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1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. 4 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. 6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. 7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. 8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? 9 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. 10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. 11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. 12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. 13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. 14 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. 15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows. 17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
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[AD 220] Tertullian on Jonah 1:1-3
In trying to run away from the Lord, you show up the fickleness of all who plan flight. A certain headstrong prophet also had run away from the Lord, crossing the sea from Joppa to Tarsus, as if he could escape from God. But God found him not on land or on sea but in the belly of a beast, where for three days he could not die or even in that way escape from the eyes of God. Is that man not better off who, though he fears the enemy of God, does not flee from but despises him? Who trusts in the protection of God or, if you will, has an even greater fear of God, having stood the longer in his eyes? He says, “He is the Lord, he is mighty, all things are his, and wherever I shall be I am in his hands. Let him do what he will, I shall not run away. If he wishes me to die, let him destroy me, as long as I faithfully serve him. Much would I rather bring odium on him, by dying according to his will, than to live by my own cowardice.”

Source: ON FLIGHT IN TIME OF PERSECUTION 10:2
[AD 311] Methodius of Olympus on Jonah 1:1
The history of Jonah contains a great mystery. For it seems that the whale signifies Time, which never stands still, but is always going on, and consumes the things which are made by long and shorter intervals. But Jonah, who fled from the presence of God, is himself the first man who, having transgressed the law, fled from being seen naked of immortality, having lost through sin his confidence in the Deity. And the ship in which he embarked, and which was tempest-tossed, is this brief and hard life in the present time; just as though we had turned and removed from that blessed and secure life, to that which was most tempestuous and unstable, as from solid land to a ship. For what a ship is to the land, that our present life is to that which is immortal. And the storm and the tempests which beat against us are the temptations of this life, which in the world, as in a tempestuous sea, do not permit us to have a fair voyage free from pain, in a calm sea, and one which is free from evils. And the casting of Jonah from the ship into the sea, signifies the fall of the first man from life to death, who received that sentence because, through having sinned, he fell from righteousness: "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," [Gen. iii. 19]. And his being swallowed by the whale signifies our inevitable removal by time. For the belly in which Jonah, when he was swallowed, was concealed, is the all-receiving earth, which receives all things which are consumed by time.
[AD 390] Gregory of Nazianzus on Jonah 1:1-3
But there Jonah calls upon God, and marvelous as it is, on the third day, he, like Christ, is delivered.… In my own case, what could be said? What defense could be made if I remained unsettled and rejected the yoke of ministry, which, though I know not whether to call it light or heavy, had at any rate been laid upon me.… On this account I had much toilsome consideration to discover my duty, being set in the middle between two fears, of which the one held me back and the other urged me on. For a long while I was at a loss between them. After wavering from side to side, and, like a current driven by inconstant winds, inclining first in this direction then in that, I at last yielded to the stronger. The fear of disobedience overcame me.

Source: IN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:109-12
[AD 390] Gregory of Nazianzus on Jonah 1:1-3
Jonah knew better than anyone the purpose of his message to the Ninevites and that, in planning his flight, although he changed his location, he did not escape from God. Nor is this possible for anyone else, either by concealing himself in the bosom of the earth, or in the depths of the sea, or by soaring on wings, if there be any means of doing so, and rising into the air, or by abiding in the lowest depths of hell, or by any other of the many devices for ensuring escape. For God alone of all things cannot be escaped from or contended with. If he wills to seize and bring them under his hand, he outstrips the swift. He outwits the wise. He overthrows the strong. He cuts down the lofty. He subdues rashness. He resists power.

Source: Oration 2:108
[AD 390] Gregory of Nazianzus on Jonah 1:1
Jonah knew better than anyone the purpose of his message to the Ninevites and that, in planning his flight, although he changed his location, he did not escape from God. Nor is this possible for anyone else, either by concealing himself in the bosom of the earth, or in the depths of the sea, or by soaring on wings, if there be any means of doing so, and rising into the air, or by abiding in the lowest depths of hell, or by any other of the many devices for ensuring escape. For God alone of all things cannot be escaped from or contended with. If he wills to seize and bring them under his hand, he outstrips the swift. He outwits the wise. He overthrows the strong. He cuts down the lofty. He subdues rashness. He resists power.
[AD 390] Gregory of Nazianzus on Jonah 1:1
What then is the story, and wherein lies its application? For, perhaps, it would not be amiss to relate it, for its general validation. Jonah also was fleeing from the face of God, or rather, thought that he was fleeing. But he was overtaken by the sea, and the storm, and the lot, and the whale’s belly, and the three days’ entombment. All this is a type of a greater mystery. He fled from having to announce the dread of the awful message to the Ninevites and from being subsequently, if the city was saved by repentance, convicted of falsehood. It was not that he was displeased at the salvation of the wicked, but he was ashamed of being made an instrument of falsehood and exceedingly zealous for the credit of prophecy, which was in danger of being destroyed in his own person. Indeed most would be unable to penetrate the depth of the divine dispensation in such cases.
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:1
About three years have now passed since I first started writing the commentaries on the five Prophets, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Haggai. Detained by another work, I was not able to finish what I had undertaken. For I was writing a book on famous men and two volumes against Jovinian, an apology and an essay on 'the best way to translate', which was addressed to Pammachius, two books to or about Nepotian, and other works which it would be lengthy to recount. Therefore I retake up my commentaries with Jonah after such a long absence. Jonah, a type of Saviour, who prefiguring the resurrection of the Lord by spending "three days and three nights in the belly of a whale" [Mt. 12:40], was able to attain the first ardour so that we might deserve the arrival of the Holy Spirit to us. If indeed Jonah is to be translated as 'dove', and if the dove can be seen as the Holy Spirit, then we can also interpret the Dove as signifying the dove's entrance into us. I know that some classical authors, both Latin and Greek, have spoken much about this book, and through all of their Questions have less enlightened than obscured the ideas, so that in effect their interpretation needs to be interpreted and with the result that the reader comes away feeling less sure of the meaning than beforehand. I am not saying this to criticise these great minds, to abase others in order to extol myself, but rather because it is the place of the commentator to clarify in short and clearly what is obscure; they should be less concerned with displaying their eloquence than with explaining the meaning of the author. We ask therefore where else the prophet Jonah appears in the Holy Scriptures apart from this book and the allusion made to him by the Lord in the Gospels [Mt. 12:39, Luke 11:30]. And if I am not mistaken he is mentioned in the book of Kings in this way: "in the fifth year of Amasiah, the son of Joash, King of Judah, began to rule the son of Jeroboam son of Joash King of Israel in Samaria, for forty-one years. He did much wickedness before the Lord and did not distance himself from all the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. He re-established the frontier of Israel in Samaria from the entrance of Emathia to the Sea of Solitude, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which was spoken by the mouth of his servant Jonah, son of Amittai the prophet, from Gath which is in Ofer." [4 Kings 14:23-25] The Hebrews recount that he was the son of the widow of Sarepta, incited by the prophet Elijah; his mother later said to him, "I know now that you are indeed a man of God, and that the word of God is truly in your mouth" [3 Kings 17:24]; on account of this the child was called Truth. For Amittai in Hebrew can be rendered 'truth' in our language, and because Elijah spoke true, he who was encouraged was called the son of Truth. And Gath is located two miles from Sepphoris, which is now called Diocaesarea, when you are travelling to Tiberia: there is a small castle where his tomb can be seen. Others, however, prefer to place his birth and tomb near Diospolis, which is in Lydia. They do not see that when he writes 'Ofer', this is to distinguish Gath from other towns of this name that can be seen now near to Eleutheropolis or Diospolis. The book of Tobit, though not in the canon, is all the same used by the men of the Church, and it mentions Jonah when Tobit says to his son, "my son, I am old and ready to leave this life. Take your sons and go to Media, my son. For I know what the prophet Jonah has said about Nineveh: she will be destroyed" [Tob. 14:3]. And, indeed, according to the Hebrew and Greek historians, Herodotus in particular, we read that Nineveh was destroyed in the time of King Josiah according to the Hebrews, and King Astyage of the Medians. From this we understand that in the past Jonah predicted that the Ninivites would repent and seek pardon; but afterwards, as they persisted in their sins,they brought the judgement of God upon themselves. The Hebrew tradition is that Hosea, Amos, Isaiah and Jonah prophesied at the same time. This is historical tradition. Not forgetting the others of course: the venerable Pope Chromatius, who took great pains to recount to the Saviour the story of the prophet: he flees, he sleeps, he is thrown into the sea, he is swallowed by a whale, thrown back onto the shore and prays for repentance. And saddened by the safety of this town of many people, he finds comfort in the shade of a fig tree. There he is reproached by God for having taken more care of a green vine which had dried up, than of such a great number of men, and the other details I will try to explain in this volume. But to grasp the complete meaning of the prophet in this short preface there is no better interpretation than that which inspired the prophets and which marked out the lines of the truth of the future for its servants. He therefore speaks to the Jews who do not believe his words and are ignorant of Christ, the son of God: "the men of Nineveh will rise up at the time of judgement with that generation and they will condemn it, for they repented as Jonah required, and here there is more than Jonah!" [Mt. 12:41]. The generation of the Jews is condemned, while the world has faith and Nineveh repents, Israel the disbeliever dies. The Jews have the books themselves, we have the Lord of books; they hold the prophets, we have an understanding of the prophets; "the letter kills them", "the spirit makes us live" [2 Cor. 3:6]; with them Barabbas the robber is released, for us Christ the Son of God is freed.

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Prologue
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:1-2
"Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me." Apart from that which the Septuagint translates as, "the noise of their wickedness has risen up even to me", it has translated the rest similarly. Jonah is sent to the gentiles to condemn Israel, because Nineveh had to repent, but the Israelites still persisted in their sin. And when God says, "their wickedness has come up to me", or "the noise of their wickedness…" it is exactly the text of Genesis: "the noise of Sodom and of Gomorrah is very loud" [Gen. 18:20], and to Cain: "the blood of your brother cries to me from the earth" [Gen. 4:10]. According to tropology the Lord, our Jonah, that is to say 'dove' or 'suffering', (he is given both meaning, either because the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove and stays with him [Mark. 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32-33], or because he has suffered for our wounds, wept for Jerusalem [Luke 19:41], and because we have been cured by his malice [Is. 53:5]) is truly the son of Truth, for God is Truth [John 14:6]. He is sent to Nineveh the beautiful, that is to the world, where there is nothing more beautiful to our eyes than flesh. In Greek the idea of adornment is in the word cosmos. And when everything had been completed, each one by one, it was said, "and God saw that it was good" [Gen. 1:10]. It is to Nineveh that he goes, the great city, so that although Israel has not wanted to listen, the whole world of peoples will hear God's word. And this is because their wickedness has gone up to God. For although God had made the most beautiful house for man who was devoted to serving his creator, man deprived himself of this by his own will; from childhood his heart fixed upon wickedness [Gen. 8:21; 6:5]. He turned his face to the heaven [Ps. 72:9] and constructed a tower of pride [Gen 11]. He deserves then God to come down to him so that he may be able to rise to heaven by the destruction of repentance, he that did not succeed by the swell of pride.

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Jonah 1:1
The Divinely inspired Jonah was the son of Amittai, and came from Gath-hepher, a little city or town of the land of the Jews, so the story goes.
You could find Jonah uttering a great number of oracles to the Jewish people, transmitting the words from God on high and clearly foretelling the future. Though no other prophetic text from him is extant than this one, though, the divinely inspired Scripture confirms that he continued predicting to the Jewish masses what would happen in the future times.
[AD 865] Haimo of Auxerre on Jonah 1:1
The Hebrews say that Jonah was the son of a widow in Zarephath; Elijah raised him from the dead, and when he had been returned to his mother, she gave thanks, and said, "Now by this I know that you are a man of the Lord, and the word of the Lord in your mouth is true." (1Kings 17:24)
HAIMO They say that Jonah's grave is in Geth, which is in Ophir. Others speak of his birth and burial in Lydda, that is, Diospolis.
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Jonah 1:2
That is to be understood as nothing else than excess of their wickedness.
[AD 390] Gregory of Nazianzus on Jonah 1:3
He left Joppa, which in Hebrew it means ‘beautiful’.
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:3
[Daniel 10:6] "And his body was like chrysolite." For "chrysolite," one of the twelve gems inserted in the oracular breastplate of the high priest, the Hebrew has trs'ys (tharsis) , a word which Theodotion and Symmachus simply left unchanged in transcription; but the Septuagint called it "the sea," according to the usage in the Psalms: "With a violent gale Thou dashest the ships of Tharsis in pieces," i.e., "the ships of the sea" (Psalm 48:7). Jonah, also, was desirous of fleeing, not to Tarsus, the Cilician city (as most people suppose, substituting one letter for another), nor to some region in India (as Josephus imagines), but simply out to the high seas in general (Jonah 1:3).

