Jonah 4:10-11

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jonah 4:5-11

Jonah persists here in his discontent; for the beginning of strife both with God and man is as the letting forth of waters, the breach grows wider and wider, and, when passion gets head, bad is made worse; it should therefore be silenced and suppressed at first. We have here, I. Jonah's sullen expectation of the fate of Nineveh. We may suppose that the Ninevites, giving credit to the message he brought, were ready to give entertainment to the messenger that brought it, and to show him respect,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 4:10

Then said the Lord, thou hast had pity on the gourd ,.... Or, "hast spared it" F3 חסת "pepercisiti", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Burkius; "pepercisses", Piscator. ; that is, would have spared it, had it lain in his power, though but a weeds and worthless thing: for the which thou hast not laboured ; in digging the ground, and by sowing or planting it; it being raised up at once by the Lord himself, and not by any, human art and industry; nor by any of his: neither madest it... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jonah 4:11

And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city ?.... See Jonah 1:2 ; what is such a gourd or plant to that? wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons ; or twelve myriads; that is, twelve times ten thousand, or a hundred and twenty thousand; meaning not all the inhabitants of Nineveh; for then it would not have appeared to be so great a city; but infants only, as next described: that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand ; do not know one from another;... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 4:10

Which came up in a night - St. Jerome, speaking of this plant, the kikayon , assigns to it an extraordinary rapidity of growth. It delights in a sandy soil, and in a few days what was a plant grows into a large shrub. But he does not appear to have meant the ricinus ; this however is the most likely. The expressions coming up in a night and perishing in a night are only metaphorical to express speedy growth and speedy decay; and so, as we have seen, the Chaldee interprets it, אבד אוחרנא... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 4:11

And should not I spare Nineveh - In Jonah 4:10 ; it is said, thou hast had pity on the gourd, חסת אתה attah Chasta ; and here the Lord uses the same word, אחוס לא ואני veani lo Achus , "And shall not I have pity upon Nineveh?" How much is the city better than the shrub? But besides this there are in it one hundred and twenty thousand persons! And shall I destroy them, rather than thy shade should be withered or thy word apparently fail? And besides, these persons are young, and... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 4:10

Verse 10 Here God explains the design he had in suddenly raising up the gourd, and then in causing it to perish or wither through the gnawing of a worm; it was to teach Jonah that misconduct towards the Ninevites was very inhuman. Though we find that the holy Prophet had become a prey to dreadful feelings, yet God, by this exhibition, does in a manner remind him of his folly; for, under the representation of a gourd, he shows how unkindly he desired the destruction of so populous a city as... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jonah 4:11

Verse 11 Now as to the number, Jonah mentions here twelve times ten thousand men, and that is as we have said, one hundred and twenty thousand. God shows here how paternally he cares for mankind. Every one of us is cherished by him with singular care: but yet he records here a large number, that it might be more manifest that he so much regards mankind that he will not inconsiderately fulminate against any one nation. And what he adds, that they could not distinguish between the right hand and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 4:1-11

JONAH 'S DISPLEASURE AND ITS CORRECTION . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 4:5-11

Divine mercy formulating its own apologetic. God is patient and persistent to a marvel. He sticks to men whom we would unhesitatingly cast off, and bears with them when, to our mind, patience has ceased to be a virtue. His keen eye sees ground for hope where we should utterly despair; and he goes on dealing with cases that we should regard as quite beyond treatment. The case of Jonah was one in point. He displayed a mulish obstinacy, and a tenacious and assertive self-will, on which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 4:5-11

God's remonstrance with Jonah. "So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, end there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city," etc. Jonah appears to have gone out of the city and taken up his abode in the booth before he knew that Nineveh was to be spared. As Noah entered the ark before the Flood came, and waited for the moment when the judgment of Heaven would verify the warnings of a hundred and twenty... read more

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