The Meaning of Jonah 3:4 Explained

Jonah 3:4

KJV: And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

YLT: And Jonah beginneth to go in to the city a journey of one day, and proclaimeth, and saith, 'Yet forty days -- and Nineveh is overturned.'

Darby: And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!

ASV: And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

Discover Jonah 3:4

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Jonah 3:4?

MEANING: What does Jonah 3:4 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Jonah 3:4 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Jonah 3:4?

What is the context of Jonah 3:4?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

What does Jonah 3:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The traditional view holds that after Jonah arrived at the edge of the city he proceeded into it and began announcing his message during his first day there. ^[1] Alternatively, he may have done his first day"s preaching to the king and perhaps also to some of the people. The essence of his proclamation was that Nineveh would be overthrown in only40 days. Periods of testing in Scripture were often40 days long (cf. Genesis 7:17; Exodus 24:18; 1 Kings 19:8; Matthew 4:2). The Septuagint has three instead of40 , but there is no justification for changing the Hebrew text.

Note that Jonah"s message was an announcement of impending doom, not a call to believe in the God of Israel. Jeremiah 18:7-8 explains that prophecies of impending judgment assumed that those under judgment would not repent. If they repented, they might avoid the judgment (cf. Joel 2:12-14). Physical deliverance rather than spiritual salvation was what the people of Nineveh would have wanted. As noted in the introduction to this exposition above, hostile tribes to Nineveh"s north threatened the city.

The same Hebrew word (haphak, overthrown, destroyed) describes the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19:25. Possibly Jonah expected God to destroy Nineveh as He had overthrown Sodom and Gomorrah.

The basic simplicity of Jonah"s message contrasts with the greatness of Nineveh. The word of the Lord is able to change even a complex and sophisticated urban population.

Context Summary

Jonah 3:1-10 - A Repentant City

Peter was not only forgiven, but restored to his office; so also was Jonah again sent to Nineveh. Thank God for our second chances! There was no hesitancy this time. The prophet arose and went. The story of his deliverance seems to have reached Nineveh and to have prepared its people to receive his word, Luke 11:30. We must deliver God's messages and preach only as He bids us. He will tell us what to say.

Nineveh is said to have been sixty miles in circuit, the distance of a three days' journey. It was full of violence and cruelty. But the sight of that strange figure, clad in a rude sheep-skin mantle, smote its conscience. The alarm spread from the streets to the palace. Even the great king felt it within his sculptured chambers. It stirred him to action, so that king and court, peers and people, and even the brute creation, became united in one act of common humiliation. The repentance was city-wide in its scope, Jonah 3:5; was practical, Jonah 3:8; and directed toward God, Jonah 3:9. What a contrast to Israel! There, prophet after prophet was exposed to refusal and even to cruel usage. Whatever fear there may have been upon man's side, there was no hesitation upon God's. He abundantly pardoned! See Isaiah 55:7. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jonah 3

¹ Jonah, sent again, preaches to the Ninevites
⁵ Upon their repentance,
¹⁰ God relents

What do the individual words in Jonah 3:4 mean?

And began Jonah to enter the city on the walk day's first and he cried out and said yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown

וַיָּ֤חֶל יוֹנָה֙ לָב֣וֹא בָעִ֔יר מַהֲלַ֖ךְ י֣וֹם אֶחָ֑ד וַיִּקְרָא֙ וַיֹּאמַ֔ר ע֚וֹד אַרְבָּעִ֣ים י֔וֹם וְנִֽינְוֵ֖ה נֶהְפָּֽכֶת

וַיָּ֤חֶל	And began
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular Root: חָלַל Sense: to profane, defile, pollute, desecrate, begin.
יוֹנָה֙	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.
לָב֣וֹא	to enter
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct Root: בֹּוא Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
בָעִ֔יר	the city
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular Root: עִיר Sense: excitement, anguish.
מַהֲלַ֖ךְ	on the walk
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: מַהֲלָךְ Sense: walk, journey, going, place to walk.
י֣וֹם	day's
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: יׄום Sense: day, time, year.
אֶחָ֑ד	first
Parse: Number, masculine singular Root: אֶחָד Sense: one (number).
וַיִּקְרָא֙	and he cried out
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular Root: קָרָא Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
וַיֹּאמַ֔ר	and said
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular Root: אָמַר Sense: to say, speak, utter.
ע֚וֹד	yet
Parse: Adverb Root: עֹוד Sense: a going round, continuance adv.
אַרְבָּעִ֣ים	forty
Parse: Number, common plural Root: אַרְבָּעִים Sense: forty.
י֔וֹם	days
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: יׄום Sense: day, time, year.
וְנִֽינְוֵ֖ה	and Nineveh
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, feminine singular Root: נִינְוֵה Sense: capital of the ancient kingdom of Assyria; located on the east bank of the Tigris river, 550 miles (880 km) from its mouth and 250 miles (400 km) north of Babylon.
נֶהְפָּֽכֶת	shall be overthrown
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Participle, feminine singular Root: הָפַךְ Sense: to turn, overthrow, overturn.

What are the major concepts related to Jonah 3:4?

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Similar Scriptures for Jonah 3:4

		Deuteronomy 18:22 [7]
		Jeremiah 18:7-10 [5]
		2 Kings 20:1 [3]
		Jonah 3:10 [3]
		2 Kings 20:6 [3]