Yonah 1:9

9 And he said unto them, Ivri anochi (I am a Hebrew); and I fear Hashem, Elohei HaShomayim, which hath made the yam and the yabashah (dry land, Bereshis 1:9).

Yonah 1:9 Meaning and Commentary

Jonah 1:9

And he said unto them, I [am] an Hebrew
He does not say a Jew, as the Targum wrongly renders it; for that would have been false, since he was of the tribe of Zebulun, which was in the kingdom of Israel, and not of Judah; nor does he say an Israelite, lest he should be thought to be in the idolatry of that people; but a Hebrew, which was common to both; and, besides, it not only declared what nation he was of, but what religion he professed, and who was his God: and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the
dry [land];
this answers to the other question, what was his occupation or business? he was one that feared the Lord, that served and worshipped him; a prophet of the great God, as Josephus ^F7 expresses and so Kimchi; the mighty Jehovah, that made the "heavens", and dwells in them; and from whence that storm of wind came, which had so much distressed the ship, and still continued: and who made the "sea", which was now so boisterous and raging, and threatened them with ruin; and "the dry land", where they would be glad to have been at that instant. By this description of God, as the prophet designed to set him forth in his nature and works, so to distinguish him from the gods of Heathens, who had only particular parts of the universe assigned to them, when his Jehovah was Lord of all; but where was the prophet's fear and reverence of God when he fled from him, and disobeyed him? it was not lost, though not in exercise.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Antiqu. l. 9. c. 10. sect. 2.

Yonah 1:9 In-Context

7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast goralot (lots), that we may have da’as for whose cause this ra’ah is upon us. So they cast goralot (lots), and the goral (lot) fell upon Yonah.

8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause ra’ah hazot (this evil) is upon us; What is thine occupation? And whence comest thou? What is thy country? And of what people art thou?

9 And he said unto them, Ivri anochi (I am a Hebrew); and I fear Hashem, Elohei HaShomayim, which hath made the yam and the yabashah (dry land, Bereshis 1:9).

10 Then were the men of yirah gedolah (great terror), and said unto him: Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he was running away from the presence of Hashem, because he had told them.

11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the yam against us may be calm [see Yeshayah 53:5,8; Mt 12:39-40; 16:4]? For the yam did rage and was tempestuous.