Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jonah 2:6
I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars [was] about me forever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.
6. bottoms ] Lit., as in margin, “ cuttings off,” the mountains being poetically conceived of as stretching away their roots or ridges to the lowest depths of the sea, and there ending or being cut off.
her bars ] Lit., ( as for) the earth, her bars, &c. The idea is that the gates of the earth were not only closed, but barred and made fast upon him, shutting him into the unseen world. The same word is used of Samson carrying away the gates of Gaza, “bar and all,” i. e. probably a wooden beam used to hold fast the gates when they were closed. Jdg 16:3. Comp. “Let not the pit shut her mouth upon me,” Psa 69:15.
from corruption ] Rather, from the pit. R. V.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I went down to the bottoms, (literally the cuttings off) of the mountains – , the roots as the Chaldee and we call them, the hidden rocks, which the mountains push out, as it were, into the sea, and in which they end. Such hidden rocks extend along the whole length of that coast. These were his dungeon walls; the earth, her bars, those long submarine reefs of rock, his prison bars, were around him forever: the seaweeds were his chains: and, even thus, when things were at their uttermost, Thou hast brought up my life from corruption, to which his body would have fallen a prey, had not God sent the fish to deliver him. The deliverance for which be thanks God is altogether past: Thou broughtest me up. He calls the Lord, my God, because, being the God of all, He was especially his God, for whom He had done things of such marvelous love. God loves each soul which He has made with the same infinite love with which He loves all. Whence Paul says of Jesus Gal 2:20, Who loved me and gave Himself for me. He loves each, with the same undivided love, as if he had created none besides; and He allows each to say, My God, as if the Infinite God belonged wholly to each. So would He teach us the oneness of Union between the soul which God loves and which admits His love, and Himself.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains] This also may be literally understood. The fish followed the slanting base of the mountains, till they terminated in a plain at the bottom of the great deep.
The earth with her bars] He represents himself as a prisoner in a dungeon, closed in with bars which he could not remove, and which at first appeared to be for ever, i.e., the place where his life must terminate.
Yet hast thou brought up my life] The substance of this poetic prayer was composed while in the fish’s belly; but afterwards the prophet appears to have thrown it into its present poetic form, and to have added some circumstances, such as that before us; for he now speaks of his deliverance from this imminent danger of death. “Thou hast brought up my life from corruption.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I went down, the fish carried him down,
to the bottoms of the mountains; as deep in the sea as are the bottoms of the mountains, or into those depths out of which might be supposed that mountains were thence drawn out by the roots; an elegant description of fathomless depths, whirlpools of the seas.
The earth with her bars was about me for ever; I seemed to be imprisoned where the bars that secured me were as great and durable as the rocks which they were made of.
Yet, notwithstanding all these insuperable difficulties, and my own fears,
hast thou brought up; by what was first my danger thou hast wonderfully secured me, what I thought should have been my grave was made a safety to me; by the fish Jonah is in due time fairly and safely set on shore.
My life; his life of nature; his life of comfort, and peace, and joy too.
From corruption, or the pit; a description of the stale of the dead, whose bodies turn to putrefaction and stench.
O Lord; O almighty and eternal Being, Lord and Sovereign over all.
My God; mine, saith Jonah, by particular choice, faith, and hope, whom I had served and should not have disobeyed, to whom I prayed, who hath pardoned, whom I will adore, obey, and love for ever.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. bottoms of . . . mountainstheirextremities where they terminate in the hidden depthsof the sea. Compare Ps 18:7,”the foundations of the hills” (Ps18:15).
earth with her bars was aboutmeEarth, the land of the living, is (not “was”) shutagainst me.
for everso far as anyeffort of mine can deliver me.
