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Fish, Fishers, Fishing

From: Concise Bible Dictionary: F By: George A. Morrish

• 1 min. read • grade level: 7

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On the fifth day of the creation God said, "Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life.... and God created great whales," or sea monsters. To man was given dominion over the fish of the sea (Gen. 1:20-21, 26, 28²⁰And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. ²¹And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:20‑21)
²⁶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26)
²⁸And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:28)). Fish has been called God's especial gift to man. Any one may catch it in the sea and appropriate it to his own use. It increases abundantly without any care of man.

Fish was eaten freely in Egypt (Num. 11:5⁵We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: (Numbers 11:5)); but under the law the fish without fins and scales were declared to be unclean (Lev. 11:9-12⁹These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. ¹⁰And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: ¹¹They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination. ¹²Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you. (Leviticus 11:9‑12)). The fish in the sea of Galilee was very plentiful, and there was much fishing. In the O. T. we read of the “fish gate” at Jerusalem, which doubtless led to a fish market (Neh. 3:3³But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. (Nehemiah 3:3); Neh. 12:39³⁹And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate. (Nehemiah 12:39)).

In the river that in a future day will flow from the threshold of the house and run into and heal the Dead Sea, there will be a "very great multitude of fish.... their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many" (Ezek. 47:9-10⁹And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. ¹⁰And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. (Ezekiel 47:9‑10)).

The Lord said to Peter and Andrew, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." In accordance with this the kingdom of heaven is compared to a net being cast into the sea, which gathered of every kind: the good fish were put into vessels by the fishermen, but the bad were cast away. So will it be at the end of the age: the wicked will be separated from the just by the angels (Matt. 4:19¹⁹And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19); Matt. 13:47-50⁴⁷Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: ⁴⁸Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. ⁴⁹So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, ⁵⁰And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:47‑50)).

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Dec. 10-20, 1937. Fishermen near Sidon.

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Concise Bible Dictionary: F

• First-Begotten, First-Born (Bekor, πρωτότοκος)

• First-Fruits

• Fish, Fishers, Fishing

• Flax (Pishtah, λίνον)

• Flesh (σάρξ)

• Fleshy (σάρκινος)

• Flock, Tower of the

• Flower of Age

• Flux, Bloody

• Food, Angels'