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Hi, Brian —
The book of Jonah is a prophetic
book. We can understand it literally
if we choose, but doing so is not
a matter of faith and morals. Also,
if we get caught up in proving or
disproving the historicity of certain
events, we often miss the meaning
of the text.
For instance, you said there was
a whale in the story, but the book
doesn't mention a whale;
it mentions a great fish.
- So shall
we argue about what kind of fish
it was?
Some scholars interpret the story
in the light of the Gospels. When
asked for a sign, Jesus said the only
sign would be given: the sign of
Jonah, (Matthew 12:38-42), who spent three days in the belly
of the fish. Jesus was probably referring
to a tradition that Jonah went to
Sheol (the place of the dead) during
those three days, hence he prefigured
Christ (in a very imperfect way).
When looking at the Bible, we need
to understand that it records Salvation
History.
That's different than being a history
textbook or a science textbook. Sure,
the Bible contains actual history,
but it's not always history in the
way the 21st century would
record history.
The human authors, under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, used various
literary forms and constructs. We
can go too far with this approach
and start to deny essential historical
truths. Some scholars make a habit
of going too far in denying people,
places, and events, writing them
off as literary devices.
So while I wouldn't use the word
fiction because it makes it sound
like the stories were simply human
fabrications, it's fair to say that
the human authors, inspired by the
Holy Spirit, chose various ways to
convey those truths which are necessary
for our Salvation. These literary
forms included:
John
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