Question: As there are three different Greek words in the N. T. translated “net,” would it not be well to have the distinction explained? Q.
Answer: Ἀμφίβληστρον occurs only in Matt. 4:18 (implied also in Mark 1:16, where the most ancient MSS. omit the noun), and means a casting net. It was thrown round the object, whence the term was derived. The more usual word is δίκτυον, but in the plural form in Matt. 4:20, 21, Mark 1:18, in the sing. in John 21:6, 8, 11. It is derived from δικεῖν, to cast. Trawl net has been suggested as appropriate. But the σαγήνη (in Matt. 13:47 only), from σάττειν to pack or load, was a dragnet or seine, on a larger scale.