5–17 Moby Dick: Sermon on Jonah Although the film adaptation of Moby Dick (1956) must necessarily be trimmed to a reasonable length, a significant amount of time is given to Father Mapple’s sermon given to the whalers (cf. Literature Jon 1:3a). Father Mapple (played by Orson Welles) exhorts the sailors to bravery: “Delight is to him, who, against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, stands forth his own inexorable self.”

1:1–2:1; 2:10 Use in Lectionary →RML: Monday, Week 27 in Year I.

12c,16a great Leitwort, Meaning See Literary Devices Jon 1:2.

14a to Yhwh Change in Prayer Instead of calling out to their own gods, as the sailors did earlier (Jon 1:6), they now call out to the Lord. This does not need to reflect some sort of conversion; it simply expresses the sailors’ recognition that Jonah’s god has brought this storm upon them.

4a,5b,12b,15a hurled + hurl — Leitwort

• Forms of the verb ṭwl, “to hurl, cast, or throw,” are found in Jon 1:4a,5b,12b,15a. God hurls a great wind, and so the sailors hurl the cargo. Jonah asks them to hurl him (instead of cargo) and they do so.
• Elsewhere the verb is used of weapons, as when Saul hurls a spear (1Sm 18:11; 20:33), just as a storm is a heavenly weapon (Jer 49:36—this latter example resonates with depictions of Baal, who hurls lightning, and thus draws on the convergence of Baal’s and Yhwh’s characteristic traits as storm deities [Ancient Cultures Jon 1:4a]).

Nowhere else in the Bible does God “hurl a wind.” This lends strength to the view that the word is consciously used to unify the various actions.

10a,16a the men were greatly afraid + the men greatly feared Yhwh — THEME Fear Properly Directed

The Sailors’ Fear

Fear has a significant role in driving the sailors’ behavior: they abandon precious cargo and cry out to their gods. Jon 1:10, with its cognate accusative, captures the intensification of the sailors’ fear, when they learn that Jonah has angered Yhwh through his flight. Jon 1:16 emphasizes their redoubled fear of Yhwh when the sailors toss Jonah overboard.

Jonah’s Fear

Jonah, on the other hand, is not afraid of the storm—evidenced by his nonchalant sleeping—but he is afraid of the God who brought it.

A New Kind of Fear

When the sailors do as Jonah tells them, and hurl him overboard, the storm ceases. With no more storm, the sailors might have nothing to fear. Instead, they become like Jonah, and fear a great fear of Yhwh and offer him worship. Whereas before, in the chaos of the storm, the sailors each cried out to his own god, now they are unified and safe, offering sacrifices and vows to Yhwh.

9b,11ff,15 the sea See Literary Devices Jon 1:4ab the sea.

14b Please Pleading for Life

NARRATION Motive

Here one find’s language of entreaty in the particles ’ānnâ and -nâ. This language is reserved for extreme circumstances (Biblical Intertextuality Jon 1:14b).

ENUNCIATION Direct Discourse

For the first time, the Lord is directly addressed. Even though the captain instructs Jonah to call out to his god, he did not do so.

16 RHETORIC Triple Repetition of Verb Plus Cognate Accusatives This verse presents an unusual use of three verbs used along with their cognate accusatives.

• The sailors fear a fear, sacrifice a sacrifice, and vow vows.

This device allows the narrator to illustrate the emotional states of his characters.

• In particular, the phrase wayyîr’û…yir’â gᵉdôlâ (“they feared a great fear”) in Jon 1:16 echoes Jon 1:10 and its expressive internal accusative, wayyîr’û…yir’â gᵉdôlâ.

16a the men greatly feared Yhwh NARRATION Characterization of the Sailors: Converts? This verse recalls the beginning of the drama when the sailors feared the storm and called on their own gods (Jon 1:5). Having been rescued from death, they now fear Yhwh and make sacrifices and vows to Yhwh. This may be an instance of conversion, as later Jewish tradition will emphasize (Jewish Tradition Jon 1:16c). Alternatively, it may be another example in which they recognize the power of Yhwh inasmuch as Jonah had been called upon to pray to Yhwh (Jon 1:6) and they had prayed to Yhwh prior to hurling Jonah overboard (Jon 1:14). In any case, no word for conversion is explicitly stated. 

