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be ftirred up to it by others; fee Luke xxii. 46: if fo be that God will think upon us, that we perifp not; the fupreme God; for the gods they. had prayed to, they looked upon as mediators with the true God they knew not. The fhip-mafter faw, that to all human probability they were all loft men, juft ready to perifh; that if they were faved, as who knew but they might upon Fonah’s praying to his God, it muft be owing to the kind thoughts of God towards them; to the ferenity of.his countenance, and gracious accept~ ance of prayer, and his being propitious and merciful thro’ that means; all which feems to be the import of the word ufed: fo the faving of finners in a loft and perifhing condition, in which all men are, tho’ all are not fenfible of it, is owing to God’s thoughts of peace, to his good will, free favour, and rich grace in Chrift Jefus, and thro’ him, as the propitiatory facrifice. The Targum is, ‘* if fo be, mercy may be granted from the ‘“¢ Lord, and we perifh not.” ¥. 7. And they faid every one to bis fellow, &c.} That Youab awoke, and rofe up, upon the fhipmafter’s calling to him, is certain; but whether or no he called upon his God, is not; perhaps he did: and when his prayer was over, and the ftorm ftill continuing, the failors faid one to another, come, and let us caft lots, that we may know for whofe cauje this evilis upon us, for obferving fomething very uncommon and extraordinary in the tempeft, and all means, both natural and religious, failing to help them; and tho’ they might know that they were every one of them finners, yet they fuppofed there muft be fome one notorious finner among. them, that had committed fome very enormous crime, which had drawn the divine refentment upon them to fuch a degree; and therefore they propofed to caft a lot, which was an appeal to the divine being, in order to find out the guilty perfon. ‘That the heathens ufed the lot upon occafion, is not only manifeft from profane writers, but from the facred fcriptures; as Haman, and other enemies of God’s people; and the foldiers that attended the crofs of Chrift, Z/fh. ix. 24. Foe iti. 3. Obad. ¥. 11. Nab. iii. 10. Matt. xxvii. 35.. Drufius reports from Xavierus, of fome hea~ thens failing to Yapan, and other places in the Eaft Indies, that they ufed to carry an idol with them, and by lots enquire of it whither they fhould go; and whether they fhould have profperous winds, ec. fo they caft lots, and the lot fell upon Fonah; thro’ the over-ruling providence and difpofing hand of God, which attended this affair; for not to enquire whether the ufe of the lot was lawful or no; or whether performed in that ferious and folemn manner as it fhould be, if, ufed at alij; it pleafed God to interfere in this matter, to direct it to fall on Yonah, with whom he had a particular concern, being a prophet of his, and haying difobeyed his will; fee Prov. xvi. 33. The Syriac yerfion renders it, the lot of Jonah came up; that is, the piece of paper, or whatever it was, on which his name was written, was taken up firft out of the veflel in which the lots were ut. | y. 8. Then they faid unto him, tell us, we pray thee, &c.] They-did not fall upon him at once in an outrageous manner, and throw him overboard; as it might be thought fuch men would have done, confidering what they had fuffered and. Toft
S12 loft by means of him; but they ufe him with great refpect, tendernefs and lenity: and intreat him to tell them, for whofe caufe this evil was upon them; or rather, as the Targum, ‘* for what this “* evil is upon us;” and fo Noldius ‘ renders the words; for their enquiry was not about the perfon for whofe caufe it was, that was determined by the lot; but on what account it was; what fin it was he had been guilty of, which was the caufe of it; for they fuppofed fome great fin muft be committed, that had brought down the vengeance of God in fuch a manner: what is thine occupation? trade or bufinefs? this queftion they put, to know whether he had any, or was an idle man; or rather; whether it was an honeft and lawful employment; whether it was by fraud or violence, by thieving and ftealing he got his livelihood; or by conjuring, and ufing the magic art: or elfe the enquiry was about his prefent bufinefs, what he was going about; what he was to do at Tar/bifh when he came there; whether he was not upon fome ill defien, and fent on an unlawful errand, and going to do fome ill thing, for which vengeance purfued him, and ftopped him: aud whence comeft thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? which queftions feem to relate to the fame thing, what nation he was of; and put by different perfons, who were eager to learn what countryman he was, that they might know who was the god he worfhipped, and guefs at the crime he had been guilty of.
