra and Kimchi say, made people deaf that heard it: or, "a
silencing east wind"; which when it blew, all other winds were silent, as
Jarchi: or it made men silent, not being to be heard for it: or, "a
silent"F23"Silentem", Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator, Mercerus, Grotius, Tarnovius; so Stockius, p. 397. and Burkius. ,
that is, a still quiet wind, as the Targum; which blew so gently and slowly,
that it increased the heat, instead of lessening it: or rather "a
ploughing east wind"F24"Aratorium", Hyde. ; such as
are frequentF25Via. Petitsol. Itinera Mundi, p. 146. & Hyde,
Not. in ib. in the eastern countries, which plough up the dry land, cause the
sand to arise and cover men and camels, and bury them in it. Of these winds
Monsieur ThevenotF26Travels, par. 1. B. 2. p. 162. speaks more than
once; in sandy deserts, between Cairo and Suez, he says,
"it
blew so furiously, that I thought all the tents would have been carried away
with the wind; which drove before it such clouds of sand, that we were almost
buried under it; for seeing nobody could stay outside, without having mouth and
eyes immediately filled with sand, we lay under the tents, where the wind drove
in the sand above a foot deep round about us;'
and
in another place he observesF1Travels, par. 1. B. 2. ch. 34. p. 177.
.
"from
Suez to Cairo, for a day's time or more, we had so hot a wind, that we were
forced to turn our backs to it, to take a little breath, and so soon as we
opened our mouths they were full of sand;'
such
an one was here raised, which blew the sand and dust into the face of Jonah,
and almost suffocated him; which, with the heat of the sun, was very afflictive
to him:
and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted; the boughs of
trees, of which the booth was made, being withered, and his gourd, or whatever
plant it was, also, he had nothing to shelter him from the heat of the sun; but
the beams of it darted directly upon him, so that he was not able to sustain
them; they quite overwhelmed him, and caused him to faint, and just ready to
die away:
and wished in himself to die; or, "desired his
soul might die"F2את נפשו "animae suae", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus,
Cocceius; "animam suam", Burkius. ; not his rational soul, which was
immortal; by this animal or sensitive soul, which he had in common with
animals; he wished his animal life might be taken from him, because the
distress through the wind and sun was intolerable to him:
and said, it is better for me to die than to live; in so much
pain and misery; see Jonah 4:3.
Jonah 4:9 9 Then
God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And
he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!”
YLT
9And God saith unto Jonah:
`Is doing good displeasing to thee, because of the gourd?' and he saith, `To do
good is displeasing to me -- unto death.'
And God said to Jonah, dost thou well to be angry for the gourd?.... Or,
"art thou very angry for it?" as the Targum: no mention is made of
the blustering wind and scorching sun, because the gourd or plant raised up
over him would have protected him from the injuries of both, had it continued;
and it was for the loss of that that Jonah was so displeased, and in such a
passion. This question is put in order to draw out the following answer, and so
give an opportunity of improving this affair to the end for which it was
designed:
and he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death; or, "I
am very angry unto death", as the Targum; I am so very angry that I cannot
live under it for fretting and vexing; and it is right for me to be so, though
I die with the passion of it: how ungovernable are the passions of men, and to
what insolence do they rise when under the power of them!
Jonah 4:10 10 But
the Lord
said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made
it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.
YLT
10And Jehovah saith, `Thou
hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou didst not labour, neither didst thou
nourish it, which a son of a night was, and a son of a night perished,
Then said the Lord, thou hast had pity on the gourd,.... Or,
"hast spared it"F3חסת
"pepercisiti", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Burkius;
"pepercisses", Piscator. ; that is, would have spared it, had it lain
in his power, though but a weeds and worthless thing:
for the which thou hast not laboured; in digging
the ground, and by sowing or planting it; it being raised up at once by the
Lord himself, and not by any, human art and industry; nor by any of his:
neither madest it grow; by dunging the earth
about it, or by watering and pruning it:
which came up in a night, and perished in a night; not in the
same night; for it sprung up one night, continued a whole any, and then
perished the next night. The Targum is more explicit,
"which
was in this (or one) night, and perished in another night;'
by
all which the Lord suggests to Jonah the vast difference between the gourd he
would have spared, and for the loss of which he was so angry, and the city of
Nineveh the Lord spared, which so highly displeased him; the one was but an
herb, a plant, the other a great city; that a single plant, but the city
consisted of thousands of persons; the plant was not the effect of his toil and
labour, but the inhabitants of this city were the works of God's hands. In the
building of this city, according to historiansF4Eustathius in
Dionys. Perieg. p. 125. a million and a half of men were employed eight years
together; the plant was liken mushroom, it sprung up in a night, and perished
in one; whereas this was a very ancient city, that had stood ever since the
days of Nimrod.
Jonah 4:11 11 And
should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred
and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and
their left—and much livestock?”
YLT
11and I -- have not I pity on
Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than twelve myriads of human
beings, who have not known between their right hand and their left -- and much
cattle!'
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city?.... See Jonah 1:2; what is
such a gourd or plant to that?
wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons; or twelve
myriads; that is, twelve times ten thousand, or a hundred and twenty thousand;
meaning not all the inhabitants of Nineveh; for then it would not have appeared
to be so great a city; but infants only, as next described:
that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; do not know
one from another; cannot distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong;
are not come to years of maturity and discretion; and therefore there were room
and reason for pity and sparing mercy; especially since they had not been
guilty of actual transgressions, at least not very manifest; and yet must have
perished with their parents had Nineveh been overthrown. The number of infants
in this city is a proof of the greatness of it, though not so as to render the
account incredible; for, admitting these to be a fifth part of its inhabitants,
as they usually are of any place, as BochartF5Phaleg. l. 4. c. 20.
p. 253. observes, it makes the number of its inhabitants to be but six or seven
hundred thousand; and as many there were in Seleucia and Thebes, as PlinyF6Nat.
Hist. l. 6. c. 26. relates of the one, and TacitusF7Annal. l. 2. c.
60. of the other:
and also much cattle; and these more valuable
than goods, as animals are preferable to, and more useful than, vegetables; and
yet these must have perished in the common calamity. Jarchi understands by
these grown up persons, whose knowledge is like the beasts that know not their
Creator. No answer being returned, it may be reasonably supposed Jonah, was
convinced of his sin and folly; and, to show his repentance for it, penned
this, narrative, which records his infirmities and weaknesses, for the good of
the church, and the instruction of saints in succeeding ages.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)