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The Fathers believed that Scripture had different levels of meaning, which included the literal or historical sense of the text, but could also have an allegorical meaning, or a typological meaning. A text also has a tropological or moral sense, and an anagogical or mystical sense. That a text had an allegorical or typological meaning did not negate the historical sense of the text, it was simply another way of understanding the text.<ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles5/BreckScriptureMeaning.php Meaning or Meanings of Scripture?] Fr. John Breck, OrthodoxyToday.org</ref>
Typological interpretations of Old Testament events and persons saw them as prefigurations, with of the events of [[Christ]]'s life, or other aspects of the New Testament. We find this approach expressed by the [[Apostle Paul]] in [[Colossians]] 2:16-17: "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." It also finds expression in the [[Epistle to the Hebrews]], and in other [[Epistle]]s.
One example of typology is the story of [[Jonah]] and the whale from the Old Testament. Typological interpretations of this story hold that it prefigures Christ's burial, the stomach of the fish being Christ's tomb: as Jonah was freed from the whale after three days, so did Christ rise from His tomb after three days, see also [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 12:38–42, Matthew 16:1–4, [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 11:29–32. Indeed, Jonah called the belly of the fish "Sheol," the land of the dead.