yet hast thou brought up mylife from corruptionrather, “Thou bringest . . .from the pit” [MAURER].As in the previous clauses he expresses the hopelessness of hisstate, so in this, his sure hope of deliverance through Jehovah’sinfinite resources. “Against hope he believes in hope,” andspeaks as if the deliverance were actually being accomplished.Hezekiah seems to have incorporated Jonah’s very words in his prayer(Isa 38:17), just as Jonahappropriated the language of the Psalms.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I went down to the bottom of the mountains,…. Which are in the midst of the sea, whither the fish carried him, and where the waters are deep; or the bottom of rocks and promontories on the shore of the sea; and such vast rocks hanging over the sea, whose bottoms were in it, it seems are on the shore of Joppa, near to which Jonah was cast into the sea, as Egesippus f relates:
the earth with her bars [was] about me for ever; that is, the earth with its cliffs and rocks on the seashore, which are as bars to the sea, that it cannot overflow it; these were such bars to Jonah, that could he have got clear of the fish’s belly, and attempted to swim to shore, he could never get to it, or over these bars, the rocks and cliffs, which were so steep and high:
yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God; notwithstanding these difficulties, which were insuperable by human power, and these seeming impossibilities of, deliverance; yet the Lord brought him out of the fish’s belly, as out of a grave, the pit of corruption, and where he must otherwise have lain and rotted, and freed his soul from those terrors which would have destroyed him; and by this also we learn, that this form of words was composed after he came to dry land: herein likewise he was a type of Christ, who, though laid in the grave, was not left there so long as to see corruption, Ps 16:10.
f “De excidio”, Urb. Hieros. l. 3. c. 20.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
According to the same sense he says, I descended to the roots of the mountains. But he speaks of promontories, which were nigh the sea; as though he had said, that he was not cast into the midst of the sea, but that he had so sunk as to be fixed in the deep under the roots of mountains. All these things have the same designs which was to show that no deliverance could be hoped for, except God stretched forth his hand from heaven, and indeed in a manner new and incredible.
He says that the earth with its bars was around him. He means by this kind of speaking, that he was so shut up, as if the whole earth had been like a door. We know what sort of bars are those of the earth, when we ascribe bars to it: for when any door is fastened with bolts, we know how small a portion it is. But when we suppose the earth itself to be like a door, what kind of things must the bolts be? It is the same thing then as though Jonah had said, that he was so hindered from the vital light, as if the earth had been set against him to prevent his coming forth to behold the sun: the earth, then, was set against me, and that for ever
He afterwards comes to thanksgiving, And thou Jehovah, my God, hast made my life to ascend from the grave. Jonah, after having given a long description, for the purpose of showing that he was not once put to death, but that he had been overwhelmed with many and various deaths, now adds his gratitude to the Lord for having delivered him, Thou, he says, hast made my life to ascend from the grave, O Jehovah. He again confirms what I have once said, — that he did not pour forth empty prayers, but that he prayed with an earnest feeling, and in faith: for he would not have called him his God, except he was persuaded of his paternal love, so as to be able to expect from him a certain salvation. Thou, then, Jehovah, my God, he says; he does not say, Thou hast delivered me, but, Thou hast brought forth my life from the grave. Then Jonah, brought to life again, testifies here that he was not only delivered by God’s aid from the greatest danger, but that he had, by a certain kind of resurrection, been raised from the dead. This is the meaning of this mode of speaking, when he says that his life had been brought forth from the grave, or from corruption itself. It follows —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) Bottoms of the mountains.Literally, ends or cuttings off, as, in margin. So the Vulg. extrema montium. Mountains were in the Hebrew conception the pillars of the world (see Job. 9:6; Job. 26:11), having their foundations firmly planted in the sea. These hidden bases of the hills were therefore the verge of the earth itself, and one lost among them would be close on the under-world of death.
The earth with her bars . . .Literally, the earth her bars behind me for ever; i.e., the earths gates were closed upon me for ever, there was no possibility of return. The metaphor of a gateway to shel is common (Isa. 38:10, &c.), but the earth is nowhere else said to be so guarded. Ewald therefore proposes to read shel here. But it is quite as natural to imagine a guarded passage out of the land of the living as into the land of the dead.
Corruption.Rather, pit. (See Note, Psa. 16:10.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. The bottoms of the mountains Literally, the cuttings off; the extreme ends. The mountains are thought of as extending their roots to the bottom of the sea (Psa 18:5).
