What is the allegorical sense of "deep" in Lk. 5:4 "Launch out into the deep."?

Question

What is the allegorical sense of "deep" in Lk. 5:4: "Launch out into the deep."?

Answer 1

The operative noun/adjective here is βάθος (bathos) [from which we get our English "bathosphere"] occurs just eight times in the NT which could be classified as follows:

• metaphorically meaning "extreme poverty", 2 Cor 8:2
• meaning great danger or trials, Rom 8:39
• as an analogy of the great riches of the knowledge of God, Matt 13:5, Mark 4:5 (deep soil in Jesus parable); Rom 11:33, 1 Cor 2:10, Eph 3:18.
• Literal deep water, Luke 5:4.

Thus, if one seeks a spiritual meaning to Christ's enacted "parable" of Simon's great catch of fish, it might be "to fish" in the deep waters of God's grace and spiritual understanding. It is only when we do Jesus' bidding to fish in the deep waters of the knowledge of God that spiritual seeds grow (Matt 13:5, Mark 4:5) and spiritual food is found (Luke 5:4) beyond our best hopes.

We should pause to note that Simon would not have had this revelation of the power of Jesus had he not had enough faith/trust to actually launch into deep water and cast his net.

Answer 2

St. Ambrose thinks the "duc in altum" ("launch out into the deep") means to launch

in profundum disputationum

John Henry Newman transl. of St. Thomas's Catena Aurea: "into deep researches".
Ni Riain transl. (p. 115): "into the deep waters of controversy".

Ni Riain transl. of Commentary of Saint Ambrose on the Gospel According to Saint Luke, ibid.:

Although the Lord commands others to let down the nets, it is only to Peter that He says: “Launch out into the deep” (Lk 5:4). By this He means, launch out into the deep waters of controversy. No depth can be compared to the sight of the profundity of the riches (cf. Rom 11:33) of the knowledge of God's Son, and the proclamation of His divine nature. Of course, the human mind cannot grasp this mystery nor can human intelligence plumb its depths. Faith alone, Faith in all its fullness, can embrace it. For even though it is not right that I should know in what manner He was born, it is also not right that I should fail to know that He was born. The “how” of His Birth I do not know, but I recognise that fact that He was generated by His Father. We were not there when the Son of God was born of the Father; but we were there when the Father proclaimed Him Son of God (cf. Lk 3:22).

It's also interesting to note that it is darker in the "deep", so perhaps Jesus is saying that more converts will be made of the gentiles who are farther from the Light than of those (e.g., Jews) in shallow waters closer to It; "many are the children of the desolate, more than of her that hath a husband" (Is. 54:1).

Answer 3

I'm of the opinion that in order to accurately understand any passage of the NT, it is necessary to identify what passage in the Jewish scriptures (Tanach, Enoch, etc.) to which it is alluding. This provides the context, and in hermeneutics, "context is king."

The OT passages to which Luke 5:4 is alluding includes at least this:

Jeremiah 16:14-17 NIV

¹⁴ However, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when it will no longer be said, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,' ¹⁵ but it will be said, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.' For I will restore them to the land I gave their ancestors. ¹⁶ "But now I will send for many fishermen," declares the LORD, "and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks. ¹⁷ My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.

What Luke seems to be "proving," textually, is that Jesus and his disciples are the "fishers" whom the LORD had sent to recover the Lost Sheep of the Israel, join them with the Judeans in Christ, restoring the United Kingdom under the Son of David, aka "the Kingdom of God."

Luke 5:4-11 NASB95

⁴ When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." ⁵ Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say [and] let down the nets." ⁶ When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets [began] to break; ⁷ so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw [that,] he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!" ⁹ For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; ¹⁰ and so also [were] James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men." ¹¹ When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

The "proof" is the narrative that Jesus knows where the lost sheep are hidden because he knows where the fish are in the obscure, unsearchable depths of the abyss.

Luke seems to be embellishing Mark and Matthew's simpler version (Matthew 4:18–22; Luke 5:1–11)

John, as is so often the case, has a completely different version:

John 21:1-11 NASB95

¹ After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested [Himself] in this way. ² Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the [sons] of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. ³ Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will also come with you." They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. ⁴ But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ So Jesus said to them, "Children, you do not have any fish, do you?" They answered Him, "No." ⁶ And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find [a catch.]" So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. ⁷ Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped [for work]), and threw himself into the sea. ⁸ But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net [full] of fish. ⁹ So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire [already] laid and fish placed on it, and bread. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught." ¹¹ Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.

Answer 4

The OP asks: What is the allegorical sense of "deep" in Luke 5:4: "Launch out into the deep."?

Luke 5:4 NIV

⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

The context of Luke chapter 5 is recruitment to discipleship. As Geramia answers, Luke 5 is spoken to Peter, who was often the subject of Christ’s teaching on faith (a pervasive gospel theme).

Allegorical reading conveys how commitment and trust of faith in Christ yields plentifully reward.

The Sea of Galilee does not have 'deeps' per se. It is a relatively shallow freshwater lake, average depth c 25m, maximum depth (at one point) c. 45m. This would have been known to Peter who fished it. Though 'deep' could be relative, it's noteworthy that, given the paucity of detail included in Luke's account, the term 'deep' was considered worth including. And omnipotent God could arrange at will for fish to be anywhere. So in all the circumstances it's reasonable to look for significance, and to anticipate Christ’s characteristic allegory and symbolism here.

I posit that ‘Launching out into the deep’ is symbolic of Peter's commitment to follow Christ in discipleship. Abandoning livelihood, family, and (to use modern symbolism) to leap into the abyss. The resultant ‘big catch of fish’ being symbolic of spiritual reward following Peter's commitment to discipleship, and through obedience.

Answer 5

The Sea of Galilee does not have deeps.

The expression is a metaphor from the Exodus. In Isaiah 51:10 we see the Exodus event described as passing through a great depth depicting a dangerous hostile scenario which is a metaphor not intended as a scientific description.

There are two expressions used here for depths.
יָם מֵי תְּהוֹם רַבָּה

Translated ὕδωρ ἀβύσσου πλῆθος

מַעֲמַקֵּי־יָם

Translated τὰ βάθη τῆς θαλάσσης

As metaphors the facts about the relative depths of the Reed Sea and the Lake/Sea of Galilee are irrelevant. These are symbols of rescue from grave danger. Allegory is a different subject.

This metaphor goes back to the creation account where the combat between the creator and the deep is depicted as a battle between the Creator and YAM (sea) and Tiamat (deep). That is a whole different topic. The story of Creation and Exodus and the metaphors shared between the stories.

Answer 6

Launching into the deep here may be best understood as a symbol of conducting missionary activities in unfamiliar waters, meaning among non-Jews. This interpretation is given by Cyril of Alexandria:

...immediately it was full of fish; in order that by a visible fact, and by a type and representation, miraculously enacted, they might be fully convinced that their labour would not be unrewarded, nor the zeal fruitless which they displayed in spreading out the net of the Gospel teaching; for that most certainly they should catch within it the shoals of the heathen.

This interpretation is supported by the historical fact that the apostles' attempts to gain large numbers of strongly committed converts ultimately yielded better results among Gentiles than among the apostles' fellow Jews. Luke's sequel work, the Acts of the Apostles, portrays them having rapid success in Samaria and the Roman empire. As "fishers of men" they were far more successful working in the "deep waters" of Gentile lands than closer to the familiar "shore" of Judea and the Galilee.

Conclusion: if the story is interpreted allegorically, Cyril of Alexandria's suggestion is entirely plausible: that it refers to the spread of the Gospel among the Gentiles.