Bible HebrewThe Storm Jonah 1:4–10
Yəḥawwe hurls a wind and the sailors pray. Notice how the story pauses, with וְ + a noun, to show what Jonah was doing.
Jonah 1:4
וַיהוָה הֵטִיל רוּחַ־גְּדוֹלָה אֶל־הַיָּם וַיְהִי סַעַר־גָּדוֹל בַּיָּם וְהָאֳנִיָּה חִשְּׁבָה לְהִשָּׁבֵר
Wa-yəḥawwe hēṭīl rūaḥ-gədhōlā ʾel-hayyām wayhī saʿar-gādhōl bayyām wəhoʾŏniyyā ḥishshəvā ləhishshāvēr
“But yəḥawwe hurled a great wind onto the sea, and there was a great storm on the sea, and the ship was about to break apart.”
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| וַיהוָה | wa-yəḥawwe | but yəḥawwe |
| הֵטִיל | hēṭīl | hurled |
| רוּחַ | rūaḥ | a wind |
| גְּדוֹלָה | gədhōlā | great |
| אֶל | ʾel | onto |
| הַיָּם | hayyām | the sea |
| וַיְהִי | wayhī | and there was |
| סַעַר | saʿar | a storm |
| גָּדוֹל | gādhōl | great |
| בַּיָּם | bayyām | on the sea |
| וְהָאֳנִיָּה | wəhoʾŏniyyā | and the ship |
| חִשְּׁבָה | ḥishshəvā | thought |
| לְהִשָּׁבֵר | ləhishshāvēr | to be broken |
- וַיהוָה: וְ + a noun instead of a wayyiqtol: the subject comes first. This breaks the chain of “and he…, and he…” and sets yəḥawwe against Jonah: “But yəḥawwe…”.
- הֵטִיל: הֵטִיל is the Hiphil of טוּל, “hurl”. The verb returns in verses 5, 12 and 15: God hurls a wind, the sailors hurl the cargo, and in the end they hurl Jonah.
- גְּדוֹלָה: רוּחַ is feminine here, so its adjective is גְּדוֹלָה; סַעַר is masculine, so its adjective is גָּדוֹל. The adjective's ending follows the noun.
- חִשְּׁבָה: Piel perfect of חשׁב, “think, plan”, with the feminine ending: “she (the ship) thought”. The ship is described as if it had a mind; translations often smooth this to “was about to”.
- לְהִשָּׁבֵר: לְ + the Niphal infinitive of שׁבר: “to be broken”. The Niphal is often passive. The dot in שּׁ is where the Niphal's נ has merged into the next letter.
Jonah 1:5
וַיִּירְאוּ הַמַּלָּחִים וַיִּזְעֲקוּ אִישׁ אֶל־אֱלֹהָיו וַיָּטִלוּ אֶת־הַכֵּלִים אֲשֶׁר בָּאֳנִיָּה אֶל־הַיָּם לְהָקֵל מֵעֲלֵיהֶם וְיוֹנָה יָרַד אֶל־יַרְכְּתֵי הַסְּפִינָה וַיִּשְׁכַּב וַיֵּרָדַם
Wayyīrəʾū hammallāḥīm wayyizʿăqū ʾīsh ʾel-ʾĕlōhāw wayyāṭilū ʾeth-hakkēlīm ʾăsher boʾŏniyyā ʾel-hayyām ləhāqēl mēʿălēhem wəyōnā yāradh ʾel-yarkəthē hassəfīnā wayyishkav wayyērādham
“The sailors were afraid, and they cried out, each man to his god. They hurled the objects that were in the ship into the sea, to make it lighter for them. But Jonah had gone down into the far parts of the ship, and he lay down and fell fast asleep.”
