Bible Commentary

Jonah 2:3

The Pulpit Commentary on Jonah 2:3

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

He describes his danger and distress. Thou hadst cast; rather, thou didst cast, the sailors being the agents of the Divine will. Septuagint, ἀπέῤῥi ψας. The deep; βάθη, "depths"; . In the midst; literally, in the heart; Septuagint, καρδίας θαλάσσης: galore, in corde maris.

This defines more closely the previous expression. The floods; literally, the river. This may mean the current (as in ), which in the Mediterranean Sea sets from west to east, and, impinging on the Syrian coast, turns north; or it may have reference to the notion, familiar to us in Homer.

which regarded the ocean as a river. All thy billows and thy waves; πάντες οἱ μετεωρισμοί σου καὶ τὰ κύματά σου "all thy swellings and waves"; omnes gurgites tui, et fluctus tui (Vulgate). The former are "breakers," the latter "rolling billows."

The clause is from , Jonah transferring what is there said metaphorically to his own literal experience, at the same time acknowledging God's hand in the punishment by speaking of "thy billows" (comp.

Recommended reading

More for Jonah 2:3

Continue with other commentaries and DiscipleDeck content connected to this verse, chapter, or topic.

commentaryMatthew Henry on Jonah 2:1-9Observe when Jonah prayed. When he was in trouble, under the tokens of God's displeasure against him for sin: when we are in affliction we must pray. Being kept alive by miracle, he prayed. A sense of God's good-will to…Matthew HenrycommentaryJonah's Prayer; The Prophet in the Fish's Belly. (b. c. 840.)JONAH'S PRAYER; THE PROPHET IN THE FISH'S BELLY. (B. C. 840.) God and his servant Jonah had parted in anger, and the quarrel began on Jonah's side; he fled from his country that he might outrun his work; but we hope to…Matthew HenrycommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Jonah 2:1-91. Jonah, in the belly of the fish, offers a prayer of thanksgiving for his rescue from death by drowning, in which he sees a pledge of further deliverance.Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Jonah 2:1-10EXPOSITIONJoseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Jonah 2:1-10Part I. JONAH'S PRAYER AND DELIVERANCE.Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Jonah 2:1-7De profundis: distress and prayer. "Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly," etc. Unexampled position of Jonah—no details given, and hints somewhat obscure; evidently he retained measure of cons…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Jonah 2:1-4A unique oratory. "Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God," etc. The keynote of this passage is struck in the first verse. It is the fish, by God's hand made Jonah's preserver instead of his destroyer, that inspires th…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Jonah 2:2-10Triumph, thanksgiving. "And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice," etc. This is one of the most striking instances in al…Joseph S. Exell and contributors