Jonah 4:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 4:6-8

Emblems of man's earthly good, and God's disciplinary procedure. "And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd," etc. I shall use these verses as presenting an emblem of man's earthly good, and an emblem of God's disciplinary procedure. I. AS AN EMBLEM OF MAN 'S EARTHLY GOOD . I take the "gourd" to represent this. What this plant was,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 4:7

Prepared (see note on Jonah 4:6 ). A worm. Either a single worm which punctured the stem and caused the plant to wither, or the word is used collectively, as in Deuteronomy 28:39 , for "worms." A single warm night, with a moist atmosphere, will suffice to produce a host of caterpillars, which in an incredibly short time strip a plant of all its leaves. When the morning rose. At the very earliest dawn, before the actual rising of the sun (comp. 9:33 ). Jonah seems to have enjoyed the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 4:7

The withering of earthly consolation. If Jonah's vexation and anger were due first to the sparing of Nineveh, and the mortification of his self-importance, similar emotion was excited within him by the deprivation of personal comfort which was appointed by Divine providence. I. IN TIMES OF TROUBLE GOD APPOINTS DIVINE CONSOLATIONS FOR HIS PEOPLE . The gourd, or palmcrist, which the Author of nature caused to grow up over Jonah's booth, was "for a shadow over his... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jonah 4:7

When the morning rose - , i. e., in the earliest dawn, before the actual sunrise. For one day Jonah enjoyed the refreshment of the palm-christ. In early dawn, it still promised the shadow; just ere it was most needed, at God’s command, it withered. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Jonah 4:4-9

Jonah 4:4-9. Doest thou well to be angry? What a mild reproof was this from God, for such a passionate behaviour as Jonah manifested! Here the prophet experienced that Jehovah was a gracious God, merciful, and slow to anger. Here we learn by the highest example, that of God himself, how mild and gentle we ought to be if we would be like him, even to those who carry themselves toward us in the most unreasonable and unjustifiable manner. So Jonah went out of the city The words should... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Jonah 4:1-11

A lesson about mercy (4:1-11)It now became clear why Jonah did not want to preach in Nineveh. He wanted the Ninevites to be destroyed, not spared; he wanted them to be punished, not forgiven. He knew that God was merciful to sinners, but he wanted this divine blessing reserved solely for the people of Israel. He would rather die than see Gentiles forgiven the same as Israelites (4:1-3).God wanted to make Jonah see that he had no right to be angry, but Jonah refused to listen. Apparently still... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Jonah 4:7

worm. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Part), App-6 , for a blight of such; as in Deuteronomy 28:39 . They were appointed during the night, and came at sunrise. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Jonah 4:7

"But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered."Here, too, the record plainly refers to a supernatural event, that of God's preparing and commissioning a worm to destroy the gourd which had enjoyed such a short period of growth. This also is one of the "six supportive miracles" mentioned under Jonah 4:6, above.This worm struck effectively against the very source of Jonah's great gladness, which, strangely enough, was not connected in any way... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Jonah 4:5-8

Jonah 4:5-8. So Jonah went out, &c.— Now Jonah had gone out—and he sat, &c. The author of the Observations asks upon this difficult passage, Did Jonah make himself a booth of boughs, in which to wait the event of his prophesy; and did the gourd come up in one single night afterward?—So our version supposes, and this is also Lowth's opinion. But had this really been the case, one cannot easily conjecture why the coming up of the gourd should have given him such an exquisite pleasure, or... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Jonah 4:7

7. a worm—of a particular kind, deadly to the ricinus. A small worm at the root destroys a large gourd. So it takes but little to make our creature comforts wither. It should silence discontent to remember, that when our gourd is gone, our God is not gone. the next day—after Jonah was so "exceeding glad" (compare :-). read more

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