Source: St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER TEN
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:3
"But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD." The Septuagint here is similar. The prophet knows by an inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that the repentance of the people is the destruction of the Jews. In this situation it is not that he is trying to save Nineveh, but that moreover he does not want to see it destroyed. In another place Moses prays for his people: "if you can spare them this sin, spare them; if not, erase me from your book that you have written" [Ex. 32:31-32]; to this prayer, Israel was saved and Moses was not erased from the Book: even better the Lord indeed profited from his servant by sparing his other servants. For when God says, "release me", he shows that he can be held. This is similar to what the apostle says: "I wished to be anathema for my brothers who are Israelites according to their flesh" [Rom. 9:3]. Not that he desires to die however, for whom to live is Christ and to die is a profit [Phil. 1:21]; but he deserves life more when he wants to save others. Besides, seeing the other prophets sent to the lost flocks of the house of Israel [Mt. 10:6] to incite the people to repent, and Balaam [Num. 23.24] the divine author of a prophecy about the deliverance of the Israelite people, Jonah feels himself punished by being chosen alone to speak against the Assyrians, the enemies of Israel, in the foreign capital where idolatry and ignorance of God still ruled. And what is more he feared that in spite of his prophesying they would still not be converted to repent, and that Israel would not be completely abandoned. For he knew by this Spirit which had entrusted him with the role of hero among the gentiles, that once the nations had come together in belief, then Israel would surely perish. And he feared that whatever was to happen in the future would not happen in his time. Thus Jonah does as Cain does: he flees from the face of the Lord [Gen. 4:16] and wants to flee to Tarshish, which Josephus interprets as that Tarsus of Cilicia, but changes the first letter. This can also be seen in the book of the Paralipomenon [2 Chron. 20:36-37], which says that there is a place in India which is called the same. According to the Hebrews Tarshish means more generally 'sea', according to this passage: "by a fierce wind you will break the ships of Tarshish!" [Ps. 47:8], or the ships of the sea. And in Isaiah: "cry out, O ships of Tarshish!" [Is. 23:1,14]. I remember that I have already spoken about this several years ago in a letter to Marcella. The prophet did not intent to flee to such a place, but throwing himself into the sea, he just wants to go anywhere. And this is more pertinent when talking of a fugitive or one who is afraid, that he does not choose carefully where he wants to flee to, but just jumps at the first opportunity to take to the seas. We can also say this: he thought that God was "known" only "in Judea", "and in Israel his name is great" [Ps. 75:2]. After he had seen that God was also in the waves he confesses and declares: "I am a Hebrew and I fear the Lord of heaven" [Jonah 1:9], who made the sea and the dry land. But if he had made the sea and the dry earth, why believe when you leave the land that you can escape the creator of the sea on the sea? At the same time when he sees the others sailors saved and converted, he learns that all the wickedness of Nineveh can be saved and converted by a similar confession. We can say too about our Lord and Saviour that he abandoned his home and country: at the incarnation he fled in some manner the heavens for Tarshish, the sea of that age, according to what is written in another place: "here is the sea, great and wide; there are numerous beings, animals great and small; there the boats come in and go out, and this dragon that you created to be crushed" [Ps. 103:25-6]. And he says too in his passion, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by!" [Mt. 26:39], lest at the unified complaints of the people, saying, "Crucify him, crucify him!" [Luke 23:21], and "we have no king except Caesar" [John 19:15], the crowd of people should enter all together; and lest the branches of the olive-tree should be broken, and in their place the shoots of the wild olive should grow [Rom. 11:17-25]. He had such honour and love of his country in light of the choice of the patriarchs and of the promise of Abraham, that he said on the cross, "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do" [Luke 23:34]. Or even since Tarshish can be translated as 'the contemplation of joy', the prophet, coming to Joppa, whose name means 'beautiful', hastens to hurry towards the joy and to rejoice in the pleasure of rest, to give himself completely over of contemplation. For he thinks that it is better to rejoice in beauty and in the variety of knowledge than to save the other people by letting that people die, from whom Christ would have been born.

