Jonah 2 Study Notes: Jonah Prays from the Fish
While still within the fish, Jonah offers a prayer of thanks to the LORD for rescuing him from drowning. He recalls sinking into the depths, promises to worship and keep his vows, and confesses that rescue comes from God, after which the fish puts him out on land.
General
True or False: In his prayer from within the fish, Jonah says that he cried out to the LORD in his trouble and the LORD answered him.
Answer: True
This is true. Jonah prayed to his God while still within the fish (2:1). His prayer looks back with thanks: in trouble he called out, and God answered; from the depths of Sheol (the realm of the dead) he cried for help, and God heard (2:2). Jonah speaks like many of Israel's psalms, which give the same testimony of crying out in distress and being heard (Psalm 120:1; Psalm 18:6; Psalm 116:3-4).
- Jonah 2:1-2 (BSB)“From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the LORD his God, saying: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice.”Within the fish, Jonah prays, recalling that he cried out in distress and the LORD answered him.
- Psalm 120:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. In my distress I cried to the LORD, and He answered me.”Another psalm gives the same testimony of crying to the LORD in distress and being answered.
- Psalm 18:6 (BSB)“In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.”David also tells how God, in His temple, heard him when he cried out.
- Psalm 116:3-4 (BSB)“The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, deliver my soul!””The psalmist recalls calling on the LORD's name when death and Sheol overwhelmed him.
Theological
True or False: Jonah's prayer in 2:1-2 testifies that when he called out in his trouble, the LORD answered.
Answer: True
This is true. Jonah's prayer from the fish (2:1) is a psalm of thanksgiving rather than a lament: it recounts that he cried out in distress and was answered, and that from deep in Sheol his cry was heard (2:2). The language follows the pattern of Israel's psalms of deliverance (Psalm 120:1; Psalm 18:6; Psalm 116:3-4), which rehearse past rescue as the ground of present praise.
- Jonah 2:1-2 (BSB)“From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the LORD his God, saying: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice.”Within the fish, Jonah prays, recalling that he cried out in distress and the LORD answered him.
- Psalm 120:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. In my distress I cried to the LORD, and He answered me.”Another psalm gives the same testimony of crying to the LORD in distress and being answered.
- Psalm 18:6 (BSB)“In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.”David also tells how God, in His temple, heard him when he cried out.
- Psalm 116:3-4 (BSB)“The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, deliver my soul!””The psalmist recalls calling on the LORD's name when death and Sheol overwhelmed him.
General
In 2:3-4, though Jonah felt driven out of God's sight, what did he resolve to do?
Answer: To turn his eyes again toward God's holy temple
Jonah says it was God who cast him into the deep, and that God's waves and breakers swept over him (2:3). He felt banished from God's sight, yet he said he would turn his eyes again to God's holy temple (2:4). Another psalm uses the same picture of God's waves rolling over the one who prays (Psalm 42:7). David also once felt cut off from God's sight and was heard (Psalm 31:22), and Solomon had asked God to hear prayers turned toward the temple (1 Kings 8:29-30).
- Jonah 2:3-4 (BSB)“For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current swirled about me; all Your breakers and waves swept over me. At this, I said, ‘I have been banished from Your sight; yet I will look once more toward Your holy temple.’”Jonah says God threw him into the deep, and though he felt driven from God's sight, he resolved to look toward the temple.
- Psalm 42:7 (BSB)“Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and waves have rolled over me.”Another psalmist speaks of God's breakers and waves rolling over him, the same image Jonah uses.
- Psalm 31:22 (BSB)“In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from Your sight!” But You heard my plea for mercy when I called to You for help.”David also thought he was cut off from God's sight, yet God heard his plea.
- 1 Kings 8:29-30 (BSB)“May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place. Hear the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. May You hear and forgive.”Solomon asked God to hear prayers directed toward the temple, the background to Jonah looking toward the temple.
Theological
What resolve does Jonah express in 2:4 despite feeling banished from the LORD's sight?
Answer: To turn his eyes again toward God's holy temple
Jonah attributes his plunge into the deep to God Himself: it was the LORD who cast him in, and the breakers were His (2:3), even though the sailors' hands threw him. Feeling banished from God's sight, he nevertheless resolves to look again toward the holy temple (2:4), the house toward which Solomon had asked God to hear His people's prayers (1 Kings 8:29-30). The imagery matches Psalm 42:7, and the turn from despair to hope matches David's experience in Psalm 31:22.
- Jonah 2:3-4 (BSB)“For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current swirled about me; all Your breakers and waves swept over me. At this, I said, ‘I have been banished from Your sight; yet I will look once more toward Your holy temple.’”Jonah says God threw him into the deep, and though he felt driven from God's sight, he resolved to look toward the temple.
- Psalm 42:7 (BSB)“Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and waves have rolled over me.”Another psalmist speaks of God's breakers and waves rolling over him, the same image Jonah uses.
- Psalm 31:22 (BSB)“In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from Your sight!” But You heard my plea for mercy when I called to You for help.”David also thought he was cut off from God's sight, yet God heard his plea.
- 1 Kings 8:29-30 (BSB)“May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place. Hear the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. May You hear and forgive.”Solomon asked God to hear prayers directed toward the temple, the background to Jonah looking toward the temple.
General
True or False: After his prayer, Jonah got free of the fish by his own effort.
Answer: False
This is false. Verse 10 says the LORD gave the fish a command, and it spat Jonah out on the shore. Jonah's release, like his rescue from drowning, was entirely God's doing. The same God who appointed the fish (1:17) now commands it. Scripture says that when God commands, it is done (Psalm 33:9), that the great sea creatures are called to praise Him and the wind carries out His word (Psalm 148:7-8), and that the LORD does as He pleases in the seas (Psalm 135:6).
- Jonah 2:10 (BSB)“And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”The LORD gives the command, and the fish puts Jonah out onto dry land.
- Psalm 33:9 (BSB)“For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.”The psalm says that when God commands, it is done, as the fish obeys here.
- Psalm 148:7-8 (BSB)“Praise the LORD from the earth, all great sea creatures and ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, powerful wind fulfilling His word,”The psalm calls the great sea creatures to praise the LORD and says the wind carries out His word.
- Psalm 135:6 (BSB)“The LORD does all that pleases Him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and in all their depths.”The LORD does whatever He pleases, even in the deepest waters.
Theological
True or False: Jonah's release onto dry land in 2:10 came about through his own effort once he finished praying.
Answer: False
This is false. The LORD gave the fish its command, and it spat Jonah out on the shore (2:10). The God who appointed the fish (1:17) also directs its every act; Jonah's deliverance is God's from beginning to end, illustrating the confession that immediately precedes it (2:9). His word is effective (Psalm 33:9), the great sea creatures are summoned to praise Him and the wind does His bidding (Psalm 148:7-8), and He does all He pleases in the seas (Psalm 135:6).
- Jonah 2:10 (BSB)“And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”The LORD gives the command, and the fish puts Jonah out onto dry land.
- Psalm 33:9 (BSB)“For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.”The psalm says that when God commands, it is done, as the fish obeys here.
- Psalm 148:7-8 (BSB)“Praise the LORD from the earth, all great sea creatures and ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, powerful wind fulfilling His word,”The psalm calls the great sea creatures to praise the LORD and says the wind carries out His word.
- Psalm 135:6 (BSB)“The LORD does all that pleases Him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and in all their depths.”The LORD does whatever He pleases, even in the deepest waters.
General
What does Jonah say the LORD did for him as he sank toward death in 2:5-7?
Answer: He brought Jonah's life up from the pit
Jonah describes the waters closing over him, seaweed around his head, and sinking down to the mountains' roots as though locked in for good (2:5-6). But the LORD raised his life up from the pit, the place of death (2:6). As his life faded, Jonah remembered the LORD, and his prayer reached God's holy temple (2:7). Other psalms praise the LORD in the same way for pulling the dying up from the Pit (Psalm 30:3; Psalm 103:4) and lifting them from the depths (Psalm 18:16).
- Jonah 2:5-7 (BSB)“The waters engulfed me to take my life; the watery depths closed around me; the seaweed wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I descended; the earth beneath me barred me in forever! But You raised my life from the pit, O LORD my God! As my life was fading away, I remembered the LORD. My prayer went up to You, to Your holy temple.”Jonah describes sinking to the mountains' foundations until the LORD lifted him up from the pit as he remembered Him.
- Psalm 30:3 (BSB)“O LORD, You pulled me up from Sheol; You spared me from descending into the Pit.”David praises the LORD for pulling him up from Sheol and sparing him from the Pit.
