Charles Ellicott Commentary Jonah 4:8

"And it came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live." — Jonah 4:8 (ASV)

Vehement east wind. —The derivation from a root meaning silent points to what travellers describe as the “quiet kind of sirocco,” which is often more overpowering than the more boisterous kind. (See Thomson, The Land and the Book, pp. 536, 537.) Ewald, however, derives differently, and makes it a rough, scrapy, stingy wind.

Fainted. —See Jonah 2:7. Here it is the effect of sunstroke; in Amos 8:13, of thirst.

Wished in himself to die. —Literally, wished his soul to die. (Compare to 1 Kings 19:4.)

It is better. —The italics are unnecessary and weaken the passage: Better my death than my life. Physical suffering was now added to the prophet’s chagrin and, as usual, contributed to the moral depression. It seemed much worse that the logical consistency of Jonah’s teaching should go for nothing now that he was so uncomfortable.