{"id":22561,"date":"2022-09-24T09:34:50","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T14:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-jonah-22\/"},"modified":"2022-09-24T09:34:50","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T14:34:50","slug":"exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-jonah-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-jonah-22\/","title":{"rendered":"Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jonah 2:2"},"content":{"rendered":"

And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, [and] thou heardest my voice. <\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

2<\/strong>. and said<\/em> ] The prayer which follows falls naturally into three parts or divisions. In each of these the two elements of danger and deliverance, of need and help, appear. But they enter into them in very different proportions. Faith grows, and the prospect brightens at each fresh stage of the hymn. The first rises to prayer, the second to confidence, the third to thankfulness and praise.<\/p>\n

I.<\/span> Jon 2:2-4<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n

(1) Introduction, containing the general subject of the hymn: I cried and was heard, I was in trouble and was delivered. <\/span> Jon 2:2<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n

(2) Description of the danger and distress. Jon 2:3<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n

(3) Faith triumphing over despondency and prompting to prayer. Jon 2:4<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n

II.<\/span> Jon 2:5-6<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n

(1) More vivid description of the danger and distress. Jon 2:5-6<\/em><\/span> a<\/em>.<\/p>\n

(2) Deliverance not only prayed for, but possessed. <\/span> Jon 2:6<\/em><\/span> b<\/em>.<\/p>\n

III.<\/span> Jon 2:7-9<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n

(1) Prayer, offered in danger and distress, has been heard. <\/span> Jon 2:7<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n

(2) God, no longer forsaken, but sought and recognised as the fountain of mercy, has granted deliverance which shall be acknowledged with sacrifices of thanksgiving and vows joyfully paid. <\/span> Jon 2:8-9<\/em><\/span> a<\/em>.<\/p>\n

(3) All salvation, as this typical instance shows, is of God. <\/span> Jon 2:9<\/em><\/span> b<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The prayer is remarkable for its many resemblances in thought and expression to passages in the Book of Psalms. The words of the Psalter, however, are not exactly and literally quoted, but its ideas and phrases are freely wrought into the prayer, as if drawn from the well-stored memory of a pious Israelite, familiar with its contents, and naturally giving vent to his feelings in the cherished forms, which were now instinct for him with new life and meaning. The manner in which our English literature (not only sacred, but secular and even profane and infidel) abounds in Scripture imagery and phraseology may help us to understand how coincidences of this kind may have arisen, without any deliberate intention on the part of a later writer to copy from an earlier, or even any direct consciousness that he was doing so.<\/p>\n

by reason of mine affliction<\/em> ] Rather, as in A.V. and R.V. margin, out of mine affliction<\/strong>, i.e. out of the midst of it, while it still compassed me about. The time referred to is when he was in the sea.<\/p>\n

The first half of this verse is identical in the Heb. words, though not in their order, with Psa 120:1<\/span>, except that in the Psalm we have “in,” instead of “from” or “out of” mine affliction, and a lengthened form of the word for affliction is used. The coincidence cannot, however, be properly said to affect the date of the Book of Jonah. The Psalm, it is true, belongs to a collection which “in its present form must have been made after the return from Babylon,” but it by no means follows that no ode of the collection had been composed before that time. Besides, the whole sentence is, both in language and idea, too commonplace, so to speak, to be safely insisted upon as a quotation at all. Two quite independent writers may easily have lighted on it. And moreover, if quoted at all, it may owe its origin no less probably to Psalms 18<\/span>, between which and the prayer of Jonah the resemblance, though less exact in this particular verse, is as a whole more close and striking. Comp. Psa 18:6<\/span> (1st clause).<\/p>\n

of hell<\/em> ] The unseen world<\/strong>, the place of the dead, amongst whom, when cast into the sea, he seemed already to be numbered. Comp. Psa 18:5<\/span>. “the sorrows of hell (or rather “the bonds of the unseen world”) compassed me about.”<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

