2785. kétos

Lexicon

kétos: Sea creature, great fish, whale

Original Word: κῆτος
Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter
Transliteration: kétos
Pronunciation: KAY-tos
Phonetic Spelling: (kay'-tos)
Definition: Sea creature, great fish, whale
Meaning: a sea monster, huge sea fish, whale.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

whale, sea monster

Probably from the base of chasma; a huge fish (as gaping for prey) -- whale.

see GREEK chasma

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
a prim. word
Definition
a huge fish
NASB Translation
sea monster (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 2785: κῆτος

κῆτος, κητεος (κήτους), τό, a sea-monster, whale, huge fish (Homer, Aristotle, others): Matthew 12:40, from Jonah 2:1 where the Sept., κήτει μεγάλῳ for גָּדול דַּג.

Topical Lexicon

Word Origin: Derived from the Greek word for a large sea creature or monster.

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: The corresponding Hebrew term is דָּג גָּדוֹל (dag gadol), found in Jonah 1:17, which is translated as "great fish" or "large fish" in English. This term is used to describe the creature that God appointed to swallow Jonah, emphasizing the divine orchestration of events in the narrative.

Usage: The term κῆτος is used in the New Testament to describe the creature that swallowed Jonah, as referenced in the teachings of Jesus.

Context: The Greek word κῆτος appears in the New Testament in the context of Jesus' reference to the "sign of Jonah." In Matthew 12:40 (BSB), Jesus states, "For just 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." Here, κῆτος is translated as "great fish," drawing a parallel between Jonah's experience and Jesus' own death and resurrection.

The use of κῆτος in this passage highlights the miraculous nature of Jonah's preservation and serves as a typological foreshadowing of Christ's resurrection. The term itself is broad, encompassing any large sea creature, which aligns with the Hebrew understanding of the creature in the book of Jonah. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, uses κῆτος to translate the Hebrew term for the creature that swallowed Jonah, further solidifying its connection to the biblical narrative.

In the cultural and historical context of the New Testament, κῆτος would have been understood as a formidable and awe-inspiring creature of the sea, symbolizing both danger and divine intervention. The reference to κῆτος in the teachings of Jesus underscores the importance of Jonah's story as a sign pointing to the greater work of salvation accomplished through Christ.

Forms and Transliterations

κήτει κήτη κήτος κητους κήτους ketous kētous kḗtous

Englishman's Concordance

Matthew 12:40 N-GNS
GRK: κοιλίᾳ τοῦ κήτους τρεῖς ἡμέρας
NAS: IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so
KJV: nights in the whale's belly; so
INT: belly of the great fish three days

Strong's Greek 2785
1 Occurrence

κήτους — 1 Occ.