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| וַיִּירְאוּ | wayyīrəʾū | and (they) were afraid |
| הַמַּלָּחִים | hammallāḥīm | the sailors |
| וַיִּזְעֲקוּ | wayyizʿăqū | and they cried out |
| אִישׁ | ʾīsh | each man |
| אֶל | ʾel | to |
| אֱלֹהָיו | ʾĕlōhāw | his god |
| וַיָּטִלוּ | wayyāṭilū | and they hurled |
| אֶת | ʾeth | (object marker) |
| הַכֵּלִים | hakkēlīm | the objects |
| אֲשֶׁר | ʾăsher | that (were) |
| בָּאֳנִיָּה | boʾŏniyyā | in the ship |
| אֶל | ʾel | into |
| הַיָּם | hayyām | the sea |
| לְהָקֵל | ləhāqēl | to lighten |
| מֵעֲלֵיהֶם | mēʿălēhem | from on them |
| וְיוֹנָה | wəyōnā | but Jonah |
| יָרַד | yāradh | had gone down |
| אֶל | ʾel | into |
| יַרְכְּתֵי | yarkəthē | the far parts of |
| הַסְּפִינָה | hassəfīnā | the ship |
| וַיִּשְׁכַּב | wayyishkav | and he lay down |
| וַיֵּרָדַם | wayyērādham | and fell fast asleep |
- אִישׁ: אִישׁ can mean “each (one)”: “they cried out, each man to his god”. The verb is plural; אִישׁ picks out each of them.
- אֱלֹהָיו: אֱלֹהִים + ־ָיו “his”. The same plural word that means “God” with a singular verb can also mean “a god” or “gods”. Here each sailor prays to his own god.
- וְיוֹנָה: וְ + a name, then a perfect (יָרַד) instead of a wayyiqtol: the story steps back. “Jonah had gone down”, before this, while the sailors were busy.
- הַסְּפִינָה: הַסְּפִינָה, “the ship”, uses a different word from אֳנִיָּה in verse 3. This word occurs only here in the Bible.
- וַיֵּרָדַם: Niphal wayyiqtol of רדם, “sleep deeply”. It sounds like יָרַד, “went down”, which runs through the chapter.
Jonah 1:6
וַיִּקְרַב אֵלָיו רַב הַחֹבֵל וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מַה־לְּךָ נִרְדָּם קוּם קְרָא אֶל־אֱלֹהֶיךָ אוּלַי יִתְעַשֵּׁת הָאֱלֹהִים לָנוּ וְלֹא נֹאבֵד
Wayyiqrav ʾēlāw rav haḥōvēl wayyōmer lō ma-ləkhā nirdām qūm qərā ʾel-ʾĕlōhekhā ʾūlay yithʿashshēth hāʾĕlōhīm lānū wəlō nōvēdh
“The chief of the sailors came to him and said to him, “What is the matter with you, sleeping? Get up, call to your god! Perhaps the god will give us a thought, and we will not perish.””
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרַב | wayyiqrav | and came near |
| אֵלָיו | ʾēlāw | to him |
| רַב | rav | the chief of |
| הַחֹבֵל | haḥōvēl | the sailors |
| וַיֹּאמֶר | wayyōmer | and said |
| לוֹ | lō | to him |
| מַה | ma | what |
| לְּךָ | ləkhā | to you |
| נִרְדָּם | nirdām | sleeping deeply |
| קוּם | qūm | get up |
| קְרָא | qərā | call |
| אֶל | ʾel | to |
| אֱלֹהֶיךָ | ʾĕlōhekhā | your god |
| אוּלַי | ʾūlay | perhaps |
| יִתְעַשֵּׁת | yithʿashshēth | will give thought |
| הָאֱלֹהִים | hāʾĕlōhīm | the god |
| לָנוּ | lānū | to us |
| וְלֹא | wəlō | and not |
| נֹאבֵד | nōvēdh | we will perish |
- מַה: מַה־לְּךָ, literally “what to you?”, is an idiom: “What is the matter with you?”
- קוּם: קוּם קְרָא, “get up, call”: the captain uses the two verbs God used in verse 2 (קוּם … וּקְרָא).
- יִתְעַשֵּׁת: The Hithpael (reflexive) of עשׁת, “think”. The verb occurs in this stem only here.
- הָאֱלֹהִים: הָאֱלֹהִים with the article: “the god”, that is, whichever god Jonah worships. The captain does not yet know who that is.
- נֹאבֵד: Imperfect with the prefix נ for “we”: “we will perish”.
Jonah 1:7
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵהוּ לְכוּ וְנַפִּילָה גוֹרָלוֹת וְנֵדְעָה בְּשֶׁלְּמִי הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת לָנוּ וַיַּפִּלוּ גּוֹרָלוֹת וַיִּפֹּל הַגּוֹרָל עַל־יוֹנָה
Wayyōmrū ʾīsh ʾel-rēʿēhū ləkhū wənappīlā ghōrālōth wənēdhəʿā bəshelləmī hārāʿā hazzōth lānū wayyappilū gōrālōth wayyippōl haggōrāl ʿal-yōnā
“And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this trouble has come on us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.”
