Jonah 2:6-11

וַאֲנִ֣י אָמַ֔רְתִּי נִגְרַ֖שְׁתִּי מִנֶּ֣גֶד עֵינֶ֑יךָ אַ֚ךְ אוֹסִ֣יף לְהַבִּ֔יט אֶל־הֵיכַ֖ל קָדְשֶֽׁךָ׃[1]   Jonah 2:5 (Eng 2:4)

And I said I am cast from your eyes, but I will look toward your holy temple again.

The noun עֵינֶ֑יךָ is the plural form of an eye. The English equivalent would be eyes. Tucker says that the complex preposition functions spatially, indicating the place from where the action is undertaken.[2]The thought is that Jonah, like the prodigal son, has wandered from the father's presence and is finally willing to turn his eyes back toward God. It is to be noted that some scholars translate the final half of this verse as, "How shall I look toward your holy temple again." The reasoning for this alternative translation is due to one textual tradition that offers (How)  אַ֚יךְ instead of (But) אַ֚ךְ. Yet, tucker says that the proposal must be abandoned and the MT retained due to the minimal support for this translation.[3]

The verb אוֹסִ֣יף means add but is often translated as again.[4] Thus, it is accurate that Jonah committed to turning his heart back to God and hoping that he would again see the temple. When  Jonah said I would again look toward your Holy Temple, it indicates Jonah's commitment to persist in prayer.[5] Again, אוֹסִ֣יף is a hiphil (Causitive) verb, meaning that Jonah was committed (or causing himself) to turn to prayer. It shows intent and persistent commitment to act.

אֲפָפ֤וּנִי מַ֙יִם֙ עַד־נֶ֔פֶשׁ תְּה֖וֹם יְסֹבְבֵ֑נִי ס֖וּף חָב֥וּשׁ לְרֹאשִֽׁי׃[6] Jonah 2:6 (Eng 2:5)

The waters engulfed me as far as the soul; the deep had surrounded me, and reeds had wrapped around my head.

Once again, Jonah has returned to the imagery of being in Sheol and surrounded by despair. Youngblood suggests that Jonah has finally come to grips with the severity of his separation from God.[7] His view is that it is not the fate of his flesh that brings him to despair but rather the separation from God. Yet, although Jonah has prayed and turned back to God, there is little evidence to suggest that he did not anguish for his own life.

The qal qatal verb אפפ, as well as its counterpart סֹבב in line B, invokes images of constricting or confining.[8] However, this word is rare only used in poetic books. This gives the idea that Jonah felt like he was at the point of death. It is possible that Jonah was suffering from Closter phobia. It is possible that he was either reflecting upon actual events while in the ocean or current events while in the fish's belly. Either way, he was being suffocated and bound by reeds around his (רֹאשׁ) head.

לְקִצְבֵ֤י הָרִים֙ יָרַ֔דְתִּי הָאָ֛רֶץ בְּרִחֶ֥יהָ בַעֲדִ֖י לְעוֹלָ֑ם וַתַּ֧עַל מִשַּׁ֛חַת חַיַּ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהָֽי׃[9] Jonah 2:7 (Eng 2:6)

To the roots of the mountains, I went down, the land, her bars were about me forever, and you brought my life up from the pit, my Lord my God.

The noun לְקִצְבֵ֤י comes from the root word קֶצֶב, meaning "to cut." When used in its plural form along with mountains, הָרִים֙ probably means roots of the mountains.[10] Lessing also says that when joined with the qal verb יָרַ֔דְתִּי, the phrase probably means the lowest depths of the sea. Youngblood says that this reference to the roots of the mountains is perhaps referring to the two subterranean mountains that support the Earth in Semitic conceptions of the world.[11] Youngblood provides significant meaning to this phrase by showing that the two mountains were representative of Zion. Thus, showing how Jonah had fallen from the presence of God to wholly broken fellowship with Him.

            בְּרִחֶ֥יהָ is a common noun and means "Her bars." Brown-Driver-Bridges Lexicon says that it is a bar like that of a spear shaft or the joining boards of the tabernacle.[12] Again, this may show how Jonah had fallen from the presence of the Lord and his temple to the loss of fellowship with Yahweh.

