Jonah 1:5 reads: But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. Page and Smith argue thus:
There he sank into an extremely deep sleep, almost a hypnotic sleep. The same root (rdm) is used in Gen. 2:21 for the sleep of Adam that allowed for ’surgery.’1
Jesus argues that as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.2 This resurrection analogy is conspicuous in the text; however the Adamic analogy is rarely, if ever mentioned. There is a superb contrast being played in the text. Adam’s deep sleep brought about life in Eve (though in one sense, Eve brought death to us all via Adam’s headship). It was through Adam, that Eve came into existence. However, in Jonah’s deep sleep, there was no new life; no repentance. Rather, he awoke to the consequences of his disobedience. His judgment and curse led him to Sheol; the belly of the great fish. One awakens to life and another to death; a continual cycle of the Deuteronomic blessings and curses, life and death.
Footnotes
- Smith, K. Billy, Page, S. Frank. The New American Commentary. Amos, Obadiah, Jonah. Volume 19B. Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1995. Pg. 232. [↩ back]
- Matthew 12:40 [↩ back]