14b innocent blood Motif of Killing the Undeserving The phrase dām nāqî’ (“innocent blood”) connotes the murder of the innocent.

• This can be done on a personal level (Prv 6:17) or on a national scale (Jl 3:19).
• Interestingly, the sailors’ concern for spilling innocent blood recalls Deuteronomy’s prohibition of killing the innocent (cf. Dt 27:25), showing that the sailors are righteous by Deuteronomic standards (cf. Ps 94:21; 106:38; Jer 7:6; 19:4; 22:3).

1:10–2:7 Use in Lectionary

• →CPL: Friday in Pasha Week, 12^th Hour, 2^nd Reading. 

7e,15a Jonah Rabbis on Jonah See Jewish Tradition Jon 1:1.

16a feared Christ's/Jonah's Passion Reveals the True God

• →Gloss. ord. "Before the passion, [the sailors] were shouting to their gods in fear; after the passion, they fear God by worshiping and honoring him, and they sacrifice offerings, which, according to the literal sense, they did not have among the waves but [they did have] the sacrifice of an afflicted spirit."

16b offered a sacrifice Did God Approve of Such Sacrifice?

• →Calvin Prael. proph. min. "It may, however, be inquired, whether that sacrifice pleased God. It is certain that whenever men bring forward their own devices, whatever is otherwise worthy of approbation in what they do, it cannot but be corrupted and vitiated by such a mixture; for God, as it is well known, allows of no associate…God there repudiates all the sacrifices which were wont to be offered by the people of Israel, because superstitions were blended with them. God then shows that such a mixture is so disapproved by him, that he chooses rather that the superstitious should wholly give themselves up to the devils than that his holy name should be thus profaned. Hence this sacrifice of itself was not lawful, nor could it have pleased God; but it was, so to speak, by accident and extrinsically that this sacrifice pleased God—because he designed thus to make known his glory."

1:2–3:8 Leitwort "Call Out": Jonah as a Story about "Calling" The verb qr’, “to call, to cry out,” occurs eight times within the story.

Main Theme?

"Calling," with all its polysemous qualities (speaking in the name of God—proclamation—and speaking to God—prayer), is a significant theme of the story.

Structural Repetition

Its occurrences reveal the basic structure of the narrative.

• The first divine mandate (Jon 1:2) is that Jonah “calls out against Nineveh.” Since he himself is disobedient to this divine call, the order is echoed by the sailors (Jon 1:6): “Get up! Call out!” When Jonah still does not follow this order of calling, it is the sailors who “called out” to YHWH (Jon 1:14).
• It is only in the innards of the fish that Jonah follows their example and calls out to YHWH (Jon 2:2 [V-2:3]).
• After that turning point, God repeats his first order (Jon 3:2), and Jonah accomplishes his mission (Jon 3:4). As a result, the people of Nineveh “called for a fast” (Jon 3:5) and their own king orders them to “call out” to YHWH (Jon 3:8).

3–16 Ships and Seafaring in the ANE  Water travel was practiced in the ANE at least as early as 10,000 B.C. Given the likely deterioration and decomposition of ships over millennia, little survives that could be excavated, and the best information comes from artistic renderings.  

Attestations

• The best preserved example of an ancient boat is that of Cheops/Khufu, which was excavated near the Giza pyramids. See →Wachsmann 1998, 219.

History

• The earliest boats were towed or punted; the earliest evidence for sails dates to around 3500 B.C.
• By 2500 B.C., there is ample evidence of long distance seafaring, which likely gave rise to developments in mathematics and astronomy.
• Egyptian maritime interests were concerned with imports, whereas the Phoenicians developed colonies throughout the Mediterranean basin.
• Solomon is said to have partnered with Hyram of Tyre to build a fleet to sail out of Ezion-Geber (near present-day Aqaba) on the Red Sea (1Kgs 9:26–28; 10:11,22; 2Chr 8:18; 9:21).
• By the Persian period, sea-going vessels tended to be shallow, being 10–18 m long, having a width of 1/3 the length, and employing rounded hulls and single sails. They were able to transport up to 250 tons. As we see in Jonah, these ships were often fully or partially decked—since Jonah is able to go below deck—and tended to follow the coastline, suggested by the fact that the sailors hoped to be able to row back to shore.

