פירוש על יונה 2:19

a huge fish—It was a male, and he stood there with room, so that he did not think to pray. The Holy One, blessed he He, hinted to the fish, and it spewed him out into the mouth of a female, which was full of embryos, and it was crowded there, and he prayed there, as it is said: (verse 2) “from the belly of the fish (הַדָּגָה).” [from Pirk&d’Rabbi Eliezer ch. 10, according to Yalkut Shimoni ; Midrash Yonah, second version, Otzar Medrashim p.219] [And the Lord appointed—Those sixteen days that Israel was missing the manna, since they did not eat it for a complete forty years - God took this manna and sustained the fish so that Jonah would not be digested in its intestines, and Jonah, too, ate within it from this manna. Therefore, it is stated וַיְמַן, the letters מָן י"ו sixteen [days of] manna. Similarly, וַיְמַן קיקָיוֹן, and He appointed a kikayon, for he ate four omers; therefore, it says four times וַיְמַן (4:6 ff.). And in Greek, manna is called “kika.” For that reason, it is stated: קִיק יָוָן ; i.e, manna in Greek. -[Sod Mesharim]

The LORD appointed: ...at the moment that Jonah was cast into the sea, God appointed the fish that swallowed him, so that he did not drown. And this was one of the miracles. In Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Tarfon said that the fish was appointed from the six days of creation to swallow Jonah.

and Jonah remained: no one can survive in the belly of a fish even for an hour, so if this is the duration, it must have been a miracle.

[the Lord his God—He combined the Divine standard of justice with the Divine standard of mercy, the merit of Abraham and Isaac. from the belly of the fish—This is Jacob. [Sod Mesharim]

from the belly of the grave—From the belly of the fish, which is to me as the grave.

all Your breakers and Your waves—All the breakers of the sea, since it breaks and parts the sea. [from Jonathan]

And I said—when they cast me into the sea, “Behold I am dead, and I have been driven away from before Your eyes.”

I thought: That is, I thought then that I was driven away out of your sight, but from what I have seen - the miracle that the fish swallowed me and I'm still alive - I saw that Your sight and Your providence are still upon me, and so I knew that I would continue to gaze upon Your holy Temple.

By saying, "I thought I was driven away out of your sight," he means, "When I went down to Jaffa to flee to Tarshish, I thought that prophecy would no longer be in me. But all that I thought was for naught, because in truth I will again see Your holy Temple, for prophecy will necessarily return to me."

Instead—I saw that You have kept me alive all these days. I know that I will continue to gaze upon Your Holy Temple.

the Red Sea hangs over my head Lit., reeds are bound to my head. [Jonathan renders:] The Red Sea hangs over my head. For the Holy One, blessed he He, showed him the Red [lit., Reed] Sea and how Israel crossed in its midst, for the fish’s two eyes were like two windows, and he would look and see everything in the sea. [from Pirk&d’Rabbi Eliezer ch. 10]

To the bottoms of the mountains I descended—To the end of the measure of the mountains fixed to the deep, I descended.

And I said... the earth - its bars are closed on me Heb. בַּעֲדִי, against me, over me it is closed, and I will never go out. closed on me Heb. בַּעֲדִי. cf. (II Kings 4:4) “And you shall close the door about yourself (בַּעֲדֵךְ).” And so is every instance of בְּעַד in Scriptures, e.g. (Job:24) “Skin against (בְּעַד) skin,” a limb against a limb.

forever This refers to what he said above, “And I said, ‘I have been driven away,’” and I said, “The earth - its bars are closed on me forever.”

but You brought up my life from Gehinnom—But I saw Gehinnom here, and from there You brought me up, and, behold, I stand under the Temple in Jerusalem, similar to what is stated: “Indeed, I will continue to gaze upon Your Holy Temple,” “And my prayer came to You, to Your Holy Temple.” [from Pirk&d’Rabbi Eliezer ch. 10]

When my soul grew faint Heb. בְּהִתְעַטֵּף. [Jonathan renders:] When it grew faint. Cf. (Lam. 2: 11) “For the infants swoon (בֵּעָטֵף),” (verse 12) “When they swoon (בְּהִתְעַטְּפָם) like wounded men.”

my life was ebbing away: Jonah was close to dying in the belly of the fish from being crowded by all the embryos.

I called the LORD to mind: I remembered now to pray and to do teshuvah and promise to fulfill God's word.

And my prayer came before You, into Your holy Temple: Our sages said that he was in the abyss underneath Mt. Zion, upon which stood the holy Temple, and this is why he said, "You have brought me down to the ends of the mountains, and heard my prayer from Your holy Temple."

Those who keep worthless futilities—The nations of the world, who worship idols.

abandon their kindness—The fear of the Holy One, blessed be He, from Whom all their kindness and benefit emanate, they abandon; but I am not so, but “with a voice of thanks will I sacrifice to You.” In this manner did Jonathan render it. But in Pirk&d’Rabbi Eliezer (ch. 10), they expounded this as an allusion to the sailors who abandoned their kindness that they were bestowing upon the idols and proselytized.

for the salvation of the Lord—Vows of peace-offerings and thanksgiving offerings I will pay, for the salvation of the Lord. for the salvation Heb. יְשׁוּעָתָה, like לִישׁוּעָה, for the salvation. Cf. (Ps. 44: 27) “Rise for our aid (עֶזְרָתָה),” equivalent to לְעֶזְרָה

But I: I will sacrifice to you with loud thanksgiving, because there are four categories of people who must give thanks: seafarers, etc. That is, I will bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving and thank You for Your kindness. That which I have vowed I will fulfill - to go to Nineveh. And that which I feared - that through the king of Assyria harm will come to Israel - and that kept me from going, I will hope for the Lord's deliverance, for the Lord saves Israel from all troubles.

Commanded: this is a metaphor. God caused it to do God's will.