Jonah 3 Study Notes

Saq denotes sack (6x, Gn 42:27), entering English through Greek and Latin. Saq was sackcloth (Is 15:3). The thick, rough, dark-colored material was goat hair (Is 50:3; Rv 6:12) or camel hair (Mt 3:4). It might provide blankets (2Sm 21:10). Akkadian, the Ninevite language, used the root similarly. Ninevites wore sackcloth to express repentance (Jnh 3:8), as did Israelites (Neh 9:1). Sackcloth was worn on the skin (2Kg 6:30; Jb 16:15) and involved self-humbling (1Kg 21:27-29). Mourning was the chief reason for wearing sackcloth (Gn 37:34; Jl 1:8). Ammonites (Jr 49:3) and Arameans (1Kg 20:32) wore sackcloth. Prophets called for it communally in the face of judgment (Jr 4:8). People might tear regular clothes and fast (Est 4:1,3), covering themselves with dust (4x, Jr 6:26) or ashes (7x, Jnh 3:6), perhaps shaving or cutting themselves (Jr 48:37). Sackcloth could signal protest (Est 4:1).

3:9 Who knows? indicates that Jonah had not explicitly stated that judgment against the city could be averted by repentance. The king of Nineveh took a shot in the dark.

3:10 Prophecies of doom are often conditional warnings that can be averted through repentance (Jr 18:8-10).