Jon 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah - All that is certainly known about this prophet has already been laid before the reader. He was of Gath-hepher, in the tribe of Zebulun, in lower Galilee; and he prophesied in the reigns of Jeroboam the Second, and Joash, kings of Israel. Jeroboam came to the throne eight hundred and twenty-three years before the Christian era, and reigned in Samaria forty-one years, 2Ki_14:23-25. As a prophet, it is likely that he had but this one mission.
Now the word of the Lord - literally, “And the word of the Lord.” This was the standing formula with which historical events were linked on to one another, inasmuch as every occurrence follows another in chronological sequence. It joins the four first books of Moses together; it carries on the history through Joshua, Judges, the Books of Samuel and of the Kings. After the captivity, Ezra and Nehemiah begin again where the histories before left off; the break of the captivity is bridged over; and Ezra, going back in mind to the history of God’s people before the captivity, resumes the history, as if it had been of yesterday, “And in the first year of Cyrus.” It joins in the story of the Book of Ruth before the captivity, and that of Esther afterward. At times, even prophets employ it, in using the narrative form of themselves, as Ezekiel, “and it was in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, and I was in the captivity by the river of Chebar, the heavens opened and I saw.” And yet more precisely; this form, “and the word of the Lord came to - saying,” occurs over and over again, stringing together the pearls of great price of God’s revelations, and uniting this new revelation to all those which had preceded it. The word, “And,” then joins on histories with histories, revelations with revelations, uniting in one the histories of God’s works and words, and blending the books of Holy Scripture into one divine book.
Jonah the son of Amittai - Both names occur here only in the Old Testament, Jonah signifies “Dove,” Amittai, “the truth of God.” Who his father Amittai was is not known: if the rule of the Jews would hold good, that when a prophet mentions his own name, and the name of his father, he is a prophet, the son of a prophet, then Amittai was one; but this is not to be depended on.
Jon 1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city - Just before the time of Jonah, perhaps ending in it, were the victorious reigns of Shalmanubar and Shamasiva; after him was that of Ivalush or Pul, the first aggressor upon Israel. It is clear that this was a time Of Assyrian greatness: since God calls it “that great city,” not in relation to its extent only, but its power
Go to Nineveh - This was the capital of the Assyrian empire, and one of the most ancient cities of the world, Gen_10:11 Out of that land he went forth to Assyria. And he built Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah; and one of the largest, as it was three days’ journey in circumference.
Their wickedness is come up before Me - So God said to Cain, Gen_4:10 And He said, What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries to Me from the ground and of Sodom Gen_18:20-21 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which has come to Me. And if not, I will know. The “wickedness” is not the mere mass of human sin, of which it is said 1Jo_5:19 We know that we are of God, and all the world lies in evil but evil-doing toward others. This was the cause of the final sentence on Nineveh, with which Nahum closes his prophecy Nahum 3:19 There is no healing of your fracture; your wound is grievous; all who hear the news of you shall clap the hands over you; for upon whom has your wickedness not passed continually? It bad been assigned as the ground of the judgment on Israel through Nineveh Hos_10:14-15 And an uproar shall arise among your peoples, and all your fortresses shall be spoiled, as the ruin of Beth-arbel by Shalman in the day of battle. The mother was dashed in pieces on her sons. So He does to you, Bethel, because of your great evil. In a morning the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off. It was the ground of the destruction by the flood Gen_6:5 And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. God represents Himself, the Great Judge, as sitting on His Throne in heaven, Unseen but All-seeing, to whom the wickedness and oppressiveness of man against man “goes up,” appealing for His sentence against the oppressor. The cause seems ofttimes long in pleading. God is long-suffering with the oppressor too, that if so be, he may repent. So would a greater good come to the oppressed also, if the wolf became a lamb. But meanwhile, “ every iniquity has its own voice at the hidden judgment seat of God.” Mercy itself calls for vengeance on the unmerciful.
and cry against it - or prophesy against it; he was to lift up his voice, and cry aloud, as he passed along in it, that the inhabitants might hear him; The only case of a prophet being sent to the heathen. Jonah, however, is sent to Nineveh, not solely for Nineveh's good, but also to shame Israel, by the fact of a heathen city repenting at the first preaching of a single stranger, Jonah, whereas God's people will not repent, though preached to by their many national prophets, late and early.
