Honi the circle drawer was a 1st century B.C.E. Jewish scholar. He was claimed to be a miracle worker in the tradition of the ancient prophets Elijah and Elisha. His surname is derived from an incident in the Babylonian Talmud where his prayer for rain is miraculously answered. On one occasion, when God did not send rain well into the winter, Honi drew a circle in the dust, stood inside it, and informed God that he would not move until it rained. When it began to drizzle, Honi told God that he was not satisfied and expected more rain. It then began to pour. There is another story in the Babylonian Talmud that relates Honi falling asleep for seventy years after having planted a tree.