"And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice."---Jonah 2:2 (KJV)
The New KJV renders that verse this way--"“ I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, And He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice."
2007-03-20 08:35:02 · 16 answers · asked by Micah 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
If Jonah had not been rescued by God, the belly of the fish would have become his "grave" so what he meant is that hell is actually the grave. Hell is translated as sheol in the New KJV and in other versions as well, and sheol in Hebrew means the grave.
2007-03-21 03:45:06 · answer #1 · answered by Sean 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is symbolic---because he was cast out of the boat and in the belly of a "big fish" (it does not say whale) Jonah describes that as hell...sheol is also another word for hell in the OT. And the Lord heard his cry and repentence and freed him. Being in the belly of a big fish was as if he were in hell, it was horrible, the main point is, he knew his sin and he knew what would be when someone has sin and not the Lord. And when you die, and are not saved in Jesus Christ, you go to hell.....so it is like a lesson we learn, about how awful sin is--giving us a glimpse of the "feeling" Jonah went through....and he was not in the actual "lake of fire" but knowing his sin and how it felt to be separated from God at that time, was awful.
2007-03-20 15:43:38 · answer #2 · answered by Mandolyn Monkey Munch 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jonah may have thought he was inside the belly of the big fish. The truth about is that the kind of fish described that swallowed him are just plankton eaters and they have big mouth but small opening to the their throat to be able to swallow a man his size. He may just have been there inside the mouth which is normally of high temperature.
He may have said he was inside hell because of the extreme worry he carried not only because it was like hell inside the fish' mouth but he thought he was already in hell when he did not obey God's commands and feared will be held accountable for that.
2007-03-20 15:56:13 · answer #3 · answered by Rallie Florencio C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He was making an analogy!
It stinks, rots, the stomach acid burns the skin, and there was a lot of water.
So with Jonah burning, drowning, and crying at the same time, it is no surprise he called the belly Hell.
2007-03-20 15:43:21 · answer #4 · answered by Shark 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you were stuck, alive, in the belly of a fish with nothing but stomach acid, wouldn't you call that hell? I think I would.
2007-03-20 15:39:01 · answer #5 · answered by rbarc 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well...with incoming food, some in pieces and some whole...with stomach juices flowing...I can't image the odor...or wet conditions...I'd say it's unimaginable unless you have been there, kind of like hell...no bathroom but it might have smelled like one.
Hell will be everything we never wanted.
2007-03-20 15:41:05 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's because of the stomach acid HCl,which is usually very concentrated and cause deep skin burns.
2007-03-20 16:29:24 · answer #7 · answered by Iris B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What else would you call a place where you were stuck with the contents of a sea creatures stomach? Yuck!
2007-03-20 15:40:33 · answer #8 · answered by crystalonyx3 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A metaphor meaning he could not get out by hia own doing
2007-03-20 15:38:09 · answer #9 · answered by sdr35hw 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
...and I suppose you'd call the belly of a great fish you were in, 'the belly of pink and cute'. Pffft
2007-03-20 15:44:28 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