Four Soils Parable

Matt. 13:1-9; Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-8
(Huck, 90; Aland, 122; Crook, 144)^[157]

Updated: 13 February 2025

וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וְהִנֵּה אֻכְלוּסִים גְּדוֹלִים הוֹלְכִים אֵלָיו וַיִּמְשׁוֹל לָהֶם מָשָׁל לֵאמֹר יָצָא הַזּוֹרֵעַ לִזְרוֹעַ אֶת זַרְעוֹ וּבִזְרִיעָתוֹ זֶה נָפַל עַל הַדֶּרֶךְ וְנִדְרַךְ וְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם אָכְלוּ אוֹתוֹ וְאַחֵר נָפַל עַל הַסֶּלַע וְעָלָה וְיָבֵשׁ מֵאֵין לֵחָה וְאַחֵר נָפַל בֵּין הַחוֹחִים וְעָלָה וְהַחוֹחִים חָנְקוּ אוֹתוֹ וְאַחֵר נָפַל בָּאֲדָמָה הַטּוֹבָה וְעָלָה וְעָשָׂה פְּרִי וּמָצָא מֵאָה שְׁעָרִים מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ אָזְנַיִם לִשְׁמוֹעַ יִשְׁמַע

Later that day large crowds of people gathered and came to Yeshua, and he told them this parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell on a footpath. First it was trampled, then the birds of the sky ate it. Some fell on rock. At first it sprouted, but then it dried out from want of moisture. Some fell among thistles. At first it sprouted, but then the thistles choked it. And some fell on good soil. It not only sprouted, it even produced grain, so that the sower saw a hundredfold return!

“Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!”^[158]

Reconstruction

To view the reconstructed text of the Four Soils parable click on the link below:

Conclusion

The Four Soils parable drew hearers in with its vivid descriptions of how the seeds that fell into different environments fared. It also drew them in by causing them to wonder what real life situation the parable illustrated. Jesus’ audience had to listen carefully and thoughtfully if they wanted to catch the point of his parable. The audience must have felt a rush of pleasure and satisfaction when they realized that the parable was about the right way to listen—the very thing they had been doing before they figured out what the parable was about.

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• ^[1] The reconstruction of the Four Soils parable that Flusser and Lindsey produced was published in David Flusser, “The Parables of Jesus and the Parables in Rabbinic Literature,” in his Jewish Sources in Early Christianity: Studies and Essays (Tel Aviv: Sifriat Poalim, 1979 [in Hebrew]), 150-209, esp. 184. ↩
• ^[2] The English translation of the Flusser-Lindsey reconstruction of the Four Soils parable is our own—DNB and JNT. ↩
• ^[3] See Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, under the subheading “Story Placement.” ↩
• ^[4] Elsewhere we have observed that the author of Luke occasionally inserted a saying from one source into a block of material from another source. This was the case with Tower Builder and King Going to War (from FR), which the author of Luke inserted into an Anth. context (Demands of Discipleship). Likewise, the author of Luke inserted FR’s version of the Lord’s Prayer into a block of material he copied from Anth. See the introduction to the “How to Pray” complex. ↩
• ^[5] On the small collections of sayings we refer to as “strings of pearls” scattered about in Luke’s Gospel as stemming from FR, see the LOY Excursus: Sources of the “Strings of Pearls” in Luke’s Gospel. ↩
• ^[6] In the Gospel of Thomas we read:

  Jesus said: See, the sower went out, he filled his hand, he threw. Some (seeds) fell on the road; the birds came, they gathered them. Others fell on the rock and did not strike root in the earth and did not produce ears. And others fell on the thorns; they choked the seed and the worm ate them. And others fell on the good earth; and it brought forth good fruit; it bore sixty per measure and one hundred twenty per measure. (Gos. Thom. §9 [ed. Guillaumont, 7])

  ↩

• ^[7] Justin Martyr quotes a version of the Four Soils parable as follows:

  ὡς ὁ ἐμὸς κύριος εἶπεν ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι τὸν σπόρον καὶ ὁ μὲν ἔπεσεν εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν ὁ δὲ εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν τὴν καλήν.

