"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."
~Jonah 1:17 King James Version (KJV) [Emphasis Added]
"Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
"But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas (Jonah): For as Jonas (Jonah) 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."
~Matthew 12:38-40 King James Version (KJV) [Emphasis Added]
To some, the discrepancy between both of these passages is evidence not only of the Bible's lack of scientific knowledge, but also proof of an internal contradiction within the text of scripture. Jonah 1:17 clearly says that Jonah was swallowed by a fish. While Jesus claims that the reluctant prophet spent three days in the belly of a whale when referencing this passage in Matthew 12:38-40. Both of these objections are a bit beside the point however when one considers how a man could survive in the stomach of anything for three days aside from a miraculous act of God.
That being said, this article is going to focus on answering the following questions: Is there a contradiction between the Book of Jonah and the Gospel of Matthew, and does the Bible really claim that whales are fish?
~Matthew 12:38-40 King James Version (KJV) [Emphasis Added]
To some, the discrepancy between both of these passages is evidence not only of the Bible's lack of scientific knowledge, but also proof of an internal contradiction within the text of scripture. Jonah 1:17 clearly says that Jonah was swallowed by a fish. While Jesus claims that the reluctant prophet spent three days in the belly of a whale when referencing this passage in Matthew 12:38-40. Both of these objections are a bit beside the point however when one considers how a man could survive in the stomach of anything for three days aside from a miraculous act of God.
That being said, this article is going to focus on answering the following questions: Is there a contradiction between the Book of Jonah and the Gospel of Matthew, and does the Bible really claim that whales are fish?
In the original Hebrew, the word used to describe the creature that swallowed Jonah is dāḡ (דָּ֣ג), which is translated as fish in English. In the specific case of Jonah 1:17, dāḡ is accompanied by the adjective gā·ḏō·wl (גָּד֔וֹל) which means great or large. Therefore the literal reading of the Hebrew text states that Jonah was swallowed by a great fish.
Likewise, the Greek word used in Matthew 12:40 is kétos (κῆτος), which can refer to any large creature that swims in the sea. Naturally, both fish and whales fall into this category. So rendering the word kétos as either great fish or whale in English is a perfectly acceptable translation. This is why most modern English translations of the Bible, aside from the King James Version, use great fish or huge fish when translating both of these passages. (ie. The New Living Translation, Holman Christian Standard Bible, New International Version etc.)
Another fact worth mentioning is that no ancient culture classified animals using our modern system of taxonomic classification. The scientific method of classification that we use today was first invented by the Swedish zoologist Carolus Linnaeus in the 18th century. Before this time, many people classified animals based largely on their behavioral characteristics and habitat rather than their physical traits and similarities to each other. For this reason, Jews and Greeks alike placed whales and fish in the same category in ancient times, as both were animals that lived in the water. The only difference was in the size of the animal in question. Which, as we observed, was specified by the adjectives used to describe said animal.
In short, the Bible does not claim that whales are fish. The Book of Jonah is written in Hebrew and uses the proper language of the day to describe any large sea creature. Likewise the Gospel of Mathew uses the equivalent Greek terminology. Therefore there is no conflict between the two in their original languages, as both writings are using essentially the same terminology in their respective language.
Another fact worth mentioning is that no ancient culture classified animals using our modern system of taxonomic classification. The scientific method of classification that we use today was first invented by the Swedish zoologist Carolus Linnaeus in the 18th century. Before this time, many people classified animals based largely on their behavioral characteristics and habitat rather than their physical traits and similarities to each other. For this reason, Jews and Greeks alike placed whales and fish in the same category in ancient times, as both were animals that lived in the water. The only difference was in the size of the animal in question. Which, as we observed, was specified by the adjectives used to describe said animal.
In short, the Bible does not claim that whales are fish. The Book of Jonah is written in Hebrew and uses the proper language of the day to describe any large sea creature. Likewise the Gospel of Mathew uses the equivalent Greek terminology. Therefore there is no conflict between the two in their original languages, as both writings are using essentially the same terminology in their respective language.
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