Jonah, a Hebrew prophet, who, born in Gathhepher, belonged to the northern kingdom of Israel; prophesied in the reign of Jeroboam II., and whose special mission it was, at the bidding of the Lord, to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh; his book, which records his mission and the story of it, written apparently, as by God's dealings with the Ninevites he had himself been, to admonish the Jews that the heathen nations whom they regarded as God's enemies were as much the objects of His mercy as themselves.

Jo"nah (?), n. The Hebrew prophet, who was cast overboard as one who endangered the ship; hence, any person whose presence is unpropitious.

Jonah crab(Zoöl.), a large crab (Cancer borealis) of the eastern coast of the United States, sometimes found between tides, but usually in deep water.