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NASB | John 21:11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 21:11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three [of them]; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. |
Subject: Why 153 fish in John 21:11? Why not 154 |
Bible Note: Hi Doc! Thank you for attempting to guide me here. I realize that my question was somewhat unfair, since it did not reveal anything about my thinking. In studying the numbers of the Bible, I have read many commentaries and some have really outlandish views, especially of this number. Yet, in the context it seems to have some significance or the text would just say an 'astounding number' of fish and leave it at that. One of the commentators suggested that there were seven fishermen, but did not elaborate. Dividing a catch of 153 by seven gives six shares of 22 (alef to tav) and one share of only 21. Clearly the problem is that one fish is missing, as in Luke 15 where one sheep, one coin and one son are missing. This would seem to go along with Peter's commissioning in the rest of the chapter. It also may have reminded Peter of the fish he caught in Matthew 17 which was a perfect provision for the tax. There seems to be potential here for discussing how God uses even details in our lives to communicate His love for us. Any thoughts? Abiding, loavesnfish |