But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.

JONAH 4:7KJV
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Jonah 4:7 (KJV)

What does Jonah 4:7 mean?

Jonah 4:7 describes how God caused a worm to appear at dawn the next day, and this worm attacked the plant that had been shading Jonah, causing the plant to wither. The verse shows that the comfort Jonah enjoyed from the plant was taken away by God's direct action.

In this scene from the book of Jonah, God is interacting with Jonah outside the city of Nineveh. Jonah had been sitting under a plant (a "gourd") that God had earlier provided to give him shade. The sudden destruction of the plant by a worm highlights how God is in control of both providing and removing comfort, setting up a lesson for Jonah about compassion and perspective.

The Hebrew behind Jonah 4:7

  • אֱלֹהִים (Elohim): This is the word for "God" used here, emphasizing God's power and authority in orchestrating events, even small ones like sending a worm.
  • מָנָה (manah): Translated as "prepared," this word often means to appoint or assign. It shows that the worm's appearance was not random but specifically arranged by God.
  • תּוֹלָעַת (tolaʿat): This is the word for "worm." The use of a small, seemingly insignificant creature to accomplish God's purpose underlines that God can use anything in creation to fulfill his plans.
  • קִיקָיוֹן (qiqayon): This is the word for "gourd" or "plant." Its sudden withering is central to the lesson God is teaching Jonah about temporary comforts and compassion.

Why Jonah 4:7 matters

  • Jonah 4:7 clarifies that the loss of Jonah's shade was not a coincidence but a deliberate act by God, showing God's involvement in every detail.
  • The verse sets up the contrast between Jonah's concern for the plant and God's concern for the people of Nineveh, which is explained in the following verses.
  • Understanding that God "prepared" both the plant and the worm helps the reader see the intentional structure of the story, highlighting God's teaching method with Jonah.

Where else these words appear

“gourd” Hebrew H7021 · used in 4 verses

  • Jonah 4:6 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
  • Jonah 4:9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
  • Jonah 4:10 Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:

“morning” Hebrew H7837 · used in 24 verses

  • Genesis 19:15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
  • Job 3:9 Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:
  • Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

“prepared” Hebrew H4487 · used in 27 verses

  • Genesis 13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
  • 1 Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
  • Isaiah 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

“day” Hebrew H4283 · used in 32 verses

  • Genesis 19:34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
  • Numbers 11:32 And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.
  • 1 Samuel 5:4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.