Jon 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
But Jonah rose up to flee - from the presence of the Lord - literally “from being before the Lord.” Jonah fled, not from God’s presence, but from standing before him, as His servant and minister. He refused God’s service, because, as he himself tells God afterward Jon_4:2, he knew what it would end in, and he didn’t like it. So he acted, as people often do, who dislike God’s commands. He set about removing himself as far as possible from being under the influence of God, and from the place where he “could” fulfill them. God commanded him to go to Nineveh, which lay northeast from his home; and he instantly set himself to flee to the then furthermost west. Holy Scripture sets the rebellion before us in its full nakedness. “The word of the Lord came unto Jonah, go to Nineveh, and Jonah rose up;” he did something instantly, as the consequence of God’s command. He “rose up,” not as other prophets, to obey, but to disobey; and that, not slowly nor irresolutely, but “to flee, from” standing “before the Lord.” He renounced his office.
To flee unto Tarshish - Some say Tartessus, in Spain, near the straits of Gibraltar, others, Tarsus, in Cilicia.
from the presence of the Lord - Jonah's motive for flight is hinted at in Jon_4:2 : fear that after venturing on such a dangerous commission to so powerful a heathen city, his prophetical threats should be set aside by God's "repenting of the evil," just as God had so long spared Israel notwithstanding so many provocations, and so he should seem a false prophet. Besides, he may have felt it beneath him to discharge a commission to a foreign idolatrous nation, whose destruction he desired rather than their repentance. This is the only case of a prophet, charged with a prophetical message, concealing it.
from the presence of the Lord - The motive for this flight was not fear of the difficulty of carrying out the command of God, but, as Jonah himself says in Jon_4:2, anxiety lest the compassion of God should spare the sinful city in the event of its repenting. He had no wish to co-operate in this; and that not merely because “he knew, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that the repentance of the Gentiles would be the ruin of the Jews, and, as a lover of his country, was actuated not so much by envy of the salvation of Nineveh, as by unwillingness that his own people should perish,” as Jerome supposes, but also because he really grudged salvation to the Gentiles.
Tarshish - named after one of the sons of Javan, Gen_10:4 And the sons of Javan: Elishah and Tarshish and Kittim and Dodanim was an ancient merchant city, once proverbial for its wealth Psa_72:10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts which supplied Judaea with silver Jer_10:9 Silver beaten into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the goldsmith. Violet and purple is their clothing; they are all the work of skillful ones. Eze_27:12 Tarshish was your merchant because of the multitude of your wealth; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they gave for your wares. Eze_27:25 The ships of Tarshish were the travelers of your goods. And you were filled and made very glorious in the heart of the seas. It was known to the Greeks and Romans, as Tartessus; but in our first century, it had either ceased to be, or was known under some other name. The breaking of ships of Tarshish in Psa_48:7 You break the ships of Tarshish with an east wind; is, on account of their size and general safety, instanced as a special token of the interposition of God.
And went down to Joppa - Joppa, now Jaffa (Haifa), was the one well-known port of Israel on the Mediterranean. There the cedars were brought from Lebanon for both the first and second temple. To this port Jonah “went down” from his native country, the mountain district of Zabulon. Perhaps it was not at this time in the hands of Israel. At least, the sailors were pagan. He “went down,” as the man who fell among the thieves, is said to “have gone down from Jerusalem to Jericho.” Luk_10:30. He “went down” from the place which God honored by His presence and protection.
and went down to Joppa - a seaport town in the tribe of Dan, upon the Mediterranean sea, where was a haven of ships, formerly called Japho, Jos_19:46; at this time Joppa, as it was in the times of the apostles: here Peter raised Dorcas to life, and from hence he was sent for by Cornelius, Act_9:36 And in Joppa was a certain disciple named Tabitha (which translated is called Dorcas). She was full of good works and kind deeds which she did.
