Jonah, the Biblical prophet is attempting to avoid God’s command to go and prophesy the doom of the city of Nineveh.  As he sails toward Tarshish, a storm hits the ship  and sailors throw Jonah overboard as a sacrifice to save themselves. Jonah is then swallowed by a great fish. Spending three days inside its belly, the prophet prays to God and vows to deliver his prophecy, at which point the fish spits him out safely to shore.