A Boat from Jonah's Era

• The Ma‘agan Michael Ship, discovered off the coast of Ma‘agan Michael, Israel, in 1985, is a unique example of a Levantine ship built in the same era that Jonah was composed. In fact, it is the oldest extant ship from the era of Persian dominance in the ANE. At 12.5 m long and 4 m wide it bore a single sail and was likely maintained by a crew of 4–6 sailors as it plied the open waters of the Mediterranean. At the time of its demise, it was carrying a cargo of Greek blueschist stone, used primarily for roofing. Today the boat is on display at Haifa University’s Hecht Museum.
• At the same museum, one can consult a model of an 8^th c. Phoenician merchant ship after an Assyrian relief from the palace of Sargon at Khorsabad.

Here, Prof. E. Nantet explains maritime archaeology to the contributors to this edition of Jonah (July 7^th, 2019). Part of the retrieved blue stones of the cargo is displayed on the ground.

1:4–2:10 TYPOLOGY Jonah and Noah The two best known nautically themed stories of the OT exhibit structural and thematic similarities.

Plot

• God sees the wickedness (rā‘â) of human beings: the evil’s scope is more universal in Genesis (Gn 6:5; Jon 1:2).

• Forty days: the duration of the storm (Gn 7:17) and the grace period until God’s judgment (Jon 3:4).

• Sacrifice: Noah, the sailors (Jon 1:16), and Jonah (Jon 2:9) offer sacrifices in response to God’s salvation from the waters (Gn 8:20–21).

Characters and Actors

• Animals: God’s concern for animals is ambiguous in Genesis, for, on the one hand, he saves the animals from the flood, but, on the other hand, he then gives them to Noah and his descendants to eat (Gn 7:2–3). His solicitude for animals in Jonah seems clearer (Jon 4:11). Incidentally, the presence of animals in these two stories may account for why they are the two most popular stories for biblical children’s literature (cf. →Introduction §3.13).

• Large populations: Noah’s story emphasizes the multitude of people on the earth (Gn 6:1), while Jonah’s notes the immensity of Nineveh’s population (Jon 1:2; 4:11).

• Dove: Noah releases a dove to check whether the floodwaters have receded (Gn 8:8), and Jonah’s name means “dove” (Jon 1:1).

Motifs

• Power over creation: divinely ordained storms prevail over the face of the earth (mountains, etc.; cf. Gn 7:19) and threaten Jonah’s ship (Jon 1:4).

• Salvation from water: God rescues our two protagonists from the waters of chaos by commanding Noah to build an ark (Gn 6:14) and the sea-monster to swallow Jonah (Jon 1:17).

• Sin and Forgiveness: depending on how one interprets Gn 6:3, God either gives humanity 120 years to repent—during which time, it is said, Noah exhorts repentance—or he simply chooses Noah and his family alone to be saved. At any rate, no one else has repented and joined Noah by the time the storms begin. Apart from the ark, all of humanity and animal life is destroyed in the flood (Gn 7:21–23). In the Book of Jonah, on the other hand, God’s call to conversion is wildly successful (Jon 3:10). Why God acts differently is unambiguous if one accepts the traditional interpretation that Noah spent 120 years calling for repentance. The Ninevites repented and found mercy, whereas the men of Noah’s time failed to repent. If, however, God does not call for repentance through Noah, we can wonder why the same offer of mercy is not made in the story of Noah.

7–16 The Sailors Learn to Fear God The contrast between Jonah and the sailors is developed in these verses around the themes of fear and knowledge. In response to their perilous situation, the sailors seek knowledge through the casting of lots (Ancient Cultures Jon 1:7b).

• Jonah is not terrified of the storm, the sea, or even death.
• The sailors, who do not fear God in this way, are terrified of everything around them, for they do not know the outcome. They could be cursed for murder, they could be saved, or they could die. By the end of the pericope, the sailors learn the fear of God from Jonah and from the sea.

Because Jonah has said so little, his motivations remain unclear. Is his demand to be hurled into the sea suicide? Is he giving his life for the sailors? Is he certain that he will be saved from the sea?

Sailors

In a state of fear, the sailors seek knowledge—first from lots and then from Jonah. The information they receive further terrifies them. Instead of following his instructions, the sailors try to return to shore since they are afraid of incurring guilt for murder (Jon 1:14). Their fear of nature eventually gives way to fear of God, which they demonstrate through actions typical of sailors in the ancient world: making sacrifices and taking vows (Historical and Geographical Notes Jon 1:3–16).

Jonah

Jonah knows a great deal more than the sailors: who he is, who God is, the cause of the storm, and how to end it. The author continues to draw on biblical language: Jonah identifies himself as a Hebrew and a fearer of God, associating himself with such exemplars of obedience as Abraham (Gn 22:12), the Hebrew midwives (Ex 1:17 ), and the wisdom authors (Prv 1:7; 9:10; Sir 1:14; Vocabulary Jon 1:9b; Ancient Cultures Jon 1:9b). In response to the sailors’ questions, Jonah expresses what he knows, and what any reader of Scripture knows: that God (Yhwh) is the creator of the earth and sea. His surprising directive to the sailors—to hurl him into the sea—indicates his prophetic knowledge (like other prophets, Jonah just knows what to do: Biblical Intertextuality Jon 1:1f; Biblical Intertextuality Jon 1:9b,13a; 2:10). Though he possesses knowledge about God, Jonah does not appear to understand what it means; his actions contradict his claim that he is a fearer of God.

The Sea

The inanimate sea, formerly operating in the background as a creature acted upon by God, now takes center stage in the narrative. In response to the sailors’ attempts to return to the shore, it rages more and more fiercely. Finally, the sea calms when the sailors hurl Jonah into the sea. Thus, the sea participates in teaching the sailors to fear God (Ancient Cultures Jon 2:1–9; Biblical Intertextuality Jon 2:3a,5a).

15b the sea ceased Personification The verb used here to describe the sea’s raging (z‘p) is only used elsewhere for human beings (2Chr 16:10; 26:19; 28:9; Prv 19:12) or God (Is 30:30).

14b Please Motif of Pleading for Life Similar language is used by:

• Hezekiah on his sickbed (2Kgs 20:3);

• Joseph’s brothers when they beg him to spare their lives (Gn 50:17).

8f,14 Typological Reading: The Sailors Prefigure Pilate A few patristic writers expand their typological reading of Jonah to include the sailors, with the result that their interrogation of Jonah (Jon 1:8–9) and their petition to be absolved of innocent blood (Jon 1:14) are seen as prefigurations of Pilate's actions.

• →Jerome Comm. Jon. 1:14 “They make God a witness that whatever they are about to do may not be reputed to them, and in a way they are saying: We do not wish to kill your prophet, but he himself has admitted to your anger, and the storm speaks, 'for you, O Lord, have done as you willed.' Your will is being carried out through our hands…Do not the words of the sailors seem to us to be the confession of Pilate, who washes his hands and says: ‘I am clean of the blood of this man’? The Gentiles do not want Christ to perish; they speak on behalf of his innocent blood.”
• →Jacob of Sarug Hom. 122 develops his Christological reading of the Book of Jonah when he compares Jonah’s interrogation by the sailors (Jon 1:8–9) to Jesus’, by Pilate; neither the sailors nor Pilate are able to avoid the death of their respective interlocutors. Although Jonah is far from innocent, and therefore differs from Christ in that respect, for Jacob, Jonah is nonetheless a type of Christ (Bedjan 1910, 4:415.4–13).

16bc offered a sacrifice + made vows — The Sailors' Sacrifice: A Sign of Monolatry or Monotheism? Some early patristic commentators focus on the sailors’ reaction to the sea’s calming down, examining whether or not it should be taken as a genuine conversion to monotheism. Their opinions range from non-conversion (Cyril) to full conversion to Yhwh (Theodoret).

