The Hebrew word translated “presence” is literally
“face”
or “countenance”. It appears in every book from Genesis through Malachi, over
2,000 times in total. When used of God, as in “the presence of the Lord”,
it refers to any location in which God chooses to present himself to human
beings or any location in which he is said to make his residence.
That phrase “presence of the Lord” is used three times in
the book of Jonah, all in this first chapter.
