Jonah Survived in the Whale for 3 Days - Scientifically Proven

"The... reason why we should believe the account of Jonah is because even extra-biblical sources affirm its possibility.

"This is the summary of the Encyclopedia's report on Jonah. The report theorizes that the "great fish" was most likely a sperm whale. While the common Greenland whale could scarcely swallow an orange, the sperm whale has a mouth that averages 20 feet long, 15 feet high, and 9 feet wide. It is well known that the sperm whale feeds largely on squid which, of course, are much larger than humans.

"As to whether a man could survive in a whale's stomach, the Britannica article maintains that one certainly could, though with great discomfort. The report maintains that there would be sufficient air to breathe--air that is necessary for the whale to float. The temperature inside the whale would be great, but bearable at about 104 - 108 degrees F. There would be unpleasant contact with the whale's gastric juices, but these juices could not digest living matter.

"You may even be surprised to hear that Jonah is not even the only human to ever survive such an ordeal. During a voyage of a whaling ship in February of 1891, a sperm whale was spotted and pursued in the vicinity of the Falkland Islands. In an attempt to harpoon the whale, one sailor drowned while a second one disappeared. Eventually the whale was killed and drawn to the side of the ship where it was dissected.

"The next day, the stomach was hoisted on deck and opened--with the missing sailor lying inside. The sailor was unconscious, but alive. He was eventually revived and, after a time, resumed his duties on board the whaling vessel(Wilson, Sign of the Prophet Jonah, 630 - 642). "

As to whether a man could survive "three days and three nights" under such conditions, there are three possible answers that could be suggested in defense of the Biblical narrative.

In the first place, it has been well established that the phrase "three days and three nights" in ancient Hebrew usage was an idiomatic expression meaning simply "three days," and was applicable even if the beginning and ending days of the period were only partial days. Thus it could refer to a period as short as about 38 hours. There is always some air in the whale's stomach, and, as long as the animal it has swallowed is still alive, digestive activity will not begin. Thus, Jonah's experience could possibly have happened entirely with the framework of natural law.
It is much more likely, however, that the event involved a divine miracle, as the Scripture strongly implies. The "great fish" was prepared and sent by God, as was the intense storm that threatened the ship on which Jonah was traveling. The storm ceased as soon as Jonah was cast overboard (Jonah 1:4, 15). In like manner, it was quite probable that God preserved Jonah's life miraculously all through the horrifying experience.
A third possibility is that Jonah actually suffocated and died in the great fish and then God later brought him back from the dead. There are at least eight other such "resurrections" recorded in the Bible, as well as the glorious bodily resurrection of Christ -- of which Jonah's experience in particular was said by Christ to be a prophetic sign.

This is also implied by Jonah's prayer, when he said: "…out of the belly of hell (i.e. "sheol," the place of departed spirits) cried I, and thou heardest my voice" (Jonah 2:2). In any case, it was a mighty experience, evidently well known and certified in his day, probably contributing in significant degree to the fact that all people of Ninevah repented and turned to God (Jonah 3:5) when Jonah returned "from the dead," as it were, to preach to them.
Is it scientifically possible? does it really matter? God is beyond time and space and He can manipulate scientific laws whenever He wishes to carry out His plan or prophecy.

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Q: Doesn't the Old Testament say that the dead are oblivious; for example:
Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might; for there
is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in sheol where you are
going. (Eccl 9:10)

A: Okay, that's what Ecclesiastes says. Next we'll look at what Jonah said.

Jonah 2:1-7 is very tricky. There are actually three prayers mentioned in it.
One was prayed from the belly of a fish. One was prayed from sheol, and
one was prayed at the point of Jonah's death. Very tricky.

Long story short, Jonah said that sheol is at the roots of the mountains.
(Jonah 2:6)

The roots of the mountains are not located in the tummy of a fish; they're
located in the depths of the earth.

He also said "the earth beneath barred me in forever." (Jonah 2:6)

The earth's bars are earth; the body of a fish is flesh.

What I'm getting at is: although sheol probably includes one's grave, it's not
limited to one's grave because while Jonah's body was on ice in the fish's
tummy, he was imprisoned at the roots of the mountains.

Jesus Christ likened his experience to that of Jonah's.

"As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the
Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
(Matt 12:40)

Was Jonah buried at the roots of the mountains? No, he was buried at sea.

Was Jesus Christ buried in the heart of the earth? No, he was buried on the
surface of the earth.

Did Jonah go down to the roots of the mountains? Yes.

Did Jesus Christ go down to the heart of the earth? Yes.

The only possible means by which all the above could be true for both Jonah
and Jesus Christ, is if the men and their bodies parted company and went
separate ways when they died.

How do I know that Jonah died? From Jonah 2:6

"You brought my life" is the language of resurrection.

"from the pit" is the language of putrefaction.

The Hebrew word translated "pit" is shachath (shakh'-ath) which doesn't
always indicate a hole in the ground. Sometimes it indicates the putrefaction
that dead bodies undergo in the grave. For example Psalm 16:10

"You will not leave my soul in sheol, nor will you allow your holy one to see
corruption.

Peter applied Ps 16:10 to Jesus Christ when he said:

"Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh
also will rest in hope. For you will not leave my soul in hades, nor will you
allow your holy one to see corruption. (Acts 2:26-27)

According to Ecclesiastes, the dead are inactive in sheol and they have
neither knowledge nor wisdom; but Jonah had enough wits about him in
sheol to pray an intelligent prayer.

"I cried for help from the depth of sheol; and You heard my voice." (Jonah
2:2)

Jonah also prayed from within the fish.

"From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. "Jonah 2:1)

Jonah also prayed a death-bed prayer.

"When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord (Jonah 2:7)

Permit me to pass on an important safety tip as regards Ecclesiastes. It isn't
a book of revelation; rather, it's one man's philosophy of life as seen from
the perspective of a man of the earth; viz: a man under the sun whose
understanding of death and the hereafter is limited to what he can see for
himself in the world around him-- empirical evidence --which no doubt is at
least part of the reason why Ecclesiastes is so popular with atheists and
agnostics.

There's no textual evidence indicating that the author of Ecclesiastes had
ever seen the hereafter for himself before writing about it. In contrast, Jonah
did.

So then; people have a choice to make. Do they listen to an inexperienced
philosopher or do they listen to a fully-experienced prophet? Abraham
recommends listening to the prophet. (Luke 16:27-31)

FYI: there's no need to scientifically prove that a fish could swallow Jonah.
According to Jonah 1:17, the fish was an "appointed" fish. Some versions read
"prepared" fish. Either way, I think it's pretty safe to assume that the Bible is
telling us that Jonah's fish was a freak of nature; viz: a GMO.

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Jonah was in the belly of a whale, and scientifically this is actually possible to survive from so it happened. You can apply all the allegory you want and that can be beneficial, but at the end of the day Jonah literally was in the belly of a whale. It's nice to observe scientific phenomenon like the parting of the red sea is actually called wind set up and wind set down. You can even turn a snake into a stick as you can train the snake to behave like a stiff rod.