I cried by reason of mine affliction – <\/B>, or, out of affliction which came to me. So the Psalmist thanked God in the same words, though in a different order ; To the Lord in trouble to me I called, and He heard me. He called, and God heard and answered , He does not say, I call, but I called; he does not pray for the future, but gives thanks for the past. Strange cause of thankfulness this would seem to most faith, to be alive in such a grave; to abide there hour after hour, and day after day, in one unchanging darkness, carried to and fro helplessly, with no known escape from his fetid prison, except to death! Yet spiritual light shone on that depth of darkness. The voracious creature, which never opened his mouth save to destroy life, had swallowed him, to save it . What looked like death, became safe-keeping, and so the prophet who had fled to avoid doing the will of God and to do his own, now willed to be carried about, he knew not where, at the will; as it seemed, of the huge animal in which he lay, but in truth, where God directed it, and he gave thanks. God had heard him. The first token of Gods mercy was the earnest of the whole. God was dealing with him, was looking on him. It was enough.<\/P>

Out of the belly of hell cried I. – <\/B>The deep waters were as a grave, and he was counted among the dead Psa 88:4<\/span>. Death seemed so certain that it was all one as if he were in the womb of hell, not to be reborn to life until the last Day. So David said Psa 18:5<\/span>, The bands of death compassed me round about; and Psa 30:3<\/span>, Thou hast drawn my life out of hell. The waters choked his speech; but he cried with a loud cry to God Who knew the heart. I cried; Thou heardest. The words vary only by a kindred letter . The real hearts cry to God according to the mind of God and His hearing are one, whether, for mans good, He seem at the time to hear or no.<\/P>

Not of the voice but of the heart is God the Hearer, as He is the Seer. Do the ears of God wait for sound? How then could the prayer of Jonah from the inmost belly of the whale, through the bowels of so great a creature, out of the very bottomless depths, through so great a mass of waters, make its way to heaven? Loud crying to God is not with the voice but with the heart. Many, silent with their lips, have cried aloud with their heart; many, noisy with their lips, could, with heart turned away, obtain nothing. If then thou criest, cry within, where God heareth. Jonah cried aloud to God out of the fishs belly, out of the deep of the sea, out of the depths of disobedience; and his prayer reached to God, Who rescued him from the waves, brought him forth out of the vast creature, absolved him from the guilt. Let the sinner too cry aloud, whom, departing from God, the storm of desires overwhelmed, the malignant Enemy devoured, the waves of this present world sucked under! Let him own that he is in the depth, that so his prayer may reach to God.<\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Jon 2:2<\/span><\/p>\n

I cried by reason of mine affliction.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Troubles and deliverance<\/strong><\/p>\n


I. <\/strong>The fact of trouble. Jonah is at one with all men in a common experience of trouble. No child of God is born to a heritage of unmitigated grief. Some compensating mercy is sure to throw its mellow light over the angriest storm. Some specimens of trouble. So many hampered lives; so many obstacles to goodness; so many and so powerful temptations; so many apparent contradictions to the truth of an infinite goodness. Jonahs trouble was his being thrust off into a conscious distance from God.<\/p>\n


II. <\/strong>Deliverance from trouble. The steps toward such deliverance are stated in Our Scripture.<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>Jonah remembered God. Submissive memory of God is the first step.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>Prayer is the next step.<\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>A thankful trust is the next. (Wayland Hoyt, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Verse 2<\/span>. Out of the belly of hell<\/B><\/I>] Among the Hebrews sheol<\/I> means the grave<\/I>, any deep pit<\/I>, the place of separate spirits<\/I>, c. Here the prophet represents himself as in the bottom of the<\/I> sea<\/I> for so sheol<\/I> must be understood in this place.<\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

And said:<\/B> the former verse was a general account that he prayed, this word in the front of this verse is a transition to a more full account of his prayer, what for substance, and somewhat of the words also. <\/P>