- Psalm 103:4 (BSB)“who redeems your life from the Pit and crowns you with loving devotion and compassion,”The psalm blesses the LORD as the one who rescues a person from the Pit.
- Psalm 18:16 (BSB)“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.”David says God reached down and pulled him from the deep waters.
Theological
How does Jonah describe the LORD's act of deliverance in 2:5-7?
Answer: He brought Jonah's life up from the pit
Jonah pictures himself engulfed, wrapped in seaweed, and descending to the mountains' roots, shut in as if permanently (2:5-6). The turn comes with God's act: the LORD brought his life up from the pit (2:6), and as his life ebbed he remembered the LORD and his prayer reached the temple (2:7). The deliverance is described in the vocabulary of Israel's thanksgiving psalms, where the LORD lifts His servant from Sheol and the Pit (Psalm 30:3; Psalm 103:4) and draws him from deep waters (Psalm 18:16).
- Jonah 2:5-7 (BSB)“The waters engulfed me to take my life; the watery depths closed around me; the seaweed wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I descended; the earth beneath me barred me in forever! But You raised my life from the pit, O LORD my God! As my life was fading away, I remembered the LORD. My prayer went up to You, to Your holy temple.”Jonah describes sinking to the mountains' foundations until the LORD lifted him up from the pit as he remembered Him.
- Psalm 30:3 (BSB)“O LORD, You pulled me up from Sheol; You spared me from descending into the Pit.”David praises the LORD for pulling him up from Sheol and sparing him from the Pit.
- Psalm 103:4 (BSB)“who redeems your life from the Pit and crowns you with loving devotion and compassion,”The psalm blesses the LORD as the one who rescues a person from the Pit.
- Psalm 18:16 (BSB)“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.”David says God reached down and pulled him from the deep waters.
General
What great confession closes Jonah's prayer in 2:9?
Answer: That rescue is God's work and belongs to Him
Jonah says that people who hold on to empty idols turn away from God's loving devotion (2:8), but he will offer sacrifice to God with thanksgiving and keep his vows (2:9). Then he ends with a short confession that salvation comes from the LORD (2:9). Jonah could not save himself; only God could. This is true of every kind of rescue, including salvation from sin. David says the same (Psalm 3:8), Paul teaches that we are saved by God's grace as a gift and not by our own works (Ephesians 2:8-9), and the saints in heaven give all credit for salvation to God and the Lamb, Jesus Christ (Revelation 7:10).
- Jonah 2:8-9 (BSB)“Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion. But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation is from the LORD!””Jonah contrasts idol worshipers with his own thankful worship and ends by confessing that salvation comes from the LORD.
- Psalm 3:8 (BSB)“Salvation belongs to the LORD; may Your blessing be on Your people. Selah”David likewise confesses that saving is the LORD's work.
- Ephesians 2:8-9 (BSB)“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.”Paul teaches that salvation is God's gift by grace through faith, not a human achievement.
- Revelation 7:10 (BSB)“And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!””The redeemed in heaven credit their salvation to God, seated in glory, and also to the Lamb.
Theological
What confession forms the climax of Jonah's prayer in 2:9?
Answer: That rescue is God's work and belongs to Him
Having contrasted idolaters, who forsake God's loving devotion (2:8), with his own thankful sacrifice and vow-keeping (2:9a), Jonah climaxes with the confession that salvation comes from the LORD (2:9b). Deliverance is God's work from start to finish; the sinking prophet contributed nothing. The same truth governs salvation from sin: it is the LORD's (Psalm 3:8), it comes through faith as God's gift of grace, not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9), and the redeemed in glory ascribe it wholly to God and the Lamb (Revelation 7:10). Sovereign grace saves the undeserving, as Jonah's own story shows.
- Jonah 2:8-9 (BSB)“Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion. But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation is from the LORD!””Jonah contrasts idol worshipers with his own thankful worship and ends by confessing that salvation comes from the LORD.
- Psalm 3:8 (BSB)“Salvation belongs to the LORD; may Your blessing be on Your people. Selah”David likewise confesses that saving is the LORD's work.
- Ephesians 2:8-9 (BSB)“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.”Paul teaches that salvation is God's gift by grace through faith, not a human achievement.
- Revelation 7:10 (BSB)“And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!””The redeemed in heaven credit their salvation to God, seated in glory, and also to the Lamb.