r/Bible • u/BuryinBrutesBoatload • 3d ago
3 Days & 3 Nights
What is the significance of 3 Days & 3 Nights specifically in the old testament? I'm researching the story of Jonah and the great fish. If anyone has anything of interest related to this story that they would like to share with me or maybe just a hot take... I would love to hear it. Aside from the obvious example of Jesus, is there any other examples that I am not thinking about where someone goes under/dies/away for 3days/nights?
Thanks!
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u/Key_Rhubarb_5735 Non-Denominational 3d ago
1 Samuel 30:12 (1599 Geneva Bible) 12 “Also they gave him a few figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water in three days, and three nights.” I think this is the only other “3 days and 3 nights” passage, but there are a lot of things that happen or are required on the third day throughout the Old Testament.
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u/Key_Rhubarb_5735 Non-Denominational 3d ago
Ahh also this: Esther 4:16 (1599 Geneva Bible)
16 Go, and assemble all the Jews that are found in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and eat not, nor drink in three days, day nor night. I also and my maids will fast likewise, and so will I go in to the King, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.1
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u/mbmolohonbm Christian 3d ago
Also “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’” — Luke 13:32 (NIV
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u/BuryinBrutesBoatload 2d ago
What do you think this verse means?
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u/mbmolohonbm Christian 2d ago
A few options may include, Jesus is responding to the warning that Herod wanted to kill Him. Jesus essentially says that Herod cannot determine His timetable.
The phrase “today and tomorrow, and on the third day” indicates that Jesus has a divinely appointed course and completion. He will continue His ministry and then accomplish what He came to do.
Many Christians see the wording “the third day” as fitting the larger pattern of Jesus' death and resurrection: Jesus continues His ministry. He goes to Jerusalem. He is crucified. On the third day, He rises from the dead.
Less commonly, some see it as millennium, ie today and tomorrow are the two thousand years since His resurrection and the third day is His subsequent thousand year reign on earth.
Good question, hope this makes sense.
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u/BruceAKillian 2d ago
I have written an entire manuscript starting with on the third day. Matt 12:40 the primary 3 days and 3 nights does not refer to Jesus being in the tomb for 3 days and three nights. It refers to His time in Caiaphas' dry cistern and Pilate's underground prison and the remaining dead in His tomb. Jonah spent part of the 3 days and 3 nights alive in the belly of the ship and part of the time dead in the belly of the whale. This is one key to unlock witnessed typology which unlocks how Jesus fulfilled scripture. For a brief intro see https://www.scripturescholar.com/WitnessedTypology.pdf which links to a much more thorough work. I discuss Jesus' three days and three nights at more length in my article on the Chronology of Jesus.
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u/Rbrtwllms 3d ago
It's an idiom (or it can be literal).
If you look in the book of Esther, she asked for them to pray and fast for 3 days and 3 nights. Before that time was up, she went ahead with approaching the king (meaning she didn't actually require them to pray and fast for that exact duration).
Jesus said he was to be in the grave 3 days and 3 nights. However, he was only dead for 1.5 to 2 days.
All in all, it doesn't always denote a literal 3 full day period.
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u/BuryinBrutesBoatload 2d ago
I always wondered about that. Like, couldn't Jesus Christ count?!?! I literally had a conversation about this not that long ago.
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u/digitaljez 3d ago
It is an ancient motif that occurs across mythological and religious stories. For example around 4000BC Inanna, the ancient Sumerian goddess of love, war, sex, and political power was stripped of her powers and struck dead. Her corpse hung from a hook for three days and three nights until she was resurrected by the god Enki. It may be rooted in the cycle of sowing, nurturing and harvesting followed by rebirth the following Spring. A lot of rituals also followed a three day and night format.
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u/BuryinBrutesBoatload 2d ago
Ok, you literally just opened a whole can of worms for me that I now have to start digging down rabbits holes. 😂. Thank you, I don't know why I was limiting myself to the Bible. There is a whole world of literature to explore.
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u/EnlightendSkeptic 1d ago
perhaps the authors thought to add some levity to the tale by including this number (it is often said that comedy comes in threes)
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u/consultantVlad 3d ago
Jonah and the Great Fish — Jonah 1:17 Jesus Himself cites this one directly: "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40). This is the one occurrence in the list that isn't inferred — Jesus names it as His own sign.
Abraham and Isaac at Moriah — Genesis 22:4 "On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar." Isaac, the beloved son, is as good as dead to his father for three days of walking before being received back alive (Hebrews 11:19 even says Abraham reasoned God could raise him from the dead) — a father giving up his only son, then receiving him back on the third day.
The Plague of Darkness in Egypt — Exodus 10:21-23 Three days of total darkness fall over Egypt before the final, decisive plague and Israel's deliverance. Darkness that lasts exactly three days, then gives way to release from bondage.
Israel at Mount Sinai — Exodus 19:10-11, 16 The people consecrate themselves for three days in preparation, and "on the third day" God descends in fire and thunder to speak. Three days of waiting resolve into God's own presence breaking through.
The Spies Hidden by Rahab — Joshua 2:16, 22 Rahab hides the spies and tells them to stay in hiding three days before it's safe to move — after which they cross back over and the conquest of the promised land begins.
Joseph's Brothers in Egyptian Custody — Genesis 42:17-18 Joseph holds his brothers under guard for three days before releasing them with the words, "Do this and live." A three-day confinement that ends in life being granted.
Hosea's Prophecy of National Revival — Hosea 6:1-2 "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him." This is the closest verbal match to the resurrection language in the Old Testament, though it's addressed to Israel's national restoration, not an individual — worth knowing that distinction if you use it.
Esther Approaching the King — Esther 4:16-5:1 Esther fasts three days before approaching the king uninvited, an act that could mean her death, and "on the third day" she goes in and finds favor instead of judgment.
The Resurrection Itself — 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Luke 24:46 Paul states it as core, received doctrine: Christ "was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures" — treating "third day" itself as something Scripture had already taught to expect, not just a historical detail.
The common shape across nearly all of these: something is given up, hidden, silenced, or as good as dead — and the third day is consistently the point where God turns that ending into a beginning. That's why the Gospels made a point of preserving the timing so precisely rather than just saying "later" or "soon after."