Spiritual Zoology 101: Depression is Like a Whale
In the King James Version of the Bible, the word “whale” appears four times: once each in the books of Genesis, Job, Ezekiel, and Matthew.
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
–Genesis 1:20-21 KJV
The first time that whales show up in the Bible is the very first chapter of the Bible. This passage is reminiscent of another passage in the Psalms:
“So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. 26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein. 27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.”
–Psalm 104:25-27 KJV
According to Psalm 104:26, God created a creature called Leviathan to play in the sea. Other passages in the Bible describe Leviathan as a large marine creature, particularly a sea serpent.
“In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.”
–Isaiah 27:1 KJV
Now if Leviathan is a kind of sea serpent, then what does that have to do with whales? And what does that have to do with depression?
Let us move on to the second passage of the KJV with the word “whale:”
“Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12 Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?”
–Job 7:11-12 KJV
In this passage, Job is going through depression. After experiencing great trauma in the first two chapters of the book of Job, Job’s spirit is broken and his soul becomes bitter (see Job 3:20; 10:1; 17:1). He despairs of life such that he would rather die than to live (see Job 7:15).
As soon as the third chapter of Job, Job curses his life and wishes that he were dead. Job even invokes a creature named “Leviathan” by name over his life in that very process as he curses himself (see Job 3:8).
When Job complains against God in Job 7:12 and compares himself to a “whale,” then what is that word for “whale” in the Hebrew language? According to the Strong’s Concordance, the Hebrew word for “whale” in this verse is “tannîn” (H8577).
As stated on the BlueLetterBible website, “The KJV translates Strong’s H8577 in the following manner: dragon (21x), serpent (3x), whale (3x), sea monster (1x).” (1) Other translations of Job 7:12 will use terms like “sea monster” or “dragon” rather than “whale.” (2)
If whales, dragons, and sea serpents are often interchangeable (since they come from the same Hebrew word tannîn), then what does this have to do with depression? What is the spiritual significance of any such creature, and what does that have to do with depression?
Moving on to the third “whale” passage in the King James Version gives more insight into the invisible spiritual realm.
“Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.”
–Ezekiel 32:2 KJV
What is up with comparing the Egyptian head of state to a “young lion” or “whale?” Ephesians 6:12 in the New Testament describes the organization of the invisible spiritual realm, using terms like “principalities,” “powers,” “rulers of this dark world,” and “spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms” (my paraphrase). Such terms denote that some invisible spirit beings exert their influence upon entire regions and groups of people.
A person’s behavior always follows their thoughts and actual beliefs. To paraphrase Dr. Stephen R. Covey, if you influence a person’s thoughts, and you will influence their emotions and desires, resulting in a change to their actions, habits, and destiny. (3)
Where does a person’s thoughts come from originally? From a biblical perspective, one’s thoughts do not always proceed from one’s own mind. Invisible spirit beings can also plant thoughts into one’s mind through “temptation.”
A person then has the responsibility to “take every thought captive” by listening to what God says (see 2 Corinthians 10:4-5). If someone has hidden God’s Word in one’s heart by thinking and meditating on it day and night, then they may not sin against God (see Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2; 119:11). Otherwise, one will lack spiritual discernment and wisdom, believe what the “father of lies” is saying, and act based on that information (see John 8:31-32, 43-47).
Ephesians 6:12 puts Satan’s invisible kingdom into four categories or rankings. Many other Bible passages classify God’s creation under categories and terms such as “cattle,” “wild beasts,” “fish of the sea,” “birds of the air,” “creeping things,” etc.
God gives mankind authority over creation as we submit to His leadership. Ezekiel 32:2 compared Pharaoh king of Egypt to a “young lion” and to a “whale” (or sea monster). Satan and his minions are likened to various animals throughout the Bible.
For example, Satan is called a roaring lion, the dragon, that old serpent, birds of the air, etc. (see 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9; 20:2; Mark 4:4,15). Just as Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 classified “unclean animals” which God’s holy people were supposed to avoid, so also are demons identified as “unclean spirits” which God’s holy people are warned to have no fellowship or participation with through sin (see 1 Corinthians 10:20; Ephesians 4:27).
Whenever the Bible uses an animal to describe the operations of an invisible evil entity, it is tied to whatever role in which Satan is functioning (whether that be as an accuser, liar, tempter, seducer, false teacher, destroyer, manipulator, etc.).
For example, 1 Peter 5:8 says that Satan prowls around “like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” A roaring lion speaks of Satan’s role as “prince of this world” with power and influence to harm any who trespass the safety parameters of God’s commandments (see John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Ephesians 2:2).
As the “accuser of the brethren,” he is identified as a dragon in Revelation 12. Jesus called envious religious leaders who frequently defaulted to gossip and slander as a “brood of vipers.” (4) Ministers who cease submitting to God’s leadership could be called “wild oxen,” as described in Psalm 22:21 of Israel’s religious leaders who wanted Jesus dead.