The earth with her bars was about me Literally, as to the earth, her bars were behind me. He thinks himself cast out from the earth; the earth has put down the bars so as to make return to the dry land impossible forever. The comparison is with a city whose gates are barred so that no one can enter. Marti reads 6a, “I went down to the nether parts of the earth, to the people of old time”; that is, the people who died in ancient times (Eze 26:20; Eze 32:18; Eze 32:24); in other words, to Sheol.
The depth of affliction and the deadly character of the peril make the deliverance the more wonderful. To this deliverance the singer now turns.
Yet hast thou brought up my life Thou hast brought me up alive, in spite of the apparent hopelessness.
From corruption R.V., “from the pit.” The former is the meaning given to the word by the ancient versions, but R.V. is to be preferred. The word is practically synonymous with Sheol (Jon 2:2; Psa 30:3; Psa 30:9).
Jehovah my God See on Jon 2:1.
Jon 2:7 goes back to Jon 2:4, calling attention once more to the conflicting emotions while in the midst of danger.
My soul fainted Literally, was overwhelmed; became exhausted (Psa 142:3; Psa 143:4).
I remembered When about ready to give up the struggle he thought of Jehovah, and decided to appeal to him (4), and his prayer was heard (Psa 18:6; Psa 5:7).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“I went down to the bottoms of the mountains,
The earth with its bars closed on me for ever,
Yet have you brought up my life from the pit,
O YHWH my God.”
He had felt himself sinking lower and lower, into the very depths. ‘The bottom of the mountains’ indicates the sea floor, for as men stood on the shore they saw the slope of the mountains going down into the seas and realised that at the bottom of the slope was a valley, the sea floor. As the boat was clearly not far from shore, the bottom of the sea would not have been at any great depth. And he had felt as though he was excluded from the earth by bars which prevented his returning, and which would hold him for ever. But then he had found himself remarkably delivered and he had been lifted out of the pit, and he had thus recognised that it was the action of YHWH His God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jon 2:6. The earth with her bars was about me, &c. Houbigant connects the word rendered for ever, with bars, and reads, The earth, with her everlasting bars, was about me, &c. But others give the passage another turn, and render it thus, The earth with her bars would have been about me for ever; but thou broughtest up, &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 1199
JONAH RESTORED FROM THE BELLY OF A FISH
Jon 2:6, Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.
IT is of the highest importance to have seasons of recollection for the more solemn investigation of the state of our souls. Not a day should be closed without serious reflections on our conduct through the day. On particular occasions it would be well to commit them to writing, with a view to our future humiliation or encouragement. Jonahs example in this respect is worthy of imitation. Having received from God a commission to denounce his judgments against Nineveh, and being afraid, that, after all, God would exercise mercy towards them, and make him appear a false prophet, he declined the office that had been assigned him, and endeavoured to flee from the presence of the Lord. But a storm overtook him; and he was cast into the sea, and swallowed by a fish; and then, being preserved alive in that extraordinary situation, he thought on his ways, and cried unto his God for mercy. After his deliverance, he called to remembrance the exercises of his mind during his perilous confinement; and recorded them, for the benefit of the Church to the end of time. He tells us, that at first he began to despair; conceiving that the Lord had cast him out of his sight. But, knowing that nothing was impossible with God, he directed his eyes towards heaven, and prayed. His prayer was heard, and the desired mercy was vouchsafed to him. This he acknowledges in the words before us: in which we have,
I.
An instructive history
Every part of this history is replete with instruction. Other parts of Holy Writ inform us of the frailties of Gods people, and exhibit Noah, Lot, David, Peter, and others, in very humiliating conditions. But there is a peculiarity in the character of Jonah that distinguishes him from all others, and gives us a deep insight into the human heart. We cannot however stop to enter minutely into his character, or into the diversified lessons which his history would teach us. We shall confine ourselves to two observations, which are of a general nature and of universal importance:
1.
Rebellion against God will surely bring upon us his heavy displeasure
[Jonah might think lightly perhaps of the sin he had committed, when refusing to execute the commission he had received: and he certainly was unmindful of the danger he had brought upon himself, even while all who sailed with him in the ship were in the utmost terror. But God was visiting him for his iniquity; and, in order to the discovery of it, suggested to the minds of the mariners to ascertain, by a lot, who the guilty person was, for whose sake the storm was raised. The lot fell on Jonah: and he, being impeached thus by God himself, confessed his crime; and prescribed, as the only means of pacifying the Deity, that he himself should be cast into the sea. Thus did vengeance overtake him. And shall we sin with impunity? What though we think light of our sins, and sleep in security when we should be praying to our God; does God estimate sin by our standard? or is danger at all more remote, because we do not see it? Of this we may be assured, that evil will hunt the wicked man, to overthrow him; and, however long we may elude its pursuit, it will seize upon us at last, as its legitimate prey. The declaration of God to every impenitent person is, Be sure your sin will find you out.]
2.
Whatever effects of his displeasure we may now feel, the prayer of penitence and faith will deliver us from them
[A more desperate condition than that of Jonah cannot well be conceived [Note: See his description of it, ver. 2, 3, 5.]. Yet from thence was he brought by the efficacy of fervent prayer [Note: ver. 2, 4, 7.]. Be it so then; we have sinned against the Lord in a very grievous manner; and we are at this moment under his chastising hand; still Has the Lord forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? No: the Lord is merciful and gracious: and, if only we have a heart to pray, we need not doubt but that he has an ear to hear. Were we at the bottom of the sea, yet if we were able to look unto his holy Temple, we should not look in vain. We might not be delivered with respect to the body; but the soul should find acceptance at Gods hands, and be made a monument of his sparing mercy.]
We dwell the less on the historical view of Jonahs deliverance, because we wish you to notice it more particularly as,
II.
A glorious type
We are always cautious of exceeding the bounds of truth and soberness in the explanation of types. On this account we altogether omit, what some have laid a stress upon, the idea of Christs offering up himself a sacrifice to God for the purpose of averting his wrath from us. And we should be inclined to limit the typical import of this history to the resurrection of Christ, if he himself had not given us a more extended view of it. But, in the place where he speaks of Jonas as being a sign to the people, he calls him the Prophet Jonas, and mentions the remarkable success of his ministrations [Note: Mat 12:38-41.]. We are induced therefore to consider the whole of this history as designating the ministry of Jesus;
1.
In its temporary suspension
The casting of Jonah into the sea, and his being swallowed by a fish, effectually, as it should seem, put an end to his mission. Whatever gracious intentions God had formed respecting the Ninevites, they were now, to all appearance, frustrated; so that, unless God should send to them by some other prophet, his judgments would come upon them without warning, and without a remedy.
Such was also the distressful, and apparently irremediable, state, to which the world was reduced by the death of Christ. His enemies triumphed when they saw him dead upon the cross, and committed to the silent tomb. His friends and followers then concluded, that they had been mistaken in their expectations, and that the redemption of Israel which they had looked for at his hands was a hopeless phantom [Note: Luk 24:21.]. To guard them against this erroneous conclusion, our blessed Lord expressly told his disciples, that he should be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.]
2.
Its speedy restoration
[After three days, Jonah was, by Gods overruling providence, disgorged in safety upon dry land; and his commission to preach unto the Ninevites was renewed.
Thus by the resurrection of Christ were the hopes of a ruined world revived. Not only was the ministry of our Lord himself renewed, but all his Apostles also received afresh their commission to preach the Gospel to every creature. Could the Ninevites have foreseen the effect of Jonahs deliverance, how would their hearts have leaped for joy! And well may all the nations of the earth rejoice in the tidings of a risen Saviour, through whom repentance and remission of sins are preached, and by whom the most abandoned of sinners may be brought to God.]
3.
Its ultimate success
[Wonderful indeed was the effect of Jonahs ministrations! and we may well suppose that the relation of his miraculous preservation and deliverance contributed in no small degree to the success of his mission. The people of Nineveh would necessarily conclude, that he was sent of God, and that the denunciations delivered by him would be fulfilled.