  As my Lord said, “The sower went out to sow the seed. And some fell into the path, and some into the thorns, and some upon the rocky [places], and some upon the good land.” (Dial. §125 [ed. Trollope, 2:113])

  Justin’s version combines elements from all three synoptic versions: τοῦ σπεῖραι τὸν σπόρον (“to sow the seed”; Luke 8:5); εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας (“into the thorns”; Mark 4:7); ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη (“upon the rocky [places]”; Matt. 13:5). Unlike any synoptic version, Justin’s version of the Four Soils parable has εἰς τὴν ὁδόν (“into the path”), and the order of rock and thorns is inverted. ↩

• ^[8] In LXX the phrase ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ occurs as the translation of בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא in Gen. 15:18; 26:32; 30:35; 33:16; 48:20; Exod. 8:18; 13:8; 14:30; Lev. 27:23; Num. 9:6; 32:10; Deut. 21:23; 27:11; 31:17 (2xx), 18; Josh. 8:25; 9:27; 10:28, 35; 24:25; Judg. 3:30; 4:23; 5:1; 6:32; 20:15, 21, 26, 35, 46; 1 Kgdms. 3:2, 12; 4:12; 6:15; 7:6, 10; 8:18; 9:24; 10:9; 12:18; 14:18, 23, 24, 31, 37; 20:26; 21:8, 11; 22:18, 22; 27:6; 31:6; 2 Kgdms. 2:17; 3:37; 6:9; 11:12; 18:7, 8; 19:3 (2xx), 4; 23:10; 24:18; 3 Kgdms. 13:3; 16:16; 22:25, 35; 4 Kgdms. 3:6; 1 Chr. 13:12; 16:7; 2 Chr. 18:24, 34; 35:16; 2 Esd. 22:43, 44; 23:1; Hos. 1:5; Amos 8:13; 9:11; Mic. 2:4; 4:6; Joel 4:18; Zeph. 3:11; Hag. 2:23; Zech. 2:15; 3:10; 6:10; 9:16; 11:11; 12:3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11; 13:1, 2, 4; 14:4, 8, 9, 13, 20, 21; Isa. 2:11, 17; 3:7, 18; 5:30; 7:18, 20, 21, 23; 10:20, 27; 11:10; 12:1, 4; 17:4; 19:21; 22:12, 20, 25; 23:15; 27:12, 13; 29:18; 52:6; Jer. 30:16 [49:22]; 37[30]:8; 46[39]:17; Ezek. 29:21; 30:9; 38:10, 14, 18, 19; 39:11. Cf. Sending the Twelve: Conduct in Town, Comment to L119-120. ↩
• ^[9] See Widow’s Son in Nain, Comment to L1. ↩
• ^[10] See "Jesus and a Canaanite Woman," Comment to L4; Darnel Among the Wheat, Comment to L36. ↩
• ^[11] See Davies-Allison, 2:377; Witherington, 261. ↩
• ^[12] See Allen, 142. ↩
• ^[13] See Taylor, 251; Guelich, 189; Marcus, 1:293. ↩
• ^[14] LHNS, 71 §90. ↩
• ^[15] According to Lindsey, reusing Lukan material that the author of Mark had omitted in the course of paraphrasing Lukan pericopae was typical of the author of Mark’s editorial method. See Robert L. Lindsey, “Introduction to A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark,” under the subheading “Sources of the Markan Pick-ups.” ↩
• ^[16] See Lindsey, “Introduction to A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark,” under the subheading “The Markan Stereotypes.” ↩
• ^[17] See LHNS, 71 §90. ↩
• ^[18] See R. Steven Notley, “The Sea of Galilee: Development of an Early Christian Toponym,” Journal of Biblical Literature 128.1 (2009): 183-188, esp. 185. ↩
• ^[19] Signs of Greek stylistic improvement in Luke 8:4 include refined vocabulary (viz., συνεῖναι in L6) and the use of Greek grammatical constructions such as κατὰ πόλιν (kata polin, “each city”; L9) and the genitive absolute (συνιόντος δὲ ὄχλου πολλοῦ; L6, L8; τῶν κατὰ πόλιν ἐπιπορευομένων; L9-10). The phrase διὰ παραβολῆς (L19) is unique to Luke 8:4 within the synoptic tradition. ↩
• ^[20] See Creed, 114. In LXX συνεῖναι is quite rare, occurring mainly in books not composed in Hebrew (1 Esd. 6:2; 8:50; 2 Macc. 9:4) or in places where it lacks a Hebrew equivalent (Ps. 57[58]:10 [Vaticanus]; Prov. 5:19). In Jer. 3:20 εἰς τὸν συνόντα αὐτῇ (“toward her mate”) is the translation of מֵרֵעָהּ (“from her friend”). See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1313. ↩
• ^[21] On the author of Mark’s use of the historical present, see the “LOY Excursus: Mark’s Editorial Style,” under the subheading “Mark’s Freedom and Creativity.” ↩
• ^[22] On the omission or replacement of ἰδού by the author of Luke (or the First Reconstructor before him), see Friend in Need, Comment to L6. ↩
• ^[23] In LXX we encounter κατὰ πόλιν καὶ κατὰ πόλιν (lit., “each city and each city”) as the translation of וּבְכָל עִיר וָעִיר (lit., “and in every city and city”; 2 Chr. 11:12). ↩
• ^[24] See Fitzmyer, 1:702; Nolland, Luke, 1:370. ↩
• ^[25] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:527. ↩
• ^[26] See Taylor, 251; Pryke, 115-119. ↩
• ^[27] We encounter ὥστε + infinitive in Luke 4:29; 5:7; 12:1; 20:20; Acts 1:19; 5:15; 14:1; 15:39; 16:26; 19:12, 16. ↩
• ^[28] The following table shows the examples of ὥστε + infinitive in the Synoptic Gospels:

