《旧约》中十二小先知之一，其事迹记录在〈约拿书〉中（他的预言书在犹太教正典中是较大的“十二先知书”的一部分。）上帝命约拿去亚述国大城市尼尼微宣告该城将遭灾难，但他不认为居民如此罪恶深重的外国城市应得解救，所以将船朝反方向驶离。当这艘船受到暴风雨威胁将被摧毁时，他忏悔自己的过错并要求船员将他丢出船外。他被大鱼吞吃，但他因祷告求救，被鱼吐到旱地上。约拿来到尼尼微传达上帝的教诲，这个罪恶城市的人民悔改。〈约拿书〉可能写于西元前5或4世纪。

 One of the 12 Minor¹ Prophets in the Old Testament², whose story is told in the Book of Jonah. (His narrative³ is part of a larger book, The Twelve, in the Jewish canon.) God orders Jonah to prophesy⁴ against the wickedness of Nineveh, but Jonah refuses to believe that the people of this hated foreign city deserve salvation⁵, and sails away on a ship in the opposite direction. When a great storm threatens to destroy the ship, he confesses his fault and asks the crew to throw him overboard. A great fish swallows him, but he prays for deliverance and the fish spews him out on dry ground. He goes on to Nineveh and preaches God's message, and its sinful people repent⁶. The book was probably written in the 5th or 4th century BC.