The Meaning of Jonah 3:1 Explained

Jonah 3:1

KJV: And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,

YLT: And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jonah a second time, saying,

Darby: And the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah the second time, saying,

ASV: And the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah the second time, saying,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the word  of the LORD  came unto Jonah  the second  time, saying, 

What does Jonah 3:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The writer did not clarify exactly when this second commission came to Jonah. It may have been immediately after Jonah reached dry land or it may have been sometime later. The writer"s point seems to be that God gave the prophet a second commission, not when it came to him (cf. Jonah 1:1-2). God does not always give His servants a second chance to obey Him when they refuse to do so initially. Often He simply uses others to accomplish His purposes. In Jonah"s case God sovereignly chose to use Jonah for this mission just as He had sovereignly sent the storm and the fish to do His will. The sovereignty of God is a strong revelation in this book.
Nineveh was about550 miles northeast of Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

Context Summary

Jonah 3:1-10 - A Repentant City
Peter was not only forgiven, but restored to his office; so also was Jonah again sent to Nineveh. Thank God for our second chances! There was no hesitancy this time. The prophet arose and went. The story of his deliverance seems to have reached Nineveh and to have prepared its people to receive his word, Luke 11:30. We must deliver God's messages and preach only as He bids us. He will tell us what to say.
Nineveh is said to have been sixty miles in circuit, the distance of a three days' journey. It was full of violence and cruelty. But the sight of that strange figure, clad in a rude sheep-skin mantle, smote its conscience. The alarm spread from the streets to the palace. Even the great king felt it within his sculptured chambers. It stirred him to action, so that king and court, peers and people, and even the brute creation, became united in one act of common humiliation. The repentance was city-wide in its scope, Jonah 3:5; was practical, Jonah 3:8; and directed toward God, Jonah 3:9. What a contrast to Israel! There, prophet after prophet was exposed to refusal and even to cruel usage. Whatever fear there may have been upon man's side, there was no hesitation upon God's. He abundantly pardoned! See Isaiah 55:7. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jonah 3

1  Jonah, sent again, preaches to the Ninevites
5  Upon their repentance,
10  God relents

What do the individual words in Jonah 3:1 mean?

And came the word of Yahweh to Jonah the second [time] saying
וַיְהִ֧י דְבַר־ יְהוָ֛ה אֶל־ יוֹנָ֖ה שֵׁנִ֥ית לֵאמֹֽר

וַיְהִ֧י  And  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
דְבַר־  the  word 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
יְהוָ֛ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
יוֹנָ֖ה  Jonah 
Parse: 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.
שֵׁנִ֥ית  the  second  [time] 
Parse: Number, ordinal feminine singular
Root: שֵׁנִי  
Sense: second.
לֵאמֹֽר  saying 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.

What are the major concepts related to Jonah 3:1?

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