But the men rowed earnestly to return to dry land, but they were not able to because the sea was going and storming against them. So they cried out to the LORD, and they said, “Please LORD, let us not now perish at this man’s life, and do not set this innocent blood against us. Because you, oh LORD, delight in that which you have done. Then they lifted Jonah and hurled him to the sea, and the sea stood still from its raging. And the men feared a great fear of the LORD, and they sacrificed sacrifices and vowed vows. – Jonah 1:13-16
But the men rowed earnestly to return to dry land… — Jonah 1:13a
Instead of immediately obeying the words of Jonah, the men tried to spare his life. While it is true that the men were being disobedient, we shouldn’t judge them too harshly. After all, Jonah was to some degree less than trustworthy and he had done the sailors no direct harm, so to throw him overboard was tantamount to murder. The sailors were at least righteous in their intentions to save his life.
There are a number of things that this simply phrase does to move the story line. First, the word for “rowed earnestly” in Hebrew, literally means to “dig into the water.” Sasson points out that in surveying its use in the Old Testament, “The imagery is obviously that of people who desperately and feverishly drive an instrument into the earth in order to escape their own world” (Sasson p. 130). It is also the first time “rowing” or oars appear in the story. The men are intent on escaping the storm.
Oddly enough their attempt to do this is described as “to return to dry land.” “Return” in Hebrew is a word often used of repentance, starting over, or resetting the circumstances. Here, it has the subtle implication that the sailors are trying to repent by “returning” Jonah to his place of origin in hopes to begin again (Sasson p. 131).
There is also an irony in the use of the phrase “dry land.” Jonah has already told the men that his God is the one who made the “sea and the dry land” in verse 9. Now they are trying to compete with the sea to return to dry land, effectually, they are competing with all of God’s sovereignty. There is no way they can win.
… but they were not able because the sea was going and storming against (upon) them. – Jonah 1:13b
The evidence of their futile effort is the fact that their circumstances never change. The sea is still “storming and going” as it was in verse 11. This point is only emphasized by the fact that the phrase “upon them” (or “upon you”/”upon us”) has not been used four times in three verses. The narrator wants you to understand, these men are getting absolutely nowhere.
So they cried out to the LORD, and they said, “Please LORD, let us not now perish at this man’s life, and do not set this innocent blood against us. Because you, oh LORD, delight in that which you have done. – Jonah 1:14
As Sasson says, “This verse is the heart of Jonah’s first chapter, for it catches the moment in which illumination finally strikes the sailors” (Sasson 131). This will be the same illumination that will capture Jonah in chapter 2 and the Ninevites in chapter 3. It is a microcosm of what God is doing through the book of Jonah.
So they cried out to the LORD… — Jonah 1:14a
The sailors have now done what the captain of the ship advised Jonah in verse 6, they are crying out to Jonah’s God. “Cried out” is the same word used by God when giving Jonah the command to go to Nineveh. So here again, the pagans are more obedient than the Hebrew prophet.
The biggest shocker of the verse, some could even argue the entire book, is the use of the name of God in this verse. Notice it is not “God,” the generic name used of God especially when Gentiles are in the context, that is used. Rather it is “LORD” or YHWH in Hebrew; the name of the covenant God of Israel. A name that they alone were supposed to use. The Gentiles are acting like believing Jews, they are calling on Yahweh amidst their troubles. Not only that, the name of God will be used three times in this verse. Three part repetitions in Hebrew are always used as a point of emphasis. This is not scribal error, or some mistake in the text. The writer of Jonah is emphasizing the fact that they are calling out to the God of the universe as revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai in a covenant context.
… and they said, “Please LORD, let us not perish at this man’s life, and do not set this innocent blood against us…” – Jonah 1:14b
Notice, the name of God has entered the sailors mouths. They are asking two things in this prayer. First, that they not perish because of what appears to them to be murder. They have already feared “perishing” because of the storm (v. 6), now they do not want to perish because of a crime. Secondly, they do not want to be blamed for Jonah’s “innocent blood.” It should be noted that they are not declaring Jonah innocent in the sight of God. They are simply saying that Jonah has not done anything to them that is worthy of death. They were not present when Jonah disobeyed God, so they only have the words of Jonah and the circumstances of the storm to indicate that God has deemed Jonah worthy of death.
… Because you, oh LORD, delight in that which you have done.” – Jonah 1:14c
Then sailors plea ends with the justification for why they should not be held accountable for Jonah’s innocent death. Because, as far as they can tell, this was the will of Yahweh. Interestingly enough, they seem to automatically assume that Yahweh takes delight in his own will, so what they were going to do would be delightful to him. Considering the fact that the prophets were constantly reminding the people of Israel that God “delights” more in obedience than in sacrifices, this phrase had to be a harsh pill for the Jews to hear when this story was read to them. Here were pagan sailors, calling upon Yahweh, and being obedient to the delight of His will!
