Jonah 1:17

Context

Jonah Prays

(2:1)

1:17 ¹The Lord sent² a huge³ fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

Luke 11:29-30

Context

The Sign of Jonah

11:29 As⁴ the crowds were increasing, Jesus⁵ began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign,⁶ but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.⁷ 11:30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh,⁸ so the Son of Man will be a sign⁹ to this generation.¹⁰

[1:17] ¹sn Beginning with 1:17, the verse numbers through 2:10 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 1:17 ET = 2:1 HT, 2:1 ET = 2:2 HT, etc., through 2:10 ET = 2:11 HT.

[1:17] ²tn Or “appointed” (NASB); NLT “had arranged for.” The Piel verb מִנָּה (minnah) means “to send, to appoint” (Ps 61:8; Jonah 2:1; 4:6-8; Dan 1:5, 10-11; HALOT 599 s.v. מנה 2; BDB 584 s.v. מָנָה). Joyce Baldwin notes, “Here, with YHWH as the subject, the verb stresses God’s sovereign rule over events for the accomplishment of his purpose (as in 4:6-8, where the verb recurs in each verse). The ‘great fish’ is in exactly the right place at the right time by God’s command, in order to swallow Jonah and enclose him safely” (Joyce Baldwin, “Jonah,” The Minor Prophets, 2:566).

[1:17] ³tn Heb “great.”

[11:29] ⁴tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[11:29] ⁵tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:29] ⁶sn The mention of a sign alludes back to Luke 11:16. Given what Jesus had done, nothing would be good enough. This leads to the rebuke that follows.

[11:29] ⁷sn As the following comparisons to Solomon and Jonah show, in the present context the sign of Jonah is not an allusion to Jonah being three days in the belly of the fish, but to Jesus’ teaching about wisdom and repentance.

[11:30] ⁸tn Grk “to the Ninevites.” What the Ninevites experienced was Jonah’s message (Jonah 3:4, 10; 4:1).

[11:30] ⁹tn The repetition of the words “a sign” are not in the Greek text, but are implied and are supplied here for clarity.

[11:30] ¹⁰tc Only the Western ms D and a few Itala mss add here a long reference to Jonah being in the belly of the fish for three days and nights and the Son of Man being three days in the earth, apparently harmonizing the text to the parallel in Matt 12:40.