"And went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD." LXX: "and he went up to Joppa, and he found a boat going to Tarshish; after paying his fare he went on board to sail with them to Tarshish, far from the face of the Lord." Joppa is a port of Judea [2 Chron. 2:16], and it has been seen in the book of Kingdoms [i.e. 'Kings'] and of the Paralipomenon. It was there that the King Hiram of Tyr transported wood from Liban by raft, then they were taken by chariot by road to Jerusalem. In this place even to this day rocks can be seen on the shore on which the chained Andromeda was saved by Perseus. The learned reader will know the story. And in light of the nature of the countryside, it is said quite rightly that the prophet came from a direction that is mountainous and precipitous, and went down to Joppa in the plain. He found there a ship that was moored and he went upon the sea. He paid his fare or the price of embarking, that is of his journey, according to the Hebrew, or the fare for himself, as the Septuagint has translated it. "and he went down into it" as the Hebrew itself says, (for iered in Hebrew is translated as 'went down'), for in his flight he took great care to find a hiding place. Or "he goes up", as it is written in the Vulgate edition, for going where the boat is going, thinking that he has escaped if he has left Judea. But our Lord is also at the edge of the shore of Judea, which is called 'very beautiful' because since he was in Judea, he did not want to take the bread of sons to give it to dogs. [Mt. 15:26] But because he had come for the lost flocks of the house of Israel [Mt. 10:6] he paid the price to those who transport him. Thus he who at first wants to heal his people, saves the inhabitants of the sea, and through great winds and storms, (that is his suffering and the reproof of the cross) he is plunged into Hell and saves those whom had not noticed by appearing to sleep on the boat [Mt. 8:24-5]. The wise reader will not want to try to make tropology and history concur. For the Apostle refers Agar and Sara [Gal. 4:22-31] to the two Testaments, and all the same we are not able to interpret everything that is recounted in this story in a tropological way. And when explaining about Adam and Eve to the Ephesians, he says, "this is why man leaves his mother and father to join with a wife, and both will become one flesh. [Gen. 2:24] There is a great mystery: I mean Christ and the Church." [Eph. 5:31-2] Are we then first to refer the beginning of Genesis, the creation of the world, the formation of mankind, to Christ and to the Church under the pretext that the Apostle has used regarding this text? Let us admit what is written here: "thus man will leave his father" [Gen. 2:24], we can apply this to Christ by saying that he left God his Father in heaven to unite the people of the world in the Church. But how can we interpret what follows, "his mother"? Unless perhaps we are to say that he left heavenly Jerusalem, that mother of saints, and other ideas that are more complicated? And this too is written by the same Apostle: "they were drinking from a spiritual rock which was accompanying them, and this rock was Christ" [I Cor. 10:4], but let us not try to relate the entire book of Exodus to Christ. For what can we say? That this stone was hit by Moses not just once, but twice [Ex. 17:6; Num. 20:11], that the waters flowed [Ps. 77:20] and that the floods were filled up. Are we to regard the entire story of this passage in this case as allegory? Is it nor rather that each passage ought to receive a spiritual meaning according to the diversity of history? Therefore just as these texts each in this way have their interpretations and do not entail the same allegory in their context, so the prophet will not be able to be taken completely to the Lord without difficulty for the interpreter. And if it is said in the Gospel, "O wicked and adulterous generation, that she asks for a sign? As a sign she will only have the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah spent three days and three night in the belly of a fish, so the son of man will spend three days and three nights in the bosom of the earth" [Mt. 12:39-40]. The remainder of this account does not concern Christ to the same extent. Indeed wherever this reading can be said to apply without discrepancy, we also try to make it fit.

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 865] Haimo of Auxerre on Jonah 1:3
Jonah, therefore, coming from the mountainous country of Judea to the sea coast and the plains, is rightly said to have went down.
[AD 865] Haimo of Auxerre on Jonah 1:3
In Hebrew, however, they speak generally of the sea as "Tharsis." Therefore, the prophet did not wish to flee to any particular place, but he embarked upon a ship which could take him anywhere, so long as he could hurry, not caring where chance led him.
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:4
"But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken." LXX: "and the Lord induced a great wind over the sea and a great storm was over the sea, and the boat threatened to break up." The flight of the prophet can be related to man in general, who, forsaking the commands of God, flees from his face and goes out into the world. But in consequence a storm of wickedness and the shipwreck of the entire world are sent against him, and he is made to pay attention to God and to return to that which he had fled. From this we can understand that what appears to be advantageous to mankind, turns into their downfall by God's will. And not only is their aid no use to those whom it is offered, but even those who offer it are destroyed. Therefore we read that the Assyrians conquered Egypt because she helped Israel against the will of the Lord [Is. 20:3-6]. The boat is in danger because it has taken on board a dangerous passenger. The waves are aroused by the wind, a storm begins over a calm sea. When God is opposed nothing is safe.

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Jonah 1:5
CHRYS They threw the baggage that was in the ship into the sea, but the ship was not getting any lighter, not because the nature of the weight of the material that was on the ship but from the weight of sin. For nothing is so heavy and onerous to bear as sin and disobedience.
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Jonah 1:5
“They threw overboard the wares that were in the ship into the sea; but the ship was not getting any lighter,” because the entire cargo still remained within it, the body of the prophet, the heavy cargo, not according to the nature of the body but from the weight of sin. For nothing is so heavy and onerous to bear as sin and disobedience.

Source: HOMILIES ON REPENTANCE AND ALMSGIVING 3:8
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:5
"Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them." LXX: "and the sailors were afraid and each one cried out to his God and they threw the boat's cargo into the sea to lighten the boat". They believe that the ship with its normal cargo is too heavy, and do not understand that all the weight comes from the fleeing prophet. The sailors are afraid, each one cries out to his God. They do not know the truth, but they do not forget providence, and with a false religion they know that there is something to pray to. They cast their cargo into the sea so that the ship might cross the immensity of the waves more lightly. But for Israel, neither prosperity nor wickedness can lead her back to know God. Christ weeps for the people, but He has dry eyes.

"But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep." LXX: "Now Jonah went down to the heart of the boat and slept and snored". According to the history of this passage it describes the peace of the spirit of the prophet. He is troubled by the storm, or by the dangers; he just keeps the same manner of spirit when the storm is imminent, as when the weather is calm. The others though cry out to their gods, and cast the cargo overboard: each man to his own. But Jonah is so peaceful, so calm, his spirit is so at rest that he goes down to the heart of the ship to enjoy a peaceful sleep. Indeed we can also say: he knows he is a fugitive and a sinner, because he has not obeyed the commands of the Lord. It is because all the other men do not know why there is a storm that Jonah knows that he alone is the cause of it. This is why he goes down to the interior of the ship and hides himself sadly, so that he does not see the waves, like the avengers of God, rise up against him. And if he sleeps, this is not necessarily a sign of his security, but of worry. For we read that the apostles gave in to sleep on account of great sadness at the sight of the Lord's suffering [Luke 22:45]. For if we interpret the sleep of the prophet as a sign, his terrible torture, they represent a man who has fallen asleep from the drug of his wickedness: not only has he fled from God but moreover he ignores the wrath of God as his spirit is clouded by a sort of madness. He sleeps therefore in a kind of false security and his deep sleep sounds out through his nostrils.

