Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

FISHING

Fishing took place in fresh water, occasionally in the Jordan River and its tributaries, more often in Lake Huleh, but especially in the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 4:18; Mark 1:16). Fish was an inexpensive source of high quality protein and commonly served with bread (e.g., Matt. 14:17 par.; John 21:9-13; cf. Matt. 7:9-10). The Hebrews pined for the fish of the Nile (Num. 11:5). The Red Sea and the Mediterranean provided ample marine varieties of fish. Tyrians sold fish in Jerusalem which were probably salted or smoked marine fish from the Mediterranean (Neh. 13:16). Jerusalem probably had a fish market located near the Fish Gate (2 Chr. 33:14; Neh. 3:3; Zeph. 1:10), the exact location of which is unknown but thought to be one of the main entrances to the city located near the Damascus Gate. It is also possible that fish were raised in natural and constructed ponds, for which there is evidence in Egyptian and Assyrian art. The Romans widely used this method, and elaborate fish ponds were located in Rome during the time of Nero and Trajan.

Fish were normally obtained by three methods: nets, hook and line, and spears. Nets were of three varieties: a cast net, a gill net, and a drag net. The cast net (Gk. amphíblēstron) was a small, circular, hand-held net tossed from a boat or in shallow water (Matt. 4:18). The gill net, or trammel net (díktyon), was a long net with floats that would be suspended and left in the water for an extended period of time, usually overnight. Fish of the appropriate size were trapped in the net as they attempted to swim through it (Matt. 4:20-21). The seine net, or drag net (sagḗnē), was a long net attached to boats, pulled into a semi-circle, and hauled to the shore capturing many different sizes of fish (Matt. 13:47-48). Much labor was required to construct, clean (Luke 5:2), repair, and dry these nets (Ezek. 47:10). Fish were caught on hooks attached to lines (Job 41:1-2[MT 40:25-26]; Isa. 19:8). These lines would have been held in the hand because fishing poles or rods are never mentioned. Hooks might have been baited or used to snag fish (Matt. 17:27). Fish were also caught with spears either in shallow water or from boats (Job 41:7, 26[40:31; 41:18]).

John, James, Peter, and Andrew were all fishermen, but Jesus commissioned them to become “fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19; Mark 1:17). Fishing was a difficult work, and those who engaged in it were considered uncultured. The occupation of fisherman was one of the “most shameful occupations” according to Cicero (cf. Acts 2:7).

Bibliography. P. F. Anson, Christ and the Sailor: A Study of the Maritime Incidents in the New Testament (Fresno, 1954); F. S. Bodenheimer, Animal and Man in Bible Lands (Leiden, 1960); O. Borowski, Every Living Thing: Daily Use of Animals in Ancient Israel (Walnut Creek, Calif., 1998); J. D. Wineland, “Hunting and Fishing,” in By the Sweat of Thy Brow, ed. G. L. Mattingly (Sheffield, forthcoming).

John D. Wineland

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

FISHING

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)