            Youngblood says that the second stanza of the poem opens with a monocolon. Furthermore, he states that these are rare in Hebrew and mark a significant transition in the narrative.[13]As such, this is the case in this passage. Jonah's plight turns from one of death to redemptive salvation. God restored his life from the pit (Death.)

            וַתַּ֧עַל "And you have brought my life up," is a hiphil wayyiqtol verb. This tense connects to an earlier verb and shows a flow of thoughts and a timeline. Thus, the redemptive work is tied to the despair mentioned at first. Jonah, despite his grief, was delivered by the Lord. It is almost as if Jonah said that God was faithful to forgive and restore despite his sin. Tucker states that this use of a wayyiqtol is significant because it contrasts Jonah's descent into Sheol with God's willingness to bring him up.[14]

Jonah 2:8 (Eng 2:7)    בְּהִתְעַטֵּ֤ף עָלַי֙ נַפְשִׁ֔י אֶת־יְהוָ֖ה זָכָ֑רְתִּי וַתָּב֤וֹא אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ תְּפִלָּתִ֔י אֶל־הֵיכַ֖ל קָדְשֶֽׁךָ׃[15]

When my soul, in me, was slipping away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came before you, into your holy temple.

The hithpael verb עטףis only used six times in the Old Testament. When used with the ב form (as an infinitive construct), it forms a temporal clause.[16] According to Lessing, this is more than fainting or passing out. It infers that his life was slipping away and that he was at the point of death. Therefore, Jonah said he remembered Yahweh when he was at the edge of death.

Again, the qal wayyiqtol verb וַתָּב֤וֹא connects with an earlier verb. In this usage, it connects with the qal verb זָכָ֑רְתִּי. Jonah remembered the Lord, and as a result, he entered into a heart of prayer. And my prayer came before you (וַתָּב֤וֹא אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ תְּפִלָּתִ֔י,) is phrased as a past certainty of what was a request in Ps. 88:3.[17]

Into your holy temple is assuredly not to be taken literally. Jonah did not enter the Temple of Yahweh from the ocean's depths. However, his prayers were able to go where Jonah could not. Jonah's prayer reached the dwelling-place from a great distance.[18] This prayer also shows that Jonah could not escape God, regardless of his efforts or circumstances.

מְשַׁמְּרִ֖ים הַבְלֵי־שָׁ֑וְא חַסְדָּ֖ם יַעֲזֹֽבוּ׃[19] Jonah 2:9 (Eng 2:8)

Those who worship idols forsake their well-being.

The piel verb מְשַׁמְּרִ֖ים means to keep, watch or observe. Lessing says that the peil can denote "Repeated, intensive action."[20] It carries the same connotation as worship, and Jonah contrasts his faith in God with those who hold to idols. Michael Barre argues that the piel participle should be embedded with the qal participle and thus say that Jonah called to the Lord from among idol worshippers.[21]

Interestingly, Jonah behaves piously from the fish's belly towards those who had cast him out of the boat. However, as Lessing points out, these men were brought to faith in Jonah's God and prayed to him. Yet, during this period, Jonah refused to pray. However, Jonah now looks down on those who are far above him. Furthermore, Lessing says that this is the same arrogance that kept Jonah from going to Ninevah and the same attitude that would be displayed in chapter four.

The last phrase is interesting in that חַסְדָּ֖ם יַעֲזֹֽבוּ implies that those who do call out to other gods will forsake the same deliverance that Jonah experienced. יַעֲזֹֽבוּ is a qal yiqtol verb and indicates that the damage done by rejecting God is eternal. This further complicates the understanding of Jonah's disdain for the non-Jew.

Jonah 2:10 (Eng 2:9) וַאֲנִ֗י בְּק֤וֹל תּוֹדָה֙ אֶזְבְּחָה־לָּ֔ךְ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָדַ֖רְתִּי אֲשַׁלֵּ֑מָה יְשׁוּעָ֖תָה לַיהוָֽה[22]

And with the voice of thanksgiving, I will pay what I vowed to you; salvation is of the Lord.

