The Prophet Jonah

The Bible relates the story of the Prophet Jonah (circa 760 BCE), who received a prophecy from G-d regarding the destruction of Nineveh, should the king and the city refuse to repent.

Jonah 1:1-2

‍The word of the L-RD came to Jonah son of Amittai: Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim judgment upon it; for their wickedness has come before Me.

Trying to escape G-d's charge, Jonah boards a ship for Tarshish. G-d casts a mighty storm that almost destroys the ship. Jonah confesses to the sailors that he has brought this misfortune upon them, and if they cast him overboard, the sea will calm down.

‍“And they heaved Jonah overboard, and the sea stopped raging.” (Jonah 1:15)

There, a big fish swallows Jonah and after Jonah’s repentance, the fish spits him out on the shore. Jonah delivers the prophecy to the King of Nineveh and the city repents. The Assyrian city of Nineveh is located in modern-day northern Iraq, in the Kurdish city of Mosul.