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 865] Haimo of Auxerre on Jonah 1:5
he slept because he was overcome by weariness, just as we also read that the Apostles, overcome by sorrow, were pressed down by sleep in the Passion of the Lord (Mk 14:37-41).
[AD 865] Haimo of Auxerre on Jonah 1:5
This is done in the greatest danger, in order that the ship, once lightened, may be borne up by the waves more easily.
[AD 865] Haimo of Auxerre on Jonah 1:5
From this we understand that God is feared and perceived by all men, although they may be seduced by false religions from the one and true god to many gods.
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:6
"So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest you, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not." LXX: "and the helmsman come to him and he said to him, what are you doing sleeping? Get up, and call upon your God. If he can find a way to save us then we may not die. It is natural that each one has more confidence in someone else when they feel themselves to be in such danger. This is why the helmsman or captain, who should have been encouraging the frightened crewmembers, but saw the seriousness of the danger, woke and reprimanded the sleeper for his thoughtless security and asked him to pray to his God immediately. He shared everyone's danger, and therefore he had to pray along with everyone else. According to tropology there are many men sailing with Jonah, who each have their own God and hasten towards the 'contemplation of joy'. But when Jonah has been discovered by chance and his death has appeased the all-encompassing storm and made calm the waters, then the one God is revered and spiritual victims are sacrificed, which according to the text were not found when they were amongst the waves.

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:7
"And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah." LXX: 'and they said to each other: come, let us draw lots to see who it is that has brought this wickedness upon us. And they drew lots, and the lot fell to Jonah.' They knew the ways of the sea and knew the causes of the storms and winds in such weather. Without a doubt they had seen the waves rise up as usual, and as they must have seen many times before, but they must never before have found the person to blame for the shipwreck, and through him tried to avoid certain danger. We should not be driven by this example to believe in fate, or to believe that this text should be connected to that of the Acts of the Apostles where Matthias is chosen by lot [Acts 1:26], because personal privileges do not make common law. For just as an old lady speaks up for the condemning of Balaam [Num. 22:28], as Pharaoh [Gen. 41] and Nebuchadnezzar [Dan. 2], in their own judgement, knew the future through dreams and yet do not see that there is a divine judgement in this, like Caiaphas prophesies unknowing, that it is better for one to die for all [John 11:50; 18:14]: just as this fugitive is betrayed by fate, not by the powers of the fates, above all the powers of the pagan fates, but by the will of hi who controlled uncertain fate. With regard to the meaning of the expression "to know by whom this wickedness had come upon us", we ought to take 'wickedness' as a synonym of affliction, of disaster, as in this passage: "every day his wickedness was enough" [Mt. 6:34], and in the prophet Amos: "is there wickedness in a town without God being the author?" [Amos 3:6]. And in Isaiah: "It is I the Lord, who make goodness and wickedness" [Isaiah 45:7]. But in other places too wickedness can be seen to be the opposite of virtue, as in the passage of our prophet that we have read above: "the cry of their wickedness went up to me" [Jonah 1:1].

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 735] Bede on Jonah 1:7
And they drew lots between them, and so forth. Neither because of this example, nor because the prophet Jonah was found out by lot, are we to believe indiscriminately in lots, “since the prerogative of individuals,” as Jerome says, can in no way “make a general law.” For in that instance pagan men were compelled by a storm to seek by lot the source of their danger. Matthias was chosen by lot so that their choice of the apostle would not appear to be out of harmony with the command of the old law, where it was ordered that the high priest be sought.

Source: Commentary on Acts 1
[AD 865] Haimo of Auxerre on Jonah 1:7
Because they saw that the storm was greater than usual, they knew those things did not happen naturally; nor indeed could those who navigated at such a time neglect the causes of the winds and the waves, and therefore by means of the lots they sought the origin of the shipwreck.
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:8
"Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray you, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence do you come? what is thy country? and of what people art you?" LXX: 'and they said to him, 'tell us how this wickedness has come upon us: what is your occupation, where do you come from, where you are going to, from which country, and which people you are from?' '. Fate had shown him to them: they force him to admit why such a great storm, or for what reason divine wrath had come against them. Tell us, they say, where this wickedness comes from, which has come upon us, what work you do, from what land, from what people you flee, and where you are going to so quickly? Let us note the brevity here that is also seen in Virgil [Aen. 8:112]: young men, what cause has brought you to try out unknown ways? Where are you going? He says. Your people? From which land? Do you bring war or peace? This questioning brings his identity, his country, his journey, the town he comes from, so that the reason for the wickedness can be known.

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 390] Gregory of Nazianzus on Jonah 1:9
It was not likely that such a prophet should be ignorant of the design of God, which was to bring about, by means of threat, the escape of the Ninevites from the threatened doom, according to his great wisdom and unsearchable judgments and according to his ways which are beyond our tracing and finding out.… To imagine that Jonah hoped to hide himself at sea and escape by his flight the great eye of God is surely utterly absurd and stupid, and unworthy of credit, not only in the case of a prophet but even in the case of any sensible person, who has only a slight perception of God, whose power is over all.

Source: IN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:107
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:9
"And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land." LXX: 'and he replied: I am a worshipper of the Lord, and I revere God of the heavens who made the sea and the dry land'. He did not say, 'I am a Jew', the name given to the people after the schism between the ten and two tribes [3 Kings. 12:19; 14:21], but 'I am a Hebrew', that is to say perates [Grk. 'a pilgrim and traveller'] , passing by as Abraham who was able to say: "I am a guest and a traveller as all my fathers" [Ps. 38:13], and about whom it is written in another psalm: "they passed from one nation to another, from one realm to another people" [Ps. 104:13]. Moses says, "I will go so that I might see this great vision." [Ex. 3] I fear the Lord God of the heavens, not the gods that you have invoked and who cannot save us, but the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land. The sea that I flee to, the earth that I flee from. And appropriately the land is not just called land, but rather dry land so that it contrasts with the sea. In short here he mentions the creator of the universe who is the Lord of heaven, earth, and sea. But one question begs to be asked: how do they know that he speaks the truth? 'I fear the Lord God of heaven', since he has not done what this God has actually commanded him to do. The reply would surely be that the sinners themselves would fear God, and that it is appropriate for servants of the Lord not to love, but to fear. Here however you can see fear in the cult according to the meaning of those who were listening and until now knew not God.