• →Cyril of Alexandria Comm. Jon. does not seem to think that the sailors were totally converted from polytheism: “…they offered sacrifice to the one who alone is God by nature and in truth, bypassing their own, though believing they benefited from those that were venerated out of deception and that laid claim to the glory due to God. They also made vows, despite being in the custom of doing this to the maritime demons. The pagans, you see, chose to attribute power over the sea to Poseidon; their religion consisted completely of fairy tales, quackery, and awful stupidity."
• →Jerome Comm. Jon. 1:14–16 "Though ignorant of the truth, they are not unaware of providence, and under a religious error they know that something ought to be worshiped.” Later, Jerome strengthens his stance on the conversion of the sailors, adding that “Jonah, a shipwrecked, dead fugitive at sea, saves the floundering boat. He saves the pagans who had been tossed about before by the error of the world into different beliefs." 
• →Theodore of Mopsuestia Comm. Jon. takes Jon 1:16 not to mean “that they sacrificed to the Lord on the spot, being unlikely to perform sacrifices on board a boat," but rather "that they completely gave up the idols and devoted themselves to the worship of God, promising in the future to join his service and offer due sacrifice to him."
• →Theodoret of Cyrus Interpr. Jon. 1:14–16 "...and awe (deos) was instilled into the souls of the men who saw this [calming of the sea] so that after their return journey to land (epanodon) they offered sacrifices to God, and they believed this one to be the only master (despotên) of all" (PG 81:1729A–B).

7–15 Jonah Cast into the Sea in Early Christian Art

Catacombs

Decorative Motif

Typological Overtone

See further →Jonah: Visual Arts

1:1–4:11 Significance of the Names for God? Throughout Jonah readers find several names for God: YHWH (22x); ’Ēl/’Ĕlôhîm (13x); and YHWH ’Ĕlôhîm (4x).

• →Magonet (1983) suggests that the generic name is used in the context of punishment, whereas the Tetragrammaton is used in the context of mercy and forgiveness.
• →Sasson (1990, 17–18) charts their usage and concludes that the only sensible solution is to admit to no discernable pattern.

1–17 CALENDAR Feast of Jonah in the Eastern Orthodox Liturgy

Calendar

• The Greek Orthodox Church celebrates the Prophet Jonah's feast day on September 21^st (Synaxarion→ Greek Orthodox Calendar→).
• The Orthodox Churches in the Slavic tradition celebrate it on September 22^nd (Orthodox Church in America→).

Texts

Jonah is mentioned in the following places of the liturgy for the day:

• →Hôrologion to mega: Troparion antiphon for Jonah, "The memory of your Prophet Jonah, we celebrate today, O Lord. By his prayers we entreat you: O Christ God, save our souls!"—sung after the Our Father at Vespers or after the minor entrance at the Divine Liturgy.
• →Hôrologion to mega: Kontakion hymn for Jonah: "In the glorious entrails three days and nights, you show forth Christ's descent into Hades; for when He had freely suffered His saving Passion, He arose out of the sepulchre on the third day. Therefore, we honour you, O Prophet Jonah, as a type of Christ"—sung during Matins and after the Troparia of the Divine Liturgy.
• For the usage and placement of these texts, see the →Typikon.

1:1–4:11 Veracity of Jonah as a Miraculous Account

• →Luther Tischr. 3705 “The majesty of the prophet Jonah is surpassing. He has but four chapters, and yet he moved therewith the whole kingdom, so that in his weakness, he was justly a figure and a sign of the Lord Christ. Indeed, it is surprising that Christ should recur to this but in four words. Moses likewise, in few words describes the creation, the history of Abraham, and other great mysteries; but he spends much time in describing the tent, the external sacrifices, the kidneys and so on; the reason is, he saw that the world greatly esteemed outward things, which they beheld with their carnal eyes, but that which was spiritual, they soon forgot. The history of the prophet Jonah is almost incredible, sounding more strange than any poet's fable; if it were not in the Bible, I should take it for a lie; for consider, how for the space of three days he was in the great belly of the whale, whereas in three hours he might have been digested and changed into the nature, flesh and blood of that monster; may not this be said, to live in the midst of death? In comparison of this miracle, the wonderful passage through the Red Sea was nothing. But what appears more strange is, that after he was delivered, he began to be angry, and to expostulate with the gracious God, touching a small matter not worth a straw. It is a great mystery. I am ashamed of my exposition upon this prophet, in that I so weakly touch the main point of this wonderful miracle.”

