Fish

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Dag , implying "increase" or "fecundity". Fish without fins or scales were "unclean" ( Leviticus 11:9-10); aquatic mammalia, amphibia, and reptiles were hereby prohibited. This was the distinction between the good and the bad fish in  Matthew 13:48. The "great fish" of Jonah ( Jonah 1:17) was, according to different views, the dogfish, the shark, whose cartilaginous skeleton adapts it for swallowing large animals, or the whale, in the cavity of whose throat there would be room for a man. The slaying of their fish was a heavy blow from Jehovah on the Egyptians, whose river, canals, and lakes so abounded in fish, and who lived so much on it ( Exodus 7:18-21;  Psalms 105:29;  Numbers 11:5;  Isaiah 19:8). The fish was worshipped as the emblem of fecundity; Dagon, among the Philistines, half man half fish; also in Assyria. Hence the worship is forbidden ( Deuteronomy 4:18). The "fishgate" at Jerusalem implies an adjoining fish market, supplied chiefly through Tyrian traders who imported it ( Nehemiah 13:16;  Nehemiah 3:3;  Nehemiah 12:39;  2 Chronicles 33:14).

The fish of the Lake of Galilee are mainly identical with those especially found in the Nile. The casting net or the larger drag net was the chief instrument used for catching fish ( Habakkuk 1:15); the line and hook, and the "barbed iron" or spear, were also used ( Amos 4:2;  Matthew 17:27;  Job 41:7). Fishing is the image for taking souls in the gospel net, not to be destroyed but to be saved alive ( Ezekiel 47:10;  Matthew 4:19;  Luke 5:5-10). Night was thought the best time for net fishing. Fishing symbolizes also sudden destruction by invading enemies ( Jeremiah 16:16;  Amos 4:2;  Habakkuk 1:16;  Ecclesiastes 9:12;  Ezekiel 29:3-5).

In  Job 41:2, "canst thou put an hook (or 'Agmon , "rope of rushes") into leviathan's nose, or bore his jaw through with a thorn?" or hook by which fish were secured, when thrown into the water, to keep them alive. In  John 21:11 the 153 fish taken were all "great fish," whereas in the corresponding earlier miracle ( Luke 5:6) this is not said; the net broke in the earlier, not so in the miracle after the resurrection, the latter typifying the eternal safety of the finally elect, all accounted "great" before God. Christ's sermon and parables (Matthew 13) were delivered from a fishing boat; so  Luke 5:3. He fed the multitudes with fish as well as bread ( Matthew 14:19;  Matthew 15:36). He paid the tribute with a Stateer ("piece of money") from a fish taken with a hook ( Matthew 17:27). He ate broiled fish after His resurrection ( Luke 24:42-43; again,  John 21:9-13).

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

דג , ιχθυς ,  Matthew 7:10;  Matthew 17:27;  Luke 5:6;  John 21:6;  John 21:8;  John 21:11 , occurs very frequently. This appears to be the general name in Scripture of aquatic animals. Boothroyd, in the note upon  Numbers 11:4 , says, "I am inclined to think that the word בשד , here rendered flesh, denotes only the flesh of fish, as it certainly does in   Leviticus 11:11; and indeed the next verse seems to support this explication: ‘We remember how freely we ate fish.' It was then, particularly, the flesh of fish, for which they longed, which was more relishing than either the beef or mutton of those regions, which, unless when young, is dry and unpalatable. Of the great abundance and deliciousness of the fish of Egypt, all authors, ancient and modern, are agreed." We have few Hebrew names, if any, for particular fishes. Moses says in general,  Leviticus 11:9-12 , that all sorts of river, lake, and sea fish, might be eaten, if they had scales and fins; others were unclean. St. Barnabas, in his epistle, cites, as from ancient authority, "You shall not eat of the lamprey, the many-feet, [polypes,] nor the cuttle fish." Though fish was the common food of the Egyptians, yet we learn from Herodotus and Chaeremon, as quoted by Porphyry, that their priests abstained from fish of all sorts. Hence we may see how distressing to the Egyptians was the infliction which turned the waters of the river into blood, and occasioned the death of the fish,  Exodus 7:18-21 . Their sacred stream became so polluted as to be unfit for drink, for bathing, and for other uses of water to which they were superstitiously devoted, and themselves obliged to nauseate what was the usual food of the common people, and held sacred by the priests,  Exodus 2:5;  Exodus 7:15;  Exodus 8:20 .

