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Possibly Jonah's big fish? - YYZ Skinhead - 04-24-2012 12:32 AM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2017167/Open-wide-The-diver-nearly-got-swallowed-whaleshark.html
In the Book of Jonah it says he was swallowed by a big fish rather than a whale. After hearing and reading some facts about sharks, e.g. that some species take longer than most fish to digest what they have swallowed, I wondered if he was in fact eaten by a gigantic filter-feeding shark. A whale shark would easily be able to swallow a human whole and alive, as is frighteningly proven by the pics in the article.
RE: Possibly Jonah's big fish? - Vic - 04-24-2012 12:01 PM
(04-24-2012 12:32 AM)YYZ Skinhead Wrote: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2017167/Open-wide-The-diver-nearly-got-swallowed-whaleshark.html
In the Book of Jonah it says he was swallowed by a big fish rather than a whale. After hearing and reading some facts about sharks, e.g. that some species take longer than most fish to digest what they have swallowed, I wondered if he was in fact eaten by a gigantic filter-feeding shark. A whale shark would easily be able to swallow a human whole and alive, as is frighteningly proven by the pics in the article.
What amazing pictures! And the Scriptures are not specific as you noted. It is entirely feasible that could have been the type of 'great fish'.
Jon 1:15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
Jon 1:16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.
Jon 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Although in Matthew 12:40 it was translated into whale by KJV...
KJV Mat 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
LITV Mat 12:40 And even as "Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights," so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. Jon. 1:17
THis is the definition of the word for whale:
G2785
κῆτος
kētos
Thayer Definition:
1) a sea monster, whale, huge fish
Part of Speech: noun neuter
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: probably from the base of G5490
RE: Possibly Jonah's big fish? - YYZ Skinhead - 04-28-2012 11:07 AM
(04-24-2012 12:01 PM)Vic Wrote: What amazing pictures! And the Scriptures are not specific as you noted. It is entirely feasible that could have been the type of 'great fish'.
Jon 1:15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
Jon 1:16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.
Jon 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Although in Matthew 12:40 it was translated into whale by KJV...
KJV Mat 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
LITV Mat 12:40 And even as "Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights," so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. Jon. 1:17
THis is the definition of the word for whale:
G2785
κῆτος
kētos
Thayer Definition:
1) a sea monster, whale, huge fish
Part of Speech: noun neuter
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: probably from the base of G5490
I think that whoever translated ketos as "whale" in the NT context wasn't aware that whales are mammals. (The taxonomic name Cetacea for the whale order is derived from ketos.) In the 17th century a lot of if not most people thought whales were fish.
One thing I think is funny is that so many scientists (though not all of them) want to "prove" that God doesn't exist, but all of the various sciences repeatedly demonstrate that His Word is true. When I see a humongous fish capable of swallowing a human whole, I think of Jonah--and indirectly, Jesus in the tomb for three days, as you pointed out. I think God uses my love of science and nature to remind me that His Word is the Truth, and I cannot possibly be the only individual on earth to whom He speaks through science.
RE: Possibly Jonah's big fish? - Vic - 04-28-2012 11:54 AM
Very interesting. I think we all need reminders about God's Truth's, and through His creation is a wonderful way to be reminded.
I think it is possible that people may have thought that Jonah was swallowed by a blue whale. Probably not knowing the different varieties there are of 'fish'. The whale shark is actually very feasible because of this issue with the blue whale, and who knwos whether being a mammal or not was an issue for Jonah survive. God obviously kept him safe:
Quote:Due to its large size, several organs of the blue whale are the largest in the animal kingdom. A blue whale's tongue weighs around 2.7 metric tons (3.0 short tons)[26] and, when fully expanded, its mouth is large enough to hold up to 90 metric tons (99 short tons) of food and water.[8] Despite the size of its mouth, the dimensions of its throat are such that a blue whale cannot swallow an object wider than a beach ball.[27]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_whale
It actually shows on top right hand side, the size of it compared to a human. It's realllllly huge.
RE: Possibly Jonah's big fish? - YYZ Skinhead - 04-28-2012 05:37 PM
(04-28-2012 11:54 AM)Vic Wrote: Very interesting. I think we all need reminders about God's Truth's, and through His creation is a wonderful way to be reminded.
I think it is possible that people may have thought that Jonah was swallowed by a blue whale. Probably not knowing the different varieties there are of 'fish'. The whale shark is actually very feasible because of this issue with the blue whale, and who knwos whether being a mammal or not was an issue for Jonah survive. God obviously kept him safe:
Quote:Due to its large size, several organs of the blue whale are the largest in the animal kingdom. A blue whale's tongue weighs around 2.7 metric tons (3.0 short tons)[26] and, when fully expanded, its mouth is large enough to hold up to 90 metric tons (99 short tons) of food and water.[8] Despite the size of its mouth, the dimensions of its throat are such that a blue whale cannot swallow an object wider than a beach ball.[27]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_whale
It actually shows on top right hand side, the size of it compared to a human. It's realllllly huge.
That was the reason I figured Jonah couldn't have been swallowed by a baleen whale (e.g. a blue whale). Their esophagi are too narrow. A sperm whale, which is a toothed whale, might be able to do it because they eat huge prey like giant squid. If that were the case then God would have protected Jonah from digestion like He protected Daniel from the lions. I guessed that a gigantic filter-feeding shark like a whale shark (maybe a basking shark) was more likely, and seeing those pics seemed to back it up. Of course, the species of sea creature is irrelevant to the prophecy.