6c,14b; 3:9b; 4:10c perish + perished — Isotopy of Death: Structuring Repetition

Sailors and the Ninevites: “We might not perish”

Hope for salvation from death is expressed by:

• The captain of the ship (Jon 1:6);
• The sailors (Jon 1:14);
• The king and nobles of Nineveh (Jon 3:9).

Jonah: “hurl me into the sea”

Jonah ultimately comes to believe that he can only escape God’s call through death. In the belly of the fish, however, he realizes that such an escape is not possible (cf. Christian Tradition Jon 2:2–6). The sailors' and Ninevites’ desire for salvation is starkly juxtaposed with Jonah’s repeated wishes for death (māwet), both on the ship amidst the storm and in his booth, beyond the walls of Nineveh, for his desire that the Ninevites would receive their comeuppance brings him great anguish when God spares them destruction (Jon 4:8–9).

The Dead Shrub

• The shrub which perishes overnight (Jon 4:10) inspires more pity in Jonah than the potential massacre of Nineveh’s population.

4,11,15 The Role of Nature in Jonah's Attempted Escape

God Uses the Forces of Nature to Prevent Jonah's Escape

• →Paulinus of Nola  Carm. 22.105–118 “Again, what of the prophet who was fleeing to Tharsis, who was cast into the sea when the lot dictated by danger fell on him, and who was swallowed by the huge gaping maw of the whale and then vomited forth unscathed from its monstrous belly? He surely teaches us that sea and stars are moved under God’s control. By vainly seeking to flee from God the Controller of all things whom none can escape, he aroused the anger of both sky and sea. Nature, which belongs to the almighty Lord, realised that [Jonah] was revolting and she was afraid to play conspirator by transporting the guilty man safely through her demesne; she chained the runaway with winds and waves. That prophet was chosen by God to frighten sinning nations by his threatening advice. Once he had spoken of the calamitous outcome, had shattered the guilty and diverted God's anger, he washed away his sins by the shedding of tears. Nineve reformed itself and so escaped its final end.”

• →Jacob of Sarug Hom. 122: In his mémrâ on the book of Jonah, the personified figure Justice (kénûtâ) informs the sailors that Jonah is the cause of the storm and assures them that if they throw him overboard, peace will be restored. Here Jacob expresses his conviction that nothing falls outside of God’s providential guidance of the world. Justice’s speech concludes with the explanation that the wind is the means by which God brings back his fleeing servant, Jonah (Bedjan 1910, 4:397.5–10).

The Calming of the Storm: A Typological Interpretation

Jerome invites readers to pay special attention to the sailors’ care in handling Jonah and to Jonah’s willingness to be thrown overboard. He suggests that the plight of the sailors in the stormy sea prefigures the state of humanity before Christ, while Jonah prefigures Christ by offering himself as a sacrifice.

• →Jerome Comm. Jon. 1:15 “The entire boat of humanity, that is, the creation of the Lord, was in peril. But then, after his passion, we see a world where there is the calm of faith, a world at peace and secure for everyone. We see a turning toward God. In this way we may understand how, after Jonah goes into the sea, the sea is alleviated of its turmoil.”

9b,14b Hebrew + fear + innocent — (G) Heightened Irony G’s rendering of Jonah’s response to the sailors’ questions appears to heighten the story’s irony.

Hebrew vs. Servant of the Lord

Instead of “I am a Hebrew” (‘ibrî ’ānōkî), which is found in M, Jonah’s response found in G is “I am a servant of the Lord” (doulos kuriou egô eimi).

