A.T. Robertson Commentary Matthew 13:47

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:" — Matthew 13:47 (ASV)

A net (σαγηνη). Drag-net. Latin, sagena, English, seine. The ends were stretched out and drawn together. Only example of the word in the N.T. Just as the field is the world, so the drag-net catches all the fish that are in the sea. The separation comes afterwards. Vincent pertinently quotes Homer's Odyssey (xxii. 384-389) where the slain suitors in the halls of Ulysses are likened to fishes on the shore caught by nets with myriad meshes.