“A stone for bread, a snake for fish”
Matthew 7:9–10
Figure of speechWell-supportedJesus
Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? (Matthew 7:9–10 BSB)
What it sounds like today
Random cruel substitutions.
The cultural key
The pairs are look-alikes: a round, flat Galilean loaf resembled a smooth stone (the same visual behind 'command these stones to become bread,' Matthew 4:3), and an eel-like catfish from the lake, unclean and unkosher, could pass for a snake. The cruelty imagined is a trick gift that looks right and betrays.
Recovered meaning
Even flawed human fathers don't answer a child's need with a convincing counterfeit. God is not playing bait-and-switch with those who ask him.
Parallels: Luke 11:11–12