a person or thing whose
presence is supposed to bring bad
luck. From Jonah, an Israelite whom
God had called to be a prophet but who refused to accept his
mission and
left on a
sea voyage instead. Per the
Old Testament God then raised a great storm as a sign of his
anger with Jonah. The sailors, realizing that Jonah's disobedience had caused the storm,
threw him overboard in an attempt to save their
ship.