God sent Jonah to Nineveh with a prophecy of pending destruction. The people repented and God spared them.
This upset Jonah who went and sat on the east side of the city. He wanted to see what would happen next.
6. And the Lord God appointed a gourd, and made it grow over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to save him from his distress. And Jonah was exceedingly glad of the gourd.
7. And, when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm, and it attacked the gourd so that it withered.
8. And it came to pass, when the sun rose, that God appointed a hot east wind; and the sun beat down upon the head of Jonah, so that he fainted, and wished to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
9. And God said to Jonah: Do you do well to be so angry for the gourd? And he said: I do well to be so angry, even to death.
10. Then the Lord said, You had concern for the gourd, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night;
11. And should I not spare Nineveh, that great city, where there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also many animals?
What is Jonah’s Gourd?
In this passage, “gourd” is the translation of the Hebrew “kikayon.” This word appears only in the Book of Jonah and only in these few verses.
Ibn Ezra writes that the sages in Spain say its a pumpkin, gourd, or squash. This statement is probably why many English translations call it Jonah’s gourd.
Ibn Ezra makes the additional point that it’s not necessary to know the identity of the kikayon.
But, we’re curious and wonder: what is the kikayon?
The Gemara has a discussion of what oils may be used for Shabbat candles.
[You may not light] with kik oil. What is kik oil? …
Resh Lakish said: Oil from Jonah’s kikayon.
Rabbah bar Bar Hanah said: I myself have seen Jonah’s kikayon; it resembles the ricinus tree and grows in ditches. It is set up at the entrance of shops; and from its kernels oil is manufactured, and under its branches rest all the sick of Israel.
The ricinus tree is known as the castor bean or castor oil plant.
The University of Wisconsin Horticulture Extension writes:
Castor bean is native to tropical east Africa around Ethiopia … Plants are typically found in moist, well-drained soils …
Castor bean is an evergreen herbaceous or semi-woody large shrub or small tree. This robust tender perennial can grow to 40 feet tall …
The alternate, star-shaped leaves on long petioles can grow over 2½ feet across.
It’s reasonable to translate kikayon as castor bean plant. However, I’ve stuck with gourd because that is used in many English translations.
God Appointed
The phrase “God appointed” appears in 4 verses in the Book of Jonah. We read that God appointed a:
- large fish [2:1]
- gourd [4:6]
- worm [4:7]
- hot east wind [4:8]
The word “appointed” is from the 3-letter root mem-nun-hey. It can be translated as appointed, designated, prepared, or sent.
Notice that every use of the phrase “God appointed” is related to God’s treatment of Jonah.
God is teaching Jonah that He is in charge of every detail of what is happening to Jonah.
Case in point: the castor bean plant can grow to grow 40 feet tall, but that takes years, not overnight!
No matter how big the plant grew, a single worm destroyed it in a short time. After that Jonah suffered from the hot east wind.
God is in control and He uses agents in the natural world to accomplish His purpose [Daat Mikra].
Jonah 4 – Verse by Verse
Let’s now look briefly at each verse in this section.
Jonah 4:6
And the Lord God appointed a gourd, and made it grow over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to save him from his distress. And Jonah was exceedingly glad of the gourd.
Jonah had made a shelter for himself. He was sitting on the east side of the city for 40 days to see what would happen to the Nineveh (verse 4:5). Perhaps his shelter had withered during that time and was no longer sheltering him. God is teaching Jonah a lesson about His care for all of His creation. [Radak]
There is a hidden rebuke of Jonah here. He was not able to withstand the sun but he wanted to oppose God’s management of the world. [Daat Mikra]
Jonah 4:7
And, when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm, and it attacked the gourd so that it withered.
The worm attacked the gourd at its base and cut it off from the moisture of the ground.
Jonah 4:8
And it came to pass, when the sun rose, that God appointed a hot east wind; and the sun beat down upon the head of Jonah, so that he fainted, and wished to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
This dry east wind corresponds to the mighty storm wind of verse 1:4.
Jonah resented God’s way of running of the world and being merciful to the people of Nineveh (verse 4:3). So too, he resented the death of the gourd. [Daat Mikra]
Jonah 4:9
And God said to Jonah: Do you do well to be so angry for the gourd? And he said: I do well to be so angry, even to death.
Malbim summarizes the verse this way:
God: Is it appropriate to be so angry over such an insignificant thing?
Jonah: Yes, because without it the heat is injuring me and leading me toward death.
Jonah 4:10
Then the Lord said, You had concern for the gourd, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night;
You have concern for the gourd only because you need its shade. This is the only reason for your concern. If you had worked for it, then you would care about the loss of your labor. But you don’t even have any labor invested in it. [Malbim]
You did not plow the land, sow the seed, or water it. [Rashi]
Even though God did not “labor” when He created the world, He speaks here in the way people speak and understand. [Radak]
Jonah 4:11
And should I not spare Nineveh, that great city, where there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also many animals?
There is a dispute about the identity of those “who cannot discern.” According to Rashi these are children. But Malbim writes these are adults who don’t know the difference between worshiping God or worshiping idols.
Metzudat David summarizes: The children and the animals have not done anything that deserves punishment. The adults who did deserve punishment have repented. God says about each of these groups that it is proper that He should be concerned about them.
God’s Lesson for Jonah
What is the meaning of Jonah 4? Where else is Jonah mentioned in the Bible?
The following summary is based on the writings of Dr. Mendel Hirsch (a son of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch) in his book The Twelve Prophets.
The Book of Jonah teaches us that God is ever-present and working out His will. That idea is mentioned above in the discussion of God appointing various objects to fulfill His will.
We also learn that God cares for all of His creation. True, there is a special relationship between God and the Jewish people. Even so, God cares for and has mercy on the rest of His creation.
But why is the prophet Jonah the main focus of this book?
According to Dr. Hirsch, the events in the Book of Jonah are teaching us about Jonah’s first prophetic mission.
As we know, a prophet is a person on an extremely high spiritual level.
Even so, that person needs to be trained as a prophet. The Book of Jonah shows us how God is educating Jonah to be a prophet.
We know that the training was successful.
The prophet Jonah is mentioned one other time in the Bible, in the Book of Kings.
25. He [Jeroboam king of Israel] restored the border of Israel … according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gath-Hepher.
According to Dr. Hirsch, the event in 2 Kings came after Jonah’s mission to Nineveh.
Jonah learned the lessons that God was teaching him. In this verse Jonah is called “His servant.” There are very few people mentioned in the Bible who merit that level of praise.
Further Reading
The Book of Jonah is read during the afternoon of Yom Kippur. I have some other articles about Yom Kippur and repentance.