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The book of Jonah in the Bible mentions a big fish. I want to know the specific one. According to Wikipedia:

Interpretations of the "fish" fall into these general categories:

  1. A big fish or whale (of unspecified species) did indeed swallow Jonah.
  2. A special creation (not any fish we know of) of God accomplished the act.
  3. There was no fish: the story is an allegory, the fish is a literary device in the story, the story is a vision or a dream etc.
  4. The originators of the story did indeed intend for the story to be taken literally.
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The Bible does not specify the species of fish. It simply says דָּג גָּדֹול (dag gadol), or "great fish." All else is conjecture. – H3br3wHamm3r81 Dec 16 '12 at 17:41
Colin's and @H3br3wHamm3r81's comment above are about all that can be said without everyone saying their personal opinion—as such the question isn't constructive enough to be left open I'm afraid. Don't let that put you off asking more questions here, but please lean towards those that can be answered with reason or analysis and interpretation of the text itself rather than those that are purely subjective. – Jack Douglas♦ Dec 17 '12 at 13:12

closed as not constructive by Jack Douglas♦ Dec 17 '12 at 13:12

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1 Answer

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The Hebrew says "דָּג גָּדוֹל" - literally, "a big fish". That is as specific as it gets.

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