In  Ezekiel 29:4 , the king of Egypt is compared to the crocodile; "I am against thee, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers in Egypt. I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick to thy scales, and I will bring thee out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick to thy scales." If the remora is as troublesome to the crocodile as it is to some other tenants of the water, it may here be referred to. Forskal mentions the echeneis neucrates [remora] at Gidda, there called kaml el kersh, "the louse of the shark," because it often adheres very strongly to this fish; and Hasselquist says that it is found at Alexandria. The term, ιχθυς , a fish, was, at an early period of the Christian era, adopted as a symbolical word. It was formed from the initial letters of the Greek words, ‘Ιησους , Ξριστος , Θεου Υ ιος , Σωτηρ , "Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Saviour." From the use of symbolical terms, the transition was easy to the adoption of symbolical representations, and it therefore soon became common for the Christians to have the letters of the word ιχθυς , or the figures of fishes, sculptured on their monuments for the dead, struck on their medals, engraved on their rings and seals, and even formed on the articles of domestic use.

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

Fish were plentiful in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Sea of Galilee, but there were none in the Dead Sea, as the water was too salty ( Nehemiah 13:16;  Matthew 4:18;  Luke 5:1-7). According to the food laws set out by Moses, Israelites were allowed to eat fish ( Deuteronomy 14:9-10;  Luke 24:42-43;  John 6:11;  John 21:9) and several of Jesus’ apostles were fishermen ( Matthew 4:18;  Matthew 4:21;  John 21:1-3). The Bible records one story of a fish so large that it swallowed a man whole ( Jonah 1:17;  Jonah 2:1;  Matthew 12:40).

People used various methods to catch fish. Some fished with a hook ( Isaiah 19:8;  Habakkuk 1:15;  Matthew 17:27) but commercial fishermen usually used a drag-net. This was a net that they threw into the sea and dragged towards either the shore or the boat from which they were fishing ( Habakkuk 1:15;  Matthew 13:47-48;  Luke 5:4-7;  John 21:6-8). Most commercial fishing of this sort was done at night ( Luke 5:5;  John 21:3). Another kind of net was the smaller cast-net, which the fishermen, standing on the shore or in shallow water, cast around him and then drew in ( Isaiah 19:8;  Matthew 4:18-20).

After bringing their fish to land, the fishermen sorted them, putting the larger ones into baskets for sale and throwing the useless ones away ( Matthew 13:47-48). When the men were finished with their nets, they washed them ( Luke 5:2), dried them ( Ezekiel 26:5) and sometimes mended them ( Matthew 4:21). The Fish Gate was an entrance in Jerusalem’s city wall that fishermen and traders used when bringing their fish into the city to sell ( Nehemiah 13:16;  Zephaniah 1:10-11).

Jesus used illustrations from fishing in his preaching. As fishermen go looking for fish, so Jesus’ disciples are to go looking for people to bring into his kingdom ( Matthew 4:19). As a fishing net contains both good and bad fish, so among those who claim to be in God’s kingdom there are the true and the false. And as the good fish are separated from the bad, so the true and the false will be separated in the day of final judgment ( Matthew 13:47-50).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Fish. 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;  Genesis 1:28, as well as in other passages where an exhaustive description of living creatures is intended.  Genesis 9:2;  Exodus 20:4;  Deuteronomy 4:18;  1 Kings 4:33.

The Mosaic law,  Leviticus 11:9-10, pronounced as 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.  Deuteronomy 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. Compare  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;  Nehemiah 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;  Ezekiel 26:14;  Ezekiel 47:10;  Habakkuk 1:15, probably resembling the one used in Egypt, as shown in Wilkinson (iii. 55), or the Draw or Drag net,  Isaiah 19:8;  Habakkuk 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.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Ἰχθύς (Strong'S #2486 — Noun Masculine — ichthus — ikh-thoos' )

denotes "a fish,"  Matthew 7:10;  Mark 6:38 , etc.; apart from the Gospels, only in  1—Corinthians 15:39 .

