Jonah 4:10

Footnotes

1. 33 Heb “were troubled.” The verb חוּס (khus) has a basic three-fold range of meanings: (1) “to be troubled about,” (2) “to look with compassion upon,” and (3) “to show pity, to spare [someone from death/judgment]” ( חוס; 299 חוּס). Clearly, here God is referring to Jonah’s remorse and anger when the plant died (vv. 7–9), so here it means “to be troubled about” ( 1.c) rather than “to pity” ( 299 c). Elsewhere חוּס describes emotional grief caused by the loss of property (Gen 45:20) and the death of family members (Deut 13:9 [ 13:8]). The verb חוּס is derived from a common Semitic root which has a basic meaning “to pour out; to flow” which is used in reference to emotion and tears in particular. This is seen in the Hebrew expression תָחוּס עֵין (takhush ’en, “the eyes flow”) picturing tears of concern and grief (c.f., Gen 45:20; Deut 13:9 [ 13:8]). The verb חוּס will be used again in v. 11 but in a different sense (see note on v. ).
2. 34 The noun קִיקָיוֹן (qiqayon, “plant”) has the suffixed ending וֹן- which denotes a diminutive (see §5.7b); so it can be nuanced “little plant.” The contrast between Jonah’s concern for his “little” plant (v. 10) and God’s concern about this “enormous” city (v. 11) could not be greater! Jonah’s misplaced priorities look exceedingly foolish and self-centered in comparison to God’s global concern about the fate of 120,000 pagans.
3. 35 Heb “which was a son of a night and perished [as] a son of a night.”