And Jonas rose up to flee into Tharsis from the face of the Lord, and he went down to Joppe, and found a ship going to Tharsis: and he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tharsis from the face of the Lord.
Rashi
to flee to Tarshish—I.e, to a sea named Tarshish, which is outside the Holy Land. He said, “I will flee to the sea, for the Shechinah does not rest outside the Holy Land.” Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him, “By your life, I have messengers like you to send after you and fetch you from there.” This is illustrated by an allegory of a priest’s slave who fled from his master and entered a cemetery [making it impossible for his master to retrieve him]. His master said to him, “I have slaves like you to send after you and fetch you from there.” Now what did Jonah see that he did not wish to go to Nineveh? He said, “The gentiles are quick to repent. Should I prophesy to them and they repent, I will be found condemning Israel, who do not heed the words of the prophets.” [from Mechilta, Exodus 12:1]
and he paid its hire—He paid its hire in advance; although it is not customary for those embarking upon the sea to pay the hire of the ship until they leave, he paid in advance. [Pirké d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 10; Tanhuma, Vayikra 8].
Hebrew and Aramaic words are the commentator’s citations of the sacred text; the English translation that follows each is the translator’s.
Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.