Bible Word of the Day

Dragnet (Ancient Form of Fishing)

Meaning
In the culture of ancient Israel, fishermen used dragnets as the primary means of fishing. These were large nets, (some as large as one thousand feet). They were rectangular in shape and tapered at the ends, with long ropes attached to each corner of the net. This type of fishing usually involved two groups of men, one to drop the net and the other to pull the net into shore. One would take the net far enough out into the water while the others stayed on shore holding the ends of the rope. And in some cases the other group of men would go in the boat, then jump out and walk to shore or separate the net between two or more boats.

When the net was dropped and into position the second group of men would pull the net through the water and into shore. This created a sieve which trapped the fish. Once the net was pulled into shore the fishermen would go through and separate the good fish and throw back the bad or unclean fish. Unclean fish were those without scales and fins. In scripture the dragnet is often used symbolically when speaking of the judgments of God against a nation.