An Exposition of Jonah
Preface
The prophet Jonah, whose book will now be enlightened, prophesied in the same times as Isaiah, Hosea, and Amos according to the Hebrews (as Jerome reports). Furthermore, it is known from what is written in the second book of Kings that he prophesied in the time of Jeroboam, the son of Joash king of Israel: He (namely Jeroboam) 2 Kings 14:25.restored the borders of Israel from the entrance of Hamath, unto the sea of the wilderness, according to the word of the Lord the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher. And according to Hebrew and Latin teachers, this same Jonah was 1 Kings 17:9, 17-23.the son of the widow whom Elijah raised in Zarephath, as is written in the first book of Kings.
Article 1
A literal description of the first chapter: Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, etc.
Jonah himself wrote of the following events which happened to him and said: Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying... In this introduction he uses the conjunction "Et,"The Vulgate introduction "Et factum est verbum Domini ad Jonam" is translated as "Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah," etc. which is typically placed in the middle of that which it joins. But it is placed at the beginning for this reason: because Jonah, accustomed to seeing many things in a spirit of prophecy, and knowing many things which were revealed to other Prophets both in his time and before, joins what he sees in the spirit and what was seen by others to that which he describes in this book. And then he said "son of Amittai," which according to Jerome and the Hebrews can be explained as the "son of truth," since Amittai, here a common or appellative name, means truthfulness. For when Elijah had raised the dead boy, the mother said: 1 Kings 17:24.Now, by this I know that you are a man of God, and the word of the Lord in your mouth is true. Therefore, as a sign of the truth of the divine words in the mouth of Elijah, that boy was called the "son of truth" after his awakening.
Others, however, say that Amittai is the proper name of Jonah's father. But some reject this, arguing that the mother of Jonah was a Gentile, because Christ said of her in the Gospel of Luke: Luke 4:25, 26.There were many widows in the days of Elijah in Israel; and to none of them was Elijah sent, but to Zarephath of Sidon. And therefore, her husband was a Gentile, and to such the spirit of prophecy is not given. But if Amittai is the name of Jonah's father, one should admit that he was a prophet himself, as most Jews hold that all those who at the beginning of the prophetical books are portrayed as fathers of the prophets, were themselves prophets. But whatever the truth of the matter may be, this argument is not sufficient, and its premises are not without error. For it does not follow that because the mother was a Gentile, the father is as well. For in fact, the Hebrew people at that time, dispersed throughout the world, sometimes married Gentiles. And for this reason, Luke reports in the Acts of the Apostles: Acts 16:1.Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman that believed (a Hebrew no doubt); but his father was a Gentile. The same is true of Hiram, whom the 1 Kings 7:13-14.king of Tyre sent to Solomon for the construction of the temple, as is written in the first book of Kings. Also, it is clear that the spirit of prophecy is given to Gentiles from the example of Job, a holy man and genuine prophet; and likewise from Balaam, a genuine prophet, but a corrupt man. For the gift of prophecy is a freely given graceGratia gratis data. which is common to both the virtuous and the wicked.
Arise, and go to Nineveh the great city, whose size is described further on, Jonah 3:3.seeing that it comprised a three days' journey. Genesis 10:8, 11.Nimrod is said to have built it in Genesis. And preach in it: for the wickedness thereof is come up before me. That is, announce publicly to the Ninevites that their sins are so great that they require vengeance; and that they are sinning in a manner that is worthy of ruin, i.e., conquered by enemies, struck from another source, or destroyed by divine influence. Also, sins are said to "cry" before God in the same way they are said to "come up." For this reason, both Genesis 4:10; 18:20; 19:13.the voice of Abel's blood and the sins of Sodom are said to "cry" to the Lord.
And Jonah rose up to flee into Tarshish, i.e., the city of Tarsus in Cilicia according to Josephus and many others. Paul was from this city, as in the Acts of the Apostles it is said: Acts 9:11.Seek one named Saul of Tarsus. However, the Jews generally understand "Tarshish" to be the name of a sea, which according to Jerome, largely fits this passage. That is to say, it would make sense that a cowardly fugitive would have fled not to a specific place, but to wherever he might be carried by the sea. Nevertheless, some understand "Tarshish" to be a city in India. From the face of the Lord, i.e., from his presence or divine command, as if by changing places he could escape the attention or power of God, judging that he could avoid the wrath of God in a foreign place—namely, if he could leave Judea, the only place in which he reckoned God was well known. But it seems strange that a holy man who was not only chosen to receive the revelations described in this book, but who also (as was already mentioned) prophesied about the kingdom of Israel, was so naive that he did not understand that God is everywhere through his essence and omnipotence, and no one can escape his hand. This is affirmed many times in the Old Testament, as when the Psalmist says: Psalm 138:7.Where shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall I flee from your face? And, Psalm 94:4.For in his hand are all the ends of the earth. And, Psalm 23:1.The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. That being said, I suppose he knew God was all-powerful and present everywhere, but fled so that he might keep God from imposing obedience on him while he decided if he was willing to carry out the task assigned to him. Or perhaps he thought that the spirit of prophecy might be taken away from him because of his disobedience. Also, some maintain that he fled since before that time, prophetic revelations were not given outside the land of the twelve tribes of Israel. But this carries little weight, especially since many revelations were given to Elijah on 1 Kings 19:8-18.the mount of God, Horeb.
Then finally, it is said that Jonah did not know whether the revelation given to him concerning the destruction of Nineveh might be a prophecy of predestination, which is always fulfilled, or rather a prophecy of warning, which is sometimes not fulfilled. These two types of prophesy were covered previously. Therefore, knowing the vastness of divine mercy, and likely considering that the Ninevites might repent due to his preaching, he refused to carry out the divine command, lest he might be shown to be a false prophet. In this he suffered something distinctly human. For the prophets were not all equally perfect. On the contrary, Jonah had imitated Genesis 4:16.Cain in fleeing from the face of the Lord, according to Jerome. He is also said to have fled from the face of the Lord either because God dwelt specifically in the land of Israel more than in other lands, or because he ran away from the place where the Lord instructed him of these things by means of an angel. Moreover, it is apparent from what he himself says further on that this was the cause of blessed Jonah's escape. For seeing that the Lord was sparing the city, he said: Jonah 4:2.I beseech you, O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my own country? Therefore I went before to flee into Tarshish, for I know that you are a gracious and merciful and patient God. Lastly, according to Augustine, holy men often said things which seemed to exceed the limits of reason out of an excessive familiarity and confidence towards God, and sometimes they did not immediately submit to divine commands. In that case it comes not from rebellion or hardness of heart, but from humility or other pious reasoning, as when Moses prayed: Exodus 32:31, 32.Either forgive them this trespass, or strike me out of the book that you have written. And when the Lord appeared to him in the bush, ordering that he should go to Pharaoh and the children of Israel, Exodus 3, 4.he quite often came up with excuses himself for a considerable time. So this can also be imagined of Jonah, yet he cannot be totally excused.
And he went down to the city called Joppa.Modern-day Jaffa in Tel Aviv, Israel. He came to the port of that city, which is the port of Judea, where one can enter the Mediterranean Sea. Also, the land from which Jonah came from was higher in altitute than Joppa. Therefore, when he went to Joppa, it can be written as going "down." And found a ship going to Tarshish, i.e., either to the sea or to the city, whichever is accepted as previously mentioned; and he paid to the captain of the ship the fare thereof, i.e., the price for his transportation in the ship; and went down into it, to go, i.e., to sail with them who were in the ship to Tarshish from the face of the Lord, so that he might delay speaking to the fugitive of the reason why he ran away. But yet, as part of his complex plan which will be made clear, the Lord allowed his Prophet to flee in this way.