2: Ἰχθύδιον (Strong'S #2485 — Noun Neuter — ichthudion — ikh-thoo'-dee-on )

is a diminutive of No. 1, "a little fish,"  Matthew 15:34;  Mark 8:7 .

3: Ὀψάριον (Strong'S #3795 — Noun Neuter — opsarion — op-sar'-ee-on )

is a diminutive of opson, "cooked meat," or "a relish, a dainty dish, especially of fish;" it denotes "a little fish,"  John 6:9,11;  21:9,10,13 .

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) The flesh of fish, used as food.

(2): ( n.) A purchase used to fish the anchor.

(3): ( v. t.) To catch; to draw out or up; as, to fish up an anchor.

(4): ( v. t.) To search by raking or sweeping.

(5): ( n.) A piece of timber, somewhat in the form of a fish, used to strengthen a mast or yard.

(6): ( n.) The twelfth sign of the zodiac; Pisces.

(7): ( v. t.) To strengthen (a beam, mast, etc.), or unite end to end (two timbers, railroad rails, etc.) by bolting a plank, timber, or plate to the beam, mast, or timbers, lengthwise on one or both sides. See Fish joint, under Fish, n.

(8): ( n.) An oviparous, vertebrate animal usually having fins and a covering scales or plates. It breathes by means of gills, and lives almost entirely in the water. See Pisces.

(9): ( n.) A name loosely applied in popular usage to many animals of diverse characteristics, living in the water.

(10): ( pl.) of Fish

(11): ( n.) A counter, used in various games.

(12): ( v. i.) To attempt to catch fish; to be employed in taking fish, by any means, as by angling or drawing a net.

(13): ( v. i.) To seek to obtain by artifice, or indirectly to seek to draw forth; as, to fish for compliments.

(14): ( v. t.) To try with a fishing rod; to catch fish in; as, to fish a stream.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Numbers 11:5 (c) This is a symbol of the good things offered by this world to attract and entice GOD's people away from GOD's path of separation. They all leave a bad odor and have little food value.

 Ezekiel 29:4 (b) The king and his people are compared to fish. They will adhere to their king in his disobedience to GOD; all of them together will be destroyed.

 Ezekiel 47:9 (b) By this is indicated that where the Spirit of GOD has His own way, many souls will be saved. The fish represent the unsaved who are caught by the Gospel and thereby are brought to the Lord.

 Jonah 1:17 (c) This is a type of the Gentile nations who have absorbed, but have not digested, the Jewish people.

 Habakkuk 1:14 (a) By this is described men and women who are caught by the sophistries of wicked leaders and are thus deceived and led away from GOD.

 Matthew 7:10 (b) This figure represents something which, in our estimation, seems to be very good and profitable for us to possess, but which GOD sees would be injurious and harmful to us. (See also  Luke 11:11). The child saw a snake and thought it to be an eel and good to eat.

 John 21:6 (c) Some say that these fish represent the miracles performed by our Lord Jesus Christ while He was on the earth. Others think that the giving of the number of the fish indicates the care with which GOD looks after each deed that we do for Him. Still others think that these fish, and the number of them, represent GOD's abundant care for His own. There were far more fish than the seven men could possibly eat for themselves. This of course is true of GOD's provisions for us.

King James Dictionary

FISH, n. L. piscis.

1. An animal that lives in water. Fish is a general name for a class of animals subsisting in water, which were distributed by Linne into six orders. They breathe by means of gills, swim by the aid of fins, and are oviparous. Some of them have the skeleton bony, and others cartilaginous. Most of the former have the opening of the gills closed by a peculiar covering, called the gill-lid many of the latter have no gill-lid, and are hence said to breathe through apertures. Cetaceous animals, as the whale and dolphin, are, in popular language, called fishes, and have been so classed by some naturalists but they breathe by lungs, and are viviparous, like quadrupeds. The term fish has been also extended to other aquatic animals, such as shell-fish, lobsters, &c. We use fish, in the singular, for fishes in general or the whole race. 2. The flesh of fish, used as food. But we usually apply flesh to land animals.

