Library

 

Jesus

 

Bible

 

Church  Authority

 

Mary

 

Moral  Issues

 

Pro-Life

 

Sacraments

 

Saints

 

Misc.

 

 

 

    

 

DEFENDING  THE  BRIDE

 

 
Print Free Pamphlet  - - Brief Summary

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       

 

Recognizing the Number  153

Would the Greeks have recognized the number 153 as being connected to Archimedes’ work? 

Yes, and easily so.

If a person in modern American culture used the number 911 he could be sure that his readers would automatically be thinking about the emergency call number or the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001.

Similarly, if he used the number 3.14 he would know that most of his readers would recognize that as an abbreviation of Pi, and would be thinking about that.  If he used either of these numbers was not intending the obvious connection he probably should state so.

Similarly, if a writer in America in the 1970’s used the phrase,
“That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind,”
then he could be sure that his readers would be thinking about Neil Armstrong and his landing on the moon in AD 1969.

 
Apollo 17 in 1972
 
In the early 1970’s the Apollo Mission was going strong.
Neil Armstrong was a national hero. People like to talk about their heroes. And they like to talk about what made that person a “hero.” So, we can safely assume that the average person in that culture and in that time would make that connection.

However, these numbers and this phrase would be meaningless to the first century Greek citizen. The “national” or cultural heroes for the Greeks were their great mathematicians. And Archimedes was the greatest mathematician of the ancient Greeks.

Archimedes most important work was the one that was most applicable, the one that was most widely used, and the one that was most needed. It was his work on Pi, π.
He devised a new method to calculate the value of Pi that was very accurate.

The section where Archimedes calculates Pi to be approximately 3 1/7 is very short. Archimedes gives 10 equations. Each one is based on the previous one. And he adds very little additional text. The striking peculiarity of his work is that the first 9 of these 10 equations end with the number 153.

For the writer to be successful in the above modern examples, it would not be necessary for the modern reader to know the definition of Pi. The only thing required would be that he recognize the number sequence of 3.14 when he saw it.

Also, it would not have been necessary when making the connection to the landing on the Moon that a person know rocket science, or even remember Neil Armstrong’s name. The only thing necessary would be that a person recognize the phrase when he saw it. The fact that this phrase was repeated again and again in the culture of the 1970’s ensures that such a person would have.

Similarly, in order for John to make his connection with wisdom, it would not be necessary that his readers understand Archimedes mathematics, or even to know the definition of Pi - although in that culture we can be reasonably sure that they did.

The only thing necessary would be that John’s readers would have known about their greatest cultural hero, Archimedes, and that 153 was the key number in his work.  His work on Pi represents his wisdom.  And it was wisdom that the Greeks most valued.  Therefore, John would know his readers would have been thinking about wisdom when they read the peculiar detail of 153 fish.

The reason that people today often do not recognize John’s analogy is because they look and they judge things from a modern-day perspective. We must learn the culture in which John wrote. We must learn what they valued and why.
 

Since the average Greek man on the streets of Ephesus would have made the connection between 153 and their cultural hero Archimedes then we can safely reason that St. John, who lived with them in Ephesus, would also have seen the connection.  And if John was Not intending to make that connection then he probably should have pointed out that he was NOT intending what would have seemed as an obvious connection to his readers.  Since John offered no explanation as to what 153 meant, unlike the Church Fathers, then we can reasonably conclude that St. John knew his meaning was already obvious to his readers.

Would the Greeks have remembered more details of Archimedes use of 153 when they read John’s Gospel ?

Since the 12th century the West has had the advantage of the decimal system (using the decimal point in America) to denote portions of numbers in between whole numbers.  Before this time a person had to use fractions.  Although fractions are harder to remember he would have done so, as person tends to step up to the demands set before him.  A person does what he needs to do.  Remembering six digits is not that hard.  It might seem that way to us now only because those digits are unfamiliar to us today.

Remembering 6 digit fractions seems difficult to us today because we are spoiled with the decimal system that makes it unnecessary.  We should not be surprised that people in ages past memorized a lot better than we do today.

It is reasonable to assume that an older and wiser Greek individual would want to explain to younger Greek individuals the accomplishments of their cultural heroes. 

He would naturally want to speak about Pythagoras, and Euclid, but he would also and especially want to talk about Archimedes who was “considered the greatest mathematician of antiquity.”

He would want to talk about his great accomplishment in finding a new and much better method for calculating the value of Pi. The younger person would be curious and want to hear or read an explanation of that method.  Archimedes begins his calculations with the value of the square root of 3. 

It is doubtful that a conversation would end with the answer
“Archimedes used the square root of 3.”

The √3 is a too uncommon number to not arouse at least some curiosity in the young person who is wants to learn about his national and cultural hero.   It seems inescapable that an interested younger person would respond with the question, “What is the square root of 3?” Because this number is an irrational number only a rational approximation can be offered and substituted in order to make mathematical calculations that result in practical and rational answers.  Between the time from Archimedes up to the time of the adoption of the decimal system in the West in the 12th century, the most practical way to express the mathematical values of  the square root of 3, as best as it could be expressed in small whole numbers, is to use the fraction  265/153.

So, even a very basic explanation of Archimedes accomplishment and his new method and how he determined the measure of the perimeters of the polygons that he inscribed within the circle would need to include this number of 153 since it was so prominent in his calculations. 

 

See a more detailed discussion on the importance of the number 153 in Greek culture.  Read :

The Number 153 Was Very Prominent and Recognizable in Ancient Greek Culture

 

See image of Archimedes 10 equations on how to calculate the value of π, Pi.  9 out of 10 of these equations end in the number 153.
See image at this website

 

 

 


Continue ...
Fish


.

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

Print Free Pamphlet - - Brief Summary

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

NEW   Cool  Catholic  Graphics


See  Articles  at

JESUS     BIBLE     CHURCH   AUTHORITY

  MARY     MORAL  ISSUES     PRO-LIFE

  SACRAMENTS       SAINTS       MISC.


HOME  - DEFENDING  THE  BRIDE

www.DefendingTheBride.com