Jonah 4:5-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 4:6-8

Jonah and the gourd. Welcome was the broad shadow of the gourd rising round the booth and above it! The great glare in subdued green light streamed through the leaves to the calmed and cooled and comforted prophet. Just now he wished to die. Now he was willing to live—"exceeding glad of the gourd." Short-lived was his gladness. Worm-smitten, the gourd withered. A day of beauty and value, and then the end of it. And now, unsheltered by the plant, exposed to branding sun and burning... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 4:6-8

The gourd, the worm, and the east wind. Jonah was not faultless after his prayer and penitence. He undertook his work, and boldly proclaimed his message in Nineveh. His success was beyond expectation. The whole city was moved, and all the inhabitants fasted, repented, and prayed. And in the mercy which is ever his delight, God averted the threatened disaster. "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry." He was indignant that his message should appear to be unfulfilled, and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 4:8

A vehement east wind; Septuagint, πνεύματι καύσωνι ( James 1:11 ) συγκαίοντι "a scorching, burning wind;" Vulgate, vento calido et urenti ( Hosea 13:15 ). The word translated "vehement" is also rendered "silent," i.e. sultry. Pusey and Hitzig rather incline to think it may mean the autumn or harvest wind. Either interpretation is suitable, as, according to Dr. Thomson, there are two kinds of sirocco, equally destructive and annoying—the violent wind, which fills the air with... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 4:8

Desire to die. Deep was the mortification, the disappointment, the dejection, which, more than once, found expression in this wish. It is not an uncommon thing for those whose hearts are blighted, whose prospects are clouded, for whom life has but few attractions left, to wish rather to die than to live. I. THE EXPLANATION OF THIS WISH . 1 . The burden of bodily suffering or weakness, or of mental anguish, may be such as is very hard to bear; and men may wish to lay it... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jonah 4:8-11

§ 4. Jonah grieves bitterly for the loss of the gourd; and God takes occasion from this to point out the prophet's inconsistency and pitilessness in murmuring against the mercy shown to Nineveh with its multitude of inhabitants. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jonah 4:5

So Jonah went out of the city - o, The form of the words implies (as in the English Version), that this took place after Jonah was convinced that God would spare Nineveh; and since there is no intimation that he knew it by revelation, then it was probably after the 40 days . “The days being now past, after which it was time that the things foretold should be accomplished, and His anger as yet taking no effect, Jonah understood that God had pity on Nineveh. Still he does not give up all hope,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jonah 4:6

And the Lord God prepared a gourd - , (a palm-christ, English margin, rightly.) . “God again commanded the gourd, as he did the whale, willing only that this should be. Forthwith it springs up beautiful and full of flower, and straightway was a roof to the whole booth, and anoints him so to speak with joy, with its deep shade. The prophet rejoices at it exceedingly, as being a great and thankworthy thing. See now herein too the simplicity of his mind. For he was grieved exceedingly, because... read more

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