Jonah

Jonah or Jonas (Hebrew: יוֹנָה Yōnā, lit. 'dove') is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible hailing from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, which details his reluctance in delivering the judgment of Yahweh to the city of Nineveh (near present-day Mosul) in the Neo-Assyrian Empire. After he is swallowed by a large sea creature (Hebrew: דג גדול, romanized: dāḡ gāḏol, lit. 'large fish') and then released, he returns to the divine mission.

In Judaism, the story of Jonah represents the teaching of repentance in Judaism, the ability to repent to God for forgiveness. In the New Testament of Christianity, Jesus calls himself "greater than Jonah" and promises the Pharisees "the sign of Jonah" when referring to his resurrection. Early Christian interpreters viewed Jonah as the type of Jesus. Jonah in Islam is regarded as a prophet and the narrative of Jonah appears in a surah of the Quran named after him, Yūnus.

Modern Bible scholars are divided on whether the Book of Jonah is fictional, and often at least partially satirical. The character of Jonah son of Amittai may have been based on the historical prophet of the same name who prophesied during the reign of King Amaziah of Judah, as mentioned in 2 Kings.

Although the creature that swallowed Jonah is often depicted in art and culture as a whale, the Hebrew text uses the phrase "large fish". In the 17th century and early 18th century, the species of the fish that swallowed Jonah was the subject of speculation by naturalists, who interpreted the story as an account of a historical incident. Some modern scholars of folklore, on the other hand, note similarities between Jonah and other legendary religious figures, like the Indian yogi Matsyendranatha "Lord of the Fishes", the Sumerian king Gilgamesh, and the Greek hero Jason.