If he did, is there any supporting evidence?
2007-01-22 04:46:28 · 19 answers · asked by xplst 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
No. That story is absolutely ridiculous and it's sad that people are gullible enough to believe it.
2007-01-22 04:49:10 · answer #1 · answered by Zhukov 4 · 3⤊ 6⤋
A favorite contention in the past was that no sea creature could swallow a man. But this argument is not valid. The sperm whale, having a mammoth square-shaped head that constitutes about one third of its length, is fully capable of swallowing a man whole. (Walker’s Mammals of the World, revised by R. Nowak and J. Paradiso, 1983, Vol. II, p. 901) Interestingly, there is evidence that the seaport of Joppa anciently was a headquarters for whalers. On the other hand, it is possible that the great white shark was the fish that swallowed Jonah. One of these that was caught in 1939 contained two whole 2-m-long (6 ft) sharks in its stomach—each about the size of a man. And the great white sharks have roamed all the seas, including the Mediterranean. (Australian Zoological Handbook, The Fishes of Australia, by G. P. Whitley, Sydney, 1940, Part 1—The Sharks, p. 125; The Natural History of Sharks, by R. H. Backus and T. H. Lineaweaver III, 1970, pp. 111, 113) It should be noted, however, that the Bible simply states: “Jehovah appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah,” the kind of fish not being specified. (Jon 1:17) So it cannot be determined just what “fish” might have been involved. In fact, man’s knowledge of the creatures inhabiting the seas and oceans is rather incomplete. Noted the magazine Scientific American (September 1969, p. 162): “As it has in the past, further exploration of the abyssal realm will undoubtedly reveal undescribed creatures including members of groups thought long extinct.”
2007-01-22 04:54:00 · answer #2 · answered by Janos 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There are no whales that he could have been swallowed by today and lived. In fact, there is no living creature he could have been swallowed by and be able to live for more than a few minutes, much less than 3 days. Remember, people kind of need oxygen and the digestive tracts of animals are not human friendly places.
No person has EVER been swallowed by a whale or a fish and survived for 3 days. No person has EVER been swallowed by a whale or fish and survived for an hour. I would be willing to bet that no person has EVER been swallowed by a whale or fish and survived for more than 10 minutes. In fact, I am rather skeptical of a person surviving for any time at all. Any animal that is big enough to swallow a person and is inclined to swallow a person is also the kind of animal that likes to chew it up a bit first.
A person here has claimed that there is history people surviving being swallowed by a large marine creature yet they do not give us the instances. Give us the details and not just that you read somewhere that it was true.
There is as much evidence that Jonah strapped sea turtles to his feet with rope made from human hair collected from his back than there is for him being swallowed by a whale/fish/leviathan.
2007-01-22 04:53:08 · answer #3 · answered by A.Mercer 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
the bible does not say what kind of fish it was, so we do not know if it was a whale. the bible only says a big fish. read Jonah chapter 1 verse 17. Now Jehovah appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, so that Jonah came to be in this inward parts of the fish three days and three nights.
2007-01-22 04:49:47 · answer #4 · answered by lover of Jehovah and Jesus 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
There is no evidence that it was a whale. The bible just says it was a huge fish. People assume it was a whale because that is the largest fish in the ocean today.. It sounds unbeleivable to me. How can anyone survive in the belly of a fish for three days?
2007-01-22 04:55:39 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes he really did get swallowed by a great fish. Some species of whales and some species of sharks are quite capable of swallowing a man whole. Among these are the sperm whale, the white shark, and the whale shark, all of which have been found with whole animals as large or larger than a man in their stomachs.
http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t004.html
2007-01-22 05:37:18 · answer #6 · answered by cnm 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Some scholars think Jonah was written as a satire. Jonah is the only prophet in the Hebrew Scriptures who was a professional prophet (i.e., that was his job). He is also the only prophet who went the other way when God gave him a call.
2007-01-22 04:56:08 · answer #7 · answered by angel_light 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No, whales aren't "fish". Yes, there is supporting evidence. See the scanned photos in the Book of Job that he took from inside the fish.
2007-01-22 04:53:57 · answer #8 · answered by Open Heart Searchery 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
The Bible doesn't say it was a whale. It says a big fish.
The Bible doesn't say that Eve ate an apple either but people have said it so much that some people actually believe it not knowing the truth. The Bible says she ate from a fruit tree but it doesn't name it.
2007-01-22 04:51:26 · answer #9 · answered by free 1 indeed 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
much confusion on this one, read it clearly.
It was a great fish prepared by God. Some call it a whale but that is not accurate.
2007-01-22 04:50:23 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
You can look at the fact that whales breath air and therefore it's not a big jump to think that he was able to breath in the whale.
God can create anything to do anything He so wishes. It's a matter of faith above all else.
2007-01-22 04:49:52 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