Have you ever wondered about the possibility that someone could survive being swallowed by a great fish? Few people would question the historicity of Jonah apart from the “fish story.” It is a whale of a tale! But could it have actually happened?
In Sir Francis Fox’s book, Sixty‑three Years of Engineering (cited in Princeton Theological Review 25 (1927), pp. 630-42), it is reported that the sperm whale can swallow lumps of food eight feet in diameter. In one of these whales was found the skeleton of a shark sixteen feet in length. Harry Rimmer (The Harmony of Science and Scripture, 1940) suggests that Jonah’s “fish” may have been the Rhinodon shark which has no teeth and feeds by straining its food through great plates in its mouth (p. 185). A large fish of this type would certainly be capable of swallowing a man.
What would be the chances of surviving inside the fish? Rimmer reports that whales, being air breathing mammals, have in their heads a large air storage chamber. The chamber is an enlargement of the nasal sinus and, in a large whale, can be as large as fourteen feet by seven feet, and seven feet high. This amounts to 686 cubic feet of space. It is possible that a man could survive for three days and three nights in such a chamber. Rimmer explains that if a whale takes into its mouth an object too big to swallow, to thrusts it up into the air chamber. If it finds that it has a large object in its head, it swims for the nearest land, lies in shallow water, and ejects it (p. 183). It is also reported that a sperm whale always ejects the contents of its stomach when dying.
Rimmer tells of an English sailor who was once swallowed by a giant Rhinodon shark in the English Channel. The sailor fell overboard attempting to harpoon the shark. Before he could be picked up, the man was swallowed. The entire trawler fleet sought to hunt the fish down so the sailor’s body could be recovered and buried. Forty‑eight hours after the accident occurred, the fish was sighted and killed. The carcass was towed to shore and the body cavity opened. Much to his friends’ surprise, the sailor was unconscious but alive! He was rushed to the hospital where he was found to be suffering from shock alone. A few hours later he was discharged as being physically fit. Rimmer reports that he met the sailor in person and was able to corroborate the incident. The man’s physical appearance had been effected by his experience. His body was entirely devoid of hair, and odd patches of yellowish‑brown covered his skin (pp. 188-189).
Have you ever wondered about the possibility that someone could survive being swallowed by a great fish? Few people would question the historicity of Jonah apart from the “fish story.” It is a whale of a tale! But could it have actually happened?In Sir Francis Fox’s book, Sixty‑three Years of Engineering (cited in Princeton Theological Review 25 (1927), pp. 630-42), it is reported that the sperm whale can swallow lumps of food eight feet in diameter. In one of these whales was found the skeleton of a shark sixteen feet in length. Harry Rimmer (The Harmony of Science and Scripture, 1940) suggests that Jonah’s “fish” may have been the Rhinodon shark which has no teeth and feeds by straining its food through great plates in its mouth (p. 185). A large fish of this type would certainly be capable of swallowing a man.What would be the chances of surviving inside the fish? Rimmer reports that whales, being air breathing mammals, have in their heads a large air storage chamber. The chamber is an enlargement of the nasal sinus and, in a large whale, can be as large as fourteen feet by seven feet, and seven feet high. This amounts to 686 cubic feet of space. It is possible that a man could survive for three days and three nights in such a chamber. Rimmer explains that if a whale takes into its mouth an object too big to swallow, to thrusts it up into the air chamber. If it finds that it has a large object in its head, it swims for the nearest land, lies in shallow water, and ejects it (p. 183). It is also reported that a sperm whale always ejects the contents of its stomach when dying.Rimmer tells of an English sailor who was once swallowed by a giant Rhinodon shark in the English Channel. The sailor fell overboard attempting to harpoon the shark. Before he could be picked up, the man was swallowed. The entire trawler fleet sought to hunt the fish down so the sailor’s body could be recovered and buried. Forty‑eight hours after the accident occurred, the fish was sighted and killed. The carcass was towed to shore and the body cavity opened. Much to his friends’ surprise, the sailor was unconscious but alive! He was rushed to the hospital where he was found to be suffering from shock alone. A few hours later he was discharged as being physically fit. Rimmer reports that he met the sailor in person and was able to corroborate the incident. The man’s physical appearance had been effected by his experience. His body was entirely devoid of hair, and odd patches of yellowish‑brown covered his skin (pp. 188-189).
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