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"Tiberias and Peter's Fish"
Sea of Galilee
Tiberias, Israel
Thursday, December 26, 2013
"Tiberias and Peter's Fish"
Sea of Galilee
Tiberias, Israel
Sixth Day of my Holy Land Trip, Mount Zion, Jerusalem
My Holy Land Trip
"Tiberias and Peter's Fish"
An ancient Watchtower in Tiberias:
Leaning tower in Tiberias:
Lion fountain in Tiberias:
Decks, an Open air restaurant, Tiberias, west shore- Sea of Galilee, Israel:
A General view of Tiberias, with Sea of Galilee:
Lunch in Tiberias with Peter’s fish, west shore- Sea of Galilee, Israel:
Lunch in Tiberias with Peter’s fish, west shore- Sea of Galilee, Israel:
Lunch in Tiberias with Peter’s fish, west shore- Sea of Galilee, Israel:
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.
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.
Aloha! Beautiful places and surprised at the greenery of location. I thought mostly desert. Lovely photos. Thankyou for sharing your journey.
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome. Thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteThere are many parched lands, but same time there are enough greeneries and ranches, homesteads.