And he found a ship - The Phoenicians carried on a considerable trade with Tartessus, Eze_27:12; and it was probably in one of their ships that Jonah embarked.
And he paid the fare thereof - Jonah describes circumstantially, how he took every step to his end. He went down, found a strongly built ship going where he wished, paid his fare, embarked. He seemed now to have done all. He had severed himself from the country where his office lay. He had no further step to take. Winds and waves would do the rest. He had but to be still.
Jon 1:4 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
But the Lord sent out - (literally ‘cast along’). Jonah had done his all. Now God’s part began. Jonah took “his” measures, “and” now God takes “His.” He had let him have his way, as He often deals with those who rebel against Him. He lets them have their way up to a certain point. He waits, in the tranquility of His Almightiness, until they have completed their preparations; and then, when man has ended, He begins, that man may see the more that it is His doing.
The ship was like - (literally ‘thought’) To be broken. They had nearly suffered shipwreck. Jonah ascribes, as it were, to the ship a sense of its own danger, as she heaved and rolled and creaked and quivered under the weight of the storm which lay on her, and her masts groaned, and her yard-arms shivered
A great wind - They were overtaken with a storm, which came by the immediate direction of God. Winds are at the command of God. Remember how Jesus calmed the storm at sea. This wind was an extraordinary one, like that "laelaps" or storm of wind which came down into the sea when the disciples of Christ were on it in a ship Luke 8:23-24 But as they sailed, He fell asleep. And a storm of wind came onto the lake. And they were being filled with water and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awakened Him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing! Then being aroused, He rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm; or like the "Euroclydon", in which the Apostle Paul was, Act_27:14 But not long after, a stormy wind called Euroclydon beat down on it.
Jon 1:5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
Cried every man unto his god - The ship’s crew were all heathens; and, it is probable, heathens who had each a different object of religious worship. In the ship it seems were men of different nations, and who worshipped different gods. The idols proved unable to save them, though each, according to Phœnician custom, called on his tutelary god. .
Cast forth the wares - Threw the lading overboard to lighten the ship, hoping the better to ride out the storm.
To lighten it of them - literally “to lighten from against them, to lighten” what was so much “against them,” what so oppressed them. They thought that the ship was weighed down by its wonted lading, and they knew not that the whole weight was that of the fugitive prophet. The sailors cast forth their wares, but the ship was not lightened. For the whole weight still remained, the body of the prophet, that heavy burden, not from the nature of the body, but from the burden of sin. For nothing is so onerous and heavy as sin and disobedience. Whence also Zechariah Zec_5:6-7 And I said, "What is it?" He said, "This is the basket that is going out." And he said, "This is their iniquity in all the land." And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket represented it under the image of lead. And David, describing its nature, said Psa 38:4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. And Christ cried aloud to those who lived in many sins, Mat 11:28 Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Jonah was gone down - Most probably into the hold or cabin under the deck; or where they had berths for passengers in the sides of the ship, something in the manner of our packets.
Then the mariners were afraid - Perceiving that the storm was not an ordinary, but a supernatural one; and that the ship and all in it were in extreme danger, and no probability of being saved. This shows that the storm must be very violent, to frighten such men who were used to the sea, and to storms, and were naturally bold and intrepid. The word used signifies "salters", so called from the salt sea they used, as they are by us "mariners", from "mare", the "sea"; though one scholar thinks the commodity they carried in their vessel was salt:
into the sides--that is, the interior recesses.