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְרוּ | wayyōmrū | and they said |
| אִישׁ | ʾīsh | each man |
| אֶל | ʾel | to |
| רֵעֵהוּ | rēʿēhū | his fellow |
| לְכוּ | ləkhū | come |
| וְנַפִּילָה | wənappīlā | and let us cast |
| גוֹרָלוֹת | ghōrālōth | lots |
| וְנֵדְעָה | wənēdhəʿā | and let us know |
| בְּשֶׁלְּמִי | bəshelləmī | on whose account |
| הָרָעָה | hārāʿā | the trouble |
| הַזֹּאת | hazzōth | this |
| לָנוּ | lānū | (is) to us |
| וַיַּפִּלוּ | wayyappilū | and they cast |
| גּוֹרָלוֹת | gōrālōth | lots |
| וַיִּפֹּל | wayyippōl | and fell |
| הַגּוֹרָל | haggōrāl | the lot |
| עַל | ʿal | on |
| יוֹנָה | yōnā | Jonah |
- אִישׁ: אִישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵהוּ, “a man to his fellow”, is how Hebrew says “to one another”.
- וְנַפִּילָה: The ־ָה ending on a “we” verb makes it a cohortative, a wish or proposal: “let us cast… and let us know”.
- בְּשֶׁלְּמִי: בְּ + שֶׁ (a short form of אֲשֶׁר) + לְ + מִי: “in that which (belongs) to whom?” = “on whose account?”. The short relative שֶׁ is more common in later Hebrew.
- הָרָעָה: הָרָעָה is “evil” in the sense of trouble or harm: the same word used for Nineveh's wrongdoing in verse 2.
- וַיַּפִּלוּ: The verb נָפַל “fall” twice: Hiphil, “they made (lots) fall” = “they cast lots”; then Qal, “the lot fell”.
Jonah 1:8
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו הַגִּידָה־נָּא לָנוּ בַּאֲשֶׁר לְמִי־הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת לָנוּ מַה־מְּלַאכְתְּךָ וּמֵאַיִן תָּבוֹא מָה אַרְצֶךָ וְאֵי־מִזֶּה עַם אָתָּה
Wayyōmrū ʾēlāw haggīdhā-nā lānū baʾăsher ləmī-hārāʿā hazzōth lānū ma-məlakhtəkhā ūmēʾayin tāvō mā ʾarṣekhā wəʾē-mizze ʿam ʾāttā
“And they said to him, “Tell us, please, on whose account this trouble has come on us. What is your work? Where do you come from? What is your country? And from which people are you?””
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְרוּ | wayyōmrū | and they said |
| אֵלָיו | ʾēlāw | to him |
| הַגִּידָה | haggīdhā | tell |
| נָּא | nā | please |
| לָנוּ | lānū | us |
| בַּאֲשֶׁר | baʾăsher | in that |
| לְמִי | ləmī | to whom |
| הָרָעָה | hārāʿā | the trouble |
| הַזֹּאת | hazzōth | this |
| לָנוּ | lānū | (is) to us |
| מַה | ma | what (is) |
| מְּלַאכְתְּךָ | məlakhtəkhā | your work |
| וּמֵאַיִן | ūmēʾayin | and from where |
| תָּבוֹא | tāvō | do you come |
| מָה | mā | what (is) |
| אַרְצֶךָ | ʾarṣekhā | your land |
| וְאֵי | wəʾē | and which |
| מִזֶּה | mizze | from this |
| עַם | ʿam | people |
| אָתָּה | ʾāttā | (are) you |
- הַגִּידָה: הַגִּידָה is a Hiphil command with an extra ־ָה, which makes a request more pressing. נָא adds “please”.
- מַה: Four questions in a row, each opened by a question word: מַה “what”, מֵאַיִן “from where”, מָה “what”, אֵי־מִזֶּה “from which”.
- אָתָּה: No verb “to be”: עַם אָתָּה, “people, you?”. אָתָּה is spelled with ā instead of אַתָּה: a pausal form, used where the verse pauses.