• The phrase doulos kuriou is almost always applied to heroic figures, such as Joshua (G-Jo 24:29; Jgs 2:8), Moses (G-2Kgs 18:12), David (G-Ps 36:1), prophet-martyrs (2Kgs 9:7), and worshippers of God (G-Ps 134:1).

At any rate, Jonah’s answer seems odd. After fleeing God, refusing to accept his prophetic mission, and endangering the ship and its crew, Jonah boldly calls himself a servant of the Lord. This is supremely ironic—even humorous—and may be why the translator chose to put this phrase on his lips (cf. Comparison of Versions Jon 1:9b).

Fear vs. Revere (or Worship)

• Instead of the general verb for fear (phobeô), which one might expect to appear here as the translation of the Hebrew yr’, G employs the verb sebomai, which denotes the experience of reverential fear as well as the act of worshipping gods (→LSJ 1588; e.g., Jo 4:24; 22:25; Is 29:13; 66:14).

This translation adds a measure of irony to Jonah’s response since those who truly fear and worship the Lord do not typically disobey him or flee from his presence. In contrast, the pagan sailors who are seized with a great visceral fear (ephobêthêsan…phobon megan) find Jonah’s behavior unfathomable (Jon 1:10) and demonstrate that they are primarily concerned with pleasing the God with whom they have just become acquainted, even offering him sacrifices (Jon 1:13-16).

Innocent Blood vs. Righteous Blood

The decision to render the adjective nāqî’ (“innocent”) with dikaion (“righteous”) may reflect a translational Tendenz to increase the irony of the story. Although a translational correspondence between the adjectives nāqî’ and dikaios is also found in Prv 1:11; 6:17; Jl 3:19, the Greek term athôᵢos (“innocent”) is used much more frequently in translating nāqî’ (over 25 times in G; cf. →Hatch and Redpath 1906, 1:30).

Because the word “innocent” refers to a state of being free from guilt, while “righteous” refers also to the positive quality of being just or possessing rectitude of will, the sailors’ request that they not be charged with righteous blood in G increases, even if only slightly, their estimation of Jonah vis-à-vis M. It can thus be argued that the sailors’ characterization of Jonah’s impending demise as “righteous blood” (as opposed to “innocent blood”) intensifies the gravity of their imprecation and that this, in turn, heightens the irony of the story; although Jonah might be thought of as innocent in this story, he by no means acts with rectitude of will.

16b They offered a sacrifice to Yhwh and made vows Conventional Motif in Sea Stories The sailors make sacrifices and vows, both of which were especially common among sailors in the ancient world (cf. Jewish Tradition Jon 1:5b). Indeed, ancient sailors often offered sacrifices before embarking, in anticipation of a speedy and safe voyage, when passing significant locations, and upon arrival. We can see this practice at work in the Odyssey (e.g., →Homer Od. 9.720); trouble on board is even blamed on the sailors’ failure to sacrifice (→Homer Od. 4.620). Moreover, one archetypically offers sacrifices at the end of flood accounts, as in the story of Noah (Gn 8:20) and the Epic of Gilgamesh (→George 2003, Tablet XI).

Likewise, making vows, as a means of bargaining, is especially natural within the context of sailing in a storm: if you keep me safe, I vow to do such and such. Consider, for example, Jacob’s vow to give a tithe in exchange for protection (Gn 28:20–22). Moreover, in some biblical accounts, vows are made in addition to sacrifices (Ps 50:14; 66:13; Is 19:21).

14b innocent blood : M | G V S: Interpretive Translations?

Septuagint: Amplifying the Sailors' Claim about Jonah

G translates the adjective nāqî’ (“innocent”) with dikaion (“righteous”). This unexpected translation may have been intended as a narrative device, heightening the irony of the story. See Literary Devices Jon 1:9b,14b above for a further explanation.

Peshitta: A Cognate Translation

S uses the cognate adjective zakkāy ("innocent, just") to translate the Hebrew. In later Aramaic, the concept of "righteousness" is also within the semantic range of this adjective, as is evidenced by Targumic (e.g., →Tg. Ps.-Jon. on Gn 22:1) and Midrashic (e.g., →Pesiq. Rab Kah. 16.9) usage. 