¥.9. And he faid unto them, I am an Hebrew, &c.] He does not fay a Few, as the Targum wrongly renders it; for that would have been falfe, fince he was of the tribe of Zedulun, which was in the kingdom of J/rael, and not of Fudab; nor does he fay an J/raelite, left he fhould be thought to be in the idolatry of that people; but an Hebrew, which was common to both; and befides, it not only declared what nation he was of, but what religion he profefled, and who was his God: and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which bath made the fea, and the dry land; this anfwers to the other queftion, what was his occupation or bufinefs?. he was one that feared the Lord, that ferved and worfhipped him; a prophet of the great God, as Fofephus ¢ exprefies it, and fo Kimchi; the mighty Jehovah that made the heavens, and dwells in them; and from whence that ftorm of wind came, which had fo much diftreffed the fhip, and ftill continued; and who made the fea, which was now fo boifterous and raging, and threatened them with ruin; and the dry land, where they would be glad to have been at that inftant. By this defcription of God, as the prophet defigned to fet him forth in his nature and works, fo to diftinguifh him from the gods of heathens, who had only particular parts of the univerfe affigned to them, when his Jehovah was Lord of all; but where was the prophet’s fear and reverence of God, when he fied from him, and difobeyed him? it was not loft, tho’ not in exercife.
¥. 10. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, &c.] When they found he was an Hebrew, and that it was the God of the Hebrews that was angry; of whom they had heard much, and what great and wonderful things had been done by him, and now had an experience of his power and _provi- idence, and that it was for fleeing from his pre« fence that all this was; and therefore, fince they had been guilty of greater fins than this, as they might imagine, what would be done to them? and particularly it might fill them with dread and terror, when they heard of the deftruction of JVzneveh, the prophet was fent to denounce; of which no doubt he told them, and they might from hence conclude it would certainly be: «zd faid unte him, why haft thou done this? they wonder he fhould aé fuch a foolifh part as to flee from fuch. a God he had defcribed to them, who was Lord of heaven, earth and fea; and therefore could meet with him, and feize him be he where he would; and they reprove him for it, and the rather as it had involved them in fo much diftrefs and danger: for the men knew that he had fled from the prefence of the Lord, becaufe be had told them; not when he firft entered into the fhip, but now, tho’ not before. mentioned; for no doubt Yonah told the whole {tory at length, tho’ the whole is not recorded; how that he was fent by the Lord with a meffage to Nineveh, to denounce deftruction to it; and that he refufed to go, and fled from his face; and this was the true reafon of the ftorm.
¥. 11. Then faid they unto him, what fhall we do unto thee, &c.] Tho’ both by the lot, and his own confeflion, they knew he was the guilty per~ fon, for whofe fake this ftorm was; yet were unwilling to do any thing to him without his will’ and confent, his counfel and advice; perceiving that he was a prophet of the God of the Hebrews, whom he had offended, and knew the mind and. will of his God, and the nature of his offence againft. him, and what only would appeafe him, they defire him to tell what they ought to do; fearing, that tho’ they had found out the man, they fhould make a miftake in their manner of dealing with him, and fo continue the diftrefs they were in, or increafe it; their great concern being to be rid of the ftorm: that the fea may be calm unto us? or filent»? for the waves thereof made a hideous roaring, and lifted up themfelves fo high, as was terrible to behold; and dafhed with fuch vehemence againft the fhip, as threatened it every moment with deftruction: (for the fea wrought, and was tempeftuous;) or, it went and fwelled*; it. was agitated to, and fro, and was ina great fer- - ment, and grew more and more ftormy and tempeftuous. ‘Fouah’s confeffion of his fin, and true repentance for it, were not fufficient; more muft be done to appeafe an angry God; and what that was, the failors defired to-know. ‘Thefe words are inferted in a parenthefis with us, as if put by the writer of the book, pointing out the reafon of the mens requeft; but according to Kimchi, they are theit own words, giving a reafon why they were fo prefling upon him to know what they fhould do with him, /eeing the fea was going and ftormy *; or more and more ftormy; which feems right. pists y.12. And he faid unto them, take meup, and caft me forth into the fea, &c.] This he faid, not as chufing rather to die than to go to imeveb; or as having over-heard the men fay, that they would caft him into the fea, as Aven Ezra fuggefts, greatly to the prejudice of the prophet’s charaéter; but as being truly fenfible of his fin, and that he righ—— teoufly deferved to die fuch a death; and in love to the lives of innocent men, that they might be faved, and not perifh, thro’ his default; and as a prophet knowing this to be the mind and will of God, he chearfully and in faith fubmits to it, with a prefence of mind and courage fuitable to his character. It was not fit he fhould leap into the fea and deftroy himfelf, but that he fhould die by the hand of juftice, of which the fhip-mafter and the fhip’s crew were the proper ‘executioners: fo fhall the fea be calm unto ‘you; or filent, as before; ‘it will ceafe from, its roaring, and do no ‘further hurt and damage: for [know that for my fake this ‘great tempeft is upon you for the fin he had committed in fleeing from God, this ftorm was raifed and continued; nor could it go off till they had done what he had directed them to; there was no other way of being clear of it. In this Fonab was a type of Chrift, who willingly gave himéfelf to fuffer and die, that he might appeafe divine wrath, fatisfy juftice, and fave men; only with this difference, Fonab fuffered for his own fins, Chrift for the fins of others; Yonah to lay a ftorm he himfelf had raifed by his fins, Chrift to lay a ftorm others had raifed by their fins.
y. 13. Neverthele/s, the men rowed hard to bring it to the land, but they could not, &c.] Or, they digged '; that is, the waters of the fea with their oars; not by cafting anchor, as Abendana; they ufed all their fkill, and exerted all their ftrength; they laboured with all their might and main, as a man digs in a pit; they plowed the ocean, and furrowed the fea, as the Latins fpeak, but all in vain; they rowed againft wind and tide; God, his purpofes and providence were againft them; and it was not poffible for them to make land, and get the fhip afhore, which they were defirous of, to fave the life of Yonah, as well as their own; for feeing him penitent, they had compaffion on him; his character and profeffion as a prophet; the gravity of the man; the fedatenefs of his countenance; his opennefs of mind, and his willingnefs to die, wrought greatly upon the men, that they would fain have faved him if they could; and perhaps being heathens, and not knowing thoroughly the nature of his offence, might think he did not deferve to die; but all their endeavours to fave him were to no purpofe: for the fea wrought, and was tempeftuous againft them, it grew more and more fo; the ftorm beat right againft them, and drove them back fafter than they came; {fo that it was impoffible to ftand againft it. y¥. 14. Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, &c.] Not unto their gods, but unto the true Jehovah, the God of Yonah, and of the Hebrews, whom they now, by this providence, and Yonab’s difcourfe, had fome convictions and knowledge of, as, the true God; and therefore direct their prayer to"him, before they caft the prophet into the fea: and aid, awe befeecht thee, O Lord, we befeech thee; which repetition fhews the ardour, vehemence and earneftnefs of their minds in prayer: let us not perifh for this man’s life; they were in the utmoft perplexity of mind, not’ knowing well what to do; they faw they muft perifh by the ftorm, if they faved his life; and they were afraid they fhould perifh, if they took it away; and which yet they were oblito do; and therefore had no other way left but to pray to the Lord they might not perifh for it; of it be reckoned as their crime, and imputed to them, as follows: dnd lay not upon us innocent blood; for fo it was to them; he had done no hurt to them fince he had been with them, except in being the caufe of the {torm, whereby they had fuffered the lofs of their goods; however, had not been guilty of any thing worthy of death as they could obferve; and as for his offence againft God, they were not fufficient judges of, and mutt leave it with him: the light of nature teaches men to be tender of the lives of fellow-creatures; and to avoid fhedding of innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, haft done as it pleafed thee; it appeared to them to be the will of God, that he fhould be caft into the fea; from the ftorm that was raifed on his account; from the determination of the lot; from the confeffion of Jonah, and his declaration of the will of God in this matter, as a prophet of his: they did not pretend to account for it; it was a fecret to them, why it fhould be; but it was no other than what he would have done; and therefore they hoped no blame would be laid on them. '
¥. 15. So they took up Fonah, and caft him forth into the fea, &c.| They took him out of the hold or cabin where he was, and brought him upon — deck; they took him, not againft his will, but with his full confent, and according to the direction and advice he gave them: they, for there weré more than one employed in this affair; one or more very probably took him by the legs, and others put their hands under his arm-holes, and fo threw him into the fea; and the fea ceafed from her raging; immediately, and became.a calm; and the wind alfo ceafed from blowing, which is fuppofed; the end being anfwered by the ftorm, and the perfon found and obtained what was fought after by it, it was ftill and quiet. The ftory the Jews * tell of his being let down into the fea to his knees, upon which the fea was calm, but became raging again upon his being taken up; and fo at the fecond time, to his navel; and the third time to his neck, is all fabulous; but he being wholly thrown in, it raged no more.
¥. 16. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, &c.] This was not a natural fear, as before, but a religious one; and not a fervile fear, or a fear of punifhment, but a reverential godly fear; for they feared him, not only becaufe they faw his power in raifing and ftilling the tempeft, but his goodnefs to them in faving them: and offered a Jacrifice unto the Lord a fpiritual facrifice, the facrifice of praife and thank{giving for a fafe deliverance from the ftorm; for other fort of facrifice they feemed not to have materials for; fince they had thrown over-board what they had in the fhip
‘to lighten it, unlefS there might be any thing left fit for this purpofe; but rather, if it is to be underftood of a ceremonial facrifice, it was offered when they went out of the fhip, according to the glofs of dben Ezra; or they folemnly declared they would, as foon as they came to land; to which fenfe is the Targum, ‘* and they faid they would ‘© offer a facrifice:” and agreeable to this the words may be rendered, with what follows, thus, am offered a facrifice unto the Lord, that is, they made vows; they vowed that they would offer a facrifice *, when arrived in their own country, or fhould return to Fudea, and come to Ferufalem. So the