A circular net with weights and a draw rope used for catching fish by throwing it from a boat or shore.
About Casting Net
The casting net was a circular net with weights and a draw rope around its edge. It was roughly 6–7.5 meters (20–25 feet) in diameter.
Key References
He told them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it there, and they were unable to haul it in because of the great number of fish.
The foe pulls all of them up with a hook; he catches them in his dragnet, and gathers them in his fishing net; so he rejoices gladly.
All Scripture References (35)
Job (1)
For his own feet lead him into a net, and he wanders into its mesh.
Psalms (9)
The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net.
My eyes are always on the LORD, for He will free my feet from the mesh.
Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.
For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul.
May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created.
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make music.
I say to the LORD, “You are my God.” Hear, O LORD, my cry for help.
Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.
Proverbs (2)
How futile it is to spread the net where any bird can see it!
A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
Isaiah (2)
Then the fishermen will mourn, all who cast a hook into the Nile will lament, and those who spread nets on the waters will pine away.
Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of every street, like an antelope in a net. They are full of the wrath of the LORD, the rebuke of your God.
Lamentations (1)
He sent fire from on high, and it overpowered my bones. He spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, faint all the day long.
Ezekiel (4)
But I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, and there he will die.
I will spread My net over him and catch him in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment upon him there for the treason he committed against Me.
Then the nations set out against him from the provinces on every side. They spread their net over him; he was trapped in their pit.
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will spread My net over you with a company of many peoples, and they will draw you up in My net.
Hosea (2)
“Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.
As they go, I will spread My net over them; I will bring them down like birds of the air. I will chastise them when I hear them flocking together.
Habakkuk (2)
The foe pulls all of them up with a hook; he catches them in his dragnet, and gathers them in his fishing net; so he rejoices gladly.
Therefore he sacrifices to his dragnet and burns incense to his fishing net, for by these things his portion is sumptuous and his food is rich.
Matthew (3)
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
And at once they left their nets and followed Him.
Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them,
Mark (2)
Luke (4)
He saw two boats at the edge of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.
When Jesus had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”
“Master,” Simon replied, “we have worked hard all night without catching anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.”
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to tear.
John (3)
He told them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it there, and they were unable to haul it in because of the great number of fish.
The other disciples came ashore in the boat. They dragged in the net full of fish, for they were not far from land, only about a hundred yards.
So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn.