1Jonah, repining at God's mercy, 4is reproved by the type of a gourd.
1BUT it 1displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very 2angry.
1 Hebr. And it was, seemed or did evil to or by Jonah, with great anger. As we use the word evil often in matters of anger and dissatisfaction, it is also much used by the Hebrews for displeasure, grief, sorrow, difficulty, etc. See Gen. 21 on verse 11; Gen. 40 on verse 7; Prov. 15:15; Eccl. 7:3. The meaning is: that it displeased and vexed Jonah very much, pondering through human frailty that God’s honor and truth might have been injured by it, and himself be counted a false prophet, concluding by the intervening repentance and the time already elapsed, or did otherwise know by Divine revelation that Nineveh would be spared this time. Whether this happened before or after the time of the forty days is not set down here.
2 Hebr. to blaze up, namely, the anger. See verses 4, 9.
2And he 3prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my 4saying, when I was yet in my country? 5Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a graciousa God, and merciful, 6slow to anger, and of great kindness, and 7repentest thee of the evil.
3 In his ignorance and passion, he nevertheless addresses himself to God, from Whose face he fled previously.
4 That is, that which I said, namely, by myself heretofore, that is, did not I think once, thus it would happen? Yea verily, would he say; therefore, etc.
5 Jonah wants here to excuse his running away, notwithstanding he was so severely chastised for it by God.
a Exod. 34:6; Psalm 86:5; Joel 2:13.
6 See Exod. 34 on verse 6.
7 As Jonah 3:9, 10.
3Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my 8life from me; for 9it is better for me to die than to live.
8 See Gen. 35 on verse 18; 1 Kings 19 on verse 4.
9 Hebr. my death is better than my life, that is, I would rather be dead than be alive any longer, or, I prefer death before life. Compare Job 10:1.
4¶Then said the LORD, 10Doest thou well to be angry?
10 Hebr. Doest thou well to be incensed? Thus some do understand, as if God would say: Art thou equitable or just to be incensed thus? Implying: By no means; but very wrongful, and without any reason, thou sinnest in doing so. Others understand it as if God said: Art thou in good earnest, so fearlessly and fervently kindled? By comparing verse 9 and the more frequent use of the Hebrew word, for earnestly, seriously, perfectly, to the purpose, for which we use to say indeed: art thou indeed angry, etc., that is, very angry. See of this signification Deut. 9:21; 13:14; 17:4; 19:18; 27:8; 2 Kings 11:18; Isa. 1:17; Micah 7:3. Both ways the prophet is reproved for his anger. The former reflecting on the unreasonableness, the latter on the eagerness of it, which wanting reasonableness was sinful.
5So Jonah 11went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become 12of the city.
11 Or, For Jonah was gone forth, etc.; in order that this and the sequel is a declaration of what was said before of Jonah’s anger and God’s chastisement.
12 Or, would happen in the city, whether they would hold out these forty days in their repentance and whether thereupon God would spare them, or not.
6And the LORD God 13prepared a 14gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a 15shadow over his head, to deliver him from his 16grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the 17gourd.
13 See Jonah 1 on verse 17.
14 Hebr. kikajon. Of this plant there are various opinions. The most important expositors hold it now for the palmecrist, otherwise called: the great spurge, which used to grow much in Egypt, and was known there by the name KIKI. It grows up very rapidly and higher than a man’s length, with large broad leaves, being of a cooling nature. See the herbal book of Dodonæus.
15 His own cover being probably withered and made useless by the heat of the sun.
16 To allay and to make less his discontent by this unexpected refreshment (spoken of in the beginning of this chapter), and by the consequence afterwards to instruct and settle him again. Hebr. evil or anger. See on verse 1.
17 On account of the pleasant and refreshing commodity which he had thereby, not considering the end what God intended by it.
7But God 18prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it 19smote the gourd that it withered.
18 As verse 6, and so again in the next verse.
19 Hebr. struck, that is, pierced, hurt, etc. Compare Gen. 8 on verse 21; Hosea 9 on verse 16, and here in the following verse.
8And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a 20vehement east wind; and the sun 21beat upon the head of Jonah, that he 22fainted, and 23wished in himself to die, and said, 24It is better for me to die than to live.
20 Or, silent, deaf, which the Hebrew seems to hint at; that is, a soft east wind, which one could hardly feel or hear, and consequently could but little allay the heat of the sun, shining so much the hotter upon Jonah’s head.
21 Hebr. struck.
22 Or, swooned, was not far from breaking down and pining away.
23 Or, desired for his soul, that is, for himself, his person. Compare Judges 16:30, etc.
24 As verse 3.
9And God said to Jonah, 25Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even 26unto death.
25 As verse 4.
26 See verse 4, with the annotation.
10Then said the LORD, Thou 27hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it 28grow; which came up 29in a night, and perished in a night:
27 That is, thou wouldest gladly have seen it spared, and continued in a flourishing condition; thou tookest pity on it, etc.
28 That is, didst not bring it up.
29 Hebr. which was or became a son or child of one night, and perished a son of one night, that is, which decayed in one night, as it was grown up in one night; an Hebrew manner of speaking. Compare the annotation on Gen. 5:32, etc.
11And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than 30sixscoreb thousand persons that cannot 31discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much 32cattle?
30 Hebr. twelve million, or, twelve times ten thousand.
b 120
31 That is, small, young children and infants, who have not yet come to their years of discretion and are far more to be valued than your gourd, with which thou takest great pains over it.
32 This is to be regarded as of much more value than this gourd. Upon this there was no reply from Jonah.