וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ מַה־נַּ֣עֲשֶׂה לָּ֔ךְ וְיִשְׁתֹּ֥ק הַיָּ֖ם מֵֽעָלֵ֑ינוּ כִּ֥י הַיָּ֖ם הוֹלֵ֥ךְ וְסֹעֵֽר׃
Lalu mereka berkata kepadanya: “Apa yang harus kami perbuat terhadapmu, supaya laut menjadi tenang dan tidak menyerang kami lagi?” Sebab laut itu makin lama makin bergelora.
Depths of Yonah
Torah Academy students note the power of Rashi’s approach as it provides the people of Nineveh with a choice. This is similar to the sailors offering Yonah a choice (Yonah 1:11), saying to him “what should we do to you?” As mentioned previously, when one provides a choice one greatly increases the possibility one’s listeners “buy in”.
Ibn Ezra
סוערה Tempestuous; comp. סוער (Jon. 1:11); or Tossed with tempest. Jerusalem is meant.22aThe Hebrew text has the words והיא זאת ירושלים; either והיא or זאת is superfluous, or בת is to be read instead of זאת.
Depths of Yonah
Despite the raging storm and despite establishing Yonah’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt the sailors still endeavor to save Yonah along with their own lives. The sailor’s question (Yonah 1:11) “Mah Naaseh Lach,” “what should we do to you?”, is another example of their Middat HaRachamim, extraordinary kindness that goes well beyond the call of duty. Although the sailors enjoy the right to immediately kill Yonah since he is undoubtedly a Rodef (unnecessarily placing their lives at risk), they still seek to prod Yonah to repent.