Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said to him, "What is this that you have done?" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Yahweh, because he had told them.
"For the men knew that he was fleeing from Jehovah ..." This passage reveals that Jonah had explained to the sailors at the time of his boarding the ship that he was fleeing from God. "We shall meet later examples of the writer's economy of words in supplying necessary information omitted earlier."[31]