The Book Of Jonah - A Commentary
THE BOOK OF JONAH Commentary: Jonah was a Hebrew prophet whose name means dove. He was the son of Ammitai. The time of Jonah’s one prophecy was in the latter part of the eighth century B.C. God commanded Jonah to prophecy against Nineveh; an evil gentile city in the country of Assyria. Jonah refuses to travel there which was eastward, so instead, he heads to a town named Joppa (today Jaffa), boards a ship, and heads west toward Tarshish he hopes to run from the presence of the Lord. The Lord caused a great tempest on the sea while Jonah was sleeping at the bottom of the ship. The captain and other men on the ship are in a panic and call upon their gods. They awake Jonah and command him to call on his God. As the men throw the cargo into the sea to lighten the load, the tempest becomes worse. They cast lots to see who it will fall on; the lot fell on Jonah. Once