Jonah 1:17

Jonah 1:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
• New International Version (NIV)Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Context of Jonah 1:17

15So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. 16Then the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. Now the Lord had prepared (appointed, destined) a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 1:17 word by word

וַיְמַ֤ן יְהוָה֙ דָּ֣ג גָּד֔וֹל לִבְלֹ֖עַ אֶת־יוֹנָ֑ה וַיְהִ֤י יוֹנָה֙ בִּמְעֵ֣י הַדָּ֔ג שְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה יָמִ֖ים וּשְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה לֵילֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Now the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• had preparedמָנָהmânâh · to countH4487
• a greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• fishדָּגdâg dâ'g · fishH1709
• to swallow upבָּלַעbâla‛ · to swallow upH1104
• Jonahיוֹנָהyônâh · JonahH3124
• was in the bellyמֵעֶהmê‛eh · bellyH4578
• threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• nightsלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915

Commentaries on Jonah 1:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Now the Lord had prepared a great fish - גדול דג dag gadol . This could not have been a whale, for the throat of that animal can scarcely admit a man's leg; but it might have been a shark, which abounds in the Mediterranean, and whose mouth and stomach are exceedingly capacious. In several cases they have been known to swallow a man when thrown overboard. See the note on Matthew 12:40; (note), where the whole subject of this verse is considered at large…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Now the Lord had (literally “And the Lord”) prepared - Jonah (as appears from his thanksgiving) was not swallowed at once, but sank to the bottom of the sea, God preserving him in life there by miracle, as he did in the fish‘s belly. Then, when the seaweed was twined around his head, and he seemed to be already buried until the sea should give up her dead, “God prepared the fish to swallow Jonah”. “God could as easily have kept Jonah alive in the sea as…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-17Verses 13-17 The mariners rowed against wind and tide, the wind of God's displeasure, the tide of his counsel; but it is in vain to think of saving ourselves any other way than by destroying our sins. Even natural conscience cannot but dread blood-guiltiness. And when we are led by Providence God does what he pleases, and we ought to be satisfied, though it may not please us. Throwing Jonah into the sea put an end to the storm. God will not afflict for…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17Some critics find it hard to believe that Jonah could survive inside a large fish. They challenge one of the book's main ideas, that God has complete control over nature. If God exists and created nature (Jonah 1:9, 16; see also Genesis 1:21), such a miracle is possible. The book treats the fish story as historical. The species of the fish is not specified, nor is it important for the story's meaning. Given God's power, the fish could have been specially…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. prepared a great fish--not created specially for this purpose, but appointed in His providence, to which all creatures are subservient. The fish, through a mistranslation of Mt 12:40, was formerly supposed to be a whale; there, as here, the original means "a great fish." The whale's neck is too narrow to receive a man. Bochart thinks, the dog-fish, the stomach of which is so large that the body of a man in armor was once found in it [Hierozoicon…Read the comment

Topics related to Jonah 1:17

• Fish
• Jonah
• Miracles
• Types

In the dictionaries

• Jonah
• Cry
• Raging
• Belly
• Jonah, the Book of
• Number
• Whale

Commentaries on Jonah 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings