וַיְהִי דְּבַר־ה' אֶל־יוֹנָה בֶן־אֲמִתַּי לֵאמֹר

The word of the Lord was with Jonah son of Amitai, saying:

קוּם לֵךְ אֶל־נִינְוֵה הָעִיר הַגְּדוֹלָה וּקְרָא עָלֶיהָ כִּי־עָלְתָה רָעָתָם לְפָנָי

Rise, go to Nineveh, the great city, the capital of Assyria, and proclaim against it a certain message, even if you do not speak the language of the Assyrians. If people want to hear the message of a prophet, they will understand it even if they are unfamiliar with all the intricacies of his language. I am sending you to them, as their evildoing has arisen before Me, and they will face retribution. You must warn them and call upon them to return from their evil ways.

וַיָּקָם יוֹנָה לִבְרֹחַ תַּרְשִׁישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵי ה' וַיֵּרֶד יָפוֹ וַיִּמְצָא אֳנִיָּה בָּאָה תַרְשִׁישׁ וַיִּתֵּן שְׂכָרָהּ וַיֵּרֶד בָּהּ לָבוֹא עִמָּהֶם תַּרְשִׁישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵי ה'

Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from before the Lord, that is, from the holy Land of Israel. Jonah sought to flee to the other end of the world, perhaps to Tartessos on the Iberian Peninsula. In those days, crossing the length of the Mediterranean Sea was an extremely long journey, and the sea’s western end was indeed the edge of the known world. He went down to Yafo, a port city in the Land of Israel, and found a ship bound for Tarshish; he paid its fare to sail on the ship, and he went down into it. He boarded the ship, which did not provide him with the most comfortable living quarters, but nonetheless enabled him to come with them, the captain and the other passengers, to Tarshish, to flee from before the Lord. Jonah hoped that the spirit of prophecy would not rest upon him outside the Land of Israel, and that God would therefore leave him alone. The verse itself does not state the reason for Jonah’s refusal to act as God’s messenger. The Sages suggest various motivations for his decision.

וַה' הֵטִיל רוּחַ־גְּדוֹלָה אֶל־הַיָּם וַיְהִי סַעַר־גָּדוֹל בַּיָּם וְהָאֳנִיָּה חִשְּׁבָה לְהִשָּׁבֵר

But the Lord cast a great wind upon the sea while the ship was sailing, and there was a great storm in the sea, and the ship, which was presumably made of wood, was about to be wrecked.

וַיִּירְאוּ הַמַּלָּחִים וַיִּזְעֲקוּ אִישׁ אֶל־אֱלֹהָיו וַיָּטִלוּ אֶת־הַכֵּלִים אֲשֶׁר בָּאֳנִיָּה אֶל־הַיָּם לְהָקֵל מֵעֲלֵיהֶם וְיוֹנָה יָרַד אֶל־יַרְכְּתֵי הַסְּפִינָה וַיִּשְׁכַּב וַיֵּרָדַם

The sailors were afraid, as they felt that they could not be saved by natural means, and each man cried out to his god; and they cast the articles that were on the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them, so that the ship would not capsize. But during this commotion, Jonah descended to the hold of the ship, and he lay down and fell asleep. The sea was raging, people were shouting, crying, and praying, and yet Jonah went to bed, as though he did not care whether he would live or die. Unlike the other passengers on the ship, who wanted to reach Tarshish for some purpose, such as trade, Jonah boarded that ship only to flee from God. It seems that at that moment he was indifferent to his fate.

וַיִּקְרַב אֵלָיו רַב הַחֹבֵל וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מַה־לְּךָ נִרְדָּם! קוּם קְרָא אֶל־אֱלֹהֶיךָ! אוּלַי יִתְעַשֵּׁת הָאֱלֹהִים לָנוּ וְלֹא נֹאבֵד

The captain approached him and said to him: What is it with you that you have fallen asleep? Why are you lying in your bed while each of us is calling to his god? Since we do not know which god will help us, arise, call to your God; perhaps your God will reconsider with regard to us and He will turn to us, and we will not perish. It seems that the shipmaster’s appeal had no effect upon Jonah whatsoever. Even after he was awoken from his sleep, Jonah did not hurry to pray.

וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵהוּ לְכוּ וְנַפִּילָה גוֹרָלוֹת וְנֵדְעָה בְּשֶׁלְּמִי הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת לָנוּ וַיַּפִּלוּ גּוֹרָלוֹת וַיִּפֹּל הַגּוֹרָל עַל־יוֹנָה

Each man, each of the sailors, said to his counterpart: This storm is not a natural phenomenon; it is certainly the product of a sin that one of us has committed. Therefore, let us cast lots, that we may discover due to whom this misfortune is upon us. They cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו הַגִּידָה־נָּא לָנוּ בַּאֲשֶׁר לְמִי־הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת לָנוּ מַה־מְּלַאכְתְּךָ וּמֵאַיִן תָּבוֹא מָה אַרְצֶךָ וְאֵי־מִזֶּה עַם אָתָּה

They said to him: Since the lot has fallen upon you, please tell us, due to whom is this misfortune upon us? Jonah’s identity was not evident from his appearance. Presumably, Jonah brought few belongings on the journey, boarding the ship with only basic provisions. Therefore, the sailors inquired: What is your labor and from where do you come? What is your country and from what people are you?

וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם עִבְרִי אָנֹכִי וְאֶת־ה' אֱלֹהֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם אֲנִי יָרֵא אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה אֶת־הַיָּם וְאֶת־הַיַּבָּשָׁה

He said to them: I am a Hebrew. Perhaps Jonah did not identify himself as an Israelite because his fellow seafarers, who were of various nationalities, were unfamiliar with this term. Instead, he used the more ancient title of Hebrew [Ivri], which referred to those who lived to the west of the Euphrates River. And I fear the Lord, God of the heavens, who made not only the heavens, which expresses His splendor and glory, but also the sea and the dry land, and He therefore controls all that transpires within them.

וַיִּירְאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים יִרְאָה גְדוֹלָה וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו מַה־זֹּאת עָשִׂיתָ ! כִּי־יָדְעוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים כִּי־מִלִּפְנֵי ה' הוּא בֹרֵחַ כִּי הִגִּיד לָהֶם

The men feared with great fear, and they said to him: If it is indeed true that you fear God, what is this that you have done by fleeing from Him? For the men already knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them earlier that this was the reason for his journey. Now, at a time of grave danger, and after they gained an understanding of God’s great power, his previous statement took on a different meaning for them.

וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו מַה־נַּעֲשֶׂה לָּךְ וְיִשְׁתֹּק הַיָּם מֵעָלֵינוּ כִּי הַיָּם הוֹלֵךְ וְסֹעֵר

They said to him: What shall we do to you, that the sea will calm from upon us? For the sea continually grew stormier.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם שָׂאוּנִי וַהֲטִילֻנִי אֶל־הַיָּם וְיִשְׁתֹּק הַיָּם מֵעֲלֵיכֶם כִּי יוֹדֵעַ אָנִי כִּי בְשֶׁלִּי הַסַּעַר הַגָּדוֹל הַזֶּה עֲלֵיכֶם

He said to them, in the same composed manner: Lift me and cast me into the sea, and the sea will calm from upon you, as I know that it is due to me that this great storm is upon you. Since I am to blame for the storm, it is fitting that you toss me from the ship; at least you will save yourselves from the danger.

וַיַּחְתְּרוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים לְהָשִׁיב אֶל־הַיַּבָּשָׁה וְלֹא יָכֹלוּ כִּי הַיָּם הוֹלֵךְ וְסֹעֵר עֲלֵיהֶם

The men rowed to return to dry land; but they could not, for the sea continually grew stormier upon them. Although they were presumably not far from the shore and were perhaps even able to see dry land, they were unable to bring their ship to dry land in the raging storm.

וַיִּקְרְאוּ אֶל־ה' וַיֹּאמְרוּ אָנָּה ה' אַל־נָא נֹאבְדָה בּנֶפֶשׁ הָאִישׁ הַזֶּה וְאַל־תִּתֵּן עָלֵינוּ דָּם נָקִיא כִּי־אַתָּה ה' כַּאֲשֶׁר חָפַצְתָּ עָשִׂיתָ

The sailors were hesitant about accepting Jonah’s suggestion, but they soon realized that they had no other option. They called to the Lord and they said: Please Lord, please let us not perish, in body or soul, for this man’s life, and do not put upon us innocent blood; do not find us guilty of murder; for You, Lord, have done as You desired.

וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֶת־יוֹנָה וַיְטִלֻהוּ אֶל־הַיָּם וַיַּעֲמֹד הַיָּם מִזַּעְפּוֹ

They lifted Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. The sea calmed, allowing them to continue to their destination.

וַיִּירְאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים יִרְאָה גְדוֹלָה אֶת־ה' וַיִּזְבְּחוּ־זֶבַח לַה' וַיִּדְּרוּ נְדָרִים

The men feared the Lord with great fear. As long as the sailors perceived God in the manner of pagans, namely as the God of the heavens, who is appointed over the sun, the moon, and the other heavenly bodies, they did not have a real connection to Him. However, once Jonah explained to them that God rules over the entire world, and after they personally witnessed how He interacted with a single individual, fear of the Lord was awakened in their hearts. And they slaughtered an offering upon the ship to the Lord and took vows to bring additional offerings, which they would fulfill when they reached inhabited land and gained access to animals.