NETS— THE SEA OF GALILEE 419 



or the enticing cunning of the American flies used, viz. " Queen 

 of the Water," " Beaverkill," and " The Abbey " (size No. 12 

 American) the diarist stateth not, 



(C) The hand net {afi<pili)<ii(TTfJov), mentioned in New Testa- 

 ment, still holds its own in the Sea of Galilee, and the coast. It 

 in the main resembles the Komsinfunda. 



" It is Hke the top of a tent in shape, with a long cord fastened 

 to the apex. This is tied to the arm, and the net so folded 

 that when it is thrown, it expands to its utmost circumfer- 

 ence, around which are strung beads of lead to make it drop 

 suddenly to the bottom. As soon as the game is spied, away 

 goes the net, expanding as it flies, and its leaded circumference 

 strikes the bottom ere the fish know its meshes have closed 

 on them. By the aid of his cord the fishermen leisurely draws 

 up the net, and the fish with it." ^ A fuller description of the 

 various nets now in use on the lake, with an account of present- 

 day methods of fishing, will be found in Dr. Masterman's in- 

 teresting volume, chap, ii. The Inland Fisheries of Galilee (also 

 in Pal. Explor. Fund Quarterly Statement, 1908, p. 40). 



Netting was the almost universal method. On Lake 

 Tiberias (or the Sea of Galilee, or Lake of Gennesaret) which 

 yielded then, as it does now, a most copious supply of fish, 

 night lines and line and hook were also in vogue. The highest 

 value was attached to these fisheries. According to tradition 

 one of the so-called Laws of Joshua, while reserving certain 

 privileges to dwellers on its shores, opened its waters to every 

 comer. Weirs and fences, because of the damage their stakes 

 inflicted on fishing boats, were strictly forbidden. 



The observance of this custom may have originated from a 

 compact made by all the tribes, as the Talmud states, or from 

 " the blessing " (in Deut. xxxiii. 23) conditioning the allot- 

 ment of the territory of Napthah and the Sea of Tiberias — 

 " Possess thou the sea, and the south " (" the sea " is the alter- 

 native version in R.V. for " the west ") ; or perhaps (according 

 to Baba Kamma) from an absolute order of Joshua to the tribe 

 of Napthali {Jew. Encyc, v. 404). 



By law, or rather custom, fishing was, except in private 



^ Encyl. Bibl., ii. col. 1528, from Thomson, The Land and the Book, p. 402. 



