10
votes
Accepted
דָג and דָגה in Jonah 1:17 – 2:1
Dagah and dag (דג, דגה) have different meanings and are not interchangeable. They are defined as distinct words in all Hebrew dictionaries.
"Dag/dagim" is a noun of masculine gender from the ...
8
votes
Jonah 2:1-2 - why say "Sheol" to refer to the literal belly of a literal fish?
Jonah's prayer is obviously poetry. One of the verses of the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:12) says: ”Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them”. Even though it was the waters of the ...
- 2,277
6
votes
Accepted
Was Jonah's prophecy of Nineveh's destruction fulfilled?
Many questions about prophecy arise from a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of prophecy.
God is timeless. Prophecy is a timeless perspective about what is happening within time. Therefore,...
- 660
6
votes
What is the meaning of the phrase in Jonah 4:10b "... IN A SON OF A NIGHT and perished IN A SON OF A NIGHT." (literal translation from Hebrew)
the Hebrew idiom to express someone's age is "son of (בֶּן־) ______ (add in the number)"
Genesis 7:6 reads literally
"Noah was son of (בֶּן־) six hundred (שֵׁ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת) years (...
- 1,856
6
votes
Jonah 2:1-2 - why say "Sheol" to refer to the literal belly of a literal fish?
He uses a metaphor to describe his feelings inside the belly of the fish.
Consider the possibility that he might start to be digested by the fish, so as it is unpleasant to be in Sheol (hell), the ...
- 727
5
votes
Based on the wording of his prayers, did Jonah die inside the fish? Jonah 2:6
No, he did not literally die. Jonah was using poetry to express very deep fears. The earth was closed off to him while he was in the belly of the fish. He was a prisoner behind bars. The use of &...
- 10.9k
5
votes
Why is Jonah 1:17 missing in the BHS?
Why is Jonah 1:17 missing in the BHS (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia)?
The verse is not missing. - Unlike English bibles (KJV, RSV, ESV, NASB, etc.), the Masoretic Text (MT) of the Tanakh never had ...
- 8,605
5
votes
How did Jesus complete the sign of Jonah?
There are several intriguing similarities between the Jonah account and what happened to Jesus, though it is understood that Jonah was initially disobedient to God, while Christ never was. However, ...
- 30.5k
4
votes
Accepted
What was the message of Jonah?
Short answer:
Yes, God forgave the Ninevites. He relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them (3:10), which was that the city would be destroyed in forty days (3:4) whereas ...
- 364
4
votes
The Son of Jonah / John: Literally, or Metaphorically?
English
Greek
Strong
Origin
Ocurrences
John
Ἰωάννης
2491
Hebrew - Yochanan (יוֹחָנָן)
135
Jonah
Ἰωνᾶς
2495
Hebrew - Yonah (יוֹנָה)
9
Barjona
Βαριωνᾶς
920
Aramaic - bar (בַּר) and Yonah (יוֹנָה)
1
...
- 372
4
votes
Accepted
Why did Jonah run away from God to Tarshish in Chapter 1?
Jonah did not want the city of Nineveh to repent and be spared destruction as a result of his preaching. At Jonah 4:2 (ESV) he explained his motive:
And he prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD, is ...
- 934
4
votes
In Jonah (3:5-9), we see the great city of Nineveh repent of their wickedness. How might 8 simple words have such a dramatic effect on them?
Is there some historical fact that might have led to such a radical change based on the message of one Jew?
Why, yes. Yes, there is.
I think we often underestimate just how familiar Israel's neighbors ...
- 4,487
4
votes
Accepted
What is the story of Jonah really about?
Usually, on Hermeneutics, one particular verse or several linked verses in a Bible book are asked about. I'm not sure if an entire book of the Bible comes under the scope of Hermeneutics and, to ...
- 30.5k
3
votes
Accepted
In Jonah 4:11, is the phrase "persons who do not know their right hand from their left" a joke at the Assyrian's expense?
One obvious reason for this particular idiom: according to Wikipedia, the Assyrian language was a dialect of Akkadian. Thus (and I stand to be corrected) Assyrian would presumably have been written ...
3
votes
What is the meaning of the phrase in Jonah 4:10b "... IN A SON OF A NIGHT and perished IN A SON OF A NIGHT." (literal translation from Hebrew)
I would translate it as
within one night it came into existence and within one night it perished
and not as referring to the age of the plant.
- 131
3
votes
Why did the sailors have to pick Jonah up?
I read this is a literary theme in the Bible, namely that we pass into darkness passively (by outside forces) and deliverance happens by God.
When viewed in the context of this template, we see why ...
- 8,708
3
votes
Accepted
Why did the sailors have to pick Jonah up?
Self murder (suicide) is sinful according to Exodus 20:13. Jonah believed that if he went from the ship into the sea, that he would die and the storm would cease. However, if he jumped himself, that ...
- 66
3
votes
Is Jonah 4:2 use of "this" referring to forestalling of the calamity Or forestalling of Nineveh's repentance?
The New Living Translation Study Bible makes this comment with regard to Jonah 4:1-2:
This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’...
- 9,355
3
votes
What Was the Sin of Nineveh? (Jonah 1:2)
The text and story of Jonah is very careful not to dwell much on the specific sins of the great city of Nineveh. However, we are given some strong pointers, the best is found in Jonah 3:4
Let each ...
- 118k
3
votes
דָג and דָגה in Jonah 1:17 – 2:1
As is well-known, there are two words in Hebrew for "fish",
דָּג masculine, occurring 19 times, Gen 9:2, Num 11:22, 1 Kings 4:33, 2 Chron 33:14, Neh 13:16, Job 12:8, 41:7, Ps 8:8, Eccl 9:12,...
- 118k
3
votes
Jonah 2:1-2 - why say "Sheol" to refer to the literal belly of a literal fish?
It is perfectly natural for Jonah to describe his (then) current situation in the belly of the fish as "she'ol" - he knew that he would die without a miracle rescue!
The consistent meaning ...
- 118k
3
votes
Matthew 12:40 - "heart of the earth": what does it mean?
I interpret the plain meaning of this as being subject to powers of the earth and its darkness. E.g. in Luke 22.53-54
When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands
against me: ...
- 8,708
3
votes
How did Jesus complete the sign of Jonah?
Background information: God commanded Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and warn its people that He was going to destroy it for its wickedness. Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh to warn them. ...
- 9,355
2
votes
Did Jonah actually die in the fish?
Jonah's song really only makes sense if Jonah actually died in the fish. He praised God for delivering him while he was still in the fish, describing the process of dying and being dead. Only after ...
- 4,487
2
votes
Why did Jonah run away from God to Tarshish in Chapter 1?
Tarshish was a port that could accommodate large, oceangoing vessels which would have sailed for months, going beyond the Mediterranean. Such things as peacocks and apes were brought to it from afar, ...
- 33k
2
votes
In Jonah 2:5 is Jonah expecting to see God's temple?
The Hebrew seems to have multiple possible readings. The word is אַ֚ךְ akh. In context:
וַאֲנִ֣י אָמַ֔רְתִּי נִגְרַ֖שְׁתִּי מִנֶּ֣גֶד עֵינֶ֑יךָ אַ֚ךְ אוֹסִ֣יף לְהַבִּ֔יט אֶל־הֵיכַ֖ל קָדְשֶֽׁךָ׃
I ...
- 1,609
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