I cried; <\/B>not with a loud voice of the tongue, as it was not ordinarily feasible in so close a prison, so nor was it necessary he should, where none were to hear but his God, who heareth the strongest desires, and accounts them the strongest cries; so Jonah cried with his whole heart. <\/P>

By reason of mine affliction; <\/B>distress, or straits with which he was encompasseth and close besieged; nor was there ever closer siege laid to any one, his body and mind both shut up, the one by the monstrous dungeon of the fishs belly, and the other by the terrors of the Almighty. <\/P>

Unto the Lord:<\/B> it was in many respects fit Jonah should petition God, for he was committed by his special warrant, and none either had power or authority to deliver him but God. <\/P>

He heard me:<\/B> though Jonah say not how God did hear, in what particular, yet he knew both how and in what; the support of his person, the exercise of his reason, the workings of his heart toward God, and a hope or assurance that lie should be delivered, were part of the mercy God gave, and he prayed for. <\/P>

Out of the belly of hell cried I; <\/B>the grave, so Sheol<\/I>; so it was as dark to Jonah, and had been as destructive too, if mercy had not prevented. This is doubled, to intimate both the prisoners earnestness, and the greatness of the mercy given to one that was as shut up in the grave. <\/P>

Thou heardest my yoke; <\/B>of his soul, whilst he was in that dismal dungeon; as above. <\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2.<\/B> His prayer is partlydescriptive and precatory, partly eucharistical. Jonah incorporateswith his own language inspired utterances familiar to the Church longbefore in Jon 2:2<\/span>; Psa 120:1<\/span>;in Jon 2:3<\/span>; Psa 42:7<\/span>;in Jon 2:4<\/span>; Psa 31:22<\/span>;in Jon 2:5<\/span>; Psa 69:1<\/span>;in Jon 2:7<\/span>; Psa 142:3<\/span>;Psa 18:6<\/span>; in Jon 2:8<\/span>;Psa 31:6<\/span>; in Jon 2:9<\/span>;Psa 116:17<\/span>; Psa 116:18<\/span>;Psa 3:8<\/span>. Jonah, an inspired man,thus attests both the antiquity and inspiration of the Psalms. Itmarks the spirit of faith, that Jonah identifies himself with thesaints of old, appropriating their experiences as recorded in theWord of God (Ps 119:50<\/span>).Affliction opens up the mine of Scripture, before seen only on thesurface. <\/P>

out of the belly ofhell<\/B>Sheol,<\/I> the unseen world, which the belly of thefish resembled.<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

And said<\/strong>,…. Not unto the Lord in prayer, but to others, to whom he communicated what passed between God and him in this time of distress; how he prayed to him, and was heard by him; what a condition he had been in, and how he was delivered out of it; what was his frame of mind while in it, sometimes despairing, and sometimes hoping; and how thankful he was for this salvation, and was determined to praise the Lord for it:<\/p>\n

I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me<\/strong>; or, “out of my strait” a; being straitened in his body, and as it were in a prison in the fish’s belly; and straitened in his soul, being between hope and despair, and under the apprehensions of the divine displeasure. A time of affliction is a time for prayer; it brings those to it that have disused it; it made Jonah cry to his God, if not with a loud voice, yet inwardly; and his cry was powerful and piercing, it reached the heavens, and entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts, though out of the depths, and out of the belly of a fish, in the midst of the sea:<\/p>\n

out of the belly of hell cried I, [and] thou heardest my voice<\/strong>; or, “out of the belly of the grave” b; out of the midst of it; that is, out of the belly of the fish, which was as a grave to him, as Jarchi observes; where he lay as out of the land of the living, as one dead, and being given up for dead: and it may also respect the frame of his mind, the horror and terror lie was in, arising from a sense of his sins, and the apprehensions he had of the wrath of God, which were as a hell in his conscience; and amidst all this he cried to God, and he heard him; and not only delivered him from he fish’s belly, but from those dreadful apprehensions he had of his state and condition; and spoke peace and pardon to him. This is a proof that this prayer or thanksgiving be it called which it will, was composed, as to the form and order of it, after his deliverance; and these words are an appeal to God for the truth of what he had said in the preceding clause, and not a repetition of it in prayer; or expressing the same thing in different words.<\/p>\n

a “ex angustia mea”, Junius Tremellius, Piscator “ex arcto mihi”, Cocceius. b “e ventre sepulchri”, Calvin, Piscator, Liveleus; “e ventre sepulchrali”, Junius & Tremellius.<\/p>\n