  Matt. 8:24 TT = Mark 4:37 (cf. Luke 8:23) Matt. 8:28 TT (cf. Mark 5:4; Luke 8:[--]) Matt. 10:1 TT (cf. Mark 6:7; Luke 9:1) Matt. 12:22 TT (cf. Mark 3:[--]; Luke 11:14) Matt. 13:2 TT = Mark 4:1 (cf. Luke 8:4) Matt. 13:32 TT = Mark 4:32 (cf. Luke 13:19) Matt. 13:54 TT (cf. Mark 6:2; Luke 4:22) Matt. 15:31 Mk-Mt (cf. Mark 7:37) Matt. 24:24 TT (cf. Mark 13:22; Luke 21:[--]) Matt. 27:1 TT (cf. Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66) Matt. 27:14 TT = Mark 15:5 (cf. Luke 23:[--]) Mark 1:27 Lk-Mk (cf. Luke 4:36) Mark 1:45 TT (cf. Matt. 8:[--]; Luke 5:15) Mark 2:2 TT (cf. Matt. 9:[--]; Luke 5:17) Mark 2:12 TT (cf. Matt. 9:8; Luke 5:26) Mark 3:10 Lk-Mk (cf. Luke 6:19) Mark 3:20 U Mark 4:1 TT = Matt. 13:2 (cf. Luke 8:4) Mark 4:32 TT = Matt. 13:32 (cf. Luke 13:19) Mark 4:37 TT = Matt. 8:24 (cf. Luke 8:23) Mark 9:26 TT (cf. Matt. 17:18; Luke 9:42) Mark 15:5 TT = Matt. 27:14 (cf. Luke 23:[--]) Luke 4:29 U Luke 5:7 U Luke 12:1 U Luke 20:20 TT (cf. Matt. 22:16; Mark 12:13) Key: TT = verse has parallels in all three Synoptic Gospels; DT = Lukan-Matthean pericope; Mk-Mt = Markan-Matthean pericope; Lk-Mk = Lukan-Markan pericope; U = verse unique to a particular Gospel