This sentence starts with a pronoun and shows the emphasis of the text. Tucker says that the pronoun is not necessary with a finite verb and thus serves to show contrast.[23] In this usage, Jonah contrasts himself with the idol worshipers in verse nine. Jonah says they worshiped a false god, but he will worship the true God with thanksgiving.

There is a qal cohortative verb used in the middle of verse ten, אֶזְבְּחָה. This cohortative use seems to show command or authoritative speech. Jonah emphatically states that he will sacrifice to the Lord. However, as is shown in the following chapters, this promise is short-lived. Thus, this wordage can be another example of Jonah's speech derived from piety rather than sincerity. Youngblood says, "Jonah three demonstrates that Jonah did indeed go to Ninevah without objection. His acts of piety are not irrelevant. They, however, are not enough."[24]

יְשׁוּעָ֖תָה means salvation; however, as Simon points out, it is a poetic form of ישׁוּעתה. This phrase summarizes the psalm with an extraordinarily concise summation of its content- "To the Lord [belongs] deliverance."[25]

Jonah 2:11 (Eng 2:10)            וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהוָ֖ה לַדָּ֑ג וַיָּקֵ֥א אֶת־יוֹנָ֖ה אֶל־הַיַּבָּשָֽׁה׃[26]

            And the Lord commanded the fish and caused it to vomit Jonah up to dry land.

            אמר is the root word of וַיֹּ֥אמֶר and means to utter, say command, or epithet of a king. The Lord did not merely speak to the fish and make a request. He commanded it as a king would command a servant. This command further demonstrates that the fish was a tool in the hand of God and did not work out of its desires.

             The hiphil verb וַיָּקֵ֥א shows that the fish did not just vomit Jonah up, but rather the Lord caused it to vomit up Jonah. Again, we see that the fish was a servant of God. Just as Jonah could not escape the call of God, neither could he escape the judgment of God.

            הַיַּבָּשָֽׁה dry land is the place where Jonah began his plight from God, and it is now the place that he has returned. Simon says, "Here, the story returns to its point of origin."[27] Jonah has now returned to the mission that he was called to do. Lessing points out that the sailors, in chapter one, had attempted to return to dry land but could not. However, we now see that God was able to do what man could not. The reason was that God had to work in Jonah so that He could work through Jonah.

[1] The Lexham Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Jon 2:5.

[2]Denis Tucker, Jonah a Handbook on the Hebrew Text. 53.

[3]Denis Tucker. 54.

[4]Francis Brown, S Driver, and Charles Briggs, The Brown-Driver-Brigs Hebrew Nd English Lexicon, 5th ed. (Peabody, Massachusetts: Henderson Publishers, 2000).

[5]Youngblood, Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament: JONAH. 108.

[6] The Lexham Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Jon 2:6.

[7]Youngblood, Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament: JONAH. 108.

[8]Denis Tucker, Jonah a Handbook on the Hebrew Text. 55.

[9] The Lexham Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Jon 2:7.

[10]Lessing, Concordia Commentary JONAH.197.

[11]Youngblood, Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament: JONAH. 109.

[12]Brown, Driver, and Briggs, The Brown-Driver-Brigs Hebrew Nd English Lexicon.

[13]Youngblood, Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament: JONAH. 109-110.

[14]Denis Tucker, Jonah a Handbook on the Hebrew Text. 58.

[15] The Lexham Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Jon 2:8.

[16]Lessing, Concordia Commentary JONAH.198.

[17]Simon, Uriel, The JPS Bible Commentary JONAH. 23.

[18]Ibid., 23.

[19] Lessing, Concordia Commentary JONAH. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Jon 2:9.

[20]Lessing, Concordia Commentary JONAH.200.

[21]Ibid., 200.

[22] The Lexham Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Jon 2:10.

[23]Denis Tucker, Jonah a Handbook on the Hebrew Text. 61

[24]Youngblood, Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament: JONAH. 113.

[25]Simon, Uriel, The JPS Bible Commentary JONAH. 24.

[26] The Lexham Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Jon 2:11.

[27]Simon, Uriel, The JPS Bible Commentary JONAH. 25.