Probably a Phoenician port on the Mediterranean Sea in present-day Spain. Jonah knew that God was “a gracious and compassionate God, long-suffering and abundant in lovingkindness and repentant of evil” (Jonah 4:2) and that God would change His mind and not judge Nineveh if the city repented. Anticipating this and not agreeing with God, Jonah fled from God’s presence to Tarshish.

The capital of Assyria, located on the east bank of the Tigris River, first built by Nimrod (Gen. 10:11 see note Gen. 10:8¹). God intended to judge Nineveh, but He also intended to extend His salvation of love to that evil Gentile city. For this reason He commissioned Jonah to go to Nineveh to cry out against the city.

In his being sent by God to Nineveh, Jonah typifies Christ, who was sent by God to preach the gospel of peace to the Gentiles (Matt. 12:41). Jonah was a prophet who turned from Israel to the Gentiles. In this he was a type of Christ, who turned from Israel to the Gentiles (Matt. 21:43; Luke 4:25-27).

Meaning dove. This indicates that God wanted Jonah to go out like a dove to preach the gospel of peace (cf. Eph. 2:17).

Jonah was swallowed by a great fish and was vomited out of it (Jonah 2:10) for the spreading of God’s salvation to the Gentile Ninevites. Jonah is a type of Christ in His death and resurrection for the spreading of God’s salvation to sinners, even to the Gentiles (Matt. 12:39-41). Jonah’s staying in the great fish three days and three nights typifies Christ’s staying in the heart of the earth three days and three nights (Matt. 12:40 and note Matt. 12:40^1c). Christ died and entered into Hades in the lower parts of the earth (Acts 2:27a; Eph. 4:9). He came forth from there in resurrection (Acts 2:31-32), and in resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b) for the preaching, the spreading, of the gospel to all the Gentile nations, as seen in the book of Acts.