Instruments of meshed string, used for fishing or hunting. The term can also be used in a symbolic manner, to refer to the way in which people are ensnared by sin or by their enemies.
Nets used in fishing and hunting
Isaiah 51:20; Ezekiel 47:10; Matthew 4:18 See also Proverbs 1:17; Isaiah 19:8; Ezekiel 26:5; Matthew 4:21 parallel Mark 1:19; Matthew 13:47; Mark 1:18; Luke 5:2–4; John 21:6
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.
Fishermen will stand by the shore; from En-gedi to En-eglaim they will spread their nets to catch fish of many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.
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.
Nets used metaphorically
To describe people being caught by others
Proverbs 29:5; Habakkuk 1:15–17 See also Job 18:8; Psalm 9:15, Psalm 10:9, Psalm 25:15, Psalm 35:7, Psalm 57:6, Psalm 140:5, Psalm 141:10; Ecclesiastes 9:12; Ezekiel 19:8; Hosea 5:1; Micah 7:2
A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
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. Will he, therefore, empty his net and continue to slay nations without mercy?
To describe being caught by the Lord
Job 19:6; Hosea 7:12; Luke 5:10 See also Lamentations 1:13; Ezekiel 12:13, Ezekiel 17:20, Ezekiel 32:3
then understand that it is God who has wronged me and drawn His net around me.
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.
and so were his partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said to Simon. “From now on you will catch men.”
Networks used in design
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.