FISH,

1. To attempt to catch fish to be employed in taking fish, by any means, as by angling or drawing nets. 2. To attempt or seek to obtain by artifice, or indirectly to seek to draw forth as, to fish for compliments.

FISH,

1. To search by raking or sweeping as, to fish the jakes for papers. 2. In seamanship, to strengthen, as a mast or yard, with a piece of timber. 3. To catch draw out or up as, to fish up a human body when sunk to fish an anchor.

FISH, n.

1. In ships, a machine to hoist and draw up the flukes of an anchor, towards the top of the bow. 2. A long piece of timber, used to strengthen a lower mast or a yard, when sprung or damaged.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

FISH would appear to have always been a favourite article of diet among the Hebrews (  Numbers 11:5 and references in the Gospels), as it is to-day. Fish are found in enormous numbers in all the inland waters of Palestine, and especially in the Lake of Galilee, Lake Huleh, and the ‘meadow lakes’ of Damascus. The extraordinary feature of these fish is the number of species peculiar to the Jordan valley. Out of a total of 43 species found in the region, no fewer than 14 are peculiar to this district. Many of these are quite small. The chief edible fish are members of the Chromides and of the Cyprinidæ (carps). The cat-fish, Clarias macracanthus , not being a scaly fish, cannot be eaten by the Jews (  Deuteronomy 14:9 ), though considered a delicacy by the Christians of Damascus. It is thought by some to be the ‘bad fish’ of   Matthew 13:47-48 . In NT times fish-curing was extensively carried on at Taricheæ on the Lake of Tiberias. Some of the native fish is still salted to-day. The ‘ fish -pools’ of   Song of Solomon 7:4 and the ‘ponds for fish ’ in   Isaiah 19:10 are both mistranslations. See also Food, § 6 .

E. W. G. Masterman.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

The Hebrews had no particular names, or very few, for the distinguishing of the several species of fish. It is more probable, that as the law prohibited all that had no fins and scales, they were not very anxious to search the rivers in pursuit of them. (See  Leviticus 11:9-12) Our adorable Redeemer, when coming to deliver his people from a yoke that neither we nor our fathers were able to bear, both by his precept and example, taught, that what he had cleansed became no longer unclean. ( Matthew 17:27;  John 21:9;  Luke 24:42)

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Dag   Genesis 9:2 Numbers 11:22 Jonah 2:1,10 2 Chronicles 33:14 Nehemiah 3:3 12:39 Zephaniah 1:10

Sidon is the oldest fishing establishment known in history.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Copyright StatementThese files are public domain. Bibliography InformationMcClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Fish'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/f/fish.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(דּג , dāgh , דּגה , dāghāh , דּאג , dā'gh  ; ἰχθύς , ichthús , ἰχθύδιον , ichthúdion , ὀψάριον , opsárion ):

1. Natural History

Fishes abound in the inland waters of Palestine as well as the Mediterranean. They are often mentioned or indirectly referred to both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, but it is remarkable that no particular kind is distinguished by name. In  Leviticus 11:9-12 and   Deuteronomy 14:9 f, "whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters" is declared clean, while all that "have not fins and scales" are forbidden. This excluded not only reptiles and amphibians, but also, among fishes, siluroids and eels, sharks, rays and lampreys. For our knowledge of the inland fishes of Palestine we are mainly indebted to Tristram, NHB and Fauna and Flora of Palestine  ; Lortet, Poissons et reptiles du Lac de Tibériade  ; and Russegger, Reisen in Europa , Asien , Afrika , 1835-1841. The most remarkable feature of the fish fauna of the Jordan valley is its relationship to that of the Nile and of East Central Africa. Two Nile fishes, Chromis nilotica Hasselquist, and Clarias macracanthus Gunth., are found in the Jordan valley, and a number of other species found only in the Jordan valley belong to genera ( Chromis and Hemichromis ) which are otherwise exclusively African. This seems to indicate that at some time, probably in the early Tertiary, there was some connection between the Palestinian and African river systems. No fish can live in the Dead Sea, and many perish through being carried down by the swift currents of the Jordan and other streams. There are, however, several kinds of small fish which live in salt springs on the borders of the Dead Sea, springs which are as salt as the Dead Sea but which, according to Lortet, lack the magnesium chloride which is a constituent of the Dead Sea water and is fatal to the fish. Capoëta damascina Cuv. and Val., one of the commonest fishes of Syria and Palestine, has been taken by the writer in large numbers in the Arnon and other streams flowing into the Dead Sea. This is surprising in view of the fact that the Dead Sea seems to form an effective barrier between the fishes of the different streams flowing into it. The indiscriminate mention of fishes without reference to the different kinds is well illustrated by the numerous passages in which "the fishes of the sea, the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the field," or some equivalent expression, is used to denote all living creatures, e.g.   Genesis 1:26;  Genesis 9:2;  Numbers 11:22;  Deuteronomy 4:18;  1 Kings 4:33;  Job 12:8;  Psalm 8:8;  Ezekiel 38:20;  Hosea 4:3;  Zephaniah 1:3;  1 Corinthians 15:39 .

