Jonah study section
Jonah word studies
A handful of Hebrew words carry the theology of Jonah. Tap the speaker next to any word to hear it pronounced.
Key words
קָרָא (qara) — “To Call, Cry Out”
Usage: Jonah 1:2, 6, 14; 2:2; 3:2, 4, 8
Meaning: To call, proclaim, cry out. It describes God’s call to Jonah, Jonah’s proclamation, and everyone’s crying out to God.
Theological Significance: The word ties the book together: God calls, the prophet proclaims, the perishing cry out for mercy. It anticipates the gospel call to all nations and the promise that all who call on the Lord are saved (Jonah 3:2; Romans 10:13).
שׁוּב (shuv) — “To Turn, Repent”
Usage: Jonah 3:8-10
Meaning: To turn, return, repent. Nineveh “turned from” its evil way.
Theological Significance: Shuv names the genuine repentance that God honors, even among pagans. It shows that the repentance the gospel demands is possible for all peoples, and that God delights to forgive those who turn (Jonah 3:10; Acts 11:18).
נִחַם (nicham) — “To Relent, Have Compassion”
Usage: Jonah 3:9-10; 4:2
Meaning: To relent, be moved to pity, change course out of compassion. God “relented” over the disaster.
Theological Significance: God’s relenting toward the repentant reveals His merciful heart. It is the very attribute Jonah resented but that the gospel celebrates, fully displayed in Christ, who came to save and not to condemn (Jonah 4:2; John 3:17).
חֶסֶד (chesed) — “Steadfast Love”
Usage: Jonah 2:8; 4:2
Meaning: Steadfast, covenant love; loyal mercy and kindness. God is “abounding in steadfast love.”
Theological Significance: Jonah quotes the great creed of God’s character (Exodus 34:6). This chesed reaches its fullness in Christ, in whom God’s steadfast love is poured out on Jew and Gentile alike (Jonah 4:2; Ephesians 2:4-7).
חוּס (chus) — “To Pity, Spare”
Usage: Jonah 4:10-11
Meaning: To pity, have compassion on, spare. God asks, “Should not I pity Nineveh?”
Theological Significance: Chus names the tender compassion at the book’s climax. God’s pity on a lost city reveals the heart of the Father who “so loved the world” that He gave His Son to save the perishing (Jonah 4:11; John 3:16).
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