Jonah 1:15

Jon 1:15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

Ver. 15. So they took up Jonah] Not against his will, but in a sort offering himself to condign punishment. The mariners had tried all ways to save him, till they saw they must either destroy him or be destroyed with him. So deal many with their beloved sins, which they are loth to mortify, they see they must either kill or be killed, Rom 8:13; either turn from them to God, or burn for ever in hell. Jonah’s charity is exemplary, who yielded to perish alone rather than to have others perish with him and for him; the devil and his imps desire to draw company the same way with themselves; and say, as that wretch of old, When I die, may the earth be all fired, εμου θαναντος γαια μιχθητω τυρι εμου δε ζωντος dixit Caligula .

And cast him forth into the sea] Thus dealeth God by his servant Jonah; formerly faithful in his office, and able thereunto, and therefore sent to Nineveh. "Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth," Pro 11:31; here they are sure of their payment, neither can all their good deeds bear out one prepensed wickedness of a lesser fault that lies unrepented for, as were easy to instance in Moses, Miriam, David, and others. And all this proceeds from love displeased.

And the sea ceased from raging] Heb. stood from its wrath, or indignation. Nee marls ira manet (Ovid. Metam.). Nec horret iratum mare (Horat. lib. Epod.). The sea having found what it sought for, and now possessed of the prisoner it pursued, resteth quiet and content; Vide hic mare et disce sapere, saith one; see the sea here, and learn obedience to thy Creator, since winds, waves, and all are at his beck and check. See Mat 8:26.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

sea ceased . . . raging--so at Jesus' word (). God spares the prayerful penitent, a truth illustrated now in the case of the sailors, presently in that of Jonah, and thirdly, in that of Nineveh.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Jonah shows here that the tempest arose through his fault; for the issue proved this with certainty. The sailors had not only cast lots, but after Jonah was thrown into the sea the storm calmed, and the sea became still, — this sudden change sufficiently proved that Jonah was the only cause why they were so nearly shipwrecked. For if the sea had not calmed immediately, but after some interval of time, it might have been ascribed to chance: but as the sea instantly rested, it could not be otherwise said than that Jonah was condemned by the judgment of God. He was indeed cast into the sea by the hands of men; but God so presided, that nothing could be ascribed to men, but that they executed the judgment which the Lord had openly demanded and required from them. This, then, is the import of this verse. He now adds —

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(15) Raging.—Comp. maris ira, Ovid. Met. i. 330; iratum mare, Hor. Epod. ii.57.

“At whose burden

The angered ocean foams.”

SHAKESPEARE: Ant. and Cleop.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. they took up] With respect and reluctance, with no struggle on his part, or violence on theirs.

her raging] Lit., her anger. “Maris ira,” Ovid. Met. I. 330, “iratum mare,” Hor. Epod. II. 5, 6, are quoted by the commentators.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So they took up, Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea,.... They took him out of the hold or cabin where he was, and brought him upon deck; they took him, not against his will, but with his full consent, and according to the direction and advice he gave them: "they", for there were more than one employed in this affair; one or more very probably took him by the legs, and others put their hands under his arm holes, and so threw him into the sea:

and the sea ceased from her raging; immediately, and became a calm; and the wind also ceased from blowing, which is supposed; the end being answered by the storm, and the person found and obtained, what was sought after by it, it was still and quiet. The story the Jews (m) tell of his being let down into the sea to his knees, upon which the sea was calm, but became raging again upon his being taken up; and so, at the second time, to his navel; and the third time to his neck; is all fabulous; but he being wholly thrown in, it raged no more.

(m) Pirke Eliezer, c. 10. fol. 10. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

They took up Jonah - o “He does not say, ‘laid hold on him’, nor ‘came upon him’ but ‘lifted’ him; as it were, bearing him with respect and honor, they cast him into the sea, not resisting, but yielding himself to their will.”

The sea ceased (literally “stood”) from his raging - Ordinarily, the waves still swell, when the wind has ceased. The sea, when it had received Jonah, was hushed at once, to show that God alone raised and quelled it. It “stood” still, like a servant, when it had accomplished its mission. God, who at all times saith to it Job 38:11, “Hitherto shalt thou come and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed,” now unseen, as afterward in the flesh Mat 8:26, “rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm” . “If we consider the errors of the world before the Passion of Christ, and the conflicting blasts of diverse doctrines, and the vessel, and the whole race of man, i. e., the creature of the Lord, imperiled, and, after His Passion, the tranquility of faith and the peace of the world and the security of all things and the conversion to God, we shall see how, after Jonah was cast in, the sea stood from its raging” . “Jonah, in the sea, a fugitive, shipwrecked, dead, sayeth the tempest-tossed vessel; he sayeth the pagan, aforetime tossed to and fro by the error of the world into divers opinions. And Hosea, Amos, Isaiah, Joel, who prophesied at the same time, could not amend the people in Judaea; whence it appeared that the breakers could not be calmed, save by the death of (Him typified by) the fugitive.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

So, Heb. And,

they took up Jonah; as he advised; with reset to themselves, though with full-consent of Jonah, at last they yield. Cast him forth into the sea: see Jon 1:12.

And the sea ceased from her raging; as Jonah had assured them, so they find the sea all on a sudden calm and friendly, which we must understand includes the wind sent into the sea, though it be not mentioned here.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15, 16. The prayer ended, they cast Jonah out, and immediately the sea grew calm.

The men feared Jehovah exceedingly — The sudden cessation of the tempest was unfailing evidence that the God of Jonah was the God (Mar_4:41). In his presence they were utterly helpless, and they were still more afraid (Jon_1:10).

Offered a sacrifice — Immediately. Partly to express their gratitude and partly to receive the good will and favor of Jehovah.

Made vows — The things which they might consider necessary for suitable sacrifices to this powerful God may have been scanty on the ship, therefore, they promise that on the safe completion of the voyage they will bring additional and richer gifts. Nothing more is heard of the sailors.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They took up, with a certain reverence. Ceased from her raging; literally, stood from its anger; Septuagint, esth ek tou salou authv , "stood from its tossing." The sudden cessation of the storm showed that it had been sent on Jonah"s account, and that the crew had not sinned by executing the sentence upon him. Usually it takes some time for the swell to cease after the wind has sunk: here there was suddenly a great. (Mat_8:26)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

After they had prayed thus, they cast Jonah into the sea, and "the sea stood still (ceased) from its raging." The sudden cessation of the storm showed that the bad weather had come entirely on Jonah's account, and that the sailors had not shed innocent blood by casting him into the sea. In this sudden change in the weather, the arm of the holy God was so suddenly manifested, that the sailors "feared Jehovah with great fear, and offered sacrifice to Jehovah" - not after they landed, but immediately, on board the ship - "and vowed vows," i.e., vowed that they would offer Him still further sacrifices on their safe arrival at their destination.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)