But the Lord sent a great wind into the sea, supernaturally stirring up this storm and commotion. And a great tempest was raised in the sea, such that waves of water were rising suddenly and powerfully all around the ship; and the ship was in danger to be broken, i.e., the danger of sinking and destruction was imminent because of the impact of the waters to the ship, which was being thrown about due to the terrible surges. And the mariners were afraid of the urgent danger, and the men cried to their god. Some say that people of various territories and customs were in the ship, worshiping different gods, and so each one called upon their own god. This agrees with the translation of the Septuagint, which is as follows: And cried every one to his god. For although they were ignorant of the truth of the most high God, they still believed in providence and a world below governed by gods, by whose help they reckoned the sea could be calmed. And thus, under religious error, they had known to pray to someone. And they cast forth the wares that were in the ship, into the sea, to lighten it (the ship) of them. Evidently the ship could more easily pass through by throwing out the weight of their goods than it could when burdened with its usual cargo.
And Jonah went down into the inner part of the ship, i.e., to its hidden hiding places, and fell, that is harshly or boldly, into a deep sleep. Why did he go to the inner part of the ship and sleep? It can be said that upon seeing the storm emerge knowing the sinfulness of his flight, he realized it was summoned because of him. Therefore, already gloomy and frightened, and not daring to look upon the approaching disaster, he went to a hiding place and slept because of sadness and weariness, like the Matthew 26:40, 43.Apostles at the time of the Passion. And also like the Psalm 118:28.Psalmist: My soul has slumbered through heaviness. Some say that in such a great storm he was calm and carefree, while others say that he rested a peaceful sleep despite being upset. But it would seem strange if upon seeing a storm rising up and recognizing it was happening on account of his offense, he did not surrender himself to praying, rather than resting, out of a God-fearing and troubled heart which precluded sleep. Especially since by this very crisis, all who were in the ship might perish. So I rather think that immediately after the ship entered the sea and before the storm appeared, Jonah went down into the inner part of the ship, tired from the journey, and sad on account of the commission given to him. And because he did not want to mingle with those Gentiles, he therefore gave himself over to the repose of a deep sleep. For sleep naturally soothes the sadness of the heart.
And the ship-master came to him, i.e., the captain of the ship, who as the superior had to be a source of comfort to the others. And in order to provide assistance he first had to disturb their rest. And he said to him: Why are you fast asleep? That is, why are you so thoughtless and lazy, that you should sleep in such a crisis? Rise up, call upon your God, so that where a common danger exists, there may be common prayer. For the ship-master saw that throwing out goods and invoking idols would accomplish nothing. Therefore he speaks to Jonah, whom he saw to have not yet pleaded when it would have been natural to do so, especially since everyone in a trial places their trust in others more than in themselves. If so be that your God will think of us, who are not helped by our gods, i.e., that your God in coming to our assistance may show himself mindful of us, whom he seems to have forgotten. That we may not perish, i.e., lest we should drown.
And they said every one to his fellow, i.e., those men were speaking among themselves. No doubt Jonah had in fact risen and prayed to God, but when his prayer did not provide relief, they said the following: Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know why this evil punishment, i.e., this affliction, is upon us. Those sailors, experienced in the nature of winds and storms, had not considered the storm to be natural and ordinary, but to have happened on account of an evil deed of someone in the ship. Otherwise, they would not have sought by lot the originator of the shipwreck, nor would they have attempted to avoid certain danger through an uncertain affair. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. For Proverbs 16:33.lots are cast into the lap, but they are disposed of by the Lord, as is said in the book of Proverbs.
