Jonah and the whale

1. A story in the Old Testament ; Jonah was an Israelite whom God had called to be a prophet but who refused to accept his divine mission and left on a sea voyage instead. God then raised a great storm as a sign of his anger with Jonah. The sailors, realizing that Jonah's disobedience had caused the storm, threw him overboard in an attempt to save their ship. Jonah was saved from drowning when he was swallowed by a “great fish.” He lived for three days inside the creature, after which the fish “vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” Thankful that his life had been spared, Jonah took up his prophetic mission.