Fish; Fishers; Fishing

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

Grand division of animal kingdom

(Gen. 1:21-22²¹And 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. ²²And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. (Genesis 1:21‑22)). Without scales, 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)). Plenty in waters of Palestine (Luke 5:5⁵And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. (Luke 5:5)). Worship of, prohibited (Deut. 4:18¹⁸The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: (Deuteronomy 4:18)). Caught with nets, hooks, and spears (Hab. 1:15¹⁵They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad. (Habakkuk 1:15); Luke 5:5-7⁵And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. ⁶And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. ⁷And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. (Luke 5:5‑7); Job 41:7⁷Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears? (Job 41:7)).

Concise Bible Dictionary:

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.

“497. Egyptian Fishing” From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

Isaiah 19:8⁸The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. (Isaiah 19:8). The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.

Reference is made in this “burden of Egypt” (see verse 1) to the Egyptian fisheries. The Egyptians consumed enormous quantities of fish, which they obtained from the teeming waters of the Nile, and of the canals which irrigated the land. So important was the traffic in fish that at one time, the royal profits from Lake Maeris alone amounted to a talent of silver a day, or about $350,000 a year. Large quantities of fish were salted; and sometimes the fish were simply dried in the sun. Two methods of Egyptian fishing are mentioned in the text.

1. Chakkah, “angle,” is rendered “hook” in Job 41:1¹Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? (Job 41:1). Angling was a favorite pastime with all ranks of the Egyptians. Their hooks were of bronze, and were baited with ground bait. Sometimes a short pole was used, and sometimes the fisherman held the line in his hand.

2. Mikmoreth, “nets,” was a drag-net, and is so rendered in Habakkuk 1:15-16¹⁵They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad. ¹⁶Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. (Habakkuk 1:15‑16). It was of a lengthened form, having floats along one edge and weights along the other, with a rope at each end. It corresponded to our seine, and was sometimes cast by hand, the men wading out with it and dragging it back to the shore, bringing the fish with it. At other times a boat was used, the net being cast overboard as the boat was rowed along. The monuments give a number of illustrations of fishing by nets, as well as with the hook, though it is said that net-fishing is now unknown in Egypt.

“662. Fishing Boats” From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

Matthew 13:2²And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. (Matthew 13:2). He went into a ship, and sat.

We have no special description of the ships which wore used on the Sea of Galilee. The most of them were probably small boats used for fishing purposes, and propelled by oars, while some had masts and sails. There were doubtless others which were used for pleasure or for passage; and Josephus tells us of some in his day that were vessels of war. Frequent mention is made by the evangelists of the ships on the Sea of Galilee.

“758. Night Fishing” From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

Luke 5:5⁵And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. (Luke 5:5). We have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing.

Night-fishing is very common in the East. Roberts says that in India the fishermen prefer the night to the day. They carry lighted torches to allure the fish. Dr. Thomson gives a lively description of night-fishing in Palestine: “It is a beautiful sight. With blazing torch the boat glides over the flashing sea, and the men stand gazing keenly into it until their prey is sighted, when, quick as lightning, they fling their net or fly their spear; and often you see the tired fishermen come sullenly into harbor in the morning, having toiled all night in vain” (The Land and the Book, vol. 2, p. 80).

Night-fishing is also referred to in John 21:3³Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. (John 21:3).