How did Jonah survive in the belly of the fish, 3 days and 3 nights?

Question

How did Jonah survive in the belly of the fish, 3 days and 3 nights?

Answer 1

First and foremost, the story of Jonah surviving in the belly of the whale is a true account. I believe that the Bible is the true and living word of God given to man to write for the worls could know of his goodness and his mercy. The story Jonah represents the love that God has for us and how sometimes God would use something out of the ordinary to get the people attention.



It was God grace and mercy that allow Jonah to maintain and sustain that long inside of the belly of a whale.



I hope that this at least answer or give you an idea of mysterious work of God. Alway seek the advice of believer who understands and know God according to Acts chapter 2 and John 3:16

Answer 2

Did he, or is that a story we are told, to teach us something more important? A life lesson- perhaps.



But if not--- hmmmm, Jon 2:1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, 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. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.



Jonah likened the experience to Hell. A whale is a warm-blooded mammal as we are. The body temperature of a whale must be near 100 degrees and Jonah was in this sweltering heat. I can only imagine the utter darkness he must have endured running from the Lord.



I do know how true this is, and it makes for a good story: In 1891 it was recorded that

A whaling ship, the star of the east, was hunting a whale and one of the boats was capsized and the men were believed drowned in the struggle with the whale. The whale was killed and brought along side the ship. As they were to bring the stomach upon the deck they saw movement. Well they cut open the whales stomach and lo and behold, a missing crewmember from the capsized boat had been swallowed. He was in shock and unconscious from his two and a half-day ordeal. His appearance was a white paper from the acids in the gastric secretions of the whale. The sailor was to take about two weeks to recover from his ordeal. He recounted his story as he hit the water and was to slide down the slippery slope that was the throat of the whale.



He realized that he was in utter darkness and that yet he had air to breathe in this place.

He walked to the side and felt what was like a slippery curtain move away from the touch of his hand. He was terrified as he realized he was inside the whale and had no way out. He said the heat was unbearable and he went into shock from fear and not from any harm.



The crew of the ship and the newspapers of his day reported this account.



Realize too, that this " fish" was never called a Whale in the bible, nor was it a creature of our sea, possibly as we know it to be- God CREATED this " Fish" to swallow Jonah, just as he Called up the Wind. Who knows what it really was?



God Knows:)

Answer 3

For those who say Jonah is a fairy tail I would like them to offer proof not just their opinions. It can be my opinion that gravity doesn't exist. But that doesn't make my opinion true. Jumping off a building will prove my opinion wrong very quickly.



As for Jonah he survived in the great fish as it was God's will for him to do so. Jesus reference to Jonah in Matthew 12:39ff is good enough for me to believe the factuality of the account aince Jesus cannot lie. But for those who doubt anyways there have been accounts of people being swallowed by whales and surviving. (Look up James Bartley 1891). Besides the fact that in Jonah 1:17 it says the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. It does not say a whale specifically. Since God created everything (Genesis 1:1) He made/prepared a great fish for this specific purpose. I imagine Jonah had a terribly uncomfrtable ride and came out smelling a bit nasty but the account is true none the less.

Answer 4

he was definately not in good shape when he got out....its not only possible, but factual and not fictional...he probably had bad skin due to exposure to digestive juices...he was probably like a person who has severe burns on their body, or many sores...not pretty, and therefore very convincing to the city he went to preach against, he probably looked like a walking dead...

Answer 5

the bible is made up of a collection of miracles, parables, lessons, history, and plenty of truth. Don't believe people that say everything in there are fables and fairy tales... we're they there? no. was I? no. Much of the Bible was taken from scripts called the DEAD SEA SCROLLS. If you take into the account the dead sea scrolls and even many other religious texts you will find that 100% of the miracles performed in the bible are backed by eyewitness testimony and fact backed up by 100's of different texts and scrolls.

Answer 6

There are accounts of people surviving in whales for extended periods of time, before the whales were killed and butchered by a whaling ship, and the people found alive in the belly. The acid in the whales stomach caused the returned whalers to have a orangish appearance (according to eyewitnessess), so this would have probably added to Ninevah's reaction to Jonah. It affected those on the ships....