And was not this the effect of Christs resurrection? The very point which all the Apostles most insisted on, was this: they preached Jesus and the Resurrection: they preached, that he died according to the Scriptures, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. From hence the inference was clear that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Saviour of the world: and so rapidly did this truth prevail, that in one day there were converted to him three thousand souls; and, in a very short space of time, the whole Roman empire was filled with his acknowledged followers.]
We may learn from hence,
1.
On what a firm basis our religion stands
[The sign which above all others our blessed Lord laid the greatest stress upon, was his fulfilling of this type. Though he gave innumerable proofs of his divine mission, yet it was to this chiefly, yea, to this only, that he referred the confirmed sceptics. He said, in fact, I shall die, and rise again the third day without seeing corruption, and shall live for evermore, to perfect the work assigned me. If I rise on the third day, then you will know that I am the Messiah: if I do not, I am contented that you shall account me an impostor. Now, brethren, you know the means which his enemies used to prevent any collusion among his disciples; yea, and how incredulous his disciples themselves were; and consequently, you are sure that he did indeed rise, and that all which God hath spoken by him, or of him, is true; it is true that the impenitent and unbelieving shall perish; but that all who believe in him shall be justified from all things.]
2.
What has been done for every believer
[Though Jonah stands alone in his particular line of experience, there is not a believer whose soul has not been in as perilous a condition as Jonah himself was at the bottom of the sea; nor one who has not obtained deliverance by the very same means, humiliation and prayer. The experience of David was not unlike to Jonahs [Note: Psa 40:1-3.]; and that of the Church of old is painted in expressions precisely similar to those in the chapter before us [Note: Lam 3:54-58.];. Happy, happy they, who have obtained mercy of the Lord, and can thus attest the efficacy of believing prayer! Let not your feelings, brethren, be forgotten; but get them written in the tablet of your hearts; and let your acknowledgments be suited to the mercies vouchsafed unto you.]
3.
What the Lord will do for all who call upon him
[Our blessed Saviour, by dying for our offences and rising again for our justification, has procured for us whatever we stand in need of. Even in the denunciations of Gods wrath there is an implied promise of mercy, if we repent and turn to God. However great therefore our guilt may be, or however imminent our danger, let us remember, that with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. Let us remember, that Jesus is exalted to give repentance and remission of sins; and that, though we were as much in the belly of hell as a living creature can be, our cry should come before him into his holy temple, and he would bring up our souls out of the pit of corruption; after two days he would revive us; in the third day he would raise us up, and we should live in his sight [Note: Hos 6:1-2.];.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Jon 2:6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars [was] about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.
Ver. 6. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains ] That is, of the promontories or rocks of the sea, where the waters are deepest. Thus Mercer after Kimchi. “The channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered,” Psa 18:15 . The mountains are said to be under water, Pro 8:25 , because their foundations are there placed.
The earth with her bars was about me for ever
“ In me omnis terraeque aviumque marisque rapina est,
Forsitan et coeli ”
Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption
O Lord my God
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
bottoms = roots.
the earth, &c = as for the earth, her bars, &c. Some codices, with one early printed edition, and Syriac, read “and as to the earth”.
was. Substitute “were”.
for ever. The thought of a drowning man.
brought = didst bring.
corruption = the pit or grave, the place of corruption. Hebrew shachath,
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
bottoms: Heb. cuttings off
mountains: Deu 32:22, Psa 65:6, Psa 104:6, Psa 104:8, Isa 40:12, Hab 3:6, Hab 3:10
the earth: Job 38:4-11, Pro 8:25-29
yet: Psa 16:10, Isa 38:17, Act 13:33-37
corruption: or, the pit, Job 33:24, Job 33:28, Psa 30:3, Psa 30:9, Psa 55:23, Psa 143:7
Reciprocal: Gen 49:26 – everlasting hills Job 17:16 – the bars of the pit Job 18:13 – strength Psa 18:15 – foundations Psa 18:16 – many waters Psa 40:2 – brought Psa 71:20 – shalt bring Psa 88:4 – counted Psa 118:18 – chastened Act 2:27 – to see
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
OUT OF THE DEEP PIT
Yet hast Thou brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God.
