Jonah’s metaphors, like roots of the mountains and the earth beneath me barred me, show ancient ideas about the underworld. People thought the dead were deep within the earth (see also Jonah 2:2). At one point, Jonah felt trapped and doomed to die.
But: The change is striking. Jonah, though sure he would die, was still within God's gracious reach.
the pit: The Hebrew term usually refers to the place where the dead are thought to dwell. Jonah’s words show that, at this moment, he believed he was about to die.