1:1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. 4 And the LORD hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up. 5 Then the sailors became afraid, and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down, and fallen sound asleep. 6 So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.” (Jonah 1:1-6, NASB)

Note on chapter 1: Most of the first questions are fact finding questions and are brief to answer. Don’t get caught up there; make sure you go to the end and discuss the more important questions towards the end of the basic study.

Basic Study Questions

Basic study questions are largely derived from the text and a general understanding of the Bible and historical background. Advanced questions require more thought and research.

Jonah 1:1-6

1. What do we know about Jonah from verse 1? What else do we know about Jonah from 2 Kings 14:45?

2. What did the Word of the Lord do in Jonah 1:1? What might that mean?

3. What was the message that Jonah heard (1:2)? What do you know of Nineveh? (If possible, learn a few more things about Nineveh.) From verse 2, how died God describe Nineveh?

4. What do you think the phrase “come up before Me” from verse 2 means? Did God not know the evil from before? Expand on this as you look at Genesis 6:13.

5. How did Jonah respond to God’s call (1:3)? Jonah was probably living in Israel when he received this call. Where is Tarshish and Nineveh in relationship to Israel? What did this reveal about Jonah? {Some commentators believe Tarshish was a place in modern day Spain, but it is not certain; Tarsus, Paul’s birthplace, is an alternative place.}

6. Have you ever run away from God to avoid what He wanted? Was it because you were: distracted, too busy, felt like you couldn’t, didn’t want to give up what you were doing, etc.? Why? Explain.

7. What happened to Jonah’s plans (1:4)? How did the sailors respond (1:5)?

8. How could Jonah sleep while everyone else was panicking for their lives (1:5-6)?

=> Jonah chapter 1:7-17 study questions