And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's
journey
As soon as he came to it, he did not go into an inn, to refresh
himself after his wearisome journey; or spend his time in gazing
upon the city, and to observe its structure, and the curiosities
of it; but immediately sets about his work, and proclaims what he
was bid to do; and before he could finish one day's journey, he
had no need to proceed any further, the whole city was alarmed
with his preaching, was terrified with it, and brought to
repentance by it: and he cried;
as he went along; he lifted up his voice like a trumpet, that
everyone might hear; he did not mutter it out, as if afraid to
deliver his message, but cried aloud in the hearing of all; and
very probably now and then made a stop in the streets, where
there was a concourse of people, or where more streets met, and
there, as a herald, proclaimed what he had to say: and
said, yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be
overthrown;
not by a foreign army besieging and taking it, which was not
probable to be done in such a space of time, but by the immediate
power of God; either by fire from heaven, as he overthrow Sodom
and Gomorrah, their works being like theirs, as Kimchi and Ben
Melech observe, or by an earthquake; that is, within forty days,
or at the end of forty days, as the Targum; not exceeding such a
space, which was granted for their repentance, which is implied,
though not expressed; and must be understood with this proviso,
except it repented, for otherwise why is any time fixed? and why
have they warning given them, or the prophet sent to them? and
why were they not destroyed at once, as Sodom and Gomorrah,
without any notice? doubtless, so it would have been, had not
this been the case. The Septuagint version very wrongly reads,
"yet three days" and as wrongly does Josephus F17 make
Jonah to say, that in a short time they would lose the empire of
Asia, when only the destruction of Nineveh is threatened; though,
indeed, that loss followed upon it.
F17 Antiqu. l. 9. c. 10. sect. 2.