The Meaning of Jonah 1:15 Explained

Jonah 1:15

KJV: So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

YLT: And they lift up Jonah, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceaseth from its raging;

Darby: And they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from its raging.

ASV: So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So they took up  Jonah,  and cast him forth  into the sea:  and the sea  ceased  from her raging. 

What does Jonah 1:15 Mean?

Context Summary

Jonah 1:1-16 - Fleeing From God And Duty
Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25. He was clearly very patriotic, and did not despair of his country in its darkest days. This commission to Nineveh was therefore not to his taste, because he had no desire to see the great heathen city brought to her knees. Another century would have to pass before Isaiah and Micah would proclaim that the heathen world would turn to God, Micah 4:1; Isaiah 2:2.
Rather than go upon this errand of mercy, Jonah hurried down to the one seaport, that he might escape his duty. Sin is always a descent; we always have to pay heavily in tolls and fares when we take our own way instead of God's, and we must never reckon that opportunity implies permission.
Weary with excitement and travel, the prophet is oblivious to the weighing of the anchor. The disasters that block the way of disobedience are harder than our difficulties in performing God's bidding. Note the divine agency in our lives: the word of the Lord came; the Lord hurled forth a great wind; the Lord prepared a great fish. There were, in these heathen sailors, beautiful traits which ought to have abashed the prophet. Their prayer to their idols and their endeavor to save this stranger Jew are as instructive as remarkable. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jonah 1

1  Jonah, sent to Nineveh, flees to Tarshish
4  He is betrayed by a great storm;
11  thrown into the sea;
17  and swallowed by a fish

What do the individual words in Jonah 1:15 mean?

So they picked up - Jonah and threw him into the sea and ceased the sea from its raging
וַיִּשְׂאוּ֙ אֶת־ יוֹנָ֔ה וַיְטִלֻ֖הוּ אֶל־ הַיָּ֑ם וַיַּעֲמֹ֥ד הַיָּ֖ם מִזַּעְפּֽוֹ

וַיִּשְׂאוּ֙  So  they  picked  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָשָׂא  
Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
יוֹנָ֔ה  Jonah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄונָה  
Sense: son of Amittai and a native of Gath-hepher; 5th of the minor prophets who prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II and whom God sent also to prophecy to Nineveh.
וַיְטִלֻ֖הוּ  and  threw  him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural, third person masculine singular
Root: טוּל  
Sense: to hurl, cast.
אֶל־  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הַיָּ֑ם  the  sea 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
וַיַּעֲמֹ֥ד  and  ceased 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
הַיָּ֖ם  the  sea 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
מִזַּעְפּֽוֹ  from  its  raging 
Parse: Preposition-m, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: זַעַף  
Sense: rage, raging, storming, indignation.