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:10
"Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why have you done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them." LXX: 'Then the men were very afraid and said to him, "why have you done this?" for the men knew that he had fled from the face of the Lord, since he had told them.' The chronological order is reversed here, for you could have said there was no reason to fear because of his declaration: "I am a Hebrew and I fear the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land". Immediately we are told why they were afraid: because he had told them that he was fleeing the presence of the Lord without having carried out his commands. Then they make excuses and say, "why did you do this?", and this means, "if you fear God, why did you do this? If this God that you revere is so powerful according to you, then how can you believe that you will be able to escape him?". They are seized by a great fear, for they realise that he is holy, and from a holy nation (having set out from Joppa they must have known the privilege of the Hebrew people), yet nonetheless they are not able to hide the fugitive. For he who flees may be powerful, but he who seeks is all the more powerful. They do not dare to hand him over to the Lord, yet they cannot hide him. They reprehend blame, and avow their fear. They pray to Jonah to give himself up for the sin he has committed. Or indeed, when they say, "why have you done this?", they are not inciting him, but questioning, wanting to know the cause of his flight, the flight of a servant from his master, of a son from his father, of a man from his God. They ask, therefore, what is this great mystery that makes you flee from the land and seek the seas, leave your country and set out for foreign lands?

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Jonah 1:11
Tell me, are you running away from the master? Then wait a little bit and you will learn from the state of affairs themselves that you will be unable to escape even from the hands of his servant, the ocean. For as soon as Jonah set foot on the ship, the ocean raised its waves up high and raised itself to a great height. And just as a considerate handmaid, discovering that her fellow slave has run away because he stole something of her master’s, does not revolt as previously mentioned but submits the individuals who captured him to myriads of troubles until she seizes him and brings him back, likewise, the ocean found her fellow slave and recognized him.

Source: HOMILIES ON REPENTANCE AND ALMSGIVING 5:3.8
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:11
"Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto you, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous." LXX: 'then they said to him, what should we do with you, so that the sea is calm for us? For the sea was surging its waves more and more'. It is because of you, you say, that the winds, the waves, the sea and swells have been unleashed. You have revealed the cause of this wickedness, now tell us how to stop it. The sea swells against us, and we know that a God is angry because we took you on board. If we have sinned by taking you in, then what can we do so that the Lord does not become angrier? "What should we do with you?" that is to say: "shall we kill you?" but you are faithful to the Lord. Are we to protect you? But you flee from Him. All we have to do is carry out whatever you command, all you have to do is give the command that the sea be calm, for now its wildness attests the wrath of the creator. The narrator also adds the reason for this question. The sea, he says, was continually increasing in wildness. It was swelling, in the known way; it was swelling for the revenge of its Lord; it was swelling, following the fleeing prophet. And at every moment it was becoming more and more wild, and to the delaying sailors' eyes it rose in greater waves to show that it would not put off for long the creator's revenge.

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 431] Paulinus of Nola on Jonah 1:11
Jonah surely teaches us that the sea and stars are moved under God’s control. By vainly seeking to flee from God the controller of all things whom none can escape, he aroused the anger of both sky and sea. Nature, which belongs to the almighty Lord, realized that [Jonah] was revolting, and it was afraid to play conspirator by transporting the guilty man safely through its domain; it chained the runaway with winds and waves.

Source: POEM 22
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Jonah 1:12-13
From where, my beloved, came the foresight of the prophet? From the economy of God. God made these things happen so that the prophet might learn from them to be a lover of humanity and be subdued. Only to him did he cry out and say, “Imitate the sailors, the nave men, who neither despise a single soul nor neglect a single body, yours. And you would allow to be destroyed, on your part, an entire city with myriads of inhabitants. These sailors, when they discovered who was responsible for all the evils that confronted them, still were not eager to condemn him; but you, who have no charge brought against you by the Ninevites, would convict and annihilate them. Yet when I commanded you to go and, through preaching, summon them back to salvation, you disobeyed. They who were not accountable to anyone did all things and exerted themselves so that you, who are accountable should be punished.” Although the ocean condemned him and the lot exposed him, when he implicated himself and confessed his flight, they still were not in a hurry to annihilate the prophet; rather, they demonstrated toleration and constraint and did everything possible to keep him from the fury of the ocean after such proof of his guilt. However, the ocean did not permit even this, or better yet, God did not allow this to happen, because he wanted to sober him through the sailors in the same way as through the whale. For this reason when they heard, “Take me up and cast me into the sea, and the seas will be calm to you,” they strained to reach the shore, although the waves did not allow it.

Source: HOMILIES ON REPENTANCE AND ALMSGIVING 3:8
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:12
"And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you." LXX: 'and he said to them, take me and throw me into the sea, and the sea will become calm for you. For I know well that it is on account of me that these great waves are against you.' It is against me that the thunder sounds, it seeks me, it threatens to shipwreck you in order to reach me. It will seize me so that my death might let you live. For I know this, he says. This great storm is on my account. And I am not unaware that this is my punishment, this confusion of the elements, this trouble of the world. This wrath is for me, but you are going to be the victims of a shipwreck. The waves themselves command you to throw me into the sea. And since I will have felt the full effect of the storm you will be in calm seas again. We must note here the greatness of spirit of our fugitive: he is not evasive, he does not hide or deny his guilt, but having confessed his flight he accepts his punishment willingly. He would rather die so that the other sailors do not perish on account of him, and so that he does not add murder to desertion. That's it for the story. But we are also not unaware of the wild winds, which the Lord orders in the Gospel to quiet, that the ship in danger in which Jonah was sleeping, and that the raised sea which is reprimanded: "silence, and calm down" [Mk. 4:39], refer to the Lord the Saviour and to the Church in peril, or even to Christ awaking the apostles, and they themselves leaving their sufferings behind throw him somehow headlong into the waves. Our Jonah says, "for I know that it is on account of me that this great storm is upon you", for the winds are watching me journey to Tarshish with you, that is travel to the contemplation of joy to lead you with me to goodness so that wherever I am, so is the Father and you will be there too [John 14:3; 17:27]. This is why this anger rumbles, why the world which is in wickedness [1 John 5:19] groans. It is in this way that the elements are disturbed. Death wants to devour me so that you may be killed as well: she does not see that as she took food in a net, my death will cause her death. Take me and throw me into the sea. For we do not have to run away from death, but receive it with open arms when it takes us from others. Thus, in the persecutions it is not allowed to kill oneself, unless chastity is in danger, but one must put ones neck to the executioner. Go, he says, calm the winds, pour libations on the sea: the storm which savages against you on account of me will be calmed by my death.

