The Meaning of Jonah 1:5 Explained

Jonah 1:5

KJV: Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

YLT: and the mariners are afraid, and cry each unto his god, and cast the goods that are in the ship into the sea, to make it light of them; and Jonah hath gone down unto the sides of the vessel, and he lieth down, and is fast asleep.

Darby: And the mariners were afraid, and cried every one unto his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to be lightened of them. But Jonah had gone down into the lower part of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

ASV: Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it unto them. But Jonah was gone down into the innermost parts of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then the mariners  were afraid,  and cried  every man  unto his god,  and cast forth  the wares  that [were] in the ship  into the sea,  to lighten  [it] of them. But Jonah  was gone down  into the sides  of the ship;  and he lay,  and was fast asleep. 

What does Jonah 1:5 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The sailors were of mixed religious convictions. Some of them were probably Phoenicians, since Phoenicians were commonly seafaring traders. Phoenicia was a center of Baal worship then. The sailors" willingness to throw their cargo into the sea illustrates the extreme danger they faced (cf. Acts 27:18-20).
Jonah"s ability to sleep under such conditions seems very unusual. The same Hebrew word (radam) describes Sisera"s deep sleep that his exhaustion produced ( Judges 4:21) and the deep sleep that God put Adam and Abram under ( Genesis 2:21; Genesis 15:12). Perhaps Jonah was both exhausted and divinely assisted in sleeping. His condition does not seem to have a major bearing on the story; it is probably a detail. The events that follow could have happened if he had been wide-awake just as well. What does seem unusual is his attitude of "careless self-security." [1] He seems to have preferred death to facing God alive. Not only did he flee to Tarshish, but he also fled to the innermost part of the ship (cf. Amos 6:10).

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 1:5 mean?

And were afraid the mariners and cried out every man to his god and threw - the cargo that [was] in the ship into the sea to lighten the load of but Jonah had gone down the lowest parts of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep
וַיִּֽירְא֣וּ הַמַּלָּחִ֗ים וַֽיִּזְעֲקוּ֮ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־ אֱלֹהָיו֒ וַיָּטִ֨לוּ אֶת־ הַכֵּלִ֜ים אֲשֶׁ֤ר בָּֽאֳנִיָּה֙ אֶל־ הַיָּ֔ם לְהָקֵ֖ל מֵֽעֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וְיוֹנָ֗ה יָרַד֙ יַרְכְּתֵ֣י הַסְּפִינָ֔ה וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖ב וַיֵּרָדַֽם

וַיִּֽירְא֣וּ  And  were  afraid 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָרֵא 
Sense: to fear, revere, be afraid.
הַמַּלָּחִ֗ים  the  mariners 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַלָּח  
Sense: mariner, sailor, seaman.
וַֽיִּזְעֲקוּ֮  and  cried  out 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: זָעַק  
Sense: to cry, cry out, call, call for help.
אִ֣ישׁ  every  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
אֱלֹהָיו֒  his  god 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
וַיָּטִ֨לוּ  and  threw 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: טוּל  
Sense: to hurl, cast.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הַכֵּלִ֜ים  the  cargo 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: כְּלִי  
Sense: article, vessel, implement, utensil.
אֲשֶׁ֤ר  that  [was] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
בָּֽאֳנִיָּה֙  in  the  ship 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֳנִיָּה  
Sense: ship.
אֶל־  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הַיָּ֔ם  the  sea 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
לְהָקֵ֖ל  to  lighten  the  load 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: קָלַל  
Sense: to be slight, be swift, be trifling, be of little account, be light.
וְיוֹנָ֗ה  but  Jonah 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄונָה  
Sense: son of Amittai and a native of Gath-hepher; 5th of the minor prophets who prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II and whom God sent also to prophecy to Nineveh.
יָרַד֙  had  gone  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
יַרְכְּתֵ֣י  the  lowest  parts 
Parse: Noun, fdc
Root: יְרֵכָה  
Sense: flank, side, extreme parts, recesses.
הַסְּפִינָ֔ה  of  the  ship 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: סְפִינָה  
Sense: ship, vessel.
וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖ב  and  had  lain  down 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁכַב  
Sense: to lie down.
וַיֵּרָדַֽם  and  was  fast  asleep 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָדַם  
Sense: (Niphal) to be asleep, be unconscious, be in heavy sleep, fall into heavy sleep, be fast asleep.