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whale

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

The Hebrew original translated “great whales”

(Gen. 1:21²¹And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:21)) is used of “serpents” (Ex. 7:9⁹When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. (Exodus 7:9); Deut. 32:33³³Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps. (Deuteronomy 32:33)), and of the “crocodile” (Ezek. 29:3; 32:2³Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. (Ezekiel 29:3)
²Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. (Ezekiel 32:2)). The name belongs to sea monsters (Job 7:12¹²Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? (Job 7:12); Isa. 27:1¹In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. (Isaiah 27:1)). It is thought that the shark of the Mediterranean is meant (Jonah 1:17¹⁷Now 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. (Jonah 1:17); Matt. 12:40⁴⁰For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)).

Concise Bible Dictionary:

The word tannin (Gen. 1:21²¹And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:21); Job 7:12¹²Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? (Job 7:12); Ezek. 32:2²Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. (Ezekiel 32:2)); and κῆτος (Matt. 12:40⁴⁰For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)); refer to any sea monsters, without defining any particular one. In the case of Jonah the Hebrew word is dag, or dagah, a fish; it may not have been a whale: sharks have been known to swallow men entire, and whatever fish it was that swallowed him, it was a miracle that preserved him alive, and caused him to be safely landed on shore again. It is only by denying the miracle that any difficulty arises. The Hebrew word tannin, is also translated in the AV “dragon,” “sea monster,” and “serpent.”

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Humpback Whale

Strong’s Dictionary of Greek Words:

Number:

2785 (find all occurrences in KJV Bible)

Greek:

κῆτος

Transliteration:

ketos

Phonic:

kay’-tos

Meaning:

probably from the base of 5490; a huge fish (as gaping for prey)

KJV Usage:

whale