For seven consecutive seasons, archaeologists have been excavating a 5th-century synagogue in the Galilean village of Ḥuqoq, gradually uncovering mosaics that portray a series of biblical scenes. A depiction of the most famous passage from the book of Jonah is the latest discovery, as Amanda Borschel-Dan writes:
In the . . . mosaic, Jonah’s legs are shown dangling from the mouth of a large fish, which is being swallowed by a larger fish, which is being consumed by a third, even larger fish. . . . [T]his is the first known depiction of the story of Jonah in an ancient synagogue in Israel. . . .
According to Jodi Magness, [one of the archaeologists coordinating the excavation], “the Huqoq mosaics are unusually rich and diverse. In addition, they display variations on biblical stories which must represent oral traditions that circulated among the local Jewish population. . . . These scenes are very rare in ancient synagogues.” . . .
Among the other rich mosaic finds this season was a detailed scene of men at work constructing a stone tower, which the [archaeological] team hypothesizes is a depiction of the building of the Tower of Babel. Also, a mosaic medallion shows the Greco-Roman sun god Helios in a four-horse chariot. He is surrounded by personifications of the months, the signs of the zodiac, and personifications of the four seasons.
Read more on Times of Israel: http://www.timesofisrael.com/earliest-mosaic-of-jonah-and-the-whale-found-in-galilee-synagogue/