Jonah 2:2

Jonah 2:2

And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

a. ASV: And he said, I called by reason of mine affliction unto Jehovah, And he answered me; Out of the belly of Sheol cried I, And thou heardest my voice.

b. YLT: And he saith: I called, because of my distress, to Jehovah, And He doth answer me, From the belly of sheol I have cried, Thou hast heard my voice.

c. Classic Amplified: And said, I cried out of my distress to the Lord, and He heard me; out of the belly of Sheol cried I, and You heard my voice.

d. Septuagint [Jonah 2:2 in our Bible is Jonah 2:3 in the Septuagint]: and said, I cried in my affliction to the Lord my God, and he hearkened to me, [even] to my cry out of the belly of hell: thou heardest my voice.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/ Writings [Jonah 2:2 in our Bible is Jonah 2:3 in the Jewish Bible]: And said, I called, in my distress, to HASHEM, and He answered me; From the belly of the grave I cried out, You heard my voice. 

1. “And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me…”

a. [And] said [Strong: 559 'amar aw-mar' a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):--answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, + (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, X desire, determine, X expressly, X indeed, X intend, name, X plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), X still, X suppose, talk, tell, term, X that is, X think, use (speech), utter, X verily, X yet.]

b. [I] cried [Strong: 7121 qara' kaw-raw' a primitive root (rather identical with 7122 through the idea of accosting a person met); to call out to (i.e. properly, address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications):--bewray (self), that are bidden, call (for, forth, self, upon), cry (unto), (be) famous, guest, invite, mention, (give) name, preach, (make) proclaim(- ation), pronounce, publish, read, renowned, say.]

c. [by reason of my] affliction [Strong: 6869 tsarah tsaw-raw' feminine of 6862; tightness (i.e. figuratively, trouble); transitively, a female rival:--adversary, adversity, affliction, anguish, distress, tribulation, trouble.]

d. unto [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).]

e. [the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw' from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

f. [and he] heard [me] [Strong: 6030 `anah aw-naw' a primitive root; properly, to eye or (generally) to heed, i.e. pay attention; by implication, to respond; by extens. to begin to speak; specifically to sing, shout, testify, announce:--give account, afflict (by mistake for 6031), (cause to, give) answer, bring low (by mistake for 6031), cry, hear, Leannoth, lift up, say, X scholar, (give a) shout, sing (together by course), speak, testify, utter, (bear) witness.]

2. “...out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.”

a. [out of the] belly [Strong: 990 beten beh'-ten from an unused root probably meaning to be hollow; the belly, especially the womb; also the bosom or body of anything:-- belly, body, + as they be born, + within, womb.]

b. [of] hell [Strong: 7585 sh'owl sheh-ole' or shol {sheh-ole'}; from 7592; Hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranean retreat), including its accessories and inmates:--grave, hell, pit.]

c. cried [I] [Strong: 7768 shava` shaw-vah' a primitive root; properly, to be free; but used only causatively and reflexively, to halloo (for help, i.e. freedom from some trouble):--cry (aloud, out), shout.]

d. [and thou] heardest [Strong: 8085 shama` shaw-mah' a primitive root; to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.):--X attentively, call (gather) together, X carefully, X certainly, consent, consider, be content, declare, X diligently, discern, give ear, (cause to, let, make to) hear(-ken, tell), X indeed, listen, make (a) noise, (be) obedient, obey, perceive, (make a) proclaim(-ation), publish, regard, report, shew (forth), (make a) sound, X surely, tell, understand, whosoever (heareth), witness.]

e. [my] voice [Strong: 6963 qowl kole or qol {kole}; from an unused root meaning to call aloud; a voice or sound:--+ aloud, bleating, crackling, cry (+ out), fame, lightness, lowing, noise, + hold peace, (pro-)claim, proclamation, + sing, sound, + spark, thunder(-ing), voice, + yell.]

1). Jonah prayed from the belly of the fish (Jonah 2:1), and from the belly of hell (Jonah 2:2). Both times Jonah knew God heard him. Scholars teach that from the language that this is sort of a prayer of thanksgiving. Could it be a prayer of thanksgiving in that Jonah knew that he would be delivered ? I don’t know. I am not a Hebrew scholar. I tend to lean toward the teaching that Jonah died and went to hell. The language used gives me that belief.