Plunging from the deck of a ship into the violent, dark depths of a raging ocean brings a sudden and terrifying shift in reality. In this watery abyss, a person is stripped of all control and left entirely at the mercy of God. The sheer power of the deep water becomes overwhelming as one sinks further down into the dark [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The center of this turbulent sea acts as its core strength, much like a heart is the strongest and most vital organ in a living creature [מצודת ציון].
Amidst the ocean depths, an unusual sensation of being surrounded by a rushing river takes hold. Commentators offer different ways to understand how a river could exist in the middle of the sea. One approach suggests a specific geographical location, proposing that the plunge happened exactly where a river empties into the ocean [רד״ק, מצודת דוד], or at a point where the violent currents of different seas collide and mix [אבן עזרא]. Another perspective focuses on the unnatural movement of the water itself. While ocean waters typically pool together in one place, the fierce storm rising from the deep abyss caused the water to surge and swirl in a rapid, continuous circle. This created a rushing current, mimicking the constant flow of a river until the victim was entirely enclosed by the swirling waters [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].
The intensity of the storm is further felt through the massive surges of water crashing down [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The ocean swells act as breakers because, during such a violent tempest, they appear to shatter and tear the sea itself apart, constantly crashing with tremendous, destructive force [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת ציון].
The harrowing picture of drowning is completed as these massive waves pass directly overhead. This reflects a physical sinking, where the victim does not float on the surface but is pulled deep into the downward currents, leaving the raging waves to crash far above [מלבי״ם]. Alternatively, this experience is tied directly to being swallowed by the great fish. Locked within its belly, every wave that washed over the fish as it swam through the ocean was felt as if it were crashing directly over the person trapped inside [מצודת דוד].