John 6:11

6:11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed the bread to those who were seated. He then did the same with the fish, ¹  as much as they wanted.

John 21:6

21:6 He told them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” ²  So they threw the net, ³  and were not able to pull it in because of the large number of fish.

John 21:11

21:11 So Simon Peter went aboard and pulled the net to shore. It was ⁴  full of large fish, one hundred fifty-three, ⁵  but although there were so many, the net was not torn.

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¹ tn Grk “likewise also (he distributed) from the fish.”

² tn The word “some” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

³ tn The words “the net” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

⁴ tn The words “It was” are not in the Greek text. Here a new sentence was begun in the translation in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences. For this reason the words “It was” had to be supplied.

⁵ sn Here the author makes two further points about the catch of fish: (1) there were one hundred fifty-three large fish in the net, and (2) even with so many, the net was not torn. Many symbolic interpretations have been proposed for both points (unity, especially, in the case of the second), but the reader is given no explicit clarification in the text itself. It seems better not to speculate here, but to see these details as indicative of an eyewitness account. Both are the sort of thing that would remain in the mind of a person who had witnessed them firsthand. For a summary of the symbolic interpretations proposed for the number of fish in the net, see R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:1074-75), where a number are discussed at length. Perhaps the reader is simply to understand this as the abundance which results from obedience to Jesus, much as with the amount of wine generated in the water jars in Cana at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry (2:6).