Topic
Fisher; Fisherman
18 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.
These works date from 1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Job 41:2ISBE
Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
- Isaiah 19:8ISBE
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.
- Jeremiah 16:16ISBE
¶ Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
- Ezekiel 26:5ISBE
It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.
- Ezekiel 26:14ISBE
And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
- Ezekiel 47:10ISBE
And 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.
- Habakkuk 1:16ISBE
Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.
- Matthew 4:18ISBE
¶ And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
- Matthew 4:19ISBE
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
- Mark 1:16ISBE
Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
- Mark 1:17ISBE
And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
- Mark 3:17ISBE
And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 20 references
fish'-er fish'-er-man (dayyagh, dawwagh; halieus; Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek haleeus):
Although but few references to fishermen are made in the Bible, these men and their calling are brought into prominence by Jesus' call to certain Galilee fishermen to become His disciples (Mt 4:18,19; Mr 1:16,17). Fishermen, then as now, formed a distinct class. The strenuousness of the work (Lu 5:2) ruled out the weak and indolent. They were crude in manner, rough in speech and in their treatment of others (Lu 9:49,54; Joh 18:10). James and John before they became tempered by Jesus' influence were nicknamed the "sons of thunder" (Mr 3:17). The fishermen's exposure to all kinds of weather made them hardy and fearless. They were accustomed to bear with patience many trying circumstances. They often toiled for hours without success, and yet were always ready to try once more (Lu 5:5; Joh 21:3). Such men, when impelled by the same spirit as filled their Master, became indeed "fishers of men" (Mt 4:19; Mr 1:17).
One of the striking instances of the fulfillment of prophecy is the use by the Syrian fishermen today of the site of ancient Tyre as a place for the spreading of their nets (Eze 26:5,14).
Figurative: Fish were largely used as food (Hab 1:16), hence, the lamentation of the fishermen, who provided for all, typified general desolation (Isa 19:8). On the other hand, abundance of fish and many fishermen indicated general abundance (Eze 47:10). Our modern expression, "treated like a dog," had its counterpart in the language of the Old Testament writers, when they portrayed the punished people of Judah as being treated like fish. Yahweh would send many fishers to fish them up and put sticks or hooks through their cheeks as a fisherman strings his fish (Jer 16:16; Job 41:2). Such treatment of the people of Judah is depicted on some of the Assyrian monuments.
James A. Patch
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.