Section 1:1–17
The LORD told Jonah to take a message to the people of Nineveh but Jonah disobeyed
This section tells about the LORD’s command to Jonah to preach a message of judgment and destruction to the people of Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria. Jonah, however, disobeyed the LORD and tried to flee from him; he got on a ship heading for Tarshish, a city in the opposite direction.#
1:1
Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying: The expression the word of the LORD came to Jonah refers to the message which the LORD communicated to Jonah. We do not know how Jonah received this message. It could have been in a vision or a dream, or perhaps the LORD spoke directly to him.
In Hebrew the story begins abruptly: the word of the LORD came to Jonah. Most English versions follow the Hebrew style. However, in your language it may be necessary to reorder the verse so that the story begins in a more natural way for your readers. Notice that the second meaning line in the Display gives one possible way of doing this. You need to decide which is the best way in your language for introducing this story.
LORD: LORD represents the Hebrew Yahweh, the personal name of God. See the notes in the Introduction on how to translate this term.
Jonah son of Amittai: Jonah was the son of a man called Amittai. Nothing more is recorded about Jonah’s background in this book. 2 Kings 14:25 gives a little more information. The important thing to keep in mind is that he was an Israelite and the LORD told him to deliver a message to the people of Nineveh, who were enemies of the Israelites. In the New Testament, Jesus referred to Jonah as a prophet (Matthew 12:29).
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