Bible Strands
Jonah 1:3
Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God has just commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh, and this verse records Jonah’s immediate physical response before the storm strikes.
The words — לִ/בְרֹ֣חַ (li/v.Ro.ach) means to flee, paired with מִ/לִּ/פְנֵ֖י יְהוָ֑ה (mi./li/f.Nei Yah.weh), literally from the presence of Yahweh.
The thread — The motif of fleeing from God’s presence appears in Genesis 4:16 when Cain leaves God, and Psalm 139:7 questions where one can go to escape the Spirit.
Why it lands — The text documents a physical departure that cannot achieve spiritual evasion, demanding the reader confront the futility of resisting divine direction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
Cross-references
- Psalms 139:7 Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?
- Joshua 19:46 Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, including the territory across from Joppa.
- Genesis 4:16 So Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
- Acts 9:36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated as Dorcas), who was always occupied with works of kindness and charity.
- Acts 9:43 And Peter stayed for several days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:9 They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might,
- 1 Kings 19:3 And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
- Isaiah 23:1 This is the burden against Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor. Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus.
- Isaiah 23:6 Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coastland!
- Jonah 4:2 So he prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion—One who relents from sending disaster.