He said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land."
"I fear Jehovah ..." This should not be taken to mean that Jonah, at the moment, was in mortal fear that God would destroy him, or that he was here professing innocence and righteousness in his behavior toward God; but it is a simple statement of his relationship to the God of Israel, having this meaning: