Jonah 2:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 2:4

Looking toward the temple. It is remarkable that in two passages of this prayer the prophet should allude to the temple. Although he was from Northern Palestine, and lived whilst Judah and Israel were distinct kingdoms, it does not seem open to question that his allusion is to the sacred edifice at Jerusalem, where Jehovah manifested his presence and favour, and received the worship of his people. Yet the temple must have been referred to, not so much as a material edifice, as in the light... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jonah 2:4

I am cast out of Thy sight - , literally, “from before Thine eyes.” Jonah had willfully withdrawn from standing in God’s presence. Now God had taken him at his word, and, as it seemed, cast him out of it. David had said in his haste, “I am cut off.” Jonah substitutes the stronger word, “I am cast forth,” driven forth, expelled, like the “mire and dirt” Isaiah 57:20 which the waves drive along, or like the waves themselves in their restless motion Isaiah 57:20, or the pagan (the word is the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Jonah 2:4-7

Jonah 2:4-7. Then I said, I am cast out, &c. “My first apprehensions were, that as I had justly forfeited thy favour by my disobedience, so thou wouldest cast me out of thy protection; yet, upon recollecting myself, I thought it my duty not to despair of thy mercy, but direct my prayer toward thy heavenly habitation.” Lowth. The waters compassed me even to the soul Or life; that is, to the extreme hazard of my life; and I thought of nothing more than losing my life among the waves. ... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Jonah 2:1-10

2:1-10 A PSALM OF THANKSGIVINGJonah regained consciousness inside the great fish. This almost unbelievable experience caused him to believe that it was God’s way of saving his life. From inside the fish he then thanked God for saving him from drowning. He seems to have remembered phrases from various psalms and prayers used in temple worship, and he brought these together to form his own prayer of thanksgiving.In the opening words of the psalm Jonah recalled his prayer of desperation as he... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Jonah 2:4

Then said, &c. Compare Psa 81:22 toward, &c. Compare 1 Kings 8:38 . holy. See note on Exodus 3:5 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Jonah 2:4

"And I said, I am cast out from before thine eyes; Yet I will look again toward thy holy temple."Apparently, Jonah, at the instant indicated by these words, had already been rescued from drowning by the great fish, encouraging him to believe that he would yet be spared alive to worship God in Jerusalem. Thus, in the last clause here, he envisions a deliverance which had not at that moment come to pass; but which the inspired prophet already considered as a reality."I will look again toward thy... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Jonah 2:4

Jonah 2:4. Then I said, I am cast out, &c.— "My first apprehensions were, that as I had justly forfeited thy favour for my disobedience, so thou wouldst cast me out of thy protection. But, upon recollecting myself, I thought it my duty not to despair of thy mercy, but to direct my prayer toward thy heavenly habitation: for I have the strongest confidence, since thou hast thus far saved me, that I shall look again towards thy holy temple." There is a great similarity between this prayer of... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Jonah 2:4

4. cast out from thy sight—that is, from Thy favorable regard. A just retribution on one who had fled "from the presence of the Lord" ( :-). Now that he has got his desire, he feels it to be his bitterest sorrow to be deprived of God's presence, which once he regarded as a burden, and from which he desired to escape. He had turned his back on God; so God turned His back on him, making his sin his punishment. toward thy holy temple—In the confidence of faith he anticipates yet to see the temple... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Jonah 2:2-9

F. Jonah’s psalm of thanksgiving 2:2-9The following prayer is mainly thanksgiving for deliverance from drowning. It is not thanksgiving for deliverance from the fish or a prayer of confession, as we might expect. Jonah prayed it while he was in the fish. Evidently he concluded after some time in the fish’s stomach that he would not die from drowning. Drowning was a particularly distasteful form of death for an ancient Near Easterner such as Jonah who regarded the sea as a great enemy. Jonah’s... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Jonah 2:4

This condition made Jonah believe that God had turned His back on him (cf. Leviticus 21:7; Psalms 31:22). Nevertheless he determined to seek God in prayer (cf. Psalms 5:7). Looking toward God’s holy temple is a synonym for praying, the temple being the place of prayer in Israel."He felt he was cast out from the special regard and care which God exercises over His own. Now he realized how dire a thing it is to be apart from the presence of the Lord." [Note: Feinberg, p. 25.] read more

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