Jonah 1:3
MS: וַיָּ֤קׇם יוֹנָה֙ לִבְרֹ֣חַ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֑ה וַיֵּ֨רֶד יָפ֜וֹ וַיִּמְצָ֥א אֳנִיָּ֣ה ׀ בָּאָ֣ה תַרְשִׁ֗ישׁ וַיִּתֵּ֨ן שְׂכָרָ֜הּ וַיֵּ֤רֶד בָּהּ֙ לָב֤וֹא עִמָּהֶם֙ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָֽה
LXX: καὶ ἀνέστη Ιωνας τοῦ φυγεῖν εἰς Θαρσις ἐκ προσώπου κυρίου καὶ κατέβη εἰς Ιοππην καὶ εὗρεν πλοῖον βαδίζον εἰς Θαρσις καὶ ἔδωκεν τὸ ναῦλον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐνέβη εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦ πλεῦσαι μετ᾽ αὐτῶν εἰς Θαρσις ἐκ προσώπου κυρίου
TJ: וְקָם יוֹנָה לְמֶעְרַק לְיַמָא מִן קֳדָם דְאִתְנַבֵּי בִּשְׁמָא דַייָ וּנְחַת לְיָפוֹ וְאַשְׁכַּח אִילְפָא דַאֲזָלָא לְיַמָא וִיהַב אַגְרָא וּנְחַת בָּהּ לְמֵיזַל עִמְהוֹן בְּיַמָא מִן קֳדָם דְאִתְנַבֵּי בִּשְׁמָא דַיָי
Verse Breakdown
MS: וַיָּ֤קׇם יוֹנָה֙ לִבְרֹ֣חַ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֑ה LXX: καὶ ἀνέστη Ιωνας τοῦ φυγεῖν εἰς Θαρσις ἐκ προσώπου κυρίου TJ: וְקָם יוֹנָה לְמֶעְרַק לְיַמָא מִן קֳדָם דְאִתְנַבֵּי בִּשְׁמָא דַייָ
MS: vayaqam yona livrokha tarshisha milipnei yehova LXX: kai aneste ionas tou fygein eis tharsis ek prosopou kuriou TJ: veqam yona leme`raq leyama’ min qadam de’itnabei bishma’ dayya
MS: So went, Jonah, to the port to Tarshish, away from the face of the lord LXX: So went, Jonah to the port to Tharsis from the face of the lord MS: And went, Jonah, to flee to the sea, away from the presence of prophecy in the name of the lord
MS: וַיֵּ֨רֶד יָפ֜וֹ וַיִּמְצָ֥א אֳנִיָּ֣ה ׀ בָּאָ֣ה תַרְשִׁ֗ישׁ LXX: καὶ κατέβη εἰς Ιοππην καὶ εὗρεν πλοῖον βαδίζον εἰς Θαρσις TJ: וּנְחַת לְיָפוֹ וְאַשְׁכַּח אִילְפָא דַאֲזָלָא לְיַמָא
MS: vayered yapo vayimtsa’ ‘aniyah ba’a tarshish LXX: kai katebe eis ioppen kai euren ploion badizon eis tharsis TJ: unkhat leyapo ve’ashkakh ‘ilpa’ da’azala’ leyama’
MS: And he went down to Japo and found a ship which goes to Tarshish LXX: And went down into Joppen and found a ship which goes to Tharsis TJ: And went down to Japo and found a ship which was going to sea
MS: וַיִּתֵּ֨ן שְׂכָרָ֜הּ וַיֵּ֤רֶד בָּהּ֙ לָב֤וֹא עִמָּהֶם֙ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָֽה LXX: καὶ ἔδωκεν τὸ ναῦλον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐνέβη εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦ πλεῦσαι μετ᾽ αὐτῶν εἰς Θαρσις ἐκ προσώπου κυρίου TJ: וִיהַב אַגְרָא וּנְחַת בָּהּ לְמֵיזַל עִמְהוֹן בְּיַמָא מִן קֳדָם דְאִתְנַבֵּי בִּשְׁמָא דַיָי
MS: vayitten secarah vayered be lavo’ `immahem tatshisha milipenei yehova LXX: kai edoken to naulon auto kai evebe eis auto tou pleusai met auton eis tharsis ek prosopou kyriou TJ: vihav ‘agra’ unkhat bah lemezal imho beyama’ min qadam de’itnabei bishma’ dayay
MS: And he paid the wage and went down into her to go with them to Tarshisha away from the face of the lord LXX: And he paid his fare and went into it to sail with them to to Tharsis, from the face of the lord TJ: And he paid the fare and went into her to go with them to sea, away from the presence of prophecy in the name of the lord
Shortest construction: “So went, Jonah, to the port to Tarshish, to flee from the face of the Lord. And he went down to Jopa and found a ship which was going to sea. And he paid the wage and went down into it to go with them to Tarshisha, away from the face of the Lord.”
Longest construction: “And went, Jonah, to flee to the sea, away from the presence of prophecy in the name of the Lord. And went down into Joppen and found a ship which goes to Tharsis. And he paid the fare and went into it to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of prophecy in the name of the lord.”
Overview: This verse is very stable. There are two small changes by TJ, which are clear later explanations.
The first change by TJ is swapping Tarshish with the sea as Jonah’s end point. TJ is a late tradition, so comparing MS and LXX paints a fuller picture that the TJ swap is a later explanation. In essence, Jonah was not fleeing to any particular place, but simply trying to run away by sailing on the Mediterranean Sea.
The second change by TJ is in adding “the presence of prophecy in the name of” before “the Lord.” This is a simple explanation of what Jonah was fleeing from, which is the prophetic message of God for Nineveh.
LBTB: How this Book Can Help
The Bible is not just a book written two thousand years ago for people who did not understand the world. It is a book written in order that God’s people would understand His character. The Bible is a collection of works that record God’s movement in history through His people, especially the prophets like Moses, Samuel, David, Jesus, Paul, and here, Jonah. I use the term “prophet” in its purest sense, which is communicating something of God. David was more than a prophet, but was a king. Paul was more than a prophet, but was an apostle of Jesus. Jesus was more than a prophet, but was God Himself speaking. These great people of faith act as pieces under a microscope, to examine how God interacted with them and those around them. Jonah, here, is rotten. Yet God still cares for him and the people Jonah hates. These stories are more than bed-time stories, but are examples for us to learn from, either in what it means to follow well, or otherwise what it means to follow poorly. When we understand the story, we understand how to live life. Amen.
