Jonah 1:9

9 "I am a Hebrew," Jonah answered. "I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made land and sea."

Jonah 1:9 Meaning and Commentary

Jonah 1:9

And he said unto them, I [am] an Hebrew
He does not say a Jew, as the Targum wrongly renders it; for that would have been false, since he was of the tribe of Zebulun, which was in the kingdom of Israel, and not of Judah; nor does he say an Israelite, lest he should be thought to be in the idolatry of that people; but a Hebrew, which was common to both; and, besides, it not only declared what nation he was of, but what religion he professed, and who was his God: and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the
dry [land];
this answers to the other question, what was his occupation or business? he was one that feared the Lord, that served and worshipped him; a prophet of the great God, as Josephus ^F7 expresses and so Kimchi; the mighty Jehovah, that made the "heavens", and dwells in them; and from whence that storm of wind came, which had so much distressed the ship, and still continued: and who made the "sea", which was now so boisterous and raging, and threatened them with ruin; and "the dry land", where they would be glad to have been at that instant. By this description of God, as the prophet designed to set him forth in his nature and works, so to distinguish him from the gods of Heathens, who had only particular parts of the universe assigned to them, when his Jehovah was Lord of all; but where was the prophet's fear and reverence of God when he fled from him, and disobeyed him? it was not lost, though not in exercise.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F7 Antiqu. l. 9. c. 10. sect. 2.

Jonah 1:9 In-Context

7 The sailors said to each other, "Let's draw lots and find out who is to blame for getting us into this danger." They did so, and Jonah's name was drawn.

8 So they said to him, "Now, then, tell us! Who is to blame for this? What are you doing here? What country do you come from? What is your nationality?"

9 "I am a Hebrew," Jonah answered. "I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made land and sea."

10 Jonah went on to tell them that he was running away from the Lord. The sailors were terrified, and said to him, "That was an awful thing to do!"

11 The storm was getting worse all the time, so the sailors asked him, "What should we do to you to stop the storm?"