Jonah 1:16

feared the Lord exceedingly They had feared exceedingly before (Jonah 1:10, where the Heb. expression is the same as here), but their fear then was vague and indefinite, now it recognised as its object Jehovah, the God of Jonah.

offered a sacrifice It would certainly seem to be implied, that immediately on the ceasing of the storm the sailors offered a sacrifice to Jonah's God, in acknowledgment of what He had already done, and at the same time vowed that they would present to Him other gifts and offerings when He should have brought them safe to land. We know but little of the ships of the ancients, but some of them were of considerable size, and there is no difficulty in supposing that there may have been one or more live animals suitable for sacrifice on board Jonah's ship.

Jonah 1:17 to Jonah 2:10. Jonah's Prayer and Deliverance

Cast into the sea at his own request by the sailors, Jonah is swallowed alive by a large fish, and remains uninjured inside it for three days and three nights, Jonah 1:17. While there, he offers a prayer of thanksgiving to Almighty God (Jonah 2:1-9), at whose command the fish, at the end of the three days and three nights, vomits up Jonah on the dry land, Jonah 2:10.