2. Jonah's Fish

An unusually large shark might fulfill the conditions of Jonah's fish ( dāgh , dāghāh  ; but  Matthew 12:40 , κῆτος , kḗtos , "whale" or "sea monster"). The whale that is found in the Mediterranean ( Balaena australis ) has a narrow throat and could not swallow a man. No natural explanation is possible of Jonah's remaining alive and conscious for three days in the creature's belly. Those who consider the book historical must regard the whole event as miraculous. For those who consider it to be a story with a purpose, no explanation is required.

3. Fishing

The present inhabitants of Moab and Edom make no use of the fish that swarm in the Arnon, the Ḥisa and other streams, but fishing is an important industry in Galilee and Western Palestine. Now, as formerly, spear hooks and nets are employed. The fish-spear (  Job 41:7 ) is little used. Most of the Old Testament references to nets have to do with the taking of birds and beasts and not of fishes, and, while in  Habakkuk 1:15 ḥērem is rendered "net" and mikhmereth "drag," it is hot clear that these and the other words rendered "net" refer to particular kinds of nets. In the New Testament, however, σαγήνη , sagḗnē ( Matthew 13:47 ), is clearly the dragnet, and ἀμφίβληστρον , amphı́blēstron ( Matthew 4:18 ), is clearly the casting net. The word most often used is δίκτυον , dı́ktuon ̌ . Though this word is from dikeı́n , "to throw," or "to cast," the context in several places (e.g.  Luke 5:4;  John 21:11 ) suggests that a dragnet is meant. The dragnet may be several hundred feet long. The upper edge is buoyed and the lower edge is weighted. It is let down from a boat in a line parallel to the shore and is then pulled in by ropes attached to the two ends, several men and boys usually pulling at each end. The use of the casting net requires much skill. It forms a circle of from 10 to 20 feet in diameter with numerous small leaden weights at the circumference. It is lifted by the center and carefully gathered over the right arm. When well thrown it goes to some distance, at the same time spreading out into a wide circle. A cord may be attached to the center, but this is not always the case. When lifted again by the center, the leads come together, dragging over the bottom, and sometimes a large number of fish may be enclosed. The novice has only to try, to realize the dexterity of the practiced fishermen.

