Possibly Jonah's big fish?

[YYZ Skinhead]

(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.