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2 I cried to Jehovah out of my distress, and He heard me;<\/p>\n

Out of the womb of hell I cried: Thou heardest my voice!<\/p>\n

<\/em> The first clause recals to mind Psa 18:7<\/span> and Psa 120:1<\/span>; but it also shows itself to be an original reproduction of the expression , which expresses the prophet’s situation in a more pointed manner than in Psa 17:1-15<\/span> and in Psa 120:1-7<\/span>. The distress is still more minutely defined in the second hemistich by the expression , “out of the womb of the nether world.” As a throat or swallow is ascribed to sh e ‘ol <\/em> in Isa 5:14<\/span>, so here it is spoken of as having a , or belly. This is not to be taken as referring to the belly of the shark, as Jerome supposes. The expression is a poetical figure used to denote the danger of death, from which there is apparently no escape; like the encompassing with snares of death in Psa 18:5<\/span>, and the bringing up of the soul out of sheol in Psa 30:3<\/span>. In the last clause the words pass over very appropriately into an address to Jehovah, which is brought out into still greater prominence by the omission of the copula Vav<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Then he says, I cried, when I had trouble, to Jehovah, and he answered me. Jonah no doubt relates now, after having come forth from the bowels of the fish, what had happened to him, and he gives thanks to the Lord. (37) This verse then contains two parts, — that Jonah in his trouble fled to God, — and the latter part contains thanksgiving for having been miraculously delivered beyond what flesh could have thought. I cried, he says, in my distress, to Jehovah; I cried out from the bowels of hell, thou hast heard my voice. Jonah, as we shall hereafter see, directed his prayers to God not without great struggle; he contended with many difficulties; but however great the impediments in his way, he still persevered and ceased not from praying. He now tells us that he had not prayed in vain; and, that he might amplify the grace of God, he says, from the bowels of the grave He mentioned distress ( angustiam — straitness) in the first clause; but here he more clearly expresses how remarkable and extraordinary had been the kindness of God, that he came forth safe from the bowels of the fish, which were like the bowels of the grave. שאול, shaul, derived from corruption, is called the grave by the Hebrews, and the Latin translator has almost everywhere rendered it hell, ( infernum;) and שאול, shaul, is also sometimes taken for hell, that is, the state of the reprobate, because they know that they are condemned by God: it is, however, taken more frequently for the grave; and I am disposed to retain this sense, — that the fish was like the grave. But he means that he was so shut up in the grave, that there was no escape open to him. <\/p>\n

What are the bowels of the grave? Even the inside or the recess of the grave itself. When Jonah was in this state, he says, that he was heard by the Lord. It may be proper to repeat again what I have already slightly touched, — that Jonah was not so oppressed, though under the heaviest trial, but that his petitions came forth to God. He prayed as it were from hell, and not simply prayed, for he, at the same time, sets forth his vehemence and ardor by saying, that he cried and cried aloud. Distress, no doubt, extorted from Jonah these urgent entreaties. However this might have been, he did not howl, as the unbelieving are wont to do, who feel their own evils and bitterly complain; and yet they pour forth vain howlings. Jonah here shows himself to be different from them by saying, that he cried and cried aloud to God. It now follows — <\/p>\n