Figurative: The fact that so many of our Lord's disciples were fishermen lends a profound interest to their profession. Christ tells Simon and Andrew (  Matthew 4:19;  Mark 1:17 ) that He will make them fishers of men. The Kingdom of Heaven ( Matthew 13:47 ) is likened unto a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind; which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they cast away. Tristram ( NHB ) says that he has seen the fishermen go through their net and throw out into the sea those that were too small for the market or were considered unclean. In  Jeremiah 16:16 , we read: "Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith Yahweh, and they shall fish them up; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks." In the vision of Ezekiel ( Ezekiel 47:9 f), the multitude of fish and the nets spread from En - gedi to En - eglaim are marks of the marvelous change wrought in the Dead Sea by the stream issuing from the temple. The same sign, i.e. of the spreading of nets ( Ezekiel 26:5 ,  Ezekiel 26:14 ), marks the desolation of Tyre. It is a piece of broiled fish that the risen Lord eats with the Eleven in Jerusalem ( Luke 24:42 ), and by the Sea of Galilee ( John 21:13 ) He gives the disciples bread and fish.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Fish (;;;;;;;;;; ). Fishes, strictly so called, that is, oviparous, vertebrated, cold-blooded animals, breathing water by means of gills or branchiae, and generally provided with fins, are not infrequently mentioned in the Bible, but never specifically. In the Mosaic law , the species proper for food are distinguished by having scales and fins, while those without scales are held to be unclean, and therefore rejected. The law may have given rise to some casuistry, as many fishes have scales, which, though imperceptible when first caught, are very apparent after the skin is in the least dried. The species which were known to the Hebrews, or at least to those who dwelt on the coast, may have been very numerous, because the usual current of the Mediterranean sets in, with a great depth of water, at the Straits of Gibraltar, and passes eastward on the African side until the shoals of the Delta of the Nile begin to turn it towards the north; it continues in that direction along the Syrian shores, and falls into a broken course only when turning westward on the Cyprian and Cretan coasts. Every spring, with the sun's return towards the north, innumerable troops of littoral species, having passed the winter in the offings of Western Africa, return northward for spawning, or are impelled in that direction by other unknown laws. A small part only ascends along the Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal toward the British Channel, while the main bodies pass chiefly into the Mediterranean, follow the general current, and do not break into more scattered families until they have swept round the shores of Palestine. The Pelagian, or truly deep sea fishes, in common with the indigenous species, remain the whole year, or come about midsummer, and follow an uncertain course more in the center and towards the deepest waters. Off Nice alone Risso found and described 315 species; and there is every reason to believe that the coasts of Tyre and Sidon would produce at least as great a number. The name of the latter place, indeed, is derived from the Phoenician word fish, and it is the oldest fishing establishment for commercial purposes known in history. Industry and security alone are wanting to make the same locality again a flourishing place in this respect. The Hebrews had a more imperfect acquaintance with the species found in the Red Sea, whither, to a certain extent, the majority of fishes found in the Indian Ocean resort. Beside these, in Egypt they had anciently eaten those of the Nile; subsequently those of the lake of Tiberias and of the rivers falling into the Jordan; and they may have been acquainted with species of other lakes, of the Orontes, and even of the Euphrates. The supply, however, of this article of food, which the Jewish people appear to have consumed largely, came chiefly from the Mediterranean; and we have the authority of , for the fact, that Phoenicians of Tyre actually resided in Jerusalem as dealers in fish, which must have led to an exchange of that commodity for corn and cattle. Those which might be eaten, because they had scales and fins, were among the most nutritious and common, probably such as still abound on the coast. It is difficult to select the most interesting of these, and to point them out with other names than are absolutely scientific, because many are unknown on our coasts, and others have names indeed, but nearly all repetitions of such as occur in England, without being of the same species.

Though the Egyptian priesthood abstained from their use, all the other castes dwelling in the valley of the Nile chiefly subsisted on the fish of the river, while they capriciously abhorred those of the sea. There was a caste of fishermen: and allusion to the artificial reservoirs and fishponds of Egypt occurs in the Prophets .

But the Hebrews could draw only a small supply from the lake of Tiberias and the affluents of the Jordan. On the coast the great sea-fisheries were in the slack waters, within the dominion of the Phoenicians, who must have sent the supply into the interior in a cured or salted state; although the fact involves the question how far in that condition, coming out of pagan hands, consumption by a Hebrew was strictly lawful: perhaps it may be presumed that national wants had sufficient influence to modify the law. The art of curing fish was well understood in Egypt, and unquestionably in Phoenicia, since that industrious nation had early establishments for the purpose at the Golden Horn or Byzantium, at Portus Symbolorurn in Tauric Chersonesus, and even at Calpe (Bisepharat?), in the present bay of Gibraltar. With regard to the controversy respecting the prophet Jonah having been swallowed by a huge sea-monster [WHALE], it may be observed that great cetaceans occur in the Mediterranean, as well as great sharks, and that, in a case where the miraculous intervention of Almighty power is manifest, learned trifling about the presence of a mysticete, or the dimensions of its gullet, is out of place.