Jonah 1:11-13

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Jonah 1:11 tn Heb “the sea was going and storming.” The two participles הוֹלֵךְ וְסֹעֵר (holekh v^esoʿer, “going and storming”) form an idiom that means “the storm was growing worse and worse.” When the participle הוֹלֵךְ precedes another participle with vav, it often denotes the idea of “growing, increasing” (BDB 233 s.v. הָלַךְ 4.d; e.g., Exod 19:19; 1 Sam 2:26; 2 Sam 3:1; 15:12; 2 Chr 17:12; Esth 9:4; Prov 4:18; Eccl 1:6). For example, “the power of David grew stronger and stronger (הֹלֵךְ וְחָזֵק, holekh v^ekhazeq; “was going and becoming strong”), while the dynasty of Saul grew weaker and weaker (הֹלְכִים וְדַלִּים, hol^ekhim v^edallim; “was going and becoming weak”)” (2 Sam 3:1; see IBHS 625-26 §37.6d).
2. Jonah 1:11 tn The vav plus the imperfect conjugation verb וְיִשְׁתֹּק (v^eyishtoq, “to be quiet”) here denotes purpose/result (see IBHS 638-40 §38.3).
3. Jonah 1:12 tn Heb “quiet for you”; cf. NAB “that it may quiet down for you.”
4. Jonah 1:12 sn Heb “on my account.” Jonah and the sailors appear to show dialectical sensitivity to each other in how they say this. See the note at v. 8.
5. Jonah 1:13 sn The word translated row is used in Ezekiel to describe digging through a wall (Ezek 8:8; 12:5, 7, 12). Its use in Jonah pictures the sailors digging into the water with their oars as hard as they could.
6. Jonah 1:13 sn The word for land here is associated with a Hebrew verb meaning “to be dry” and is the same noun used in v. 9 of dry ground in contrast with the sea, both made by the Lord (see also Gen 1:9-10; Exod 4:9; 14:16, 22, 29; Jonah 2:10).
7. Jonah 1:13 tn Heb “but they were not able.” The phrase “to do so” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8. Jonah 1:13 tn Heb “the sea was going and storming.” See the note on the same idiom in v. 11.