Class #3:  Mark 1:16-20;  2:1, 13-14 *

This fishing boat, built sometime between 100 B.C. and 70 A.D., was unearthed in 1986 on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Very likely it resembles the boat used by fathers Jonah and Zebedee, and their 4 sons, Peter and Andrew, James and John. Made of cedar with oak framing, it measures 26.5 feet long, 7.5 feet wide, and 4.5 feet deep, large enough to haul about a ton of weight. It used a sail and a crew of five, four oarsmen and a tillerman.

Orientation

The gospels refer at least 76 times to boats, fishing, and sailing, mostly around the Sea of Galilee. Since at least five of the disciples depend on fishing for their income, and since Jesus is frequently in Capernaum, a major center in Galilee's fishing industry, the fishing business is a major part of the economic world of Jesus. Jesus had been a carpenter (Mark 6:3), which may mean he sometimes built or repaired fishing boats. Although Jesus' childhood home was in Nazareth, a land-locked village 22 miles southwest of Capernaum, as an adult he lived in Capernaum (2:1), a thriving fishing village with an estimated population of 1,500.

The Sea of Galilee is the largest body of fresh water in Palestine, covering about 40,000 acres and reaching a depth of 150 feet. Today it measures 13 miles along the north-south axis and 8 miles at the widest point along the east-west axis, although in the 1st century it may have had a somewhat different size. Westerly breezes in the summer and easterly breezes in the winter can blow up on short notice, creating waves 6 to 7 feet high which easily flood boats like the one pictured above.

Geographical names attest to the economic importance of fish. Jerusalem has a "fish gate" (Nehemiah 3:3). Bethsaida, another fishing village just a few miles east of Capernaum, is a word meaning "Fishing Village." The Greek name for Magdala, the home of Mary Magdelene on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, was Tarichaeae, a word meaning "Processed Fishville." Magdala may be the main place on the Sea of Galilee where fish is dried and salted or packed in brine for shipment to other places in Palestine.

The purpose of this session is to understand the business of fishing and how it affected nearly everyone from Palestinian peasant to Roman emperor. Keep in mind that 1st century fishing was not a free enterprise operated by small, independent businessmen. Fishing was a state-run business controlled by some of the most powerful people in the ancient world, involving an intricate web of financial relationships.

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