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:13
"Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them." LXX: 'and the sailors strive to turn the ship to dry land but they cannot, for the sea swelled up against them'. The prophet has pronounced sentence against himself; but the sailors do not dare touch him because they have learned that he is a follower of God. They were striving to return to the dry land, to get out of this danger; they refused to shed blood, preferring rather to die than kill. O how changed are they now! The people that had served God [Deut. 10:12] saying, "crucify him, crucify him" [Lk. 23:21]. They are ordered to kill him: the sea is raging, the storm commands this, and they forget their own danger and only think to save another. Therefore the phrase of the Septuagint is appropriate: parebiazonto, they wanted to use all their force and conquer nature so as not to offend the prophet of God. If the sailors rowed to regain the land, it was because they believed they could deliver the ship from danger without realising what Jonah, who ought to have suffered, had said. All the while Jonah was in the sea the ship sat safely in the water.

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Jonah 1:14
The ship’s pilot … understood from his experience that the storm was not a usual one, but that the blow was God-sent, and that the billowy ocean was vastly superior to human skill, and that the hands of the helmsman were of no advantage. In this situation a greater pilot was required, the One who governs the whole world, and the assistance from above was critical. For this reason, they abandoned the oars, the sails, the ropes, and everything else; they drew their hands back to themselves and raised them to heaven and entreated God.

Source: HOMILIES ON REPENTANCE AND ALMSGIVING 3:8
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:14
"Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech you, O LORD, we beseech you, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you." LXX: 'and they cried to the Lord and said, but no, Lord, let us not die to let this man live. Lay not innocent blood upon us. For O Lord you have done as you wished.' The sailors' faith is strong: they are all in danger of losing their lives, and yet pray for the lives of another. They know well that spiritual death is worse than natural death of the body. Do not lay innocent blood upon us, they say. They take the Lord as witness not to visit them for what they are about to do, and say something like this: 'we do not want to kill your prophet, but he himself has proclaimed your wrath, and the storm shows us that you have done what you wished, O Lord. Your wish is accomplished by our doing'. This seems to be the confession of Pilate, as he washes his hands and says, "I am clean of the blood of this man" [Mt. 27:24]. The gentiles do not want Christ to die, and affirm that it is innocent blood. And the Jew say, "let his blood fall upon us again and on our son" [Mt. 27:25]. This is why when they raise their hands to the sky, they will not be heard, for they are full of blood. For your will has been done, Lord. We welcomed the passenger, and the whirlwind began, the winds blew and the sea swelled in waves. The fugitive was brought by fate, and tells what we must do: all of this, Lord, is the effect of your will. Yes, Lord, your will has been done. In this way the Saviour speaks in the Psalm, "Lord, I wanted to do your will" [Ps. 39:9].

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:14
The sailors and the passengers in the book of Jonah say, “We beseech you, O Lord, do not destroy us on account of this man and lay not upon us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” They do not know the reasons why the prophet, a fugitive servant, deserved to be punished. And yet they justify God and acknowledge the blood of him whose deeds they do not know to be innocent. And in conclusion, they say, “You, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” They do not question the justice of the judgment of God but acknowledge the veracity of the just Judge.

Source: Against the Pelagians 2.23
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:15
"So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging." LXX: 'and they took Jonah and they threw him into the sea, and the sea became ceased from its agitation'. He did not say, they grabbed him and threw him but they raised him up as if they were carrying him with respect and honour, and they threw him into the sea without him struggling, but rather he went willingly. And the sea ceased because it had found the man it was searching for. Just as when you pursue a fugitive, and running, catch up with him, then stop to grab hold of him; so too the sea was wild without Jonah, and then when it had in its lap what it desired it rejoiced in having him and cherished him, and the calm returned by this joy. If we consider before the suffering of Christ, the confessions of the world, the contrary winds of different opinions, the ship and all human kind, that is all creation to be in danger, then, after the suffering of Christ there is the calm of faith, the peace of the world, universal safety, conversion to God, and we will see how after Jonah has been thrown overboard the sea ceases from its raging.

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:15
The text does not say they seized him or that they threw him in, but that they took him, carrying him as one [deserving] respect and honor. They discharged him into the sea not in repugnance; rather, he submitted himself of his own volition into their hands. And the sea ceased [its turmoil] because it found what it sought. When one continues as a fugitive and keeps running away as fast as one can, sooner or later he is caught and stops his running, and whatever was chasing him stands still. It is the same way with the sea, which, absent Jonah, was irritated. But as soon as it lays hold of what is at the center of its desire it rejoices to have it, and from that joy it returns to tranquillity. If we will give consideration to the time before the passion of Christ, [we will see that time as one disturbed by] the errors of the world and the headwinds of various opinions. The entire boat of humanity, that is, the creation of the Lord, was in peril. But then, after his passion, we see a world where there is the calm of faith, a world at peace and secure for everyone. We see a turning toward God. In this way we may understand how, after Jonah goes into the sea, the sea is alleviated of its turmoil.

