Jonah: A “Fish Story” or History?

By Wayne Jackson

Several years ago, Edwin Settle wrote a syndicated news article titled “Jonah’s big fish story teaches important lesson.” Mr. Settle was a former college professor (COE College) and minister with a doctorate from Yale Divinity School. In his article, he attacked the book of Jonah by stating: “The book of Jonah cannot be accepted as history” (Settle, B-4).

 Professor Settle listed several alleged inaccuracies contained in the book. It is incredible that one could be alive for three days in a fish’s belly. Jonah also speaks of “weeds wrapped about [his] head,” which does not fit the description of being inside a fish. While there was a king of Assyria, there was no “king of Nineveh,” as suggested in the book. The descriptive that Nineveh was a city of “three days journey” is erroneous; the metropolis was not nearly so large.

In spite of these supposed blunders, Dr. Settle contends that there are valuable spiritual truths in the book of Jonah (e.g., nations ought to live peaceably with one another, etc.). He suggests that we should learn important lessons of this ancient document and allow them to motivate us toward a higher level of ethical existence. Prior to giving some consideration to the accusations contained in Settle’s misguided diatribe, a couple of preliminary observations are in order.

First, it is certainly a curious twist of logic that contends one can be motivated toward a more mature level of spiritual responsibility by reflecting on a narrative filled with lies. How does error support truth? That makes no sense whatsoever.

Second, if the book of Jonah is actually a fictitious account with no historical basis, what does this do to the credibility of Jesus of Nazareth? The Lord plainly declared that Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish (Mt. 12:40). He even argued this event was a typological preview of his confinement in the tomb for the same period of time.

If the episode regarding Jonah never happened, Christ reasoned falsely, and his divine status is clearly impeached.

Is the book of Jonah filled with historical fiction as charged?

Incredible survival

The fact is, the record clearly states that “God prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah” (Jon. 1:17). The objection thus actually looks like an atheistic mentality.

That aside, even from a strictly naturalistic viewpoint, survival after being swallowed by huge fish is not impossible. In the late 1920s, a seaman was swallowed by a large sperm whale in the vicinity of the Falkland Islands. After three days, he was recovered unconscious but alive, though he had some damage to his skin (Harrison, 907).

If there is no logical reason to doubt the historicity of the book of Jonah, then its testimony about the moral reformation on the part of the Ninevites stands. There is no evidence against such a concept. We should also remind ourselves that Jesus Christ affirmed that the people of Nineveh did, in fact, repent (Mt. 12:41).

No king of Ninevah

But what of the objection that there was no “king of Nineveh.”

First, it overlooks a common biblical usage by which a capital city sometimes stands for the nation itself. Hence the “king of Samaria” is the equivalent of the king of Israelю Moreover, Assyria sometimes wielded significant dominion. “At this stage the Assyrian king exercised absolute control over a very limited region centered on Nineveh — hence the designation ‘king of Nineveh’” (Alexander, 60). This objection is not valid.

Three-day walk?

Was Nineveh a city “of three days’ journey” (Jon. 3:3)? Since archaeological excavations have shown that Nineveh was about eight miles in circumference, it is argued that it would not have taken “three days” to walk through, or around, the city.

The thing our critical friend fails to realize, however, is that the term “city” actually encompassed a larger region than the territory within the walls. In Genesis 10:10-11, we note:

Out of that land he went forth into Assyria, and builded Nineveh, and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (the same is the great city).

C. F. Keil notes that these four places composed a large composite city consisting of “a range of towns, to which the name of the (well-known) great city of Nineveh was applied” (Keil, 167).

When those who are consumed with modernistic presumptions assert that there are mistakes in the sacred volume, they reveal that the problem is with their own limited knowledge. The Bible is accurate.

https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/315-jonah-a-fish-story-or-history

Exercises:

     1. Make up a summary of the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8u3iIHhZPM

Summary:

- The whale started to sense the danger approaching. An unpredictable race started between the immersed sperm whale and “The star of the East”.

- The whale started thrashing its giant tail on the water, causing massive waves that crashed around the boats.

- Bartley and his team realized that they were in dangerous waters and had to get out of there.

- Suddenly, they felt a splintering crash underneath the hull, which sent their boat spinning into the air. The whale broke the wooden longboat into a million pieces, and the five men landed in the water.

- Another longboat rushed to their rescue and picked up all the men in the water. Except for one apprentice – James Bartley.

- Many hours had passed since that incident in the morning. And, right before sunset, the whale was still floating on the surface of the water. It was clear now that it was no longer alive.

- That afternoon, as someone was investigating the bloated whale they captured the night before, he noticed something moving in its stomach.

- Everyone thought that a huge fish was inside, and the doctor decided to perform an incision.

- Right then and there, to everyone’s surprise, the missing sailor - James Bartley, slid out. Everyone cheered. He was alive.

- He couldn’t speak, and he was taken into a confined cabin onboard the ship. He wasn’t allowed to leave the room.

- He recalled how he was able to breathe, but after some time he blacked out. The young sailor couldn’t remember anything after that.

- The crew members of the ship started sharing his story by word of mouth, and it began gaining momentum.

- In 1896, the first article was published in the New York World, telling a small portion of the story.

- Years later, a historian picked up the story and began an investigation. His name was Edward Davis. He read the stories that were published and noticed a lot of factual inconsistencies.

- He found that James Bartley’s name wasn’t even on the crew member list.

- And there was another flaw in the story: It would be scientifically impossible for a human being to survive inside a whale’s stomach, even if they’re swallowed whole.

2. Find the Russian equivalents for the following words and phrases: cast lots, top dog, pawn, deus ex machina, to finger-flip, Babylon engulfing disobedient Israel, car ferry, gastric fluids, India-rubber, incarceration, Jaws, gill-bearing ancestors, being devoured by, the penitent, salvation, gourd, a maggot, Ninevites, to vomit up.

3. Find the Russian sentences in the text:

1) Там он сел на корабль, отправляющийся в самый дальний конец известного мира - в испанский город Фарсис. 2) Внутри кита, три дня и три ночи, Иона молился Господу и так преуспел в заверениях относительно своей будущей покорности, что Бог повелел рыбе извергнуть узника. 3) Он, разумеется, не учел того, что Господь прекрасно знает, где находится его непокорный раб, и, более того, обладает оперативным контролем над водами и ветрами Восточного Средиземноморья. 4) Все карты на руках у Бога; он и берет все взятки. 5) Момент ли заглатывания, эта борьба страха с надеждой на спасение, когда мы воображаем себя чудом избегнувшими смерти в волнах только ради того, чтобы быть съеденными живьем? 6) Мы люди бывалые и умеем отличать мифы от реальности. 7) В то же время я сильно страдал от жары, которая прямо-таки палила меня и быстро росла. 8) И, если вы ученый или просто человек желчный и недоверчивый, взгляните на это вот с какой стороны. 9) И однажды произойдет случай, в который поверите даже вы: моряк исчезнет в пасти кита и будет освобожден из его чрева; пусть не через полдня, быть может, только через полчаса. 10) Постепенно он обрел прежнее здоровье, однако кислота вытравила из подвергшейся ее действию кожи все пигменты.