And cried every man unto his god— The mariners were idolaters, as appears from the next verse. They invoked each one his idol, or the tutelary deity of his country. The profound sleep of Jonah seems to have been caused by his weariness, labour, and anxiety; "Not the sleep of security, but of sorrow," says St. Jerome; like that of the apostles, Matthew 26:40.
Related Commentaries of Jonah 1:5
Jonah 1:5
5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.