Jon 1:6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
What meanest thou - or rather, “what aileth thee?” (literally “what is to thee?”) The shipmaster speaks of it (as it was) as a sort of disease, that he should be thus asleep in the common peril. This is not a time to sleep, when the ship is like to be broke to pieces, all lives lost, and thine own too: thus the prophet, who was sent to rebuke the greatest monarch in the world, is himself rebuked by a shipmaster, and a Heathen man.
Arise, call upon thy God - He supposed that Jonah had his god, as well as they had theirs; and that, as the danger was imminent, every man should use the influence he had, as they were all equally involved in it.
Jon 1:7 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.
Come, and let us cast lots - This was a very ancient mode of endeavoring to find out the mind of Divine Providence; and in this case it proves that they supposed the storm to have arisen on account of some hidden crime of some person aboard. Jonah too had probably prayed, and his prayers too were not heard. Possibly the storm had some unusual character about it, the suddenness with which it burst upon them, its violence, the quarter from where it came, its whirlwind force . God sometimes sanctioned this mode of deciding in difficult cases. Compare the similar instance of Achan, whose guilt involved Israel in suffering, until God revealed the offender, probably by the casting of lots ( Pro_16:33; Act_1:26).
The lot fell upon Jonah - In this case God directed the lot.
Jon 1:8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?
Tell us, for whose cause - Literally “for what to whom.” A very gentle method of bringing the charge home to himself, and the several questions here asked gave the utmost latitude to make the best of his own case. The lot had pointed him out. The mariners, still fearing to do wrong, ask him thronged questions, to know why the anger of God followed him; “what” hast thou done “to whom?” “what thine occupation?” i. e., either his ordinary occupation, whether it was displeasing to God? or this particular business in which he was engaged, and for which he had come on board. They did not fall upon him at once in an outrageous manner, and throw him overboard; as it might be thought such men would have done, considering what they had suffered and lost by means of him; but they use him with great respect, tenderness, and lenity: and entreat him to tell them
Jon 1:9 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.
I am an Hebrew - This was the name by which Israel was known to foreigners. It is used in the Old Testament, only when they are spoken of by foreigners, or speak of themselves to foreigners, or when the sacred writers mention them in contrast with foreigners. So Joseph spoke of his land Gen_40:15, and the Hebrew midwives Exo_1:19, and Moses’ sister Exo_2:7, and God in His commission to Moses Exo_3:18; Exo_7:16; Exo_9:1 as to Pharaoh, and Moses in fulfilling it Exo_5:3. They had the name, as having passed the River Euphrates, “emigrants.” The title might serve to remind themselves, that they were “strangers” and “pilgrims,” Heb_11:13. whose fathers had left their home at God’s command and for God , “passers by, through this world to death, and through death to immortality.”
I fear the Lord - In this Jonah was faithful. He gave an honest testimony concerning the God he served, which placed him before the eyes of the sailors as infinitely higher than the objects of their adoration; for the God of Jonah was the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land, and governed both. He also honestly told them that he was fleeing from the presence of this God, whose honorable call he had refused to obey.
I fear the Lord--in profession: his practice belied his profession: his profession aggravated his guilt. Jonah at last is awakened by the violent remedy from his lethargy. Jonah was but the reflection of Israel's backsliding from God, and so must bear the righteous punishment. The guilt of the minister is the result of that of the people, as in Moses' case ( Deu_4:21). This is what makes Jonah a suitable type of Messiah, who bore the imputed sin of the people.
I fear the Lord--By the statement, “I fear,” etc., he had no intention of describing himself as a righteous or innocent man, but simply meant to indicate his relation to God - namely, that he adored the living God who created the whole earth and, as Creator, governed the world. For he admits directly after, that he has sinned against this God, by telling them, as we may see from Jon_1:10, of his flight from Jehovah.
Jon 1:10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
Then were the men exceedingly afraid - Before, they had feared the tempest and the loss of their lives. Now they feared God. They feared, not the creature but the Creator. They knew that what they had feared was the doing of His Almightiness.