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• ^[29] On stacked prepositional phrases as typical of Markan redaction, see the LOY Excursus: Mark’s Editorial Style, under the subheading “Mark’s Freedom and Creativity.” ↩
• ^[30] See Spontaneous Growth, Comment to L4. ↩
• ^[31] Cf. Nolland, Matt., 523. ↩
• ^[32] See Davies-Allison, 2:377; cf. Luz, 2:233 n. 4. ↩
• ^[33] We do not encounter Luke’s εἰπεῖν διὰ παραβολῆς anywhere else in NT, neither does it occur in LXX. See Plummer, Luke, 218. ↩
• ^[34] In NT διδάσκειν ἐν παραβολαῖς is unique to Mark 4:2, and it is not found in LXX. ↩
• ^[35] In NT we encounter λαλεῖν ἐν παραβολαῖς in Matt. 13:3, 10, 13, 34; Mark 12:1, but never in LXX. ↩
• ^[36] See our discussion in Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, Comment to L19. ↩
• ^[37] On reconstructing λέγειν/εἰπεῖν + παραβολή (“to tell a parable”) as מָשַׁל מָשָׁל (“tell a parable”), see Lost Sheep and Lost Coin, Comment to L8-9. ↩
• ^[38] McNeile (185) regarded the πολλά in Matt. 13:3 as adverbial. ↩
• ^[39] Davies and Allison regarded the πολλά in Matt. 13:3 as an accusative. See Davies-Allison, 2:377. ↩
• ^[40] See “LOY Excursus: Catalog of Markan Stereotypes and Possible Markan Pick-ups,” in the entry for Mark 4:11; Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, Comment to L19. ↩
• ^[41] See Allen, 143; Plummer, Mark, 120. ↩
• ^[42] See Taylor, 251. ↩
• ^[43] See Robert L. Lindsey, “A New Two-source Solution to the Synoptic Problem,” thesis 7; “LOY Excursus: Catalog of Markan Stereotypes and Possible Markan Pick-ups,” in the entry for Mark 2:16. ↩
• ^[44] See Spontaneous Growth, Comment to L1. ↩
• ^[45] See Lost Sheep and Lost Coin, L8-9; Hidden Treasure and Priceless Pearl, L1; Mustard Seed and Starter Dough, L3. Cf. Darnel Among the Wheat, Comment to L1. ↩
• ^[46] See Lindsey, GCSG, 1:205. ↩
• ^[47] See Snodgrass, 153. ↩
• ^[48] See Lindsey, GCSG, 1:440-443. ↩
• ^[49] The table below shows all of the instances of ἰδού in Mark and their parallels (if any) in Matthew and Luke:

  Mark 1:2 U (cf. Matt. 11:10; Luke 7:27) Mark 3:32 TT = Matt. 12:47 (cf. Luke 8:20) Mark 4:3 TT = Matt. 13:3 (cf. Luke 8:5) Mark 10:28 TT = Matt. 19:27; Luke 18:28 Mark 10:33 TT = Matt. 20:18; Luke 18:31 Mark 14:41 TT = Matt. 26:45 (cf. Luke 22:[--]) Mark 14:42 TT = Matt. 26:46 (cf. Luke 22:[--]) Key: TT = verse has parallels in all three Synoptic Gospels; U = verse unique to a particular Gospel

