Jonah's Diversion to Tarshish Instead of Nineveh Explained
The prophet Jonah, commanded by God to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh, instead "arose to flee unto Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh" [1]. This act of disobedience involved Jonah traveling to Joppa, finding a ship bound for Tarshish, paying its fare, and embarking on the journey [1]. Nineveh was located to the east of Israel, while Tarshish was in the opposite direction, to the west, across the Mediterranean Sea [4, 5].
Jonah's flight was a direct attempt to avoid God's command [6]. Commentators note that "fleeing from the presence of Yahweh" did not imply Jonah believed he could escape God's omnipresence, but rather that he sought to withdraw from his service as a prophet in the land of Israel, where God manifested His presence [3]. John Gill suggests that Jonah was not obedient to the "heavenly vision" and deliberately chose a destination contrary to God's directive [4].
Several reasons are proposed for Jonah's reluctance and subsequent flight:
- Dislike for Nineveh and Assyria: Assyria, whose capital was Nineveh, was a known enemy of Israel, notorious for its violence [2, 5]. Jonah did not want the Assyrians to have the opportunity to repent and be saved [5]. He desired their destruction rather than their repentance [7].
- Fear of appearing a false prophet: Jonah anticipated that God, in His mercy, might "repent of the evil" and spare Nineveh if they repented [7]. This would make Jonah appear to be a false prophet, as his pronouncements of judgment would not come to pass [7]. This concern is explicitly stated by Jonah later in the book (Jonah 4:2) [2].
- Reluctance to minister to Gentiles: Some interpretations suggest Jonah felt it was beneath him to deliver a prophetic message to a foreign, idolatrous nation [7].
The destination, Tarshish, is generally identified as Tartessus, a Phoenician port in Spain [3, 5]. Other suggestions include Tarsus in Cilicia or Tunis in Africa [4]. Regardless of the exact location, it was a distant port, signifying Jonah's intent to put as much distance as possible between himself and his divine commission [1, 3].
Jonah's attempt to escape God's will proved futile [5]. God intervened by sending a great storm, which threatened to destroy the ship [6, 8]. The mariners, terrified, eventually discovered Jonah's disobedience as the cause of the tempest [10]. Following Jonah's own instruction, he was cast into the sea and subsequently swallowed by a large fish, where he remained for three days and three nights [6, 8, 10]. This dramatic turn of events underscores the impossibility of escaping God's call or disobeying His will without consequence [5]. Even after his miraculous deliverance and the repentance of Nineveh, Jonah's initial anger at God's mercy towards the city highlights his deep-seated aversion to their salvation [9].
Sources
- Jonah “Jonah 1:3 (Rotherham) — But Jonah arose to flee unto Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh,—and went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish, so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh.”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Jonah — (dove), the fifth of the minor prophets, was the son of Amittai, and a native of Gath-hepher. (2 Kings 14:25) He flourished in or before the reign of Jeroboam II., about B.C. 820. Having already, as it seems, prophesied to Israel, he was sent to Nineveh. The time was one of political revival in Israel; but ere long the Assyrians were to be employed by God as a scourge upon them. The prophet shrank from a commission which he felt sure would result, (Jonah 4:2) in the sparing of a hostile city. He attempted therefore to escape to Tarshish. The providence of God,”
- Jonah (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Jonah 1:3: Jonah sets out upon his journey; not to Nineveh, however, but to flee to Tarshish, i.e., Tartessus, a Phoenician port in Spain (see at Gen 10:4 and Isa 23:1), "from the face of Jehovah," i.e., away from the presence of the Lord, out of the land of Israel, where Jehovah dwelt in the temple, and manifested His presence (cf. Gen 4:16); not to hide himself from the omnipresent God, but to withdraw from the service of Jehovah, the God-King of Israel. (Note: Marck has already correctly observed, that "this must not be understood as flight from the being and knowledge o”
- Jonah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Jonah 1:3: But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord,.... He was not obedient to the heavenly vision; he rose up, but not to go to Nineveh, but to Tarshish, the reverse of it; to the sea, as the Targum, the Mediterranean sea, which lay west, as Nineveh was to the east. Tarshish sometimes is used for the sea; see Psa 48:7; he determined to go to sea; he did not care where, or to what place he might find a ship bound; or to Tarsus in Cilicia, the birthplace of the Apostle Paul, Act 22:3; so Josephus (q) and Saadiah Gaon; or to Tunis in Africa, as R. Melas”
- Jonah (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Jonah 1:3: 1:3 Jonah’s attempt to get away from the Lord was futile. One cannot escape God (Ps 139:7-10) or disobey his will without consequence (Deut 8:5). Jonah’s reluctance to go to Nineveh is understandable, however. Assyria was an enemy of Israel known for its violence (Jon 3:8; see also Nah 3:1-4). Jonah did not want these non-Israelites to have the opportunity to repent and be saved (Jon 4:2). • Joppa was a key port city on the Mediterranean coast (2 Chr 2:16; Ezra 3:7); it is now a suburb of modern Tel-Aviv. • Tarshish was possibly the port city of Tartessos in Spain, ”
- Jonah (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Jonah 1 (introduction): Mission of Jonah to Nineveh His Flight and Punishment - Jonah 1 Jonah tries to avoid fulfilling the command of God, to preach repentance to the great city Nineveh, by a rapid flight to the sea, for the purpose of sailing to Tarshish (Jon 1:1-3); but a terrible storm, which threatens to destroy the ship, brings his sin to light (Jon 1:4-10); and when the lot singles him out as the culprit, he confesses that he is guilty; and in accordance with the sentence which he pronounces upon himself, is cast into the sea (Jon 1:11-16).”
- Jonah (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Jonah 1:3: flee--Jonah's motive for flight is hinted at in : fear that after venturing on such a dangerous commission to so powerful a heathen city, his prophetical threats should be set aside by God's "repenting of the evil," just as God had so long spared Israel notwithstanding so many provocations, and so he should seem a false prophet. Besides, he may have felt it beneath him to discharge a commission to a foreign idolatrous nation, whose destruction he desired rather than their repentance. This is the only case of a prophet, charged with a prophetical message,”
- Jonah (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Jonah 1 (introduction): Jonah, sent to Nineveh, flees to Tarshish, Jon 1:1-3. He is overtaken by a great tempest, Jon 1:4-14; thrown into the sea, Jon 1:15, Jon 1:16; and swallowed by a fish, in the belly of which he is miraculously preserved alive three days and three nights, Jon 1:17.”
- Jonah (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Jonah 4 (introduction): JONAH FRETS AT GOD'S MERCY TO NINEVEH: IS REPROVED BY THE TYPE OF A GOURD. () angry--literally, "hot," probably, with grief or vexation, rather than anger [FAIRBAIRN]. How sad the contrast between God's feeling on the repentance of Nineveh towards Him, and Jonah's feeling on the repentance of God towards Nineveh. Strange in one who was himself a monument of mercy on his repentance! We all, like him, need the lesson taught in the parable of the unforgiving, though forgiven, debtor (). Jonah was grieved because Nineveh's preservation, after h”
- Jonah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Jonah 1 (introduction): This chapter gives an account of the call and mission of Jonah to go to Nineveh, and prophesy there, and the reason of it, Jon 1:1; his disobedience to it, Jon 1:3. God's resentment of it, by sending a storm into the sea, where he was, which terrified the mariners, and put the ship in danger of being lost, Jon 1:4; The discovery of Jonah and his disobedience as the cause of the tempest, and how it was made, Jon 1:6; The casting of him into the sea at his own motion, and with his own consent, though with great reluctance in the mariners, Jon 1:11. The prepar”