Vulgate: Following M

As expected, V’s innocentem corresponds to the Hebrew. 

11–16 TYPOLOGY Pattern for Jesus Calming a Storm The Synoptic passages of Jesus calming a storm (Mt 8:23–27 // Mk 4:35–41 // Lk 8:22–25) utilize the imagery and vocabulary of Jonah. Traveling to a Gentile region, a storm causes panic while the main character sleeps. The storm is calmed and the sailors are awed.

15a hurled Not So Fast

• →Pirqe R. El. 10: Rabbi Simeon says that the sailors were so reluctant to throw Jonah into the sea that they first put Jonah’s legs in the water. When the storm stopped, they pulled Jonah back into the boat. The storm immediately began again, so they put Jonah in the water up to his neck and the storm stopped. When they pulled Jonah back into the boat and storm returned, they realized that they needed to throw him fully overboard.

15b and the sea ceased Holy Things Settle the Storm Tossing Jonah overboard to settle the raging seas is reminiscent of an episode recorded in the Talmud wherein David stills the waters beneath the future Temple Mount by inscribing the tetragrammaton on a potsherd and tossing it into the deep. Does God’s prophet, in a mystical way, bear the name of God?

• →b. Sukkah 53b "When David dug the Pits, the Deep arose and threatened to submerge the world. ‘Is there anyone,’ David enquired, ‘who knows whether it is permitted to inscribe the [Ineffable] Name upon a sherd, and cast it into the Deep that its waves should subside?’ There was none who answered a word. Said David, ‘Whoever knows the answer and does not speak, may he be suffocated.’ Whereupon Ahitophel adduced an a fortiori argument to himself: ‘If, for the purpose of establishing harmony between man and wife, the Torah said, ‘Let My name that was written in sanctity be blotted out by the water,’ how much more so may it be done in order to establish peace in the world!’ He, therefore, said to him, ‘It is permitted!’ [David] thereupon inscribed the [Ineffable] Name upon a sherd, cast it into the Deep and it subsided sixteen thousand cubits. When he saw that it had subsided to such a great extent, he said, ‘The nearer it is to the earth, the better the earth can be kept watered’ and he uttered the fifteen Songs of Ascent, and the Deep re-ascended fifteen thousand cubits and remained one thousand cubits [below the surface]."

16c made vows (Fully) Converted Sailors

• →Rashi Comm. asserts that the vows made were vows to convert.
• →Pirqe R. El. 10 adds that, having seen not only the calming of the sea but also the swallowing of Jonah, the sailors reversed course back to Joppa. After docking, they made their way to Jerusalem, were circumcised, and offered sacrifices. 

14c for you, O Yhwh, have done as you have willed The Sailors Recognize God's Justice

• →Jerome Pelag. 2.23 argues that the sailors do not know what wrong Jonah has committed and "do not question the justice of the judgment of God but acknowledge the veracity of the just Judge."
• →Calvin Prael. proph. min. "[T]he Lord so turned their hearts, that they now saw more clearly how grievous a sin it was to flee away from the call of God."

15a hurled him into the sea Literary Treatments

Theatric Re-enactment of the Hurling Scene

• →Shakespeare Pericles Act III, Scene 1: Thaisa, Pericles’ wife, is considered a type of Jonah by the sailors, since they blame her for causing a storm. When she dies in childbirth, the sailors want to cast her overboard to calm the storm. At the time the play was written, English speakers used the term “a Jonah” to refer to a person who brings bad luck (→Hamlin 2018, 120–122).

Children’s Bibles Add Humor to Peril

While there is nothing funny about the peril faced by the sailors who fear for their lives, many retellings for children seek to tone down this dangerous scene through the inclusion of humor or animals.

• →Page and Page 2006 “So the sailors picked him up / and they threw him in the sea; / The waves died down / and they all had tea. / (Except for Jonah).”
• →Marzollo 2004 "Jonah ran away from God. But did God run away from Jonah? I don’t know. I’m only an octopus!”