John Calvin Commentary Jonah 4:6-8

"And Jehovah God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his evil case. So Jonah was exceeding glad because of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd, that it withered. 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 4:6-8 (ASV)

Before I proceed to discuss the contents of these verses, I will say a few things about the word קיקיון, kikiun; for there were formerly some disputes regarding this word. Some render it as a gourd (eucurbitam); others think it to have been a cucumber. Free conjectures are commonly made regarding obscure and unknown things.

However, the first rendering has been the accepted one. Augustine says that a tumult arose in a certain church when the Bishop read the new interpretation of Jerome, who said that it was ivy. Those men were certainly thoughtless and foolish who were so offended over such a trivial matter, for they should have inquired more carefully which version was the best and most correct.

Augustine did not act very wisely in this affair, for superstition so possessed him that he was unwilling for the accepted version of the Old Testament to be changed. He indeed willingly allowed Jerome to translate the New Testament from the Greek original, but he would not have the Old Testament touched. He entertained a suspicion of the Jews—that as they were the most inveterate enemies of the faith, they would have tried to falsify the Law and the Prophets.

Since Augustine had this suspicion, he preferred retaining the common version. Jerome relates that he was slandered in Rome because he had translated it as ivy instead of gourd. However, he answered Augustine in a very severe and almost angry manner, and he inveighed with great displeasure against a certain Cornelius and another named Asinius Polio, who had accused him in Rome of being guilty of sacrilege because he had changed this word.

I cannot offer as an excuse that they peevishly rejected what was probable. But as to the thing itself, I would rather retain in this place the word gourd or cucumber than cause any disturbance over an unimportant matter. Jerome himself confesses that it was not ivy, for he says that it was a kind of shrub and that it grows everywhere in Syria. He says that it was a shrub supported by its own stem, which is not the case with ivy; for ivy, unless it clings to a wall or a tree, creeps on the ground.

It could not, then, have been ivy, and he should not have translated it that way. He excuses himself, saying that if he had used the Hebrew word, many would have imagined it to be a beast or a serpent. He therefore wished to use something that was known.

But he might also have caused many doubts, such as: "Ivy is said to have ascended over Jonah's head and afforded him shade; how could this have been?" Now, I wonder why Jerome says in one place that the shrub was called Cicion in the Syriac language in his time, and he says in another place in his Commentaries that it was called Elkeroa in the same language—which we see is entirely different from the word קיקיון, kikiun.

Now, when he answered Augustine, I do not doubt that he dissembled, for he knew that Augustine did not understand Hebrew; he therefore trifled with him as with an ignorant child. It seems to have been some new gloss—I know not what—invented at the time for his own convenience. I do not doubt that he coined the word at that moment, as there is some affinity between קיקיון, kikiun, and cicion.

However it may have been, whether it was a gourd or a shrub, it is not necessary to dispute much about how it could have grown so quickly to such a large size. Jerome says that it was a shrub with many leaves and that it grew to the size of a vine. So be it; but this shrub does not grow in one day, nor in two, nor in three days.

It must, therefore, have been something extraordinary. Neither ivy, nor a gourd, nor any shrub, nor any tree could have grown so quickly as to provide cover for Jonah's head. Nor did this shrub alone shelter Jonah’s head, for it is more probable that its shade was in addition to that from the booth he had made for himself.

Jonah, then, not only sheltered himself under the shrub but also had the booth as an additional cover when he was not adequately protected from the sun's heat. Therefore, God added this shrub to the shade provided by the booth, for in those regions, as we know, the sun is very hot; and furthermore, as we shall see, it was an extraordinary heat.

I wished to say this much about the word translated as "ivy," and I have spoken more than I intended. But as there have been contentions about the subject in the past, I wished to note what might be satisfactory even to curious readers. I come now to what is contained in this passage.

Jonah tells us that a gourd, or a cucumber, or an ivy, was prepared by the Lord. There is no doubt that this shrub grew in an unusual manner, so that it might be a cover for Jonah's booth. This is how I view the passage.

But God, we know, often works close to nature even when He does something beyond its ordinary course. This is not, indeed, always the case, but we generally find that God works in such a way that He exceeds the course of nature, and yet He does not wholly depart from nature.

For when He intended to gather a great quantity of quails in the desert, so that He might give meat to the people, He raised a wind from the east (Numbers 11:31). How often did winds blow without bringing such an abundance of birds? It was therefore a miracle. Yet God did not wholly disregard natural means; therefore, He used the wind, even though the wind could not by itself bring these birds.

So also in this place, God had chosen, I have no doubt, a plant which quickly grew to a great height, and yet far surpassed the usual course of nature. In this sense, then, God is said to have prepared the קיקיון, kikiun, and to have made it grow over Jonah’s head, so that it might be a shade for his head and free him from his distress.

But it is said afterwards that a worm was prepared. We see here also that what seemed to happen by chance was yet directed by the hidden providence of God. If anyone should say that what is narrated here does not commonly happen, but happened only once;

to this I answer—that though God then designed to exhibit a wonderful example worthy of being remembered, it is yet always true that even the gnawing of worms is directed by the counsel of God, so that neither a plant nor a tree withers apart from His purpose. The same truth is declared by Christ when He says, that without the Father’s appointment the sparrows fall not on the ground (Matthew 10:29). So much for the worm.

It is now added, that when the sun arose the day following, a wind was prepared. We learn the same thing here—that winds do not rise of themselves, or by chance, but are stirred up by divine power.

There may indeed be found causes in nature why the air is now tranquil and then disturbed by winds, but God’s purpose regulates all these intermediate causes, so that this is always true—that nature is not some blind impulse, but a law settled by the will of God.

God then always regulates by His own counsel and hand whatever happens. The only difference is that His works which flow in the usual course are called nature, while those events where God changes their accustomed course are miracles and do not retain the name of nature; yet they all proceed from God as their author.

Therefore, with regard to this wind, we must understand that it was not usual or common. And yet, winds are daily stirred up by God’s providence no less than this wind of which Jonah speaks. But God worked then, so to speak, beyond the usual course of nature, though He daily preserves the regular order of nature itself.

Let us now see why this whole narrative has been recorded. Jonah confesses that he rejoiced with great joy when he was sheltered from the extreme heat of the sun; but when the shrub withered, he was so overcome with grief that he wished to die.

There is nothing superfluous here, for Jonah shows, with regard to his joy and his grief, how sensitive he was and how susceptible to both.

Jonah here confesses his own sensitivity, first by saying that he greatly rejoiced, and then by saying that he was so grieved over the withered shrub that, out of weariness of life, he instantly desired death.

There is, then, here a candid confession of weakness, for Jonah, in a very straightforward manner, has mentioned both his joy and his grief.

But he has clearly expressed the intensity of both feelings, so that we might know that he was carried away by his strong emotions, so that over the smallest things he was either inflamed with anger or elated with joy beyond all bounds. This, then, was the case with him in his grief as well as in his joy.

But he does not say that he prayed as before; instead, he uses the word שאל, shal, which signifies to desire or wish. He desired, it is said, for his soul that he might die. It is therefore probable that Jonah was so overwhelmed with grief that he did not lift his heart to God; and yet we see that he was not neglected by God: