St. Peter’s Fish ?

St. Peter’s fish is Tilapia , a group of fish of the Tilapiini tribe ( commonly known as tilapiine cichlids ) of the Cichlidae family. 

Tilapia is the name broadly referred to some species of cichlid fish of the Tilapiini tribe, of the genus Tilapia, Sarotherodon or Oreochromis.  Tilapia inhabit a variety of tropical fresh water habitats. Due to their adaptability to various tropical habitats, IUCN list Tilapia as one of World’s 100 Worst Alien Invasive Species.  However they cannot tolerate cold temperature.

The genus name ‘Tilapia’ was introduced by Andrew Smith, a Scottish in 1840, from Tswana word ‘thiape’ which means fish.  Tswana is a language belongs to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo languages, which is the national and majority language of Botswana. 

Since Tilapia is so widely distributed, it has many names in many languages and dialects.    It is known as amnon in Hebrew.  It is known as luofei ( 罗非鱼) in China,  Wu-Kuo ( 吴郭鱼 ) in Taiwan, and  feizhou ( 非洲鱼 ) in Malaysia.

The name ‘St. Peter’s fish’ comes from the story in the Bible about the apostle Peter catching a fish that carried a coin in its mouth.  Though the passage does not name the fish, it is most likely to be Sarotherodon galilaeus galilaeus.

A few other Tilapia ( Astatotilapia flaviijesephi, Oreochromis aureus, O. niloticus, Tilapia zilii, Tristamella sacra, T. simonies intermedia, T. simonis, T. mossambicus ) are also found in the Sea of Galilee, where the event took place. 

Some suggests that the fish would have been Tristamella simonis ( synonym Chromis simonis ).  This fish has a mouth large enough to accommodate a coin.  The male takes some 200 eggs into its mouth, and the hatched fish continue to be sheltered there for a number of weeks.  It is equally possible for the fish to be a Sarotherodon galilaeus galilaeus, as it is too is a mouthbrooder.

The name also refers to Zeus faber, but it is not found in the Sea of Galilee. 

There are some 11 genus in the Tilapiini tribe, of which 3 are commercially preferred for their large size, rapid growth and palatability: Oreochromis, Sarotherodon, and Tilapia.   

In 2000, Tilapia is the 5^th most important fish in fish farming.

China is the largest Tilapia producer in the world, seconded by Egypt.

Tilapia has very low levels of mercury, as they are fast-growing and short-lived with primarily herbivorous diet.

They are low in saturated fat, low in calorie, low in carbohydrate and low in sodium protein.

They are rich in phosphorus, niacin, selenium, vitamin B12 and potassium.

However, farm raised Tilapias has a high fat content due to the feed.

Tilapia serve as a natural, biological control for most aquatic plant.  They consume floating aquatic plants, submerges plants, and most forms of algae.  States of Arkansas and Arizona keeps Tilapia to help purify pond and lakes by consuming aquatic vegetation.

In Kenya, Tilapia help control mosquitoes’ larvae, of which the adult females cause malaria.

Biblical Account – Matthew 17 ( New International Version )

²⁴ After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

 ²⁵ “Yes, he does,” he replied.
   When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
 ²⁶ “From others,” Peter answered.
   “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. ²⁷ “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

Commentary

IVP New Testament Commentary

Adult Jewish male paid an annual 2-drachma tax ( Exodus 30:13-16 ) for the upkeep of the Jerusalem temple.

As usual, Jesus knows in advance Peter’s question ( Matthew 17:25 ).  He also does not regard the poll tax as a binding on himself or Peter, but recognizes that the tax collectors may.  He thus does not rebuke Peter for committing him; he wishes to avoid unnecessary cause for misunderstanding that might turn people away from his gospel unnecessary.  Jesus has offended members of the religious establishment before ( Matthew 15:12-14 ), but this is an unnecessary ‘stumbling block’ because it addresses one’s own rights rather than the truth of God’s kingdom ( Matthew 18:6 ).

Jesus’ point here is similar to Paul’s point in 1 Corinthians 9 and 10:29-33 : one should sacrifice one’s own privileges for the sake of the gospel.  Head of poll taxes normally listed specific exceptions who would not have to pay.  Conquerors subjected conquered peoples, not their own subjects, to taxation.  Priests were exempt from the 2-drachma tax, so in later times were rabbis.  Most significant here, dependents of a king were naturally exempt from his taxes.

The 4-crachma coin probably is a Tyrian stater, precisely enough to pay 2 persons’ temple dues.  Following an old Greek story, some Jewish stories of uncertain date speak of God blessing pious people by leading them to find precious objects in fish.  If Peter knew of such stories, the moral of Jesus’ causing him to find money in a fish would not be lost on him.  This is irony of a sort  : the King’s children can pay the tax because the King gives them the money to do so.  Jesus can take care of his people who walk close to him.