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"Tiberias and Peter's Fish" 
Sea of Galilee
Tiberias, Israel

Thursday, ‎December ‎26, ‎2013

Sixth Day of my Holy Land Trip, Mount Zion, Jerusalem

My Holy Land Trip

"Tiberias and Peter's Fish"

An ancient Watchtower in  Tiberias:

Tiberias is one of the four Jewish Holy cities, and the capital of the Galilee. It has a long history since it was established in the early Roman period. It was a religious, administrative and culture center of the Jewish nation after the loss of Jerusalem for 500 years until the Persian and Arab conquest. Many of the most important post-bible books (Mishna, Talmud) have been composed in the city which was the home of many Jewish scholars.

A view from Gai Beach Hotel, Tiberias:

Tiberias was founded sometime around 20 CE in Herodian Tetrarchy of Galilee and Peraea by the Roman client king Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. Herod Antipas made it the capital of his realm in the Galilee and named it for the Roman Emperor Tiberius. The city was built as a spa and developed around 17 natural mineral hot springs. It was populated mainly by Jews, with its growing spiritual and religious status exerting a strong influence on balneological practices. The Jewish oral tradition holds that Tiberias was built on the site of the Israelite and later Jewish village of Rakkat, first mentioned in the Book of Joshua. In Talmudic times, the Jews still referred to it by this name. Conversely, in The Antiquities of the Jews, the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus calls the village with hot springs Emmaus, located near Tiberias. This name also appears in The Wars of the Jews.

Leaning tower in Tiberias:

In the days of Herod Antipas, some of the most religious (as opposed to Hellenized, including Cohanic) Jews refused to settle there; the presence of a cemetery rendered the site ritually unclean for the priestly caste. Antipas settled many non-Jews there from rural Galilee and other parts of his domains in order to populate his new capital, in an early recorded case of forced gentrification, and built a palace on the acropolis. The prestige of Tiberias was so great that the Sea of Galilee soon came to be named the sea of Tiberias; however, the Jewish population continued to call it 'Yam Ha-Kinerett', its traditional name. The city was governed by a city council of 600 with a committee of 10 until 44 CE when a Roman Procurator was set over the city after the death of Herod Agrippa I.

Lion fountain in Tiberias:

Under the Roman Empire, the city was known by its Greek name Τιβεριάς (Tiberiás, Modern Greek), an adaptation of the taw-suffixed Semitic form that preserved its feminine grammatical gender. In 61 CE Herod Agrippa II annexed the city to his kingdom whose capital was Caesarea Phillippi. During the First Jewish–Roman War Josephus Flavius took control of the city and destroyed Herod's palace, but was able to stop the city from being pillaged by his (loyal to Rome) Jewish army. Where most other cities in the Provinces of Iudaea, Galilee and Iudemea were razed, Tiberias was spared because its inhabitants remained loyal to Rome, after Josephus Flavius had surrendered the city to the Roman emperor Vespasian. It became a mixed city after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE; with Judea subdued, the southern Jewish population migrated to the Galilee.

Decks, an Open air restaurant, Tiberias, west shore- Sea of Galilee, Israel:

There is no direct indication Tiberias, as well as the rest of Galilee, took part in the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132-136 CE, thus allowing it to exist, despite a heavy economic decline due to the war. Following the legal expulsion of all Jews from Jerusalem after 135 CE, Tiberias and its neighbor Sepphoris became the major Jewish cultural centres, competing for status with Babylon, Alexandria, Alleppo and the Persian Empire.

Decks, an Open air restaurant, Tiberias, west shore- Sea of Galilee, Israel:

In 145 CE, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai who was very familiar with the Galilee hiding there for over a decade, "cleansed the city of ritual impurity", allowing the leadership of the people to resettle there, from Judea Province where they were fugitives. The Sanhedrin, the Jewish court, also fled from Jerusalem during the Great Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire, and after several attempted moves, in search of stability, eventually settled in Tiberias in about 150 CE. It was to be its final meeting place before its disbanding in the early Byzantine period. 

Ganim Municipal beach Tiberias:

From the time when Yochanan bar Nafcha (d. 279) settled in Tiberias, the city became the focus of Jewish religious scholarship in the land. The Mishnah along with the Jerusalem Talmud, (the written discussions of generations of rabbis in the Land of Israel – primarily in the academies of Tiberias and Caesarea), was probably compiled in Tiberias by Rabbi Judah haNasi in around 200 CE. The 13 synagogues served the spiritual needs of a growing Jewish population.

A General view of Tiberias, with Sea of Galilee:

Chromis Niloticus (musht, St. Peter's fish, tilapia)

VISITING a restaurant alongside the Sea of Galilee in Israel, you may become curious upon seeing “St. Peter’s fish” on the menu. The waiter may tell you that it is one of the most popular dishes, especially among tourists. It is delicious when freshly fried. But why is it linked to the apostle Peter?

An event described in the Bible at Matthew 17:24-27 provides the answer. There we learn that Peter, while visiting the town of Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee, was asked if Jesus paid the temple tax. Later Jesus explained that he, as God’s Son, had no obligation to pay such tax. But in order to avoid stumbling others, he had Peter go to the sea, cast a fishhook, take the first fish coming up, and pay the tax with the coin found in its mouth.

