So they said to him, “What shall we do to you that [there may be] quietness upon the sea,” because the sea was going and storming. Then he said to them, “Lift me and hurl me to the sea, that the sea might quiet from upon you, because I know it is because of my account that this great storm is upon you.” – Jonah 1:11-12
Transgression requires a response. The sailors immediately move from “what have you done” (v. 10), to “what shall we do to you?” They assume that now that Jonah is the reason for the storm, there is some type of penance that must take place. This response, of course, creates irony in the following paragraph because once Jonah tells the sailors what to do, they refuse to do it. Thus the sailors, like Jonah, are sailing the seas in disobedience.
A few notes below:
… going and storming… — Jonah 1:11:b
This is a strange phrase in Hebrew that simply indicates that the storm is continuing to increase in intensity. This intensity gives the impression that God is increasing the level of judgment once the ignorance of the sailors has been alleviated. Now that they know what is going on, God wants them to respond according to His will.
The he said to them, “Lift me and hurl me to the sea, that the sea might quiet from upon you…” – Jonah 1:12a
Verse 12 is loaded with intrigue the moves the story along. First, unlike in the previous paragraph where Jonah directly answered virtually none of the sailors questions, in this verse is directly answers the question of the sailors. “What shall we do to you that there may be quietness upon the sea?”… “Lift me and hurl me to the sea, that the sea might quiet from upon you.” Direct, and virtually identical phrasing. All of a sudden, Jonah is willing to cooperate.
Second, the phrase “hurl me to the sea” is the exact phrase for what God is doing with the wind in verse 4 (Hebrew verb is in the Hiphil form), whereas when he sailors where hurling cargo into the sea in verse 5, the root of the verb was the same, but the tense of the verb was different (Hebrew verb is in the Qal form). The sailors in verse five were mimicking God (see above), however, if they throw Jonah overboard they would be doing exactly what God wanted them to do. In this subtle way, the narrator is letting up know that Jonah is not simply asking for a death wish.
Finally, there is a bit of debate about the phrase “lift me.” It seems unnecessary, after all, to throw Jonah into the sea will require him to be lifted. Three things about the phrase. First, the Hebrew does not use a word that implies “up.” Of course “lifting” is “upward” by nature, but to this point Jonah has been going “down” and this word allows for the “downward” direction of Jonah to still be in the forefront. The narrator does not want you to believe that Jonah has somehow moved closer to God by this statement. Second, Sasson makes in interesting comment on p. 124.
“[To lift] is a verb that seldom refers to lifting up an individual. It is constructed, rather, with nouns such as “sin” and “evil” when Scripture wants to speak of guilt and the many ways in which human beings sustain it… Such a connotation, therefore, could have penetrated the sailors mind.” (Sasson p. 124)
I would be inclined to agree with Sasson’s observation. After all, I would love nothing better than to see Jonah as some sort of sin offering for the sailors. Makes many of the Christological parallels much easier. While I don’t completely discredit the theory, there is one major flaw. The Hebrew verb “to lift” is very, very, very common and is used to extensively in the Old Testament. While it doesn’t usually refer to individuals, and can be used to refer to nouns connected to sin and evil, it can also just mean to “lift.”
I’ll offer my own theory, which doesn’t rule out Sasson, but I think is a better explanation. It just so happens that the root word “to do” in verse 11 said by the sailors, and the root word for “lift” said by Jonah in verse 12, sound very much alike (Rood work for “to do” is YSH (Ahsa), root word for “lift” is NSA (nahsa). Not only that, in their inflections in the sentence that actually have a reverse rhyming effect. “We to do” in Hebrew sounds like “na-ah-sah,” and “lift me” in Hebrew sounds like “Sa-oh-ni.” Notice they both share a “sa,” an “ah/oh,” and an “n” sound. Finally, they are both the first words out of their speaker’s mouths (“What shall we do” is actually two words in construct out of the sailors mouths, but is meant to sound like one word in Hebrew, and “Lift me” is the first thing Jonah says). What we have is another word play in the narrator’s recording of the account that is meant to show that Jonah is being truthful in his answer. The sailors are, indeed, supposed to throw him overboard.
“… because I know it is because on my account that this great storm is upon you.” – Jonah 1:12b
This phrase makes two subtle points. First, the phrase “on my account” is almost exactly the phrase “on whose account” in verse 7. The puts an inclusio around this section of the story (a similar phrase at the beginning and end of a section to emphasize the relatedness of the account). The storm is indeed the responsibility of Jonah, the sailors know it, Jonah knows it, all that is left is what to do about it.
Some have suggested that this phrase is the beginning of Jonah’s repentance. It is the first time he has taken responsibility and demonstrated any concern about anyone other than himself. While I do agree that there seems to be a subtle change in his attitude, or at least some recognition of what is going on, I do not think he is yet repentant. Understanding your transgressions does not necessarily mean you are repentant. I’ll never forget my first encounter with this phenomenon. I was working the stock room at a retail store as one of my first jobs and witnessing to my coworkers. One of them, apparently a faithful church going Pentecostal, constantly talked about all the ladies he’d sexually conquered during various weekends. He was a natural exaggerator, so it was hard to tell if he was being truthful, but he regularly bragged about multiple women in one weekend. One day I asked him if he saw a problem between his life on Sunday and his life on the rest of the weekend. “Oh, I’m a fornicator J-Love (that was his pet name for me), I know that! What I’m doing is sinful. But if feels so good!” Here was a man who recognized his sin, even admitted the possible consequences, but had not yet repented.
Jonah, in verse 12, is closer to my fornicating Pentecostal friend than a truly repentant person. We will see his actual repentance begin in Chapter 2, and be completed in Chapter 3.