(37) He relates here, as it appears from the preceding, “and he said,” the prayer he offered when in the fish’s bowels, and not a prayer offered after his deliverance. Some have entertained the latter opinion, because some of the verbs here are in the past tense: but this circumstance only shows that he continued to pray from the time when he was swallowed by the fish to the time when he was delivered. It was a continued act. It is the same as though he said, “I have called, and do call on Jehovah.” Marckius, and also Dathius, render the verbs in the present tense, “I call,” etc. The following is a translation according to the view of this prayer, — <\/p>\n

3. I call in my distress on Jehovah, and he will answer me; From the belly of the grave I cry, — thou hearest my voice. <\/p>\n

4. When thou didst send me to the deep, into the midst of the waters, And the flood surrounded me, — Thy billows and waves over me passed; <\/p>\n

5. Then I said, I am banished from the sight of thine eyes; — Yet I will again look towards the temple of thy holiness. <\/p>\n

6. Encompass me do the waters to the soul, The deep surrounds me, The sedge is wrapped around my head: <\/p>\n

7. To the cuttings off of the mountains have I descended; The earth! Its bars are continually around me: But thou wilt bring from destruction my life, O Jehovah, my God. <\/p>\n

8. When overwhelmed within me was my soul, Jehovah did I remember; And come to thee shall my prayer — To the temple of thy holiness. <\/p>\n

9. They who regard idols of vanity, Their own mercy forsake: <\/p>\n

10. But I, with the voice of praise, will sacrifice to thee, What I have vowed will I fulfill: Salvation belongs to Jehovah. <\/p>\n

“<\/p>\n

The cuttings off,” in verse 7, says Parkhurst, were those parts which were cut off from the mountains at the deluge. The Septuagint has σχισμας — rents-clefts. Roots, bottoms, foundations, have been adopted by some, but not consistently with the meaning of the original word, — “The bars or bolts” of the earth convey the idea of impediments in his way to return to the earth. They were “around” him, or literally “upon” him, בעדי, that is, they were, as it were, closed upon him. — Ed. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

(2) By reason of mine affliction.<\/strong>See margin. There is a close correspondence between this opening and that of Psalms 120<\/span> Comp. also Psa. 18:6<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Out of the belly of hell.<\/strong>This remarkable expressiona forcible figure for imminent deathhas its nearest parallel in Isa. 5:14<\/span>, where shel<\/em> (see Psa. 6:5<\/span>) is represented as opening a huge mouth to swallow the princes of the world and their pomp. The under-world<\/em> represents the Hebrew word shel<\/em> more nearly than hell<\/em> or the grave<\/em> (margin). (Comp. Psa. 18:5<\/span>; Psa. 30:3<\/span>.)<\/p>\n

And thou heardest<\/strong> . . .The conjunction is unnecessarily introduced. The sudden change of person, a frequent figure in Hebrew poetry, is more striking without the connecting word.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2<\/strong>. <\/strong> I cried he heard <\/strong> R.V., “I called he answered.” The tenses indicate that both the petition and the reply are experiences of the past (Jon 2:6<\/span>). <\/p>\n

By reason of mine affliction <\/strong> Better, R.V. margin, “out of mine affliction”; which is further described in 3ff. <\/p>\n

Belly of hell <\/strong> R.V., “Sheol.” On the latter see on Hos 13:14<\/span>. It is frequently pictured as a ravenous beast, with a greedy appetite (Pro 30:16<\/span>; Hab 2:5<\/span>), with a wide-open mouth (Isa 5:14<\/span>). Here a belly <\/em> is given to it, which may have been suggested by the belly of the fish. As in Psa 18:5<\/span>; Psa 30:3<\/span>, Sheol is a poetic picture for the dangers of death, from which there seems no escape. With 2a compare Psa 120:1<\/span>, or Psa 18:6<\/span>; with Jon 2:2<\/span> b compare Psa 18:5<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Jon 2:3<\/span> <\/strong> describes the affliction from which came deliverance. <\/p>\n

