Why  153  Fish  in  John  21:11  ?

Sections :

Introduction
Church Fathers : Sts. Jerome, Augustine, Gregory the Great, Cyril A.
No Reason ?
Why Church Fathers’ Answers Could Not Be John’s
Problems with Square Root of 3 Answer
Context Points to the Answer : An Explanation That Works
Archimedes : Context of Time and Place
Greeks and Wisdom
Fish
Calculating the Measure of the Fish
John’s Purpose
Why Church Fathers Did Not (could not?) Give John’s Idea
Conclusion

Church Fathers :

The Church Fathers attached the following meanings the John’s reference to 153 fish.

St. Jerome:

Jerome wrote that Oppian's Halieutica  lists 153 types of fish.  The point seems to be that this total of 153 represents all the nations from which God will gather the fish, symbolizing that believers will be gathered from all the nations in the world into the net of the Church.
(Jerome, commentary on Ezekiel 47:6-12  (book 14, chapter 47), Migne, PL 25, 474C,

St. Jerome was commenting on

Ezekiel 47:9-10
“… 9 Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.  Fishermen shall be standing along it from En-gedi to En-eglaim, spreading their nets there. Its kinds of fish shall be like those of the Great Sea, very numerous.”

The numerical value for the word
gedi = 17.   (10 = ג = 3; ד = 4; י )
eglaim = 153.  (= ע 70 ; ג = 3; ל = 30 ; י = 10 ; מ = 40 )
Coincidentally, the Hebrew word gedi (גדי) is the 153^rd  word of Ezekiel 47.
 
See:
Problems with St. Jerome’s  Idea

St. Augustine

states :

“ ... but the definite number of a 153; and of the reason of this number we must now, with the Lord’s help, give some account.”

1 + 2 + 3 … + 17 = 153

17 represents the combination of divine grace (the 7 gifts of the Spirit) and law (the 10 Commandments.)  And since 153 is the 17^th triangular number 153 represents, according to St. Augustine, all those who will be saved and or the covenants by which they are saved (?)

7 x 7 + 1 = 50   ....   50 x 3 = 150   ....   150 + 3 = 153

7 represents the number of disciples in the boat (John 21:2), as well as the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

So, 7 x 7 = 49 plus 1 for unity makes the perfection of 50.

50 x 3 (for faith founded in the Trinity) = 150

150 + 3 (for the trinity) = 153.

So, the 153 fish signify the fullness of the Church in Peters boat (7), filled with the Holy Spirit (7), perfected by adding one for unity in her faith ( +1 =50)  and multiplying by (3)  and adding (3) for faith in the most holy Trinity = 153 .

See  St Augustine, Tractate 122 (John 20:30-21:11), section 8
 

St. Gregory the Great

(10 + 7) x 3 x 3 = 153

St. Gregory the Great says: 10 Commandments representing Old Testament plus 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit, which also represents New Testament, which added together make 17. This, times 3 times 3, for our Trinitarian faith in which we live and in which we find rest, makes 153. 153 represents the elect who will go to heaven.
Homily 24 on the Gospels
 

Evagrius Ponticus

153 = 100 + 28 + 25      with
100 being a square number,
28 a triangular number and
25 a circular number. 
A circular number is a number whose square
“ends” in the same digits as the number itself.
e. g.,  25 x 25 = 625
Source

St. Cyril of Alexandria

100 + 50 + 3 = 153

St. Cyril breaks 153 into 100 (the great number of gentiles to be saved), plus 50 (the smaller number of Jews to be saved), plus 3 (the Trinity who saves all).  Book

153 : More Mathematical Qualities
The Church Fathers made use of the mathematical qualities above, and more details of the mathematical qualities of the number 153 are listed in this page here.  However, as will be explained in the page below, I do not believe that John had intended or used any mathematical quality or formula.  John’s use of the number 153 was just a simple allegory.  Context explains John’s meaning as will be explained in the pages below.

Continue ...
No Reason ?
Why Church Fathers’ Answers Could Not Be John’s

Sections :

Introduction
Church Fathers : Sts. Jerome, Augustine, Gregory the Great, Cyril A.
No Reason ?
Why Church Fathers’ Answers Could Not Be John’s
Problems with Square Root of 3 Answer
Context Points to the Answer : An Explanation That Works
Archimedes : Context of Time and Place
Greeks and Wisdom
Fish
Calculating the Measure of the Fish
John’s Purpose
Why Church Fathers Did Not (could not?) Give John’s Idea
Conclusion

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