Source: COMMENTARY ON JOEL 1:15
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:16
"Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows." LXX: similar. Before the anger of the Lord the sailors implored their gods under the effect of their fear; after his anger they fear the Lord, that is they revere and worship Him. They do not worship Him in the usual way, as we have seen in the beginning, but with "a great fear", according to that which is said: "from all their spirit and all their heart and all their soul" [Deut. 6:5; Mt. 22:37]. And they sacrificed victims that indeed, to take this literally, they were not able to have out at sea. But this is because sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit. [Ps. 50:19] And it is said in another place: "offer to God a sacrifice of praise, acquit your vows to the Highest." [Ps. 49:14] And again: "we acquit ourselves to you of our vows that we have promised". [Hos. 14:3] This is how they offer a sacrifice in the middle of the sea, and they promise others vowing never to be far from Him whom they have begun to revere and worship. They were seized by a great fear for they recognised from the calm sea and the disappearing storm that the prophet had spoken true. Jonah at sea, a fugitive and shipwrecked, once dead saves the ship in the waves, saves the pagans who had been beforehand divided in different beliefs by the wickedness of the world. And Hosea, Amos, Isaiah, and Joel, who prophesied at the same time did not manage to convert the people in Judea. This shows that the shipwreck could only be saved by the death of the fugitive.

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 220] Tertullian on Jonah 1:17
Did Jonah, then, on this account, think that repentance was unnecessary for the pagan Ninevites, when he tried to avoid his duty of preaching? Or was it not, rather, that he foresaw that the mercy of God would be poured out on the heathen also, and so feared it would prove him a false prophet? Actually it was because of a pagan city, which did not yet know God and which sinned in ignorance, that the prophet was almost lost. And he would have been lost, were it not for the fact that what he endured was a type of the Lord’s suffering, by which pagan penitents also would be redeemed.

Source: ON PURITY 10
[AD 380] Apostolic Constitutions on Jonah 1:17
It is also your duty, O bishop, to follow the examples of those that have gone before and to apply their judgments skillfully to the cases of those who want words of severity or of consolation. Besides, it is reasonable that in your administration of justice you should follow the will of God. As God deals with sinners and with those who return, you should act accordingly in your judging. Now did not God by Nathan admonish David for his offense? And yet as soon as he said he repented, God delivered him from death, saying, “Be of good cheer; you shall not die.” So also, when God had caused Jonah to be swallowed up by the sea and the whale upon his refusal to preach to the Ninevites, when yet he prayed to God out of the belly of the whale, he retrieved his life from corruption.

Source: CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 2:3.22
[AD 386] Cyril of Jerusalem on Jonah 1:17
They further object: A dead man recently deceased was raised by the living; but show us that it is possible for a man dead and buried for three days to rise again. The testimony we seek is supplied by the Lord Jesus himself in the Gospels, when he says, “For even as Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Now when we study the story of Jonah the force of the resemblance becomes striking. Jesus was sent to preach repentance. So was Jonah. Though Jonah fled, not knowing what was to come, Jesus came willingly, to grant repentance for salvation. Jonah slumbered in the ship and was fast asleep amid the stormy sea; while Jesus by God’s will was sleeping, the sea was stirred up, for the purpose of manifesting thereafter the power of him who slept. They said to Jonah, “What are you doing asleep? Rise up, call upon your God, that God may save us,” but the apostles say, “Lord, save us!” In the first instance they said, Call upon your God, and in the second, save us. In the first Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea, that it may quiet down for you”; in the other Christ himself “rebuked the wind and the sea, and there came a great calm.” Jonah was cast into the belly of a great fish, but Christ of his own will descended to the abode of the invisible fish of death. He went down of his own will to make death disgorge those it had swallowed up, according to the Scripture: “I shall deliver them from the power of the nether world, and I shall redeem them from death.”

Source: Catechetical Lecture 14:7
[AD 420] Jerome on Jonah 1:17
"Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah." LXX: 'and the Lord ordered a great fish to swallow Jonah'. The Lord commanded death and the underworld to receive the prophet. To the eager jaws of death he seemed a prey: she had such joy in swallowing him, and such sadness in spitting him out. Thus happened what is written in Hosea: "I will be your death, O Death! I will be your bite, Hell!" [Hos. 13:14]. In the Hebrew we read "a great fish", which the Septuagint and the Lord in the Gospel call a whale, to explain the matter in short. For the Hebrew says dag gadol that we translate as 'a big fish'. Evidently this means a whale. We must note too that where he awaited death, he found his salvation. And when it says, "he had prepared", this is even right at the beginning of creation, the animal which is mentioned in the psalm: "this dragon which you have created to play with him" [Ps. 103:26]. Or even he makes a fish come near to the ship to take in its belly Jonah who has been thrown over board, and to provide his rescue not his death. So he who felt the wrath of God in the boat was to feel his benevolence in his death.

"And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." LXX: 'and Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights'. The Lord shows in the Gospel the symbolism of this passage [Mt. 12:40], and it is superfluous to say in the same terms or even in other terms what he who has suffered has already said. But we ask ourselves this: how was he three days and three nights in the belly of the earth. Some scholars take the view according to paraskeuen, because of the solar eclipse from the sixth to the ninth hour when night followed day, this would be two days and nights, and adding the Sabbath, believe that we should count this as three days and three nights. But I prefer to understand this by reason of synecdoche, seeing the whole as a part: where he is dead in paraskeuen [Lk. 23:54], let us count one day and one night; two with the Sabbath; the third night which arises from the day of the Lord, let us take that as the beginning of the next day, for, in Genesis [Genesis 1:5-8] the night is not of the preceding day, but of the following day, that is to say the beginning of the next day, not the end of the previous. To understand this better I will say it more simply: if a man leaves his house at nine and the next day he arrives at his other house at three. And if I say that he has been two days in travelling, I will not be reprimanded as a liar, because he has not used all the hours of two days, but only a part for his journey. Nonetheless this seems to me to be the interpretation. If someone does not agree with this, and he can explain the meaning in a clearer way, then we should follow his interpretation.

Source: Commentary on Jonah, Chapter 1
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Jonah 1:17
The last question is about Jonah, and it is not put as if it were taken from Porphyry but as if it were a laughingstock of the pagans. It is expressed thus: “Please tell me what we are to think about Jonah, who is said to have been three days in the belly of a whale. It is improbable and unbelievable that he should have been swallowed up with his clothing and should have been inside the fish. If it is figuratively said, please explain it.… I have noticed that this sort of question is a matter of much jest and much laughter to pagans. The answer to this is that either all the divine miracles are to be disbelieved or there is no reason why they should not be believed. We should not believe in Christ himself and that he rose on the third day, if the faith of the Christians feared the laughter of the pagans.

Source: LETTER 170:6