Not the answer you expected... Was Jonah Swallowed by a Whale?

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Published on February 3, 2022 3:15:01 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0AMaWL-m28

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Sea Monster (1983)

Duration: 4:38

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Was Jonah Swallowed by a Whale?
A friend of mine once told me he didn't believe the #Bible because, "It's impossible for Jonah to spend 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of a whale." Was Jonah swallowed by a "whale"? Or was he swallowed by something else? Possibly a "sea monster"? Let's dig deeper into the story of Jonah!

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REFERENCES:
- Book of Jonah (Bible): https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksea...
- Jewish Scholars and Jonah: https://youtu.be/IAIiLSMOg3Q
- "Whale" Translation: https://bibleask.org/did-jonah-stay-3...

TRANSCRIPT:
Was #Jonah Swallowed by a #Whale?

DID THE STORY OF JONAH REALLY HAPPEN? HISTORICAL ACCOUNT VS. PARABLE

The one critical question that often comes up every time someone references the story of Jonah: Did it actually happen? Is this an historical account or is it a parable?

My definitive answer: It doesn't matter.

If it actually happened-if this is real-life history-then the story of Jonah is an important story with an important message. But, if it's a parable… it's an important story with an important message.

Here's the thing, though, it doesn't matter. The important part of the story of Jonah is not about him surviving for three days inside a "whale" (which, by the way, might be better translated as "large sea creature," or my personal favorite, "sea monster"). Fixating on whether or not the story of Jonah really happened means sacrificing a far more important conversation about the nature of God, how humans should interact with one another, and also our own view of morality.

Whether or not the story of Jonah is an historical account or a parable has no impact on the Truth we can extract from the story. Jesus himself told parables that contain Truth, and many spiritual books from all kinds of faiths use parables to illustrate Truth about our shared human experience and our relationship with the Divine.

Let's put aside the argument about whether or not the story of Jonah.

A giant sea monster swallows Jonah whole.

Note that it doesn't say "whale," and when Jesus refers to Jonah in the Gospel of Matthew, that word, which is translated from Greek rather than Hebrew, doesn't necessarily mean "whale," either. The actual words referenced in both stories could be translated to "great sea creature" or even "sea monster."

The reason I bring this up is that suggesting that the "fish" or the "sea monster" is a whale seems to be an attempt to make this element of the story more believable. It's almost as if someone has already determined that the story must be historically accurate in order for it to be meaningful, and since calling it a "sea monster" or even "great sea creature" might make it seem less realistic, some interpreters replace that descriptor with one that seems more realistic to them.

Since we're breaking Jonah down as a story without attempting to determine whether it actually happened, I have to come to two conclusions about altering the narrative:

Changing the term from "sea monster" to "whale" doesn't improve the story. In fact, I'm willing to bet many modern day readers would be far more interested in a story that had a "sea monster" rather than a "whale."
The story of Jonah isn't even about the sea monster, which means attempting to alter the storyteller's original description might detract from the narrative arc, and therefore the entire meaning of the story.

In other words, sanitizing the content here doesn't help.

I do understand why so many people focus on this aspect of the story. It's definitely a strong marketing tool. There's not another story in the Bible about a sea monster, which makes it instantly memorable.

Here's everything that's said about the sea monster:

It swallows Jonah.
Jonah is in its belly for three days and three nights.
Jonah prays to the Lord from the sea monster's belly, and then it vomits him up onto the shore.

The only description of the sea monster is that it's "great," which likely means large (just like with the city of Nineveh). That's it. We don't get any other details. Why? Because that's not where we're supposed to spend our time and attention.

#Jonah #HowStoriesWork #JaySherer #StoryOfJonah #BookOfJonah #SeaMonster

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