Thank you for the question on Jonah, “Was the fish that God sent to carry Jonah an angel?”
As one reads the Book of Jonah, the fish is not an angel nor did an angel carry Jonah to safety. It is a literally a “ great fish” that God prepared to swallow Jonah. It’s a special creation of God or an enablement by God that the “great fish” swallowed Jonah and preserved his life while inside this fish.
The reason why I believe it is a literal fish are as follows:
- There is no indication in the Book of Jonah that God sent an angel to carry or to assist Jonah.
- There is every indication that Jonah was drowning as he sank beneath the seas (Jonah 2:3,5). He describes the waves and the seaweeds wrapping around him. He was losing consciousness and pray for deliverance.
- The text state that a great fish swallow him and that he was inside that fish for three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17).
- The great fish beached himself so that he was vomited onto dry ground (Jonah 2:10). This great fish was directed by God and carried him from the somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea to a coastal land. The location is not specified but probably in the area of Joppa. That’s just a conjecture as to the location.
The text does not state what kind of “great fish” that God prepared for Jonah just as God supernatural provided a shade for him as he waited to see what God will do to Nineveh. Thus it would be unwise to insist that the great fish was a whale. What one can say is that the great fish was able to swallow Jonah alive and whether naturally or supernaturally God preserved Jonah’s life while he was inside that great fish.
Summary: The great fish that God prepared for Jonah carried him to a coastal area and vomited him out.