Jonah and the Bigger Fish

Is it possible that, like Jonah, we have been distracted from the main point as we haggle over details in the biblical account of the wayward prophet? Let’s take a careful look at the details and refocus our attention on the bigger fish to fry: God’s message to us.

Whale or Fish?

In their zeal to honor the biblical text, some Christians are quick to admonish those who say that Jonah was swallowed by a whale because the Bible says that it was a “great fish” (Jonah 1:17). However, we need to remember that Scripture does not follow the classification system established by Carl Linnaeus in the 1700s. That is, modern English translations describing it as a “great fish” (Hebrew gādol dāg) would not exclude a whale as the culprit. If the Hebrew term dāg could signify a variety of marine creatures, including whales, then the text would not rule them out.

Jesus mentioned this creature in Matthew 12:40. The Greek kētous is translated in newer Bibles as “sea monster” (NASB) or “great fish” (ESV), while some older versions like the KJV and RSV translate it as “whale.” Since this Greek term is the origin of the Latin word for whale (cete), then it is quite reasonable to identify it as a whale.

Could any sea creature swallow a man whole, as described in Jonah 1:17? Whale sharks are often cited as prime candidates because of their gaping mouths with tiny teeth. Despite dubious anecdotal tales of these creatures swallowing and regurgitating people, the esophagus of a whale shark is far too narrow to ingest a man.1 Great white sharks and other large sharks may be able to consume a person, but probably not without leaving significant bites on the individual. So, it looks like we’re going to need a bigger “fish.”

A far better candidate would be a creature like the sperm whale, made famous by Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby Dick. These whales are known for swallowing giant squids and other prey whole and expelling large chunks of a waxy substance known as ambergris from their digestive tracts.2 Thus, they are capable of swallowing and vomiting something the size of a human. Additionally, they are known to inhabit the Mediterranean Sea, where Jonah was cast overboard. Sperm whales also dive deeper than any other large whale species, a detail consistent with Jonah being surrounded by the deep and taken to the “roots of the mountains” (Jonah 2:5–6).

In attempting to identify the “great fish,” some researchers point to Jonah 1:17 (NKJV), which states that God “had prepared” this creature to swallow Jonah. However, this probably does not mean that God created a new creature especially for this moment. Instead, the Hebrew term conveys the idea that God appointed or sent the beast to swallow Jonah at this time. Also, there may be other sea creatures yet to be discovered that could have devoured Jonah whole.

Was Jonah Alive?

Even if we could accurately identify the creature from Jonah, another problem exists. How could Jonah possibly have lived through the experience? For example, were a sperm whale involved, Jonah would have died in its belly long before three days passed unless God miraculously sustained him. Even if Jonah survived the initial swallowing, he would have contended with digestive enzymes in the beast’s stomach. More critically, he would not have had oxygen to breathe.

While critics often raise these objections against the authenticity of Jonah, it is possible that Jonah did not live throughout the ordeal. Jonah chapter 2 uses language that may indicate he died after being eaten. For example, he called to God “out of the belly of Sheol” (2:2), and his life was brought up “from the pit” (2:6).

But if Jonah died, how could he offer the prayer recorded in this chapter? One need only recall what Jesus said concerning the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31). After death, the rich man cried out to Abraham from Hades—the New Testament term roughly equivalent to Sheol.

The fact that Jesus compared his time in the grave to Jonah’s time in “the belly of the great fish” (Matthew 12:40) may support the view that Jonah died since it would provide a stronger parallel to the death and resurrection of Jesus. However, the main point Jesus made here had to do with the amount of time he would be in the grave rather than his status in it.

Whether Jonah died and was raised or lived throughout those three days, God must have performed a miracle to prolong the prophet’s days.

Details—or Distractions?

We should always strive to rightly handle “the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), but as we focus on the above issues, we must also be careful not to miss the larger point of the account, as Jonah did. After Jonah warned the city of God’s coming judgment, the “people of Nineveh believed God” (Jonah 3:5) and they “turned from their evil way” (Jonah 3:10). Sadly, Jonah grew angry that God relented of judging the Ninevites. In fact, the Lord rebuked him for caring more about a plant that offered him shade than he did about the 120,000 or more people who inhabited the city.

To understand Jonah’s animosity toward these people, we need to realize that Nineveh was the principal city of the Assyrian Empire, a people infamous for their horrendous violence. This included impaling and flaying their victims, as recorded in multiple Assyrian inscriptions and depicted in the 39-foot-long (12m) Siege of Lachish relief discovered at Nineveh.3 The prophet knew of Assyria’s atrocities. In fact, some of his loved ones may have suffered at their hands.

Thinking about Hamas’ shocking and macabre attacks against civilians in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, may help us understand Jonah’s mindset. If you had friends and relatives who were brutalized, kidnapped, or slaughtered, how would you respond if God called you to take the gospel to this enemy? In addition to fearing for your own life, it would be natural for you to want God to take vengeance upon them rather than show them mercy.

In reality, this unthinkable task is precisely what God has called us to do—take the gospel and make disciples of his enemies. The Ninevites did not deserve God’s mercy. Hamas does not deserve God’s mercy. And neither do we. No one does, for we have all sinned against God and deserve to be judged.

Romans 5:8–10 explains that while we were God’s enemies and in sin, Christ died for us. Though Jonah half-heartedly went to Nineveh to preach to his enemies, Jesus, who is “greater than Jonah” (Matthew 12:41), left heaven filled with compassion, “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). These truths must permeate our being and motivate us to love those living in rebellion against our Creator. No matter how vile they might seem, they are human beings made in the image of God, and they are worth pursuing with the gospel.

When you think about Jonah, remember that while God appointed a “fish” to swallow a man, he has appointed believers in Jesus Christ to be fishers of men who share the good news with the lost, praying that the lost will turn to God in faith.