ספר יונה · Sefer Yonah
Flight, return and compassion | 4 Chapters | 48 Verses | 9 Study Units
Complete Radak with full translation, selected classical commentaries, explanations and questions from the text.
Chapters
- Chapter 1 · The prophet who runs — Yonah 1:1-16, Units 1-3
- Chapter 2 · Prayer from the depths — Yonah 2:1-11, Units 4-5
- Chapter 3 · A city turns back — Yonah 3:1-10, Units 6-7
- Chapter 4 · The reach of compassion — Yonah 4:1-11, Units 8-9
Supplementary
- The Gra · An inner reading — a symbolic overview, separate from the verse-by-verse peshat
- Yonah at Yom Kippur Minha — the reading, and the question it asks of its listeners
- Sources and translation notes — texts used, editions consulted, editorial decisions
How to use this booklet
Read the verse aloud, then learn Radak. The English follows his argument in full, including alternative readings and grammatical notes. The key-point notes explain the main idea; supplementary sections introduce selected additional sources.
Each unit is a natural stopping point, not a timed assignment. Take as long as the text needs. Choose two or three questions for discussion, and point to the words that support your answers. All the questions refer to a verse or source included here.
Chapter 1 retains the supplied translation as its basis, with corrections and small restorations. Chapters 2-4 and the new supplementary selections have been translated for this booklet. Biblical translation remains separate from commentary. Where Hebrew admits more than one reading, the commentary explains the alternatives.
Verse numbering follows the Hebrew Tanakh: the fish is introduced at 2:1; Chapter 1 ends at 1:16. The Gra overview and the Yom Kippur synthesis follow Chapter 4.
Study Units
| Unit | Verses | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:1-3 | The Call and the Flight |
| 2 | 1:4-10 | The Storm and the Sailors |
| 3 | 1:11-16 | Responsibility and Mercy |
| 4 | 2:1-5 | Prayer from the depths |
| 5 | 2:6-11 | Survival, loyalty and release |
| 6 | 3:1-5 | The mission accepted |
| 7 | 3:6-10 | What repentance changes |
| 8 | 4:1-5 | Why is Yonah angry? |
| 9 | 4:6-11 | Learning to care |
Commentators
Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi, Provence, c. 1160-1235) — the complete commentary on all four chapters, translated in full, including his alternative readings and grammatical notes.
Malbim (Rabbi Meir Leibush Wisser, 1809-1879) — selected comments on the psychology of Yonah’s flight and the moral position of the sailors.
Rashi and Metzudat Tziyon — selected comments where they open a distinct reading.
Sefer Yonah is read as the haftarah at Minha on Yom Kippur. See Yonah at Yom Kippur Minha for the sources behind that practice.