Why hast thou done this? - They are words of amazement and wonder. They wonder he should act such a foolish part as to flee from such a God.
Jon 1:11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
What shall we do unto thee? - They knew him to be a prophet; they ask him the mind of his God. The lots had marked out Jonah as the cause of the storm; Jonah had himself admitted it, and that the storm was for “his” cause, and came from “his” God. Though, both by the lot and his own confession, they knew he was the guilty person; for whose sake this storm was; yet were unwilling to do anything to him without his will and consent, his counsel 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.
The sea wrought and was tempestuous - literally “was going and whirling.”
Jon 1:12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
For I know that for my sake - In that he says, “I know,” he marks that he had a revelation;
cast me forth into the sea - as a prophet, knowing this to be the mind and will of God, he cheerfully and in faith submits to it, with a presence of mind and courage suitable to his character. It was not fit he should leap into the sea and destroy himself; but that he should die by the hand of justice, of which the shipmaster and the ship's crew were the proper executioners:
cast me forth into the sea - In this Jonah was a type of Christ, who willingly gave himself to suffer and die, that he might appease divine wrath, satisfy justice, and save men; only with this difference, Jonah suffered for his own sins, Christ for the sins of others; Jonah to endured a storm he himself had raised by his sins, Christ to endure a storm others had raised by their sins.
cast me forth into the sea - Herein Jonah is a type of Messiah, the one man who offered Himself to die, in order to allay the stormy flood of God's wrath (as to Messiah Psa_69:1-2 To the Chief Musician. Concerning the Lilies. A Psalm of David. Save me, O God! for the waters have come in on my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me), which otherwise must have engulfed all other men. So Caiaphas by the Spirit declared it expedient that one man should die, and that the whole nation should not perish Joh_11:49-52 And one of them, Caiaphas, being the high priest of that year, said to them, You do not know anything at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation perish. And he did not speak this of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation; and not for that nation only, but also that He should gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.
Jon 1:13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
The men rowed hard - literally “dug.” Amid the violence of the storm, they had furled their sails. These were worse than useless. The wind was off shore. They put their oars well and firmly in the sea, and turned up the water, as men turn up earth by digging. The prophet had pronounced sentence against himself, but they would not lay hands upon him, striving hard to get back to land, and escape the risk of bloodshed, willing to lose life rather than cause its loss.
Jon 1:14 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.
Wherefore they cried unto the Lord - They cried no more each man to his god but to the one God, whom Jonah had made known to them; and to Him they cried.
lay not upon us innocent blood - They seem to have known what is said, Gen_9:5-6 and surely the blood of your lives will I require. At the hand of every animal will I require it, and at the hand of man. At the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoever sheds man's blood, his blood shall be shed by man; for He made man in the image of God. Consider the confession of Pilate, who washed his hands, and said, ‘I am clean from the blood of this Man.’ Matthew 27:24-25 But when Pilate saw that it gained nothing, but rather that a tumult was made, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person. You see to it. Then all the people answered and said, Let His blood be on us and on our children. But whereas Jonah the victim was guilty and the sailors innocent, Christ our sacrificial victim was innocent and Pontius Pilate and all of us were guilty.
Jon 1:15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
The sea ceased from its raging - literally “stood” Ordinarily, the waves still swell, when the wind has ceased. The sea, when it had received Jonah, was hushed at once, to show that God alone raised and quelled it. It “stood” still, like a servant, when it had accomplished its mission. Mat_8:26, And He said to them, Why are you afraid, little-faiths? Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
So they took up, Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea - They took him out of the hold or cabin where he was, and brought him upon deck; they took him, not against his will, but with his full consent, and according to the direction and advice he gave them:
Jon 1:16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.
Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly - This was not a natural fear, as before, but a religious one; and not a servile fear, or a fear of punishment, but a reverential godly fear; for they feared him, not only because they saw his power in raising and stilling the tempest, but his goodness to them in saving them:
Feared the Lord - Perhaps as Jonah's casting overboard was a type of Christ's death, so the effect it had upon the mariners might be a type of the conversion of the Heathen from idols unto God.
Jon 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Now the Lord had prepared a great fish - of the ordering and disposition of it by the providence of God to be near the ship, and its mouth open to receive Jonah, as soon as he was cast forth from thence. Jonah was not swallowed at once, but sank to the bottom of the sea, God preserving him in life there by miracle, as he did in the fish’s belly. Then, when the seaweed was twined around his head, and he seemed to be already buried until the sea should give up her dead, God prepared the fish to swallow Jonah. God could as easily have kept Jonah alive in the sea as in the fish’s belly, but, in order to prefigure the burial of the Lord, He willed him to be within the fish whose belly was as a grave. Jonah, does not say what fish it was; and our Lord too used a name, signifying only one of the very largest fish.
And Jonah was in the belly of the fish - The time that Jonah was in the fish’s belly was a hidden prophecy. Jonah does not explain nor point it. He tells the fact, as Scripture is accustomed to do so. Then he singles out one, the turning point in it. Doubtless in those three days and nights of darkness, Jonah (like him who after his conversion became Paul), meditated much, repented much, sorrowed much, for the love of God, that he had ever offended God, purposed future obedience, adored God with wondering awe for His judgment and mercy. It was a narrow home, in which Jonah, by miracle, was not consumed; by miracle, breathed; by miracle, retained his senses in that fetid place. Jonah doubtless, repented, marveled, adored, loved God. But, of all, God has singled out this one point, how, out of such a place, Jonah thanked God. As He delivered Paul and Silas from the prison, when they prayed with a loud voice to Him, so when Jonah, by inspiration of His Spirit, thanked Him, He delivered him.
To thank God, only in order to obtain fresh gifts from Him, would be but a refined, hypocritical form of selfishness. Such a formal act would not be thanks at all. We thank God, because we love Him, because He is so infinitely good, and so good to us, unworthy. But Jonah’s was that special character of thankfulness, which thanks God in the midst of calamities from which there was no human exit; and God set His seal on this sort of thankfulness, by annexing this deliverance, which has consecrated Jonah as an image of our Lord, to his wonderful act of thanksgiving.
three days and three nights - That days and nights do not appear to signify complete days and nights of twenty-four hours among the Hebrews, see Est 4:16 Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me, and do not eat nor drink three days, night or day. My maidservants and I will also fast in the same way. And so I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law. And if I perish, I perish. compared with Est 5:1 And it happened on the third day, Esther put on royal clothing, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, across from the king's house. And the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, across from the gate of the house. Jdg 14:17 And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day, he told her, because she pressed hard upon him. And she told the riddle to the sons of her people.
and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights - to this the antitype answers; namely, our Lord's being so long in the grave; of whose death, burial, and resurrection, this was a type, as appears from Mat 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so the Son of Man shall be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth; for which reason Jonah was so miraculously preserved. A sign or miracle it is expressly called by our Lord in Mat 12:39 But He answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. And there shall be no sign given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. The miraculous interposition was not without a sufficient reason; it was calculated to affect not only Jonah, but also Nineveh and Israel. The infinite resources of God in mercy as well as judgment are prefigured in the devourer being transformed into Jonah's preserver. Jonah's condition under punishment, shut out from the outer world, was rendered as much as possible the emblem of death, a present type to Nineveh and Israel, of the death in sin, as his deliverance was of the spiritual resurrection on repentance; as also, a future type of Jesus' literal death for sin, and resurrection by the Spirit of God.
three days and three nights - The three days and three nights are not to be regarded as fully three times twenty four hours, but are to be interpreted according to Hebrew usage, as signifying that Jonah was vomited up again on the third day after he had been swallowed.
