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Matthew 12:40

in Matthew 12

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

KJV

For 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.

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This verse in Matthew 12

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
We know that He, the Only-begotten Son of God, at the Father's bidding came from the heavens for the abolishment of sin, and was born of the Virgin Mary, and conversed with the disciples, and fulfilled the Economy according to the Father's will, and was crucified, and died and descended into the parts beneath the earth, and regulated the things there, Whom the gate-keepers of hell saw (Job xxxviii.

This site's exposition

the whale's belly

As Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly names the sign directly, the Son of man's own burial and resurrection. The reckoning of three days and three nights from a Friday crucifixion to a Sunday rising has drawn two readings: the majority reading counts by the Jewish practice where any part of a day stands for the whole, so that a portion of Friday, all of Saturday, and a portion of Sunday together answer the formula; a minority reading places the crucifixion on a Wednesday to reach a literal seventy-two hours. The bench names both without forcing the text past what it plainly claims, that the sign given is death and resurrection, not a chronology puzzle to be solved before the sign can be believed.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

Three days and three nights - It was customary with the eastern nations to reckon any part of a natural day of twenty-four hours, for the whole day. Accordingly they used to say a thing was done after three or seven days, if it was done on the third or seventh day, from that which was last mentioned.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Three days and three nights - Our Lord rose from the grave on the day but one after his crucifixion: so that, in the computation in this verse, the part of the day on which he was crucified, and the part of that on which he rose again, are severally estimated as an entire day; and this, no doubt, exactly corresponded to the time in which Jonah was in the belly of the fish.

on Matthew 12:38-50

The beginning of this passage is one of those places which strikingly illustrate the truth of Old Testament history. Our Lord speaks of the Queen of the South as a real, true person, who had lived and died. He refers to the story of Jonah, and his miraculous preservation in the whale’s belly, as undeniable matters of fact. Let us remember this if we hear men professing to believe the writers of the New Testament, and yet sneering at the things recorded in the Old Testament as if they were fables.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Jonah's case was analogous to this, as being a signal judgment of God; reversed in three days; and followed by a glorious mission to the Gentiles. The expression "in the heart of the earth," suggested by the expression of Jonah with respect to the sea (2:3, in the Septuagint), means simply the grave, but this considered as the most emphatic expression of real and total entombment.

The words behind it

30 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Jonah 1:17Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.22 works1 Corinthians 15:4that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,21 worksMatthew 28:6He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay.17 worksMatthew 27:63–64“Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’14 worksJohn 2:19Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”13 worksMatthew 17:23They will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised to life.” And the disciples were deeply grieved.12 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Matthew 16:21From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.12 worksMatthew 27:40and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”11 worksEphesians 4:9What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth?11 worksJonah 2:2–6saying: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice.8 worksLuke 24:6He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still in Galilee:6 worksPsalms 63:9But those who seek my life to destroy it will go into the depths of the earth.5 works1 Samuel 2:6The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.4 worksMatthew 8:20Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”3 worksLuke 2:46Finally, after three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.3 worksMatthew 15:32Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.”3 worksMatthew 16:13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”3 worksMark 16:6But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here! See the place where they put Him.3 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    John 2:19

    Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”

    it leads to

    • Mark 14:58

      “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this man-made temple, and in three days I will build another that is made without hands.’”

    • Mark 15:29

      And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

    • Matthew 27:40

      and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”

    • Matthew 26:60–61

      But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward

  • Through

    Jonah 1:17

    Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.

    it leads to

    • Luke 11:30

      For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation.

    • Matthew 16:4

      A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.

  • Through

    Matthew 16:21

    From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must…

    it leads to

    • Luke 24:6–7

      He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still in Galilee:

    • Matthew 20:17–19

      As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside and said,

Where this verse is studied

About Matthew

John the Baptist Baptizes Jesus — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
John the Baptist Baptizes Jesus — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
Matthew: the study guide →Read Matthew 12 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Athanasius of Alexandria, Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia, Section 8; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Lightfoot, Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae on Matthew and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament.

Read on in Matthew 12 →