For thou hadst cast <\/strong> Literally, And thou didst cast. <\/em> This can hardly be interpreted as giving the reason for the thanksgiving. Better, Yea, thou didst cast. <\/em> This is a perfectly possible translation. It certainly is not necessary to suppose that a clause has dropped out. In the case of Jonah, Jehovah was the real author of the calamity (Jon 1:14<\/span>; compare also Jon 1:4<\/span>, and the references there). <\/p>\n

Deep, midst of the seas; floods billows waves <\/strong> Taken in connection with the experiences of Jonah these terms might all be interpreted literally. On the other hand, in the psalm literature, these or similar terms are used figuratively of the depths of trouble and distress. The “midst (R.V., “heart”) of the seas” (for plural compare G.-K., 124a), which defines “deep,” is the bottom of the sea (Exo 15:5<\/span>; Mic 7:19<\/span>). <\/p>\n

Floods <\/strong> Literally, river; <\/em> the currents of the sea (Psa 24:2<\/span>). <\/p>\n

Thy <\/strong> Jehovah made them (Jon 1:9<\/span>) and controls them (Psa 18:4-5<\/span>). For the last clause compare especially Psa 42:7<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

‘And he said,<\/p>\n

“I called by reason of my affliction to YHWH,<\/p>\n

And he answered me,<\/p>\n

Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,<\/p>\n

You heard my voice.”<\/p>\n

As he sank into the sea after being hurled from the deck Jonah had felt that he was sinking into the belly of Sheol (the grave). He had felt that he was about to die. But he had cried to YHWH in his affliction and he now knew that YHWH had heard his voice and answered him, for here he was alive and able to pray and offer thanks.<\/p>\n

For the thought of someone being in the belly of Sheol see Isa 5:14<\/span>, ‘Sheol has enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure, and their glory, and their plenty, and their pomp, and the one who rejoices among them will descend into it’. But in Jonah’s case his meaning is brought out in Jon 2:3<\/span>. His experience was like being in the belly of Sheol because he was engulfed in water. Compare Psa 18:5<\/span>, ‘the cords of Sheol were round about me, the snares of death came on me.’<\/p>\n

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Jon 2:2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, [and] thou heardest my voice.<\/p>\n

Ver. 2. And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction<\/strong> ] His lips did not move in affliction, like a creaking door or a new cart wheel, with murmuring and mutinying against God and men; he set not his mouth against heaven (as the howling wolf when hunger bitten), neither did his tongue walk through the earth, cursing the day of his birth, and cutting deep into the sides of such as were means of his misery, Psa 73:9<\/span> . But putting his mouth in the dust, if so be there might be hope, he cried by reason of his affliction, Lam 3:29<\/span> . The time of affliction is the time of supplication; no time like that for granting of suits, Zec 13:9<\/span> . God’s afflicted may have what they will of him then, such are his fatherly compassions to his sick children; he reserveth his best comforts for the worst times, and then speaketh to the hearts of his people when he hath brought them into the wilderness, Hos 2:13<\/span> . This Jonah experimented, and therefore said, “I cried out of mine affliction unto the Lord.” <\/p>\n

“ Ad Dominum afflicto de pectore suspirando.<\/em> ”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And he heard me<\/strong> ] How else am I alive amidst so many deaths? Here is a visible answer, a real return: O, “blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me,” Psa 66:20<\/span> . Surely as the cloud, which riseth out of the earth many times in thin and insensible vapours, falleth down in great and abundant showers; so our prayers, which ascend weak and narrow, return with a full and enlarged answer. This was but a pitiful poor prayer that Jonah here made, as appears Joh 2:4<\/span> ; and so was that of David, Psa 31:22<\/span> , “For I said in mine haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.” It would be wide with us if God should answer the best of us according to our prayers, yea, though well watered with tears; since, Ipsae lacrymae sint lacrymabiles,<\/em> we had need to weep over our tears, sigh over our sobs, mourn over our griefs. Jonah was so taken with this kindness from the Lord his God that he repeats it and celebrates it a second time. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice<\/strong> ] The whale’s belly he calleth hell’s belly, because horrid and hideous, deep and dismal. Thence he cried, as David did, De profundis,<\/em> from the depths, and was heard and delivered. Yea, had hell itself closed her mouth upon a praying Jonah, it could not long have held him, but must have vomited him up. A mandamus<\/em> commission from God will do it at any time, Psa 44:4<\/span> , and what cannot faithful prayer have of God? there is a certain omnipotence in it, said Luther.<\/p>\n

