The Meaning of Jonah 3:6 Explained

Jonah 3:6

KJV: For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

YLT: seeing the word doth come unto the king of Nineveh, and he riseth from his throne, and removeth his honourable robe from off him, and spreadeth out sackcloth, and sitteth on the ashes,

Darby: And the word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

ASV: And the tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

Discover Jonah 3:6

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Jonah 3:6?

MEANING: What does Jonah 3:6 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Jonah 3:6 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Jonah 3:6?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For word  came  unto the king  of Nineveh,  and he arose  from his throne,  and he laid  his robe  from him, and covered  [him] with sackcloth,  and sat  in ashes. 

What does Jonah 3:6 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jonah 3:5 could be a general record of the response of the Ninevites and Jonah 3:6-9 a more detailed account of what happened. Even the king responded by repenting. The king of Nineveh would probably have been the king of Assyria since Nineveh was a leading city of the empire. Similarly King Ahab of Israel was the "king of Samaria" ( 1 Kings 21:1), King Ahaziah of Israel was the "king of Samaria" ( 2 Kings 1:3), and King Ben-hadad of Aram was the "king of Damascus" ( 2 Chronicles 24:23). However the writer described this man as the king of Nineveh. The explanation may be that the focus of Jonah"s prophecy was specifically Nineveh ( Jonah 3:4), not the whole Assyrian Empire. His name, though of interest to us, was unnecessary to the writer.
Who was this king? He was probably one of the Assyrian kings who ruled during or near the regency of Jeroboam II in Israel (793-753 B.C.). [1]
Assyrian Kings Contemporary with Jeroboam IIAdad-nirari III811-783 B.C.Shalmaneser IV783-772 B.C.Ashur-dan III772-754 B.C.Ashur-nirari V754-746 B.C.
Of these perhaps Ashur-dan III is the most likely possibility. [2]
". . . the first half of the eighth century is one of the most poorly documented periods of Assyrian history." [1]7
"There is something affecting in the picture of this Oriental monarch so swiftly casting aside such gorgeous robes and taking the place of the penitent. He had the virtue of not holding back in his approach to God." [4]
"It must be remembered that an Assyrian king, as a syncretist, would hardly wish automatically to deny the validity of any god or any prophet. And does not an outsider often command far more respect than those with whom one regularly deals-even in the case of prophets and other clergy (cf. Melchizedek and Abraham, Genesis 14:17-24; Moses and Pharaoh, Exodus 5-14; Balaam and Balak, Numbers 22-24; the Levite from Bethlehem and the Danites, Judges 17-18; etc.)?" [5]

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 3:6 mean?

And came word to the king of Nineveh and he arose from his throne and laid aside cloak his and covered [himself] with sackcloth and sat in ashes
וַיִּגַּ֤ע הַדָּבָר֙ אֶל־ מֶ֣לֶך‪‬ נִֽינְוֵ֔ה וַיָּ֙קָם֙ מִכִּסְא֔וֹ וַיַּעֲבֵ֥ר אַדַּרְתּ֖וֹ מֵֽעָלָ֑יו וַיְכַ֣ס שַׂ֔ק וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב עַל־ הָאֵֽפֶר

וַיִּגַּ֤ע  And  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָגַע  
Sense: to touch, reach, strike.
הַדָּבָר֙  word 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
מֶ֣לֶך‪‬  the  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
נִֽינְוֵ֔ה  of  Nineveh 
Parse: 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.
וַיָּ֙קָם֙  and  he  arose 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
מִכִּסְא֔וֹ  from  his  throne 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: כִּסֵּא 
Sense: seat (of honour), throne, seat, stool.
וַיַּעֲבֵ֥ר  and  laid  aside 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
אַדַּרְתּ֖וֹ  cloak 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אַדֶּרֶת  
Sense: glory, cloak.
מֵֽעָלָ֑יו  his 
Parse: Preposition-m, third person masculine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
וַיְכַ֣ס  and  covered  [himself] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּסָה  
Sense: to cover, conceal, hide.
שַׂ֔ק  with  sackcloth 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׂק  
Sense: mesh, sackcloth, sack, sacking.
וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב  and  sat 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
הָאֵֽפֶר  ashes 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵפֶר  
Sense: ashes.

What are the major concepts related to Jonah 3:6?

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