Fish

What did Jesus cook for his friends on the shore after rising from the dead? John 21:9 says they saw “a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.” Fish run all through the Gospels: the loaves and the fishes that feed a crowd, and Peter’s long night of fishing, when he says, “we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net” (Luke 5:5). In the Old Testament, the Lord “prepared a great fish” for Jonah, and the law of Moses sorts the fish that may be eaten as those with fins and scales. Luke 5 is a good place to begin.

23 verses

Leviticus

Leviticus 11:9

These 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.

Leviticus 11:10

And 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:

Leviticus 11:11

They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.

Leviticus 11:12

Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.

Nehemiah

Nehemiah 13:16

There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 9:12

For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

Isaiah

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.

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 47:9

And 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.

Ezekiel 47:10

And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; 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.

Amos

Amos 4:2

The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.

Jonah

Jonah 1:17

Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Matthew

Matthew 14:19

And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

Matthew 15:36

And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

Luke

Luke 5:4

Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

Luke 5:5

And 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 5:6

And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

Luke 5:7

And 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 24:42

And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.

John

John 21:9

As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.

John 21:10

Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.

John 21:11

Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.

John 21:12

Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.

John 21:13

Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

Called dag by the Hebrews, a word denoting great fecundity (Gen. 9:2; Num. 11:22; Jonah 2:1, 10). No fish is mentioned by name either in the Old or in the New Testament. Fish abounded in the Mediterranean and in the lakes of the Jordan, so that the Hebrews were no doubt acquainted with many species. Two of the villages on the shores of the Sea of Galilee derived their names from their fisheries, Bethsaida (the “house of fish”) on the east and on the west. There is probably no other sheet of water in the world of equal dimensions that contains such a variety and profusion of fish. About thirty-seven different kinds have been found. Some of the fishes are of a European type, such as the roach, the barbel, and the blenny; others are markedly African and tropical, such as the eel-like silurus. There was a regular fish-market apparently in Jerusalem (2 Chr. 33:14; Neh. 3:3; 12:39; Zeph. 1:10), as there was a fish-gate which was probably contiguous to it.

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Sidon is the oldest fishing establishment known in history.

From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

The Hebrews recognized fish as one of the great divisions of the animal kingdom, and as such gave them a place in the account of the creation, (Genesis 1:21,28) as well as in other passages where an exhaustive description of living creatures is intended. (Genesis 9:2; Exodus 20:4; 4:18; 1 Kings 4:33) The Mosaic law, (Leviticus 11:9,10) pronounced unclean such fish as were devoid of fins and scales; these were and are regarded as unwholesome in Egypt. Among the Philistines Dagon was represented by a figure half man and half fish. (1 Samuel 5:4) On this account the worship of fish is expressly prohibited. (4:18) In Palestine, the Sea of Galilee was and still is remarkable well stored with fish. (Tristram speaks of fourteen species found there, and thinks the number inhabiting it at least three times as great.) Jerusalem derived its supply chiefly from the Mediterranean. Comp. (Ezekiel 47:10) The existence of a regular fish-market is implied in the notice of the fish-gate, which was probably contiguous to it. (2 Chronicles 33:14; Nehemiah 3:3; 12:39; Zephaniah 1:10) The Orientals are exceedingly fond of fish as an article of diet. Numerous allusions to the art of fishing occur in the Bible. The most usual method of catching fish was by the use of the net, either the casting net, (Ezekiel 26:5,14; 47:10); Habb 1:15 Probably resembling the one used in Egypt, as shown in Wilkinson (iii. 55), or the draw or drag net, (Isaiah 19:8); Habb 1:15 Which was larger, and required the use of a boat. The latter was probably most used on the Sea of Galilee, as the number of boats kept on it was very considerable.