fish in the Bible

Fish are mentioned many times in Scripture, but no fish is mentioned by name either in the Old or in the New Testament.

Fish were created by God who gave mankind dominion over them.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, so that they will have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” —Genesis 1:26

After the great worldwide flood of Noah’s time, God first gave Noah and his descendants permission to eat fish.

And the fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given. —Genesis 9:2

Fish abounded in the Mediterranean and in the lakes of the Jordan River, so that the Hebrews were no doubt acquainted with many species.

Two of the villages on the shores of the Sea of Galilee derived their names from their fisheries, Bethsaida (the “house of fish”) on the east and on the west. There is probably no other sheet of water in the world of equal dimensions that contains such a variety and profusion of fish. About 37 different kinds have been found. Some of the fishes are of a European type, such as the roach, the barbel, and the blenny; others are markedly African and tropical, such as the eel-like silurus.

Fish market

There was a regular fish-market apparently in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 33:14; Neh. 3:3; 12:39; Zeph. 1:10), as there was a fish-gate which was probably contiguous to it.

Sidon

Located on the Mediterranean coast, the very ancient city of Sidon in modern Lebanon has long been associated with fishing. Today it is called Saida, which is Arabic for “fishing”. The city was originally named after the firstborn son of Canaan (Genesis 10:15). Sidon was a great-grandson of Noah, and the city was probably settled by Sidon’s descendants. Even today, fishing is an active trade here, with a fish-market selling fresh fish every morning by bidding. The ancient basin was transformed into a fishing port.

Biblical miracles involving fish or fish-like creatures

WATER TURNED TO BLOOD—Water everywhere became BLOOD. The fish died, and the river stank. (Exodus 7:14-25
JONAH SURVIVED IN THE FISH’S BELLY and safely landed (Jonah 2:1-10)—How could Jonah survive three days in the belly of a “whale”? Answer
MONEY—needed tax/tribute money miraculously provided in a randomly caught fish’s mouth, as promised by Jesus Christ (Matt. 17:24-27)
FISH—the miraculous catch of fishes (Luke 5:4-11)
FISH—boat load of fishes instantly caught at Christ’s instruction (John 21:1-14)
LOAVES AND FISHES—4,000 fed from 7 loaves and a few little fishes (Matt. 15:32; Mark 8:1)

Ancient Hebrew and Greek words

Hebrew: דָּג —transliteration: dag —meaning: a fish

Hebrew: דָּגָה —transliteration: dagah —meaning: a fish

Greek: ἰχθύς —transliteration: ichthus —meaning: a fish

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Article Version: October 3, 2025