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

cried = cried out. Not the same word as in the next clause, or in Jon 1:5; but the same as in Jon 1:2, Jon 1:5, Jon 1:14. <\/p>\n

heard = answered. Hebrew. anah. Not the same word as in the next clause. <\/p>\n

hell. Hebrew. Sheol. App-35. Compare Psa 18:5; Psa 116:3. <\/p>\n

cried = cried for help in distress. Not the same word as in preceding clause, or in Jon 1:2, Jon 1:5, Jon 1:14. <\/p>\n

heardest = gavest heed to. Hebrew. shama. Not the same word as in preceding clause. <\/p>\n

hadst cast = castedst, or didst cast. <\/p>\n

midst = heart. <\/p>\n

floods: or, tides. Hebrew. nahar, (Singular.)<\/p>\n

all Thy billows, &c. Compare Psa 42:7. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

hell <\/p>\n

Heb. “Sheol,” (See Scofield “Hab 2:5”) <\/p>\n

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

I cried: Gen 32:7-12, Gen 32:24-28, 1Sa 30:6, Psa 4:1, Psa 18:4-6, Psa 22:24, Psa 34:6, Psa 65:2, Psa 120:1, Psa 142:1-3, Luk 22:44, Heb 5:7 <\/p>\n

by reason of mine: or, out of mine, 1Sa 1:16 <\/p>\n

out: Psa 18:5, Psa 18:6, Psa 61:2, Psa 86:13, Psa 88:1-7, Psa 116:3 <\/p>\n

hell: or, the grave, Psa 16:10, Isa 14:9, Mat 12:40, Act 2:27 <\/p>\n

and thou: Psa 34:6, Psa 65:2 <\/p>\n

Reciprocal: Exo 15:5 – depths Jdg 16:28 – remember me 1Sa 2:6 – he bringeth 2Sa 22:6 – sorrows 1Ki 22:32 – Jehoshaphat Job 33:26 – pray Psa 6:9 – hath heard Psa 34:4 – sought Psa 69:15 – waterflood Psa 77:2 – In the Psa 86:7 – General Psa 130:1 – Out of Psa 139:8 – in hell Lam 3:55 – General Dan 4:34 – lifted Mat 14:30 – Lord Luk 11:10 – General Luk 15:16 – no 1Ti 2:8 – pray Jam 5:13 – any among<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Jon 2:2. And said, I cried. We know that Jonah did not do any writing while in the body of the fish, but wrote his account of the affair afterward as he was composing his book. He was being preserved miraculously but that did not prevent him from feeling the unpleasantness of the surroundings. That experience together with the remembrance of his error in trying to flee from the Lord, placed him In a frame of mind to offer a humble petition to God. The word hell is from snitoL and Strongs definition of it is, “Hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranean retreat) including Us accessories and inmates.” In the King James version the word is rendered grave 31 times, hell 31 and pit 3; it is the only word for “hell in the Old Testament. It is evident that Jonah used the word only in the sense of its being a subterranean retreat, since he was alive and in good health. The happy fact is stated that the Lord heard the prayer and took a favorable attitude toward Jonah (though we do not have all of his prayer).<\/p>\n

