Jonah 1:7

7 And a man said to his fellows, Come ye, and cast we lots, and know we, why this evil is to us. And they cast lots, and lot fell on Jonah. (And a man said to his fellows, Come ye, and cast we lots, and then we shall know, why this evil hath come upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.)

Jonah 1:7 Meaning and Commentary

Jonah 1:7

And they said everyone to his fellow
That Jonah awoke and rose up, upon the shipmaster's calling to him, is certain; but whether or no he called upon his God is not; perhaps he did: and when his prayer was over, and the storm still continuing, the sailors said one to another, come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil
[is] upon us;
for, Observing something very uncommon and extraordinary in the tempest, and all means, both natural and religious, failing to help them; and though they might know that they were each one of them sinners, yet they supposed there must be some one notorious sinner among them, that had committed some very enormous crime, which had drawn the divine resentment upon them to such a degree; and therefore they proposed to cast a lot, which was an appeal to the divine Being, in order to find out the guilty person. That the Heathens used the lot upon occasion is not only manifest from profane writers, but from the sacred Scriptures; as Haman, and other enemies of God's people; and the soldiers that attended the cross of Christ, ( Esther 9:24 ) ( Joel 3:3 ) ( Obadiah 1:11 ) ( Nahum 3:10 ) ( Matthew 27:35 ) . Drusius reports, from Xavierus, of some Heathens sailing to Japan, and other places in the East Indies, that they used to carry an idol with them, and by lots inquire of it whither they should go; and whether they should have prosperous winds so they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah;
through the overruling providence and disposing hand of God, which attended this affair; for, not to inquire whether the use of the lot was lawful or not, or whether performed in that serious and solemn manner as it should be, if used at all; it pleased God to interfere in this matter, to direct it to fall on Jonah, with whom he had a particular concern, being a prophet of his, and having disobeyed his will; see ( Proverbs 16:33 ) . The Syriac version renders it, "the lot of Jonah came up"; that is, the piece of paper, or whatever it was, on which his name was written, was taken up first out of the vessel in which the lots were put.

Jonah 1:7 In-Context

5 And shipmen dreaded, and men cried to their god; and sent vessels, that were in the ship, into the sea, that it were made lighter of them. And Jonah went down into the inner things of the ship, and slept by a grievous sleep. (And the shipmen feared, and the men cried out to their god; and they sent vessels, or equipment, and other things, that were on the ship, into the sea, so that it was made lighter. And Jonah was down in the hold of the ship, and slept a troubled sleep.)

6 And the governor came to him, and said to him, Why art thou cast down in sleep? rise thou, call thy God to help, if peradventure God again-think of us, and we perish not. (And the captain came down to him, and said, Why art thou sleeping? rise thou up, call thy God to help us, and perhaps your God shall remember us, and then we shall not perish.)

7 And a man said to his fellows, Come ye, and cast we lots, and know we, why this evil is to us. And they cast lots, and lot fell on Jonah. (And a man said to his fellows, Come ye, and cast we lots, and then we shall know, why this evil hath come upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.)

8 And they said to him, Show thou to us, for cause of what thing this evil is to us; what is thy work, which is thy land, and whither goest thou, either of what people art thou? (And they said to him, Tell thou us, for what cause, or for what reason, hath this evil come upon us; what is thy work, which is thy land, and where goest thou, and of what people art thou?)

9 And he said to them, I am an Hebrew, and I dread the Lord God of heaven, that made the sea and the dry land. (And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.)