Sasson also points out that the phrase “you delight in that which you have done” is a distinctive product of Old Testament theology. He compares it to nearly identical quotes in Psalm 115:2-8 and Psalm 135:5-7. He acknowledges that the familiarity with these exact quotes might be a bit obscure, the understanding that Yahweh took great delight in his own will and that those who were faithful did best when they acknowledged the will of God is now being stated by pagan sailors who have just recently learned of Yahweh. It is an indication of a sovereign move upon their hearts. As he says,
“This observation has interesting consequences for the assessment of the sailors’ prayer in Jonah. It allows us, first, to sidestep the issue of vindictiveness, for what God is fulfilling need not be confined to the terrible events of Jonah’s ship. Furthermore, we appreciate the cleverness of the storyteller in allotting so Hebraic an expression to the sailors, just as they are to witness the most stunning of God’s miracles over the elements. The phrase thus becomes a perfect vehicle by which to prepare the audience for the ‘conversion’ that is soon to take place” (Sasson p. 136).
Then they lifted Jonah and hurled him to the sea… — Jonah 1:15a
This is the record of the obedience of the sailors. The phrase is almost identical to verse 12. Which means that they both obeyed the command of Jonah perfectly, and that they mimic God by “hurling” Jonah into the sea. It should also be noted that in the Old Testament, obedience is often equated with faith. This action by the sailors indicates that they had both. They finally believed the command of Yahweh given by Jonah, and the acted upon their belief by obeying the command even when, in their own mind, it appeared to be murder.
… and the sea stood still from its raging. – Jonah 1:15b
It is significant that the narrator does not decide to use the phrase “quietness upon the sea” that is used in verses 11 and 12. It emphasizes the shocking contrast upon the instance that the sailors obeyed. The sea stood still and stopped raging. The imagery is of a violent tempest turning into a serene pond almost immediately. Sasson also points out that the phrase “stood still” is often used of an act of sovereignty by God against the natural will or forces of the subject (Sasson p. 137). This was a miracle by the God who made the seas and the dry land. And by this miracle, the sailors are saved.
I would like to insert a brief note here that some might consider reading into the text. It is impossible to know for certain whether or not Jonah could swim. Many would be right to point out that he was not a seaman since he was from Gath (2 Kings 14), and it is unlikely that non-seaman would know how to swim during this time period. We also have not idea how close the men were to land, so, even if Jonah could swim, there is no way to tell if he’d have a chance at survival. Regardless, the instant calm that came upon the sailors would have also come upon Jonah. And it is certainly easier to swim in a sea that is “standing still” that one that is “tempestuous.” However, when we turn the pages of the story, we are going to see a violent decent by Jonah into the depths of the sea, one that sound more like the violent storm that the standing still sea. It might be a stretch, but I believe God intentionally dragged the prophet down almost instantaneously. Jonah did not tire of swimming, nor did the storm did not take a while to albeit, rather God was quickly and precisely enacting the redemption upon the sailors while enacting his justice against Jonah.
And the men feared a great fear of the LORD, and they sacrificed sacrifices and vowed vows. – Jonah 1:16
The shock level of verse 14 where pagans are calling on the name of Yahweh only heightens now as they worship him and worship him directly. The NABC commentary attempts to argue that some type of permanent transformation is beyond the scope of the text and we have no way of knowing if these men were just temporarily grateful, or life-long converts (NABC p. 238). I could not disagree more.
First, the word play with “fear” in this passage is instructive. In verse 5, the men simply are “afraid” because of the storm. Then in verse 10, after Jonah has said he “fear[ed] the LORD,” it says that the sailors “feared a great fear.” There is irony there because their “fear” is mentioned twice as often as Jonah’s fear. However, in the text there is still an implication that Jonah’s “fear” is meant to be “worship” while to this point the sailors’ “fear” is mostly actual fear. Now in verse 16, the “fear a great fear” has a source “the LORD.” Them men have replaced Jonah as the owner of true “worship.” They are now the actual worshipers of Yahweh, not the Jewish prophet.
Not only that, but to back up the purity of their worship, the make sacrifices and vows. Both were signs of Jewish piety. These pagans are acting like God-fearing Jews. When you take all of the textual evidence, plus the parallel with the Ninevite repentance (we will discuss in Chapter 3), it seems clear that these men were more than just temporarily saved from the storm at sea, but had rather experienced the true salvation of Yahweh made possible to them by the sacrifice of a Jewish prophet.
As always, commentators have to argue about something, so there is a raging debate about how the sailors could have sacrificed anything on a ship. Ironically, one of the evangelical commentaries I have been using suggest they could not have had live animals aboard and therefore had to go ashore to make their sacrifices (NABC p. 237-238), while both of the non-evangelical commentaries (who do not accept the exact historicity of the account) argue that they could have had live animals aboard and made the sacrifices at sea. To settle the issue, I will let Elizabeth Achtemeier answer the issue and set us up for Chapter 2. Her words below:
“There has been some discussion among commentators about how it would have been possible to offer such a sacrifice on a ship, but again, those who are familiar with the history of sailing on know that animals were often carried on ships to provide fresh meat for the crew, and the fire of sacrifices could easily be contained. The notice of a sacrifice is really not unbelievable.
“We are not told what the content of the vows was or what the future relations of the sailors to Yahweh would be. In fact, the sailors now disappear from the story and are not mentioned again. But certainly the Lord of the world has used Jonah to convert one small group of heathen, and so Yahweh’s purpose has begin to be fulfilled. The focus of the story now shifts to Jonah, who is sinking to his deserved death” (Achtemeier p. 269).
