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Jonah

About this book
Chapter 2

1 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish⁠ 2 and said, “I called out to the Lord from my distress, and he answered me; from the belly of Sheol I cried out for help,⁠ and you heard my prayer. 3 You threw me into the deep waters, into the middle of the sea; the ocean current engulfed me; all the mighty waves you sent swept over me.⁠ 4 I thought I had been banished from your sight and that I would never again see your holy temple.⁠ 5 Water engulfed me up to my neck; the deep ocean surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.⁠ 6 I went down to the very bottoms of the mountains; the gates of the netherworld barred me in forever,⁠ but you brought me up from the Pit,⁠ O Lord, my God.⁠ 7 When my life was ebbing away, I called out to the Lord. And my prayer came to you, to your holy temple.⁠ 8 Those who worship worthless idols forfeit the mercy that could be theirs.⁠ 9 But as for me, I promise to offer a sacrifice to you with a public declaration of praise; I will surely do what I have promised.⁠ Salvation belongs to the Lord!”⁠ 10 Then the Lord commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah out onto dry land.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 50:14 and Jonah 2:9

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Jonah’s vow to offer sacrifice and praise after his rescue echoes Psalm 50, which presents sacrifice not as ritual but as an expression of thanksgiving and fulfillment of vows. Jonah’s prayer incorporates established liturgy into its narrative.

Passages

Psalm 50:14

Hebrew Bible
12 Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all it contains belong to me. 13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls? Do I drink the blood of goats? 14 Present to God a thank offering. Repay your vows to the Most High. 15 Pray to me when you are in trouble. I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” 16 God says this to the evildoer: “How can you declare my commands, and talk about my covenant?
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Jonah 2:9

Hebrew Bible
7 When my life was ebbing away, I called out to the Lord. And my prayer came to you, to your holy temple. 8 Those who worship worthless idols forfeit the mercy that could be theirs. 9 But as for me, I promise to offer a sacrifice to you with a public declaration of praise; I will surely do what I have promised. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” 10 Then the Lord commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah out onto dry land.
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jonah

References

"... there is yet another point to be made. We recall that when Jonah confesses his error to the horrified sailors, he tells them that 'the Lord, god of Heaven, is whom I worship' (verse 9). In annotating that statement above, I pointed out that locating 'et-YHWH at the head of the clause gives God's name special attention. Despite this rhetorical flourish, the sailors did not seem totally convinced then by Jonah's words. Now, however, an eerily instantaneous calm follows Jonah's seaward plunge. By shaping the clause this time to end in 'et-YHWH, the narrator is finally granting the sailors their own recognition of God's greatness. The sailors now understand everything about God and divine power. They demonstrate this recognition by two activities, a sacrifice and a vow. The first of these measures troubled ancient exegetes, who were aware that, except in a couple of instances in which it is read metaphorically or ironically, the G of the verb zabah always refers to the slaughter of animals. Where did the sailors get the victims, especially after they had denuded the ship to keep it afloat? Moreover, could sailors so recently 'converted' to the true God risk losing it all by offering sacrifices outside of the Jerusalem Temple? Jerome resolves such difficulties with the comment (comparing Psalm 50:14 with Hosea 14:3) ..."
Jack M. Sasson, Jonah: A New Translation with Introduction, Commentary, and Interpretation (New York: Doubleday, 1990), 138.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Psalm 50:14 and Jonah 2:9

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