Jonah 1:9
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם עִבְרִי אָנֹכִי וְאֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם אֲנִי יָרֵא אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה אֶת־הַיָּם וְאֶת־הַיַּבָּשָׁה
Wayyōmer ʾălēhem ʿivrī ʾānōkhī wəʾeth-yəḥawwe ʾĕlōhē hashshāmayim ʾănī yārē ʾăsher-ʿāśā ʾeth-hayyām wəʾeth-hayyabbāshā
“He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear yəḥawwe, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.””
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמֶר | wayyōmer | and he said |
| אֲלֵיהֶם | ʾălēhem | to them |
| עִבְרִי | ʿivrī | a Hebrew |
| אָנֹכִי | ʾānōkhī | (am) I |
| וְאֶת | wəʾeth | and (object marker) |
| יְהוָה | yəḥawwe | yəḥawwe |
| אֱלֹהֵי | ʾĕlōhē | the God of |
| הַשָּׁמַיִם | hashshāmayim | the heavens |
| אֲנִי | ʾănī | I |
| יָרֵא | yārē | fear |
| אֲשֶׁר | ʾăsher | who |
| עָשָׂה | ʿāśā | made |
| אֶת | ʾeth | (object marker) |
| הַיָּם | hayyām | the sea |
| וְאֶת | wəʾeth | and (object marker) |
| הַיַּבָּשָׁה | hayyabbāshā | the dry land |
- עִבְרִי: Again no verb “to be”: עִבְרִי אָנֹכִי, “a Hebrew, I”. אָנֹכִי and אֲנִי both mean “I”; this verse uses both.
- וְאֶת: The object comes before the verb: “and yəḥawwe… I fear”. Putting it first gives it weight.
- יָרֵא: יָרֵא can be read as a verb (“I fear”) or as an adjective (“fearing”). The word also means “revere”. In verse 10 the sailors react with the same root.
- אֲשֶׁר: אֲשֶׁר introduces a description, like English “who” or “which”: “who made the sea”.
Jonah 1:10
וַיִּירְאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים יִרְאָה גְדוֹלָה וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו מַה־זֹּאת עָשִׂיתָ כִּי־יָדְעוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים כִּי־מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה הוּא בֹרֵחַ כִּי הִגִּיד לָהֶם
Wayyīrəʾū hāʾănāshīm yirʾā ghədhōlā wayyōmrū ʾēlāw ma-zōth ʿāśīthā kī-yādhəʿū hāʾănāshīm kī-millifnē yəḥawwe hū vōrēaḥ kī higgīdh lāhem
“Then the men were terrified, and they said to him, “What is this you have done?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from yəḥawwe, because he had told them.”
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| וַיִּירְאוּ | wayyīrəʾū | and feared |
| הָאֲנָשִׁים | hāʾănāshīm | the men |
| יִרְאָה | yirʾā | a fear |
| גְדוֹלָה | ghədhōlā | great |
| וַיֹּאמְרוּ | wayyōmrū | and they said |
| אֵלָיו | ʾēlāw | to him |
| מַה | ma | what |
| זֹּאת | zōth | (is) this |
| עָשִׂיתָ | ʿāśīthā | you have done |
| כִּי | kī | for |
| יָדְעוּ | yādhəʿū | knew |
| הָאֲנָשִׁים | hāʾănāshīm | the men |
| כִּי | kī | that |
| מִלִּפְנֵי | millifnē | from before |
| יְהוָה | yəḥawwe | yəḥawwe |
| הוּא | hū | he |
| בֹרֵחַ | vōrēaḥ | (was) fleeing |
| כִּי | kī | for |
| הִגִּיד | higgīdh | he had told |
| לָהֶם | lāhem | them |
- יִרְאָה: A verb with a noun from the same root: וַיִּירְאוּ … יִרְאָה, “they feared a fear”. This makes the verb stronger: “they were terrified”. Verse 16 uses it again.
- מַה: מַה־זֹּאת עָשִׂיתָ, “What is this you have done?”. Very similar words are spoken to the woman in Genesis 3:13.
- בֹרֵחַ: A participle, בֹרֵחַ: “he was fleeing”, an action still going on.
- הִגִּיד: The perfect הִגִּיד can refer to something that happened earlier: “he had told them”. The storyteller mentions it only now.
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