The appellation “St. Peter’s fish” is drawn from this incident recorded in the Bible. But what sort of fish did Peter catch?

Lunch in Tiberias with Peter’s fish, west shore- Sea of Galilee, Israel:

It was from the ranks of fishermen that Jesus Christ called His first Apostles (Mark 1:16-20), including Peter and John. Fish and fishing were often associated with His ministry, and later were actually used as a symbol of it.

Jesus miraculously calmed the storm from a fishing boat (Matthew 8:23-26)

Jesus spoke many of His Parables to the crowds while He stood in a fishing boat (Matthew 13:1-58)

Jesus once miraculously paid His and Peter's taxes with a coin taken from inside a fish (Matthew 17:27)

Jesus miraculously had the disciples make a huge catch of fish, so great that their nets were filled to overflowing (John 21:1-14)

Jesus ate a piece of broiled fish with his disciples after His resurrection from The Tomb (Luke 24:42-43).

One of The Lord's most direct encouragements to those who accept and obey Him, and dire warnings to those who choose to reject His offer of eternal life, used fishing as an analogy:

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth" (Matthew 13:47-50 RSV)

Lunch in Tiberias with Peter’s fish, west shore- Sea of Galilee, Israel:

A Sea Rich in Fish

It is thought that of the nearly 20 species of fish in the Sea of Galilee, only about 10 could possibly be the sort that Peter caught. These ten are divided into three commercially important groups.

The largest group is called musht, which means “comb” in Arabic, because its five species display a comblike dorsal fin. One variety of musht reaches a length of about a foot and a half [45 cm] and weighs some four and a half pounds [2 kg].

The second group is the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) sardine, which resembles a small herring. At the height of the sardine season, many tons are caught every night, amounting to some one thousand tons a year. From ancient times this sardine has been preserved by pickling.

Lunch in Tiberias with Peter’s fish, west shore- Sea of Galilee, Israel:

The third group is the biny, also known as barbel. Its three species display barbs at the corners of the mouth, hence its Semitic name biny, meaning “hair.” It feeds on mollusks, snails, and small fish. The long-headed barbel reaches a length of some 30 inches [75 cm] and weighs over 15 pounds [7 kg]. Barbels are a well-fleshed fish, and they are a popular dish for Jewish Sabbaths and feasts.

Not included in the three commercially important groups is the catfish, the largest fish in the Sea of Galilee. It measures up to four feet [1.20 m] and weighs some 25 pounds [11 kg]. But the catfish has no scales, so it was unclean according to the Mosaic Law. (Leviticus 11:9-12) Therefore, it is not eaten by Jews, and it may not be the type of fish that Peter caught.

Lunch in Tiberias with Peter’s fish, west shore- Sea of Galilee, Israel:

What Fish Did Peter Catch?

Well, musht is the fish that is commonly accepted as “St. Peter’s fish,” and it is served as such in restaurants near the Sea of Galilee. Having relatively few small bones, it is rather easy to prepare and eat. But is it really the fish that Peter caught?

Mendel Nun, a fisherman who has lived on the shore of the Sea of Galilee for over 50 years, is a highly respected authority on local fish. He points out: “Musht feeds on plankton and is not attracted by other food. It is therefore caught with nets, and not with hook and line.” So it is an unlikely candidate. An even less likely candidate is the sardine, since it is too small to qualify as St. Peter’s fish.

That narrows the field down to the barbel, which some consider the better choice for the “St. Peter’s fish” label. Nun noted: “Fishermen on the [Sea of Galilee] have, since time immemorial, used a hook baited with sardine to fish for barbels, which are predators and bottom feeders.” He concludes that “Peter almost surely caught a barbel.”

Why, then, is musht served as “St. Peter’s fish”? Nun answers: “There can be only one explanation for the confusing change of name. It was good for tourism! . . . As pilgrims began to come from distant regions, it no doubt seemed good for business to give the name ‘St. Peter’s fish’ to the musht being served by the early lakeside eating houses. The most popular and easily prepared fish acquired the most marketable name!”

While we cannot state with absolute certainty what fish it was that Peter caught, whatever fish you are served as “St. Peter’s fish” will most likely prove to be a very delicious dish.

Fish were a popular food item throughout The Bible. They were taken from the Sea of Galilee, the Nile River when the Israelites were living in the Goshen area of Egypt, the Jordan River, and the Mediterranean Sea. As its name indicates, the Dead Sea, also called the Salt Sea, did not provide a living habitat for fish.

Fish The photo shows 2 tilapia, also popularly known as "St. Peter's fish," taken from the Sea of Galilee. Along with them are 5 loaves of bread - similar to what Jesus Christ used to miraculously feed the 5,000 (Matthew 14:15-21). He later fed 4,000 from "a few small fish" and seven loaves of bread (Matthew 15:32-38) (see also The Miracles Of Jesus Christ)

Fishing became a major industry for Israel. Jerusalem apparently had a fish market from the time of the Old Testament (2 Chronicles 33:14, Nehemiah 3:3), with the Fish Gate the likely entrance to it.