Jonah
He ran from God, ended up inside a fish, and still argued at the end.
Old Testament · 8th century BC · Jonah, 2 Kings, Matthew · Also known as Son of Amittai
About Jonah
God told Jonah to preach to Nineveh, a great city of Assyria, Israel’s enemy. Jonah ran the other way and boarded a ship for Tarshish. In a violent storm he was thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish. After three days he was released onto land, went to Nineveh — and the city repented. Then Jonah was angry that God showed mercy.
Assyria was a brutal empire that later destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel. That makes Jonah’s reluctance understandable — and God’s mercy toward Nineveh all the more startling. Jesus referred to "the sign of the prophet Jonas."
The story
Running away
"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city." Jonah rose — "to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD." He paid the fare and went down into the ship.
Jonah 1:1-3
The storm
God sent a great wind. The sailors cried to their gods while Jonah slept below. When the lot fell on him, he said, "Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you."
Jonah 1:4-16
Inside the great fish
"Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights."
Jonah 1:17
A prayer from the deep
From inside the fish, Jonah prayed: "I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me." The prayer ends, "Salvation is of the LORD." The fish vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah 2:1-10
Nineveh turns
Jonah walked into Nineveh announcing judgment in forty days. "So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast." From the king down, they turned from evil — "and God repented of the evil… and he did it not."
Jonah 3:1-10
An angry prophet
Jonah was furious. "I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful." The book ends not with an answer but with God’s question: "Should not I spare Nineveh, that great city?"
Jonah 4:1-11
Key moments
- Flees to Tarshish: The opposite direction. (Jonah 1:3)
- Thrown overboard: "Cast me forth into the sea." (Jonah 1:12)
- Swallowed: Three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:17)
- Nineveh repents: And God relents. (Jonah 3:10)
- Angry at mercy: "Thou art a gracious God." (Jonah 4:2)
Questions about Jonah
In meetBible these answers are given in Jonah’s voice. They are written by hand and checked against Scripture.
Why did you run away from God?
I said it myself, afterwards: "Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness." I didn’t run because I thought God would be harsh to Nineveh. I ran because I suspected he wouldn’t be.
Was it really a whale?
Jonah says "a great fish." Matthew’s Greek uses a word for a large sea creature, which the King James translates "whale." Scripture doesn’t identify the species, so anything more specific is guesswork.
How does your story end?
With a question, not an answer. God asks me, "Should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?" The book never records my reply. The question is left for the reader.
Connected people
Read it yourself
Start with Jonah 1–4.