As the sting of a scorpion can be painful and deadly, Jesus used the term “scorpion” to classify “spirits of infirmity,” which often work together with the torment of guilt and fear to compromise the immune system and to work death within a person’s body. (5)
Jesus was whipped with an instrument called “the scorpion” and died in our place in order to make healing available to us as all our guilt, shame, pride, bitterness, anxiety, depression, and fears are shed, overcome, and dealt with at the altar of the cross.
Nevertheless, what does the “whale” have to do with depression? And how does a person get free from depression?
Let’s go to the final KJV verse which has the word “whale:”
“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.”
–Matthew 12:40 KJV
In this verse, Jesus compares “the whale’s belly” to “the heart of the earth.” The prophet Jonah was swallowed by a great fish or sea creature and spent three days and nights in its belly.
As recorded in Jonah chapter 2, Jonah likened this creature’s belly to “the belly of hell” (KJV) or “the belly of Sheol” (ESV). Sheol is described in other passages as the “depths” under the earth where departed spirits would reside after death in the netherworld or underworld.
The word “Sheol” appears in the NASB1995 in 65 verses, and it is often interchangeable with “death,” “hell,” and/or “the grave.” Just as the “great fish” (“whale” or “tannîn”) swallowed Jonah, Sheol is also described to “swallow” up its victims (see Jonah 1:17; Numbers 16:28-33; Proverbs 1:12).
“Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, even whole, as those who go down to the pit;”
–Proverbs 1:12 NASB1995
This verse in Proverbs compares Sheol to “the pit.” Have you ever heard someone describe “the pit of depression?” The phrase “the pit” appears in 42 verses in the NASB1995, and 6 of those verses also contain the word “Sheol.”
Of those 42 verses containing the phrase “the pit,” which chapter of the Bible contains that phrase the most? Interestingly, it is Ezekiel 32 (where “the pit” appears six times), that same chapter as our third passage containing the word “whale” in the KJV.
Finally we are beginning to connect whales with depression: Whale / “Tannin” / sea monster / sea serpent (including Leviathan) → Sheol / the pit (see also “Abaddon” or “abyss”)→ depression (or destruction).
After Ezekiel 32, the chapter of the Bible which contains the phrase “the pit” the most is Job 33. In this chapter, Job’s friend Elihu teaches Job about how God heals a person from depression (or redeems their soul from “the pit”).
The phrase “the pit” appears in Job 33 five times. Job’s prior three friends only condemned Job, failed to provide him with solid answers, and did not vindicate God’s honor in the midst of Job’s suffering (see Job 32:1-3).
However, Elihu did provide Job with the answers he needed, and God Himself confirmed Elihu’s message as He rebuked Job. Job humbled himself, listened to God’s (and Elihu’s) rebuke, and thereby received healing from depression and sickness.
How does a person fall into a “pit of depression?” According to Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (NKJV) Pride will produce shame as well as anxiety (see Proverbs 11:2).
A proud person ceases to delight in God as one’s source of life, love, instruction, goodness, hope, and resources. Shame and fear comes in to fill the void. Proverbs 12:25 says, “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.” (NKJV)
Unlike Job’s first three friends, in Job 33, Elihu spoke to Job about how a person whose soul drew near to the pit (death and/or Sheol) might receive “a ransom,” “His righteousness,” “the light of life,” etc.
Ultimately, Elihu understood that God had provided a Solution for depression, disease, sin, spiritual bondage, curses, and death. This Solution is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,” that is, the Messiah Jesus (see Revelation 13:8 NKJV).
How was pride behind Job’s depression? In Job 41, God concludes His rebuke to Job with an entire chapter dedicated to the characteristics of a single entity called “Leviathan.” Then in the final sentence concluding God’s rebuke, He identifies Leviathan as “king over all the children of pride.”
Consequently, Job humbles himself in Job 42 and acknowledges that God was not being unfair to Job in any way, shape, or form. Job renounced his fault-finding attitude and retracted his belief that “it profits a man nothing that he should delight in God.” (see Job 40:1-5; 34:9 NKJV)
After Job repented and followed God’s instructions, then Job experienced the divine exchanges of Isaiah 61. He believed the good news of God, his broken heart was healed, he recovered from his sickness, the “spirit of heaviness” (or depression) left him, and he received double for what he had lost in Job 1-2.
Job experienced the very things that Jesus’ sacrifice has made available for those who have fully yielded to God’s truth and leadership and are filled with His Spirit:
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: 3 who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
–Psalm 103:2-5 NKJV
For more information on this topic, see Exploring Questions about Anxiety and Depression.
For more information on the Good News about knowing God through Jesus, see “Four Spiritual Laws for Healing a Broken Heart.”