Bible Strands
Jonah 1:4
Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative shifts to Yahweh acting directly upon the sea as Jonah boards a vessel bound for Tarshish. This divine intervention occurs immediately after Jonah pays his fare and goes aboard to flee from the LORD's presence.
The words — The verb הֵטִיל (he.Til) translates literally as "he threw" or "hurled," describing Yahweh's forceful casting of a רֽוּחַ (Ru.ach, "wind") upon the sea. This action directly triggers the סַֽעַר (sa.'ar, "storm") that threatens to break the ship apart.
The thread — The motif of Yahweh wielding wind and sea to interrupt human plans recurs in Exodus 14:21 and Matthew 8:24, where divine winds drive back waters or engulf a boat. The Psalm 107:23 reference similarly frames maritime voyages under sovereign control.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that human flight cannot outrun divine authority. Readers must confront the reality that God actively disrupts disobedience through created forces before issuing any verbal command.
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 the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
Cross-references
- Psalms 107:23 Others went out to sea in ships, conducting trade on the mighty waters.
- Matthew 8:24 Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves. But Jesus was sleeping.
- Exodus 14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,
- Psalms 135:7 He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.
- Amos 4:13 For behold, He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind and reveals His thoughts to man, who turns the dawn to darkness and strides on the heights of the earth—the LORD, the God of Hosts, is His name.”
- Exodus 10:19 And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind that carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained anywhere in Egypt.
- Exodus 15:10 But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
- Numbers 11:31 Now a wind sent by the LORD came up, drove in quail from the sea, and brought them near the camp, about two cubits above the surface of the ground, for a day’s journey in every direction around the camp.
- Acts 27:13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had their opportunity. So they weighed anchor and sailed along, hugging the coast of Crete.
- Exodus 10:13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and throughout that day and night the LORD sent an east wind across the land. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts.