Jonah 3:5-9

5-9. The effect of the preaching. The effects were immediate. The Ninevites believed God and humbled themselves before him in sincere repentance.

Believed God Or, believed in God (Genesis 15:6). They regarded him as the supreme God, to whom they owed allegiance. This recognition made them conscious of their past transgressions, and immediately they set about to secure divine forgiveness. How Jonah, a Hebrew, made himself understood in Nineveh is not stated; some refer, in explanation, to Isaiah 36:11, as if he had used the Aramaic language, but the passage does not prove that in Jonah’s days the common people, either among the Hebrews or among the Assyrians, spoke or understood that language.

Proclaimed a fast,… put on sackcloth See on Joel 1:8; Joel 1:13-14.

Greatest… least In rank as well as in age; all without exception.

For word came This translation seems to imply that the acts of mourning mentioned in Jonah 3:5 were instituted at the royal command, which does not seem to be the thought of the author. The Hebrew is simply, “And the word came”; R.V., “And the tidings reached”; which marks a new step in the proceedings. When the report of Jonah’s preaching and of its effect reaches the king he also immediately humbles himself before Jehovah.

King of Nineveh For the more common “king of Assyria”; see Introduction, p. 335.

Arose from his throne In order to descend from it. His acts are recorded in detail, so as to portray more forcibly the humility and sincerity of the king’s repentance.

His robe The splendid garment of royalty. What a contrast between it and the garment of mourning!

Sackcloth See references on Jonah 3:5 (compare Jeremiah 6:26; Ezekiel 27:30-31).

Sat in ashes Another sign of deepest mourning (Job 2:8). A.B. Davidson, commenting on the latter passage, says, “By the ‘ashes’ is probably meant the Mazbalah, the place outside the Arabic towns where the zibl, that is, dung and other rubbish of the place, is thrown.”

In addition to this personal renunciation the king proclaimed, by royal decree, a day of fasting and supplication, and exhorted all to bring forth “fruits worthy of repentance,” in the hope that God may yet be merciful.

7a, the introduction to the decree itself, may be rendered more accurately, “And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh. By the decree of the king and his nobles, thus:… .” The first clause contains the words of the narrator; the second those of the heralds by whom the proclamation was made, indicating the authority for the command about to be given.

Decree The Hebrew word occurs only here in this sense; it is found quite frequently in the Aramaic portions of Ezra and Daniel; evidently it was a technical term for royal edicts, at least for those of Babylonian and Persian kings.

Nobles The ministers associated with the king in the government.

Man and beast are to join in the fast.

Beast The domestic animals; defined more closely in “herd nor flock,” that is, cattle and sheep. They are not to taste anything; the beasts are not to be driven to pasture, nor are they to drink water. Both man and beast are to be clothed in sackcloth and “cry mightily” unto God in penitent supplication.

God The proclamation does not use the name Jehovah.

Turn The repentance is to be real; a godly sorrow that impels men to turn from their evil ways. Even the Assyrian idolater is represented as realizing the essential requirements of the God of the Hebrews (Micah 6:8; compare Joel 2:13). R.V. presents a more accurate rendering of Jonah 3:8 a, “But let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast, and let them cry mightily.” Some modern commentators consider “both man and beast” in this passage a later interpolation. If this view is correct, Jonah 3:8 speaks of men only, while Jonah 3:7 joins the beasts with the men. With reference to the participation of animals in the mourning G.A. Smith says, “The beasts are made to share in its observance, as in the Orient they always shared and still share in funeral pomp and trappings.” Herodotus (Jonah 9:24) records that the Persians, after the fall of their commander, allowed horses and beasts of burden to participate in the mourning.

Jonah 3:9 is the concluding portion of the royal edict. The king expresses the hope that the evidences of grief and repentance may move God to stay the judgment.

Who can tell Perhaps. He does not want to presume too much.

Turn and repent The same words as in Joel 2:14 (see on Joel 2:13).

His fierce anger The holiness of God manifests itself in hatred for everything that is impure. The fierceness of the divine wrath is due to the greatness of the wickedness of the Ninevites (Jonah 1:2), which the king seems ready to acknowledge.