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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the innards of the fish for three days and three nights.

Jonah prayed to the Lord, his God, from the innards of the fish. The use of the feminine term for fish [daga] may indicate that this was a female fish, whose body was full of eggs, such that the space inside was especially crowded.

He said: I called from my distress to the Lord, and He answered me, that is, I am certain that He will answer me. As a prophet, Jonah sensed that his prayers would be answered. From the belly of the netherworld I cried; You heard my voice.

You cast me into the depth, in the heart of the seas, the current surrounded me, so that I was completely encircled by water; all Your breakers and Your waves passed over me.

And I said: I am banished and expelled from before Your eyes, yet I remain conscious, and I will therefore continue to look to Your holy Sanctuary in the heavens and pray.

Water has surrounded me to the soul, the deep has enveloped me; reeds have been wrapped around my head. I am surrounded by sea plants.

I descended to the bases, the foundations, of the mountains on the seabed; the earth, its bars are against me forever. I am unable to reach my desired destination on dry land, and yet You took my life up from the pit; You saved me from destruction, Lord my God, and now I beseech You for further deliverance.

When my soul was afflicted within me and I was tormented, I remembered the Lord; my prayer came to You, to Your holy Sanctuary.

Adherents of false futilities, the idol worshippers, will abandon their faith, their own beliefs.

But unlike the idol worshippers, I will remain faithful to my God despite my troubles and with a voice of thanks will present an offering to You, the obligatory thanks offering. If I am delivered from this predicament, that which I have vowed, I will pay. Salvation is of the Lord.

The Lord told the fish to release Jonah, and it spewed Jonah onto the dry land. The fish did not swallow Jonah as prey. Rather, God sent the fish to protect Jonah in the sea, even though Jonah defied God by suppressing the prophecy given to him. Now, the fish is commanded to vomit the prophet onto dry land.

The word of the Lord was with Jonah a second time, saying:

Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim to it the proclamation that I speak to you.

Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, in accordance with the word of the Lord. Jonah was cast from the ship somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. Regardless of the shore upon which he emerged, Jonah was very far from Nineveh. A journey of such great distance would have taken several months. Nineveh was an exceptionally great city, a journey of three days from one end of the city to the other end. Since the construction of multistory buildings had not yet developed, the city grew outwards. Its walls stretched 12 km around the city, while the city itself covered an area of roughly 7.5 sq km.

Jonah had begun to enter the city, a journey of one day, and he proclaimed his prophecy, and said: Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown. Although the verse does not specify the reason for the foretold destruction, it may be assumed that Jonah proclaimed that the city was full of sin and iniquity (see 3:8), and that if its inhabitants failed to change their ways, they would suffer the fate of Sodom. However, since the sins of Nineveh are not the focus of the book of Jonah, the verse does not specify them.

The people of Nineveh believed in God and in the prophecy that Jonah stated in His name, and they proclaimed a fast, a day of communal gathering, and they donned sackcloth, a coarse, woven garment produced from goat hair and the like, as an expression of mourning and submission, from their great ones to their small ones. This was the people’s spontaneous reaction; they sought with all their desire to return to God.

Jonah traversed the streets of the city, and his message reached the ears of all of Nineveh, even the king: The matter reached the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne, removed his magnificent robe from upon him, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashes, another sign of mourning.

He had them, his ministers and aides, summoned, and announced in Nineveh at the behest of the king and his nobles, saying: Man and animal, the cattle and the flocks, shall not taste anything; they, the animals, shall not graze in the fields, and they shall not drink water. Since the entire city is about to be overthrown, the damage will not be limited to the people alone; therefore, the people should involve all the animals in the effort to avert the catastrophe.

They shall cover themselves with sackcloth, man and animal, and they shall cry mightily to God, with sincere prayer that emanates from the depths of their hearts, and each shall return from his own evil way, and from the villainy that is in their hands. This is referring to the abuse of power, by which the wealthy force those weaker than they are to act in a certain manner.

If we amend our ways, who knows? He may relent, and God may reconsider what he decreed upon us, and turn back from His enflamed wrath, and we will not perish. The inhabitants of the city were shaken by Jonah’s call; even the king and his nobles proclaimed a process of repentance that would include all living creatures in Nineveh.

God saw their actions, that they relented from their evil way. The verse does not state that God saw their fasting, their signs of mourning, or the proclamations issued by the king and his ministers, but rather that He saw their deeds. And when God saw that they truly repented from their wickedness, God reconsidered the harm that He had said He would do to them, and He did not do it. God did not desire their destruction, but their repentance. Their transformation was instrumental in the annulment of the terrible decree.

Jonah was displeased with great displeasure because his prophecy of catastrophe did not materialize, and he was upset.

Consequently, he prayed to the Lord and said: Please, Lord, is this not what I said while I was in my own land? Because of this I initially fled to Tarshish, as I knew that You are God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in kindness, and reconsidering of harm.

Now, Lord, please take my life from me, as my death is better than my life if, after warning that the city would be overturned, nothing occurs, since I will be regarded as a liar.

The Lord said: Are you truly so upset? Evidently, the turn of events has upset you deeply.

Jonah emerged from the city and sat east of the city of Nineveh, which lies in an area that is extremely hot for most of the year. He made himself a booth there and sat beneath it in the shade, until he could see what would be in the city. He wanted to see whether the city would be destroyed after all.

The Lord God appointed a castor-oil plant, which sprouts very quickly, and it rose over Jonah and his simple booth, which did not offer him much protection, to be shade over his head, to deliver him from his discomfort. Jonah rejoiced over the castor-oil plant with great joy.

God appointed a worm at dawn the next day, and it damaged the castor-oil plant, and it withered. Its leaves fell off and it stopped growing.

It was with the rising of the sun that God appointed a light but hot east wind; the sun beat on the head of Jonah, and he fainted from the sudden heat. In his anguish, he asked for himself to die, and said: My death is better than my life with such terrible suffering.

God said to Jonah: Are you really so upset over the castor-oil plant? When Jonah became angry and asked for death after his prophecy went unfulfilled, God also asked: Are you truly so upset? Now, God asks about Jonah’s death wish stemming from the loss of the plant and its shade. He, Jonah, said: I am truly upset, to the point of death, as the plant that was appointed for me is withering away.

The Lord said: You pitied the castor-oil plant, which sprouted on its own, for which you did not exert any effort and did not cultivate it, which in a night came into being, and in a night perished; essentially, this plant did not affect the world in any significant manner.

Shall I not pity Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know between their right and their left, innocent children and simple folk who have not committed any wicked acts, and many animals that are not guilty of any wrongdoing? Do you want all this to be destroyed merely to preserve your reputation as a prophet? God accuses Jonah: You are bothered by the withering of a plant for which you bear no responsibility and in whose growth you were not involved, yet you remain insensitive toward the lives of myriads of people because of your own trivial considerations.