Jonah

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Jonah in the Bible, a Hebrew minor prophet, who was called by God to preach in Nineveh, but disobeyed and attempted to escape by sea; in a storm he was thrown overboard as a bringer of bad luck and swallowed by a great fish (traditionally, a whale), only to be saved and finally succeed in his mission.

The name Jonah is proverbially used for someone likely to bring bad luck, particularly at sea.
In the Authorized Version and other translations, a plant which grows quickly to shade the prophet is called a gourd; this may be referred to as Jonah's gourd.

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