The Meaning of Jonah 1:4 Explained

Jonah 1:4

KJV: But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

YLT: And Jehovah hath cast a great wind on the sea, and there is a great tempest in the sea, and the ship hath reckoned to be broken;

Darby: But Jehovah sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest upon the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

ASV: But Jehovah sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

Discover Jonah 1:4

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Jonah 1:4?

MEANING: What does Jonah 1:4 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Jonah 1:4 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Jonah 1:4?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But the LORD  sent out  a great  wind  into the sea,  and there was a mighty  tempest  in the sea,  so that the ship  was like  to be broken. 

What does Jonah 1:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jonah subjected himself to dangers that Israel and the entire ancient Near East viewed as directly under divine control when he launched out on the sea. The sea to them was the embodiment of the chaotic forces that humans could not control or tame (cf. Psalm 24:2; Psalm 33:7; Psalm 65:7; Psalm 74:13; Psalm 77:19; Psalm 89:9; Psalm 114:3; Psalm 114:5; Isaiah 27:1; Isaiah 51:10; Isaiah 63:11; Jeremiah 5:22; Jeremiah 31:35; et al.). Jonah was desperate to get away from where he thought God might come after him (cf. Genesis 3:8). Nevertheless God used the wind to bring the prodigal prophet to the place He wanted him to be (cf. Genesis 1:2).
"It was gracious of God to seek out His disobedient servant and not to allow him to remain long in his sin." [1]
In the Hebrew text the last part of this verse is literally, "the ship thought she would be broken in pieces," a graphic personification.

Context Summary

Jonah 1:1-16 - Fleeing From God And Duty
Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25. He was clearly very patriotic, and did not despair of his country in its darkest days. This commission to Nineveh was therefore not to his taste, because he had no desire to see the great heathen city brought to her knees. Another century would have to pass before Isaiah and Micah would proclaim that the heathen world would turn to God, Micah 4:1; Isaiah 2:2.
Rather than go upon this errand of mercy, Jonah hurried down to the one seaport, that he might escape his duty. Sin is always a descent; we always have to pay heavily in tolls and fares when we take our own way instead of God's, and we must never reckon that opportunity implies permission.
Weary with excitement and travel, the prophet is oblivious to the weighing of the anchor. The disasters that block the way of disobedience are harder than our difficulties in performing God's bidding. Note the divine agency in our lives: the word of the Lord came; the Lord hurled forth a great wind; the Lord prepared a great fish. There were, in these heathen sailors, beautiful traits which ought to have abashed the prophet. Their prayer to their idols and their endeavor to save this stranger Jew are as instructive as remarkable. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jonah 1

1  Jonah, sent to Nineveh, flees to Tarshish
4  He is betrayed by a great storm;
11  thrown into the sea;
17  and swallowed by a fish

What do the individual words in Jonah 1:4 mean?

But Yahweh sent out a wind great on the sea and there was a tempest mighty on the sea so that the ship was about to be broken up
וַֽיהוָ֗ה הֵטִ֤יל רֽוּחַ־ גְּדוֹלָה֙ אֶל־ הַיָּ֔ם וַיְהִ֥י סַֽעַר־ גָּד֖וֹל בַּיָּ֑ם וְהָ֣אֳנִיָּ֔ה חִשְּׁבָ֖ה לְהִשָּׁבֵֽר

וַֽיהוָ֗ה  But  Yahweh 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
הֵטִ֤יל  sent  out 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: טוּל  
Sense: to hurl, cast.
רֽוּחַ־  a  wind 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
גְּדוֹלָה֙  great 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
הַיָּ֔ם  the  sea 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
וַיְהִ֥י  and  there  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
סַֽעַר־  a  tempest 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: סַעַר 
Sense: tempest, storm, whirlwind.
גָּד֖וֹל  mighty 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
בַּיָּ֑ם  on  the  sea 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
וְהָ֣אֳנִיָּ֔ה  so  that  the  ship 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֳנִיָּה  
Sense: ship.
חִשְּׁבָ֖ה  was  about 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: חָשַׁב 
Sense: to think, plan, esteem, calculate, invent, make a judgment, imagine, count.
לְהִשָּׁבֵֽר  to  be  broken  up 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Nifal, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁבוּר 
Sense: to break, break in pieces.

What are the major concepts related to Jonah 1:4?

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Similar Scriptures for Jonah 1:4

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Matthew 8:24-27 [4]
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