Jon 2:6 (R.V.)
I. Have you got down into the pit?It may be by your own fault. So it was with Jonah. He would never have been in this plight had he not disobeyed the voice of the Lord. He paid the fare to go to Tarshish, but really to go down into the depths, and to have his return fare given him gratis. Disobedience may be forgiven when we confess it with true repentance, as Jonah did, but it costs us dearly.
II. Can you dare to appeal to God?Some, when they get down into the pit, are too ashamed and fearful to cry to Him. They think that they have gone too far and sinned too deeply, not knowing the infinitude of His saving grace, which abounds as much more than our sins as the Flood overtopped the highest mountains. But if only thou wilt say: O Lord my God! Even if thou art not worthy to be called a child, even if thou supposest thyself to have committed the unpardonable sin, even if all Gods waves and billows have gone over theestill thou mayest speak to Him as thy God. Did He not create and redeem thee? Has He not encouraged thee by thousands of promises to come? Does not thine own heart instruct thee that weakness and need are always supreme arguments where goodness and strength blend in a noble character? Cry to Him, O Lord my God, be merciful to me the sinner.
III. Is it not true that with God the pit is the way to the throne?It was so with Joseph. Was it not so with our Lord? He will not leave thy soul in Hades, nor suffer thee to see corruption. Dare to look again out of the belly of hell towards His Holy Temple. He who brought thee down will again bring up thy life to see the light.
Illustration
The fish, through a mistranslation of St. Mat 12:40, was formerly supposed to be a whale, but the whales neck is too narrow to receive a man. The original means simply a great fish. One commentator thinks it was the dogfish, the stomach of which is so large that the body of a man in armour was found in it. Others think it was a shark. Our Lord expressly quotes the incident as a miracle, and as a type of His own resurrection. During his imprisonment in the belly of this great fish the prophet was, so to speak, dead to all the world, and his resurrection was a conspicuous proof of Divine power, such as could not fail to arrest the attention of the Ninevites, when they became aware of it. Jonahs prayer is very pathetic. He cried. Yes, often enough we do not cry till the oppression of our affliction lies heavily upon us. But God can hear a cry though it comes from the depths of the sea. What a blessed resolution is that of the fourth verse! O soul of man, thou seemest to be cast out of Gods sight by thy own act and deed. Nevertheless, look again towards His Holy Temple. Look again! Look again to the wounds of thy Saviour. Look again for pardon and acceptance! Look in true repentance and faith, and thou canst not look in vain!
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Jon 2:6. Jonah is describing the way he felt when he was cast out of the boat, not that it is an inspired literal report of what actually happened. Bottoms of the mountains. The hilly land of the vicinity would extend on down into the water and Jonah felt as if he had sunk down to the bases of them. Earth . . . bars . , , for ever. Again Jonah is describing the way it seemed to him as he was shut off from the entire world. This conclusion is justified by his words immediately following that the Lord brought him out of the corruption that threat-ened his life.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2:6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars [was] about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my {d} life from corruption, O LORD my God.
(d) You have delivered me from the belly of the fish and all these dangers, as it were raising me from death to life.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The prophet descended in the sea to the bottoms of the mountains, their very foundations. There he felt caged as a prisoner unable to escape. However even though human deliverance was hopeless, Yahweh, Jonah’s strong God, lifted him up out of Sheol’s pit (cf. Psa 49:15; Psa 56:13; Psa 103:4).
"Jonah’s ’downward’ journey from Jerusalem down to Joppa (Jon 1:3 a) down into the ship (Jon 1:3 b) down into the cargo hold (Jon 1:5) and ultimately down into the bottom of the sea, pictured as down to the very gates of the netherworld (Jon 2:7), does not end until he turns back to God who brings him ’up’ from the brink of death (Jon 2:6-7)." [Note: The NET Bible note on 1:3.]
"When you turn your back on God, the only direction you can go is down." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 381.]