It is questioned whether one should make use of lots. It seems that one indeed can from the authority of Solomon just quoted. Also, Joshua 7:14-18.Joshua caught Achan by means of lots. Furthermore, Acts 1:26.lots were used by the Apostles in the election of Matthias. In addition, Moses says in the book of Numbers that the promised land should be divided by lots, declaring: Numbers 33:54.To every one as the lot should fall, so should the inheritance be given. The opposite is also argued since the Glossa Ordinaria says regarding this passage (and this gloss is taken from the words of Jerome): Now Matthias is chosen by lots, and this fugitive, namely Jonah, is revealed by lots—accomplished not by the power of the lots, but by the will of God, who directed the uncertain lots. We should neither make use of nor believe in the power of lots from this example, since the privileges of individuals cannot make common law. In the same way, dreams should not always be trusted, although by the will of God, Genesis 41; Daniel 2, 4.Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar learn the future by means of dreams, namely through the interpretation of Joseph and Daniel.
Thomas responds likewise in the Secunda Secundae,Taken from ST II-II, q. 95, a. 8. which speaks of lots as something done in order to reveal something hidden. The purpose of lots is therefore threefold: pertaining of course to distribution, consultation, or divination. It is called a lot of distribution since by the casting or indication of the lots one seeks what should be given to someone regarding a possession, an authority, an honor, or a punishment, i.e., in order to find out who receives which part. And if one seeks what should or should not be done, it is called a lot of consultation. But if what is sought for is in the future, it is a lot of divination. Now human acts which are required for casting lots are not subject to the influence of heavenly bodies. Therefore, it is not permitted to attribute an outcome or manifestation of casting lots to heavenly bodies or stars, nor to an evil spiritual being, namely a demon. Now apart from these causes, it is necessary to attribute the outcome of casting lots to chance, or to a spiritual being directing it towards the good, namely to God or to angels. And therefore, if a lot is attributed to chance—which only applies to a lot of distribution, such as when people are unable to divide something amicably, and they cast lots to entrust it all to chance—then (as some say), there is no sin. Yet others claim that it could be a sin of vanity. On the other hand, if the outcome of the lot is attributed God or to angels, it is not bad in itself according to Augustine. But in this, one can fall into sin in four ways. First, if it is done without necessity, for this relates to tempting God. Second, if it is done out of necessity, but without proper reverence. Hence the Apostles, having assembled a meeting of the brethren, Acts 1:15ff.prayed before they cast lots. Third, if divine oracles are directed to earthly affairs. Fourth, if lots are used in ecclesiastical elections, which should be held by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Hence Bede says that Matthias was elected or made an apostle when the Holy Spirit was not yet given; but when the Holy Spirit was received, Acts 6:5.seven deacons were ordained—not by lot, but by an election of the brethren.
With all that, a response to the arguments above is clear. But those in the ship with Jonah were Gentiles, and therefore they believed in the superstitious use of lots. However, they cannot be entirely without blame. Yet God, who draws good from evil things, arranged these lots so that Jonah was caught.
And they said to him: Tell us for what cause, i.e., for what sin, this evil punishment, namely the storm, is upon us all on account of you alone. Discovered by lot, they force him to confess the truth in his own voice so that they could punish him with certainty. And perhaps they were particularly surprised that the lot fell on Jonah, who from his character and appearance, his words and actions, seemed to be a virtuous man. Therefore, they asked: What is your business? That is, what is your task at hand? What did you do? Who do you work for? They ask of his business first, since on account of his works a man is shown worthy of punishment or praise. Of what country are you? That is, in what country were you born? And where are you going? Or of what people are you? That is, of whose religion and culture are you? Thus, they ask four remarkably short questions, so that from these the cause of the danger would be known. For sometimes a man is punished because of the wickedness of the land of his birth, or because he travels to a forbidden place, or because of the sins of his parents. Jonah briefly and plainly responds to these: And he said to them: I am a Hebrew. For the descendants of the race of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob are called Hebrews from Genesis 11:14-26.Eber, from whose line Abraham was born. And I fear the Lord the God of heaven, i.e., I worship and respect him. For when Jonah said this, he certainly feared God, and he (as I believe) repented of his sin. But whether or not he can rightly be said to have mortally sinned by disobeying and running away, he lost filial fear, which he restored by repenting. Who made both the sea and the dry land—the one of whom it is read in Revelation: Revelation 14:7.Adore him, that made heaven and earth, the sea, and the fountains of waters.
