Was Jonah Swallowed by a Whale?
By Editor
A CORRESPONDENT criticises a selection—"Mis-construed Scripture"—which appeared in our issue of September 23, of the present volume. That article stated that the Scriptures do not state that it was a whale which swallowed Jonah, but a "great fish." Our critic says: "If this is true, why did Christ say plainly it was a whale? Matt. 12:40. Are not the words of Christ to be relied upon?" Yes; the words of Christ are to be relied upon. Heaven and earth may pass, but his words will not fail. But Jesus did not say "whale." Matthew used the Greek word ketos, which means, "a great fish," or "a sea monster." The Revised Version has the latter in the margin. "The Greek word," says Kitto, "no more fixes the meaning to whale than does the Hebrew." The word used by our Lord meant shark as much as whale. The term is generical, meaning a great fish of any kind. Our translators were probably better acquainted with the whale, and so translated.