Matthew 4:18 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Matthew 4:18
And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
a (piece of) rock (larger than G3037 (λίθος)) · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Andrew
ἈνδρέανAndrean
G406
manly · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
his
αὐτοῦautou
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
brother
ἀδελφὸνadelphon
G80
a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (m… · noun — accusative singular masculine
casting
βάλλονταςballontas
G906
to throw (in various applications · verb — present active participle, accusative plural masculine
net
ἀμφίβληστρονamphiblēstron
G293
a (fishing) net (as thrown about the fish) · noun — accusative singular neuter
into
εἰςeis
G1519
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
sea
θάλασσαν·thalassan
G2281
the sea (genitive case or specially) · noun — accusative singular feminine
for
γὰρgar
G1063
properly · conjunction
were
ἦνēn
G2258
I (thou
fishers
ἁλιεῖς.halieis
G231
a sailor (as engaged on the salt water) · noun — nominative plural masculine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
John 1:40-42 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
Matthew 10:2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and…
Mark 1:16-20 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
Luke 6:14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
Luke 5:1-11 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it…
Matthew 15:29 And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.
Mark 7:31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Matthew 4:18-22
When Christ began to preach, he began to gather disciples, who should now be the hearers, and hereafter the preachers, of his doctrine, who should now be witnesses of his miracles, and hereafter concerning them. Now, in these verses, we have an account of the first disciples that he called into fellowship with himself.
And this was an instance, 1. Of effectual calling to Christ. In all his preaching he gave a common call to all the country, but in this he gave a special and particular call to those that were given him by the Father. Let us see and admire the power of Christ's grace, own his word to be the rod of his strength, and wait upon him for those powerful influences which are necessar…
And Jesus, walking--The word "Jesus" here appears not to belong to the text, but to have been introduced from those portions of it which were transcribed to be used as church lessons; where it was naturally introduced as a connecting word at the commencement of a lesson.
by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers--"called Peter" for the reason mentioned in Mat 16:18.
John Gill on Matthew 4:18
And Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee,.... Not for his recreation and diversion, or by accident: but on purpose to look out for, and call some, whom he had chosen to be his disciples. And as he was walking about, to and fro, he "saw two" persons; and as soon as he saw them, he knew them to be those he had determined to make his apostles: and these are described by their relation to each other, "brethren"; not merely because they were of the same nation, or of the same religion, or of the same employ and business of life, but because they were of the same blood; and by their names, "Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother". Simon is the same name with "Simeon"; and so he is called, Acts…
The sea of Galilee, the lake of Gennesareth, the sea of Tiberias, and the salt lake, are one and the same.
Before He spoke or did any thing, Christ called Apostles, that neither word nor deed of His should be hid from their knowledge, so that they may afterwards say with confidence, What we have seen and heard, that we cannot but speak. (Acts 4:20.)
The two vessels signify the two Churches; the one was called out of the circumcision, the other out of the uncircumcision. Any one who believes becomes Simon, i, e. obedient to God; Peter by acknowledging his sin, Andrew by enduring labours manfully, James by overcoming vices,
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Andrew — Manliness, a Greek name; one of the apostles of our Lord. He was of Bethsaida in Galilee (John 1:44), and was the brother of Simon Peter (Matt. 4:18; 10:2). On one occasion John the Baptist, whose…
Fishing, the art of — Was prosecuted with great industry in the waters of Palestine. It was from the fishing-nets that Jesus called his disciples (Mark 1:16-20), and it was in a fishing-boat he rebuked the winds and the…
Galilee, Sea of — (Matt. 4:18; 15:29), is mentioned in the Bible under three other names. (1.) In the Old Testament it is called the “sea of Chinnereth” (Num. 34:11; Josh. 12:3; 13:27), as is supposed from its…
John — (1.) One who, with Annas and Caiaphas, sat in judgment on the apostles Peter and John (Acts 4:6). He was of the kindred of the high priest; otherwise unknown. (2.) The Hebrew name of Mark (q.v.). He…
Net — In use among the Hebrews for fishing, hunting, and fowling. The fishing-net was probably constructed after the form of that used by the Egyptians (Isa. 19:8). There were three kinds of nets. (1.) The…
Peter — Originally called Simon (=Simeon, i.e., “hearing”), a very common Jewish name in the New Testament. He was the son of Jona (Matt. 16:17). His mother is nowhere named in Scripture. He had a younger…
Ship — No one writer in the whole range of Greek and Roman literature has supplied us with so much information concerning the merchant-ships of the ancients as St. Luke in the narrative of St. Paul’s voyage…
Simon — The abbreviated form of Simeon. (1.) One of the twelve apostles, called the Canaanite (Matt. 10:4; Mark 3:18). This word “Canaanite” does not mean a native of Canaan, but is derived from the Syriac…
Andrew · An apostle. A fisherman — An apostle. A fisherman
Apostles · Selection of — Selection of
on Matthew 4:18–end
Matthew 4:18-25
Matthew 4:18-25
Mark 1:16-20
Luke 5:1-11
18. And Jesus, walking near the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon surnamed Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers. 19. And he saith to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20. And they, having left their nets, immediately followed him. 21. And advancing thence, he saw other two brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them. 22. And they immediately, having left the ship and their father, followed him. 23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preachin…
The call of the first disciples illustrates one of the purposes of Jesus’ ministry: to call people to follow him in self-denying obedience (cp. 4:17, 23-25).
4:18 Simon, also called Peter, became the leader of the apostles (see 14:28; 15:15; 16:16) and the representative disciple (14:29-30; 16:15-19, 22-23).
Fishes · Catching of, a trade — Catching of, a trade
Galilee · Christ: Chose his Apostles from — Christ: Chose his Apostles from
Net · Fish — Fish
Peter · A fisherman — A fisherman
Sea, The · Seas mentioned in scripture: Sea of Galilee — Seas mentioned in scripture: Sea of Galilee
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
