Jonah or Jonas (Hebrew: יוֹנָה Yōnā, lit. 'dove') is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible, hailing from Gath-hepher in the 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 unto the city of Nineveh (near present-day Mosul) in Assyria. After he is swallowed by a large sea creature and then released, he returns to the divine mission. In Judaism, the story of Jonah represents the teaching of teshuva, the ability to repent to God for forgiveness. Jesus of Nazareth, in the New Testament of Christianity, calls himself "greater than Jonah" and promises the Pharisees "the sign of Jonah" in reference to his resurrection. Early Christian interpreters viewed Jonah as the type of Jesus. In Islam, Jonah is regarded as an Islamic prophet, and the narrative of Jonah in the Bible is repeated in a chapter of the Quran named after him (Yūnus). Mainstream Bible scholars generally regard the Book of Jonah as 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 Amaziah of the Kingdom 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 dag gadol (lit. 'big 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, the Sumerian ruler Gilgamesh, and the Greek hero Jason. Source: Wikipedia (en)