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Jon 2:2-9. Thanksgiving for Deliverance.This psalm is a thanksgiving for deliverance from peril, and therefore, if spoken by Jonah, should have followed Jon 2:10. The description, however, is quite unsuitable to Jonahs condition; it is that of a man who has been in imminent danger of drowning but has been rescued. Yahweh answered him when he called in distress from the belly of Sheol. Yahweh had flung him into the depth, he was submerged by His billows. He thought himself banished from Gods presence, never to behold His holy Temple. The seaweed formed a turban for his head, he sank to the roots of the mountains, yet Yahweh has brought him back from the pit. When his life seemed ebbing away, he remembered Yahweh, and his prayer reached Him in the Temple. Worshippers of idols forsake their refuge, but he will offer sacrifice to Yahweh with thanksgiving, and pay what he had vowed in his peril.<\/p>\n

Jon 2:2. Psa 18:6; Psa 12:01.<\/p>\n

Jon 2:3 c. Psa 42:7.<\/p>\n

Jon 2:4. Psa 31:22<\/p>\n

Jon 2:4 b. Read How shall I look.<\/p>\n

Jon 2:6 b. Very uncertain, Van Hoonacker and Bewer read the land whose bars are everlasting bolts.<\/p>\n

Jon 2:7 a. Psa 142:3; Psa 143:4.<\/p>\n

Jon 2:7 b. Psa 5:7; Psa 18:6.<\/p>\n

Jon 2:8 b. Marti reads forsake their refuge.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2:2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly {b} of hell cried I, [and] thou heardest my voice.<\/p>\n

(b) For he was now in the fishes belly as in a grave or place of darkness.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

F. Jonah’s psalm of thanksgiving 2:2-9<\/span><\/p>\n

The following prayer is mainly thanksgiving for deliverance from drowning. It is not thanksgiving for deliverance from the fish or a prayer of confession, as we might expect. Jonah prayed it while he was in the fish. Evidently he concluded after some time in the fish’s stomach that he would not die from drowning. Drowning was a particularly distasteful form of death for an ancient Near Easterner such as Jonah who regarded the sea as a great enemy. Jonah’s ability to thank God in the midst of his black torture chamber, which must have pitched him uncontrollably in every direction, shows that he had experienced a remarkable change in attitude (cf. Jon 1:3; Jon 1:12).<\/p>\n

Jonah could have composed the core of this psalm, which contains his prayer, while he was inside the great fish. He may have composed or polished the whole psalm sometime after he was safely back on dry land. It bears many similarities to other psalms in the Psalter. Clearly Jonah knew the psalms well, and he could have spent much time reflecting on them during his three days in the fish. One wonders, however, how anyone could think very coherently inside a fish.<\/p>\n

This chapter corresponds to chapter one in its contents. [Note: John D. Hannah, "Jonah," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1467.] <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n
\n

Ch. 1: The Sailors<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Ch. 2: The Prophet<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Jon 1:4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Crisis on the sea<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Jon 2:3-6 a<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Crisis in the sea<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Jon 1:14<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Prayer to Yahweh<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Jon 2:2; Jon 2:7<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Prayer to Yahweh<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Jon 1:15 b<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Deliverance from the storm<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Jon 2:6 b<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Deliverance from drowning<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Jon 1:16<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Sacrifice and vows offered to God<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Jon 2:9<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Sacrifice and vows offered to God<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Jonah, as many others, called to the Lord out of a distressing situation asking for help, and the Lord responded to his cry with deliverance (cf. Psa 3:4; Psa 120:1). The second part of the verse is a parallel restatement of the first part. The prophet compared the fish’s stomach to a burial chamber from which he could not escape. "Depth" is literally the "belly" of Sheol, the place of departed souls that the Hebrews conceived of as under the earth’s surface. Jonah thought that he had gone to join the dead (cf. Psa 18:4-5; Psa 30:3).<\/p>\n

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, [and] thou heardest my voice. 2. and said ] The prayer which follows falls naturally into three parts or divisions. In each of these the two elements of danger and deliverance, … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jonah 2:2”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22561\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}