Fishermen

Fishermen are people who catch fish to earn a living. In ancient Israel, fishing was an important job that many people did to earn money and feed their families. The Bible mentions fishing and fishermen many times, both in the Old Testament (Isaiah 19:8; Jeremiah 16:16; Ezekiel 47:10) and the New Testament (Matthew 4:18–19; Mark 1:16–17; Luke 5:2; John 21:7).

Fishermen were recognized as their own social class in society. Jesus included several fishermen among his disciples (Matthew 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20; compare Luke 5:2–11). Their work was difficult and not always rewarding (Luke 5:2–5); John 21:3). Jesus compared the work of his disciples to the work of fishermen. The disciples of Jesus would be “fishers of men" and would “catch” people for the kingdom (Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17; Luke 5:10).