Can a man be swallowed whole by a fish??
Does the story of a man spending 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of a whale sound unbelievable? Why should it? There are plenty of large animals that could swallow a man whole. A great white shark and a killer whale both have mouths big enough to swallow a person whole, altho the teeth would make this a bloody endeavour. With the Sperm whale however, there is only one set of teeth contend with. That's right Sperm Whales only have teeth on its bottom jaw that fit into sockets in it's upper jaw. For the most part the whale swallows whole large pieces of giant squid it tears off. An interesting fact is that the giant squids do REGROW arms or tentacles it loses. One giant squid corpse found in Canada in 1968 had a partially regenerated tentacle. Other whales are not contenders as none of the others can swallow a human size object without choking. The Blue Whales and Humpback whales, while having a large enough mouth for a human to easily fit, have extremely narrow throats only 8 inches in diameter. The same problem prevents the Whale Shark from also being a contender, as its throat is even smaller (the size of a quarter). The Sperm Whale is really the only contender for being able to swallow a human whole. It is the only whale with a large throat that can easily fit a human. And it is designed to consume large prey like giant squid. Sperm Whale have been known to hunt and consume smaller fish. They are able to stun fish using their echolocation clicks, that are the loudest animal-caused noises in the world. This lends credence to those who say they survived on fish inside the whale's belly. |
Could a man get out after being swallowed??
The Bible says Jonah was vomited back up by the whale, after 3 days and 3 nights. Here too scientific observation shows that whales regularly beach themselves when they are about to die. No one knows for sure why this happens but we have many documented cases of whales beaching themselves before dying. Even more incredible is that in a few cases they were observed to VOMIT up the contents of their stomachs upon death. Also it is a regular occurrence that sperm whales in particular vomit and they even vomit up stuff is used in perfumes. This vomiting matches the Bible's account that the whale could have vomited Jonah onto land after beaching itself or close to land.
The Bible says Jonah was vomited back up by the whale, after 3 days and 3 nights. Here too scientific observation shows that whales regularly beach themselves when they are about to die. No one knows for sure why this happens but we have many documented cases of whales beaching themselves before dying. Even more incredible is that in a few cases they were observed to VOMIT up the contents of their stomachs upon death. Also it is a regular occurrence that sperm whales in particular vomit and they even vomit up stuff is used in perfumes. This vomiting matches the Bible's account that the whale could have vomited Jonah onto land after beaching itself or close to land.
Why did the Bible say "great FISH"??
Why did the Bible call the whale a "great fish"? The word whale comes from multiple languages, all which mean "large sea fish". It was only in the 1800s that scientist finally decided that whales were not fish. The fact that they breathe air instead of water was a big contributor. So in all respects, the Bible got it right when it said Jonah was swallowed by a "great fish" and finally we have determined its identity.
Why did the Bible call the whale a "great fish"? The word whale comes from multiple languages, all which mean "large sea fish". It was only in the 1800s that scientist finally decided that whales were not fish. The fact that they breathe air instead of water was a big contributor. So in all respects, the Bible got it right when it said Jonah was swallowed by a "great fish" and finally we have determined its identity.
The Heart of the Matter
Many skeptics, instead debating the possibility of a man being swallowed by a whale, they choose to attack the person telling the story. We see that a person indeed can get swallowed easily by Sperm Whales that are considered and still are considered as giant fish. We also see that a human can easily slide down the gullet of Sperm Whales as they swallow things much larger than humans all the time. They also regularly hunt and swallow fish, which would allow a person to survive for a few days within. The only question is how much air would there be inside of a sperm whale's stomach. Besides this one issue the whole Jonah story is very possible and plausible.
So the bigger whale of a question tho, is now that its proven that the Bible seems to be accurate with Jonah and the whale story, is will you trust it when it says there is an omnipotent God out there to whom we are accountable to for our lives. This God knew where Jonah was and that his intention was to run away on the high seas. This God not only stirred up a gigantic storm strong enough that seasoned, veteran sailors were in fear for their lives at it s ferocity, but also arranged for a certain whale with a belly full of oxygen to swallow Jonah. This God somehow guided the wild animal to the shores and spit Jonah just in time to prevent him from dying. The veteran seamen not only saw Jonah swallowed and the sea calm instantly, but believed without knowing all the science behind it. You know the science now. Will you likewise believe in the God of the Bible and the Messiah He sent, Jesus??
Many skeptics, instead debating the possibility of a man being swallowed by a whale, they choose to attack the person telling the story. We see that a person indeed can get swallowed easily by Sperm Whales that are considered and still are considered as giant fish. We also see that a human can easily slide down the gullet of Sperm Whales as they swallow things much larger than humans all the time. They also regularly hunt and swallow fish, which would allow a person to survive for a few days within. The only question is how much air would there be inside of a sperm whale's stomach. Besides this one issue the whole Jonah story is very possible and plausible.
So the bigger whale of a question tho, is now that its proven that the Bible seems to be accurate with Jonah and the whale story, is will you trust it when it says there is an omnipotent God out there to whom we are accountable to for our lives. This God knew where Jonah was and that his intention was to run away on the high seas. This God not only stirred up a gigantic storm strong enough that seasoned, veteran sailors were in fear for their lives at it s ferocity, but also arranged for a certain whale with a belly full of oxygen to swallow Jonah. This God somehow guided the wild animal to the shores and spit Jonah just in time to prevent him from dying. The veteran seamen not only saw Jonah swallowed and the sea calm instantly, but believed without knowing all the science behind it. You know the science now. Will you likewise believe in the God of the Bible and the Messiah He sent, Jesus??
A Whale of a Tale: Fundamentalist Fish Stories | Could a human survive being swallowed by a whale or big fish, like Jonah? | Smithsonian:Could a Whale Accidentally Swallow You? It Is Possible | Swallowed alive, man survives inside whale’s stomach for three days 4/5/2016 | Whale Facts | Have any real-life Jonahs been swallowed by whales and lived? | Sperm Whale Facts | Sperm Whale tales