Answer 7

It was because of GOD,HE protected and provided for him.Trust mih.

Answer 8

With the power of God our Father in heaven, anything and everything is possible.

Answer 9

By the grace of Almighty God. God had him set out for a specific purpose and that purpose needed to fulfilled because God Himself issued it. He wasn't going to let Jonah die.

Answer 10

god alowed him to stay in the beelie of the whale/fish to repent his sin. so i guess because made it so he could.

Answer 11

He didn't. The bible is a collection of fables and fairy tales, not a literal account of history.



You can't believe the people that say all of the bible is true...were THEY there?

Ok, for all the people below who want proof that it didn't happen, since they have such a strong faith in God, Let's find a way to have a whale swallow you. We'll check on you in 3 days and see if God saved you because of your loyalty and belief. If you are unwilling to let a whale eat you, I guess you don't believe.



I'm sorry but I guess life experience can lead people to realize that faith doesn't make everything right and just. Mercy is not given to all those that believe whole-heartedly in God. If so, then why are so many devout people tormented with disease and death? If your answer is, "It's all part of God's plan" than to me that says that you have no answer. Mercy does not equal imposing horrible suffering. The high and mighty attitude of many, not all, religious people seems empty when you have to watch someone who is good and has faith suffer for years on end in a slow and painful death.

Answer 12

1

Answer 13

He didn't, a careful reading shows "out of the belly of Hell I cried." Hebrew for hell is "Sheol", the place of departed spirits by interpretation. The grave on the other hand is "Queber" the place to bury, by interpretation. Also Jesus said, "No sign will be given this generation but the sign of Jonah. As Jonah was in the belly of the fish, 3 days & 3 nights, so shall the Son of Man be in the bowels of the earth." Jesus said as he "was"(dead) "so shall I be" (dead). Jonah was a "Type of Jesus" in the Bible. A Type must align in 3 areas, and they did. 1. Dead 2. 3 days & 3 nights buried. And 3. Brought back to life to save men. Jonah saved Ninavah & Jesus saved the world. There are also historical accounts of whalers falling overboard & being found alive inside a whale when processed. It can be found on GOOGLE OR YAHOO Search.

Answer 14

Onesmartlady,

Hi,

I really am interested in looking at the reference to the story you told about the sailor. I think it was a good answer.



Just one thing though,

Matt 12:40, Jesus refers to the fish as a whale: KJV



For as Jonas 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

Answer 15

Because it was the will of God. Through God all things are possible. Those ignorant responses about it's a fairy tale and don't believe everything you hear, ignore them. There is a special place in hell for those who will not and do not believe. I guess they woke their own selves up this morning too. Yeah, right. All I can say is that hell will hold you, it never runs out of space. It enlarges itself daily.

Answer 16

God gave Jonah a scuba tank and some flippers. He even threw in a hazmat suit so the acid in the fishy's stomach wouldn't eat him up. Haaaaa

Answer 17

just like jesus survived 3 days in the tomb by the grace of God

Answer 18

It's a fairy tale. Technicalities like that don't really mean as much as the overall message of the story.

Answer 19

"It's just a story" is another lame answer. If you're going to make a statement, you'd better convince me it's right. I'm not going to take it at face value. Back up your claims whatever they are.

Answer 20

It's a fictional story.



It's the same as asking how did Atlas hold up the earth?

Answer 21

GOD was watching over him It was the power of God! and for all you people that say its a fictional story someday you will stand before God and be accounted for EVERY word that book says!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 22

it's fiction.

first of all, there prabably was'nt much air in there

and second, you can't expect a person to live in hydrochloric acid- the person would dissolve in a few hours.

Answer 23

"Because of god" is the lamest answer you could give.



In reality it is just a story.



As for the person relating it to Jesus. Guess what, Jesus was dead(he didn't need air).

Answer 24

Fish is high in protein.

Answer 25

we can't believe all we read ya know.........