# Did Noah go to Ninevah in the Belly of a Whale? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 21, 2010, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834 "2010-04-21T06:06:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/21 "2010-04-21T13:44:29Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I doubt the ancient Israelites understood the concept of marine mammals. “Fish”, to them, probably meant anything vaguely fish-like. Could have been a submarine or the Goodyear blimp maybe… ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/22 "2010-04-21T13:49:12Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Lot’s wife looked back, as in compassion and has become a pillar of God and salt of the earth. > > God doesn’t turn people into such objects as ‘punishment’, if you look, those things are not strange, but opening up the earth and swallowing them, calling down fire from heaven. > > We are allowed to do anything in Love, and God wants that, not blind obedience. King David violated the law and was found blameless. God wants a righteous heart. Blind obedience will get us there, as Abraham was about to kill his son, but not what God wants. interesting interpretation, but i think it’s not corroborated by the biblical evidence. i think the general consensus is that Lot’s wife was punished in being turned into a pillar for going against a direct command. i mean, even Jesus thought so - see Luke 17:32-33 God WANTS blind obedience. the binding of Isaac was a test, and if Abraham reasoned that killing his son wasn’t really what God wanted, and didn’t sacrifice Isaac, i’m sure God would be uber-pissed, especially since we’re dealing with the overreacting vengeful OT God. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/23 "2010-04-21T13:53:13Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > If that’s a pillar of halite in the photo, surely it wouldn’t have looked exactly like that for thousands of years? The impression I had is that halite columns are steadily forming and eroding from the cliff face, so there’s always (or at least usually) one that looks vaguely like a person. I was kind of surprised when I first heard there might actually be a rock-formation basis for the myth, like finding out why rabbits and eggs (which have nothing to do with Jesus) are major Easter symbols (they’re leftover fertility symbols from the springtime pagan rituals Easter co-opted). Heck, religion is chock-full of barely-understood symbology that has some banal origin. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/24 "2010-04-21T14:04:12Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > The impression I had is that halite columns are steadily forming and eroding from the cliff face, so there’s always (or at least usually) one that looks vaguely like a person. I was going to do this :dubious: but on thinking about it, weathered rock columns often have names that compare them to people, so it seems plausible at this level, but it still sounds like it could be a detail that was overlaid onto a pre-existing myth, rather than being the basis for it. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/25 "2010-04-21T14:12:21Z")
[It Ain’t Neccesarily So.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZV5kSEl-aw&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/26 "2010-04-21T14:17:21Z")
Already addressed ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/27 "2010-04-21T14:31:04Z")
Does it actually say in the Bible that Jonah was a human male and not a small crustacean? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/28 "2010-04-21T14:32:03Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Does it actually say in the Bible that Jonah was a human male and not a small crustacean? I should have known you’d have a comment about this, Mr. Mangetout. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/29 "2010-04-21T14:42:02Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Mark Twain retold that as the Duke of Bilgewater and the Lost Dolphin, right? 😉 My favorite is Dickens’ _“Whale of Two Titties”_ > [@kombatminipig](#): > > I’m amazed that nobody has actually pointed out the most obvious fact, which is that Jonah, while residing in ancient Israel supposedly took the sea route to Nineveh, which is in northern Iraq, far inland. So this whalesharkfish apparently went all the way around the horn of Africa, into the Persian Gulf and then swam up the Tigris? > > There is only one possible answer: Sandworm. I’d say the answer is wormHOLE! 🙂 \*\*\*- Og \*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/30 "2010-04-21T14:47:50Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I was going to do this :dubious: but on thinking about it, weathered rock columns often have names that compare them to people, so it seems plausible at this level, but it still sounds like it could be a detail that was overlaid onto a pre-existing myth, rather than being the basis for it. I’m prepared to admit that I may have misunderstood the original documentary and in fact the rock formations are being back-fitted to the myth. It just seemed like an unusually specific punishment (pillar of salt? Not smited in some more conventional manner?). ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/31 "2010-04-21T15:49:08Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > interesting interpretation, but i think it’s not corroborated by the biblical evidence. i think the general consensus is that Lot’s wife was punished in being turned into a pillar for going against a direct command. i mean, even Jesus thought so - see Luke 17:32-33 Part of that is whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, I don’t see how looking back is Lot’s wife wanting to keep her life, she knew the city was doomed, so it doesn’t seem to apply with this reasoning. You could make a case that she was turning back to go back to her own ways, but that’s reading a lot more into it, as does not agree with those terms as God uses them IMHO > [@](#): > > God WANTS blind obedience. the binding of Isaac was a test, and if Abraham reasoned that killing his son wasn’t really what God wanted, and didn’t sacrifice Isaac, i’m sure God would be uber-pissed, especially since we’re dealing with the overreacting vengeful OT God. No He wants a relationship (and God is the same in the NT as the OT, just god is veiled and actually put in a horrible light ): [QUOTE=John 15:15] I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. [/QUOTE] Blind obedience and blind faith is the process to get to know Him, but He wants to reveal all things to us, and interact with us. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/32 "2010-04-21T16:08:55Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Blind obedience and blind faith is the process to get to know Him, but He wants to reveal all things to us, and interact with us. If you’re blind, how will you recognize him? He could be somebody else. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/33 "2010-04-21T16:43:37Z")
And for three days and three nights the prayer ascended to Heaven: “How long, O Lord, will I be burdened with this indigestible prophet?” ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/34 "2010-04-21T18:03:53Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > If you’re blind, how will you recognize him? He could be somebody else. Jesus comes to us and opens our eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/35 "2010-04-21T19:00:49Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I’m prepared to admit that I may have misunderstood the original documentary and in fact the rock formations are being back-fitted to the myth. It just seemed like an unusually specific punishment (pillar of salt? Not smited in some more conventional manner?). I agree really - I mean, if the notion of being turned to a pillar of salt was not some kind of established idiom when the story of Lot’s wife was written down, then maybe it is after all based on a folk legend regarding some local landmark. Really difficult to tell. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/36 "2010-04-21T19:17:09Z")
There are a lot of natural salt formations around the Dead Sea, including some vertical “pillars.” Lot’s wife is a just-so story. There is one vaguely anthropomorhic pillar in particular which is promoted to credulous tourists as actually being “Lot’s wife.” ---
**Author:** ![Cyningablod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Cyningablod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyningablod)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/37 "2010-04-21T19:22:35Z")
I didn’t think hardly anyone took the Jonah story word-for-word literally anymore. It’s simply preposterous, on its face. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/38 "2010-04-21T19:31:05Z")
> [@Cyningablod](#): > > I didn’t think hardly anyone took the Jonah story word-for-word literally anymore. It’s simply preposterous, on its face. More do today than did a few hundred years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/39 "2010-04-21T19:34:31Z")
The fish isn’t even the most ridiculous thing about the Jonah story. After Jonah finally goes to Ninevah, he says the animals have to repent as well as the humans, so all the people _and the animals_ go around in sackcloth and ashes (literally, they wear, and they make all the animals wear sackclothes and ashes), and nobody, including the animals, is allowed to eat or drink anything until God finally decides they’ve had enough and decides not to destroy them after all. The whole thing is about as realistic as Veggie Tales. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834/40 "2010-04-21T19:43:35Z")
There _was_ an agreeable Jeffrey Archer short story called “She Fell Among Thieves” in which a couple of dodgy archaeologists break into a sealed burial chamber and find an extraordinarily lifelike statue of a Jewess made of some white stone. They smuggle her out in a pickup truck and are stopped by an army patrol in the middle of a ferocious rainstorm. They think it’s all up with them, but when the soldiers search the back of the truck they find nothing… as if the statue had melted mysteriously in the rain. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-noah-go-to-ninevah-in-the-belly-of-a-whale/536834.md?page=3)