And the men were greatly afraid, yet submissive. For they feared the majesty of the Creator, whose almighty power they were visibly experiencing; and they had seen what a Hebrews 10:31.fearful thing it could be to fall into his hands. And they said to him: Why have you done this? This can be understood in two ways. First, as a rebuke, as if they were saying: Why did you not obey so great a God? And why did you think you could flee from the hand of the Creator? Second, as an interrogation, as they may have thought: What is the secret behind your flight? Why did such a man, so religious and aware of divine revelations, run away and not care to go to Nineveh to warn them of their destruction? Why did a worshiper of the one most high God abandon his God? For the men knew that he fled from the face of the Lord, because he had told them when he said, "I am a Hebrew." For then he suggested that he could have fled from the face of the Lord, and for this reason the storm arose.
And they said to him: What shall we do to you, that the sea, i.e., the commotion of the sea, may be calm to us? They say, so to speak: We consider you to be a great man, wise and holy, with whom God speaks, to whom he reveals his secrets and entrusts great things. Therefore, we hand this all over to you so that you may be your own judge. You give the order, and we will follow it; and let the author of the offense recommend the cure. We do not dare to condemn a worshiper of the most high God by our own judgment, lest we should incur the wrath of his God. For the sea flowed and swelled. And he said to them: Take me up, and cast me into the sea. In this the courage and justice of Jonah is revealed, who so quickly pronounced a judgment against himself, and preferred to be thrown into the sea rather than to endanger the others with him. For he was prepared to endure death for his sin, to the satisfaction of divine honor. And the sea shall be calm to you, as soon as I have been drowned. For with the offense punished, the hardship will end. For I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you, i.e., I empathize with you and wish for you to be rescued by my death.
And the men rowed hard to return to land. In this it is apparent how reluctant they were to cast out Jonah, to whom they were entrusting his own judgment, on account of their respect for his character. But they were not able to return to land, because the sea tossed, i.e., it was violently carrying them, and swelled upon them, as though it were unable to scatter the powerful vengeance of the Creator on his offense. And the longer those men delayed in throwing Jonah overboard, the higher the charge of the waves which rushed over them. Some Hebrew scholars also say that other nearby ships were continuing on without being disturbed by the storm, but this ship out of all the ships around was being threatened, and thus they were not able to turn back. And they cried to the Lord, for they had already known the cause from the effect, that it could clearly only be the almighty and most high Lord of all, whose great power they were experiencing at sea. And said: We beseech you, O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, i.e., let us not be punished by you for the killing of your follower. And lay not upon us innocent blood, i.e., do not charge us with the death of your harmless, holy Prophet. Not that he was completely innocent, indeed he deserved this punishment. But in other respects he was a holy and innocent man, and they knew him to be a better man than they. Thus, they were afraid to lay hands on the prophet as sinners themselves. For you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.
And they took Jonas, i.e., they carried him voluntarily with reverence and fear, they did not seize him with a struggle; and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased, i.e., it quieted down and rested; from raging, i.e., violent commotion similar to fury and anger. And the men feared the Lord exceedingly. For it is natural that having seen unusual and miraculous things, a person might be afraid. Thus in the Gospels it is frequently mentioned that Matthew 9:8; Mark 4:40, 5:15; Luke 5:26, 7:16.crowds, having seen the miracles of Christ, were afraid. And as previously discussed, the men saw many miraculous things within the last hour, namely a supernatural storm rising up and suddenly ceasing. And sacrificed victims to the Lord, either sacrifices of praise from both a crushed spirit and devout prayer, or even material sacrifices of things they had with them; and made vows, i.e., they promised more offerings to him. Indeed, according to Jerome, they promised that they would not depart from God, whom they began to worship. Thus, they feared him now with an intense and initial, or filial, fear, repenting and taking up an honest way of life, and so they soon obtained sanctifying grace.
Translation in Progress
