prepared to die for it!” “Could any satirist have drawn his portrait more deftly?” (Good, 53). Jonah is well and truly cornered! But while Jonah has maneuvered himself into an absurd position, Yahweh still cares for him and does not let him go. With kindness and a good dose of ironic patience, he proceeds to teach Jonah a lesson from the Ricinus: “You are concerned about the Ricinus.” Hebrew hus normally is rendered “to pity” (RSV “you pity the plant”). In rabbinical Hebrew, however, hus means