What is the meaning of the story of Jonah and the whale?

Asked 3 years ago

Why did Jonah get swallowed by a whale? Did it really happen, or was it symbolic?

Story of jonah Bible character Biblical events

Osasere Okunloye

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Many contemporary believers argue that the story of Jonah is fictional. However, this is only because many of them do not believe that a man can survive in the belly of the fish for three days. The Bible didn't say anything about the story of Jonah being fictional.
In the book of 2 kings 14:25, Jonah was introduced as a prophet of God, "according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gath-Hepher." This passage shows that Jonah was not a fictional character.
In Matthew 12:39-41, Jesus Christ also talked about Jonah as a prophet, recalling the account of the prophet in the belly of a fish and the acceptance of the gospel by the people of Nineveh, in a historical manner.