Figure EUR-ita-068. Cynocephalic (dog-headed), bipede, ichthyocaude (fish-tailed), greenish-bluish aquatic composite monster ketos, disgorging Jonah, the subject referred to in the Bible (Old Testament), NRSV as follows:
◆ "But the Lord provided a large fish [דָּ֣ג, dag = "fish" in Hebrew; κητος, ketos = "sea-monster" in Greek] to swallow up Jonah [יוֹנִים, Yonah = "Dove" in Hebrew]; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish [דָּ֣ג, dag; κητος, ketos] three days and three nights. ⟨...⟩ Then the Lord spoke to the fish [דָּ֣ג, dag; κητος, ketos], and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land." (Jonah 1: 17; 2: 10)
and in the Bible (New Testament), NRSV as follows:
✠ "Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him [Jesus Christ], “Teacher, we wish to see a sign [σημεῖον, semeion = "sign" in Greek] from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster [κητος, ketos], so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here!" (Matthew 12: 38-41) and
✠ "When the crowds were increasing, he [Jesus Christ] began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here! The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here!" (Luke 11: 29-32).
According to the rabbinic tradition (Midrash), while Jonah was inside the fish, it told him that its life was nearly over because soon the Leviathan would eat them both. Jonah promised the fish that he would save them. Following Jonah's directions, the fish swam up alongside the Leviathan and Jonah threatened to leash the Leviathan by its tongue and let the other fish eat it. The Leviathan heard Jonah's threats, saw that he was circumcized, and realized that he was protected by the Lord, so it fled in terror, leaving Jonah and the fish alive. To reward him for this service the fish showed Jonah all the wondrous things in the ocean, such as the path of the Israelites across the Red Sea or the pillars upon which the earth rests. (Zohar; Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer; Genesis Rabbah; exact quotes and source references needed).
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