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• ^[50] See Young, Parables, 257; R. Steven Notley, “Let the One Who Has Ears to Hear, ‘Hear!’” under the subheading “Hebraisms in Luke’s Version of Jesus’ Parable.” ↩
• ^[51] In LXX the noun σπόρος occurs in Exod. 34:21; Lev. 26:5, 20; 27:16; Deut. 11:10; Job 21:8; 39:12; Sir. 40:22; Amos 9:13; Isa. 28:24; 32:10. ↩
• ^[52] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1285. ↩
• ^[53] See Dos Santos, 56. ↩
• ^[54] See Randall Buth and Brian Kvasnica, “Critical Notes on VTS” (JS1, 259-327, esp. 269 n. 25); Randall Buth, “Distinguishing Hebrew from Aramaic in Semitized Greek Texts, with an Application for the Gospels and Pseudepigrapha” (JS2, 247-319, esp. 268 n. 47). ↩
• ^[55] See Moulton-Howard, 449-450; Moule, 76. ↩
• ^[56] See Young, Parables, 257; R. Steven Notley, “Non-Septuagintal Hebraisms in the Third Gospel: An Inconvenient Truth” (JS2, 320-346, esp. 325). ↩
• ^[57] See Darnel Among the Wheat, Comment to L6. ↩
• ^[58] See Jastrow, 414. ↩
• ^[59] See John Dominic Crossan, “The Seed Parables of Jesus,” Journal of Biblical Literature 92.2 (1973): 244-266, esp. 246. ↩
• ^[60] For examples of ὅς (hos) used as a demonstrative pronoun, see BDAG, 727. ↩
• ^[61] According to scholars, παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν does not convey the meaning “upon the path.” See Moule, 51; Marcus, 1:292; Nolland, Matt., 525. ↩
• ^[62] See Charles Cutler Torrey, The Four Gospels: A New Translation (London: Harper and Brothers, 1933), 298; idem, Our Translated Gospels: Some of the Evidence (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1936), 9; Black, 120; Taylor, 252; Jeremias, Parables, 12 n. 4; Beare, Earliest, 108 §90; Guelich, 1:193; Buchanan, 2:589. ↩
• ^[63] Similar examples occur in Num. 26:63; 31:12. ↩
• ^[64] See McNeile, 187. ↩
• ^[65] See Creed, 114. ↩
• ^[66] See Theodore J. Weeden, Sr., “Recovering the Parabolic Intent in the Parable of the Sower,” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 47.1 (1979): 97-120, esp. 99. ↩
• ^[67] Mark’s version does, however, mention that the seed “sprang up” (L37) before the sun arose. ↩
• ^[68] In LXX καταπατεῖν translates verbs from the root ד-ר-כ in Judg. 5:21; 9:27 (Alexandrinus); 20:43; Job 28:8 (Sinaiticus); Isa. 63:3 (2xx); πατεῖν translates ד-ר-כ in its various stems in Deut. 11:24; Judg. 9:27; 2 Esd. 23:15; Job 22:15; 28:8; Isa. 16:10; 42:16; Jer. 31[48]:33; Lam. 1:15. ↩
• ^[69] In LXX καταπατεῖν translates verbs from the root ר-מ-ס in 2 Chr. 25:18; Ps. 7:6; 90[91]:13; Isa. 16:4; 28:3; 41:25; Ezek. 26:11; 34:18; Dan. 8:10; πατεῖν translates the root ר-מ-ס in Isa. 1:12; 26:6. ↩
• ^[70] See Jastrow, 1483. ↩
• ^[71] See Young, Parables, 257; Notley, “Let the One Who Has Ears to Hear, ‘Hear!’” under the subheading “Hebraisms in Luke’s Version of Jesus’ Parable.” ↩
• ^[72] We have traced τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ to Anth. in Not Everyone Can Be Yeshua’s Disciple, L10, and Yeshua’s Discourse on Worry, L21. ↩
• ^[73] Note that, even according to Codex Vaticanus, Luke read αὐτό in L47 (Luke 8:7), in a spot in the seed-among-thorns scenario parallel to the location of L32, where Vaticanus mistakenly reads αὐτά in the seed-on-the-path scenario. ↩
• ^[74] The verb κατεσθίειν occurs over 100xx in LXX books corresponding to those contained in MT. ↩
• ^[75] See LSJ, 925. ↩
• ^[76] In LXX κατεσθίειν is applied to birds in Gen. 40:17; 3 Kgdms. 12:24 (= 1 Kgs. 14:11); 16:4; Hos. 2:14. See McNeile, 187. ↩
• ^[77] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:749-750. ↩
• ^[78] On the interchangeability of ἕτερος and ἄλλος in Koine Greek, see James Keith Elliott, “The Use of ἕτερος in the New Testament,” Zeitschrift für neutestamentliche Wissenchaft 60.1-2 (1969): 140-141. ↩
• ^[79] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:741. ↩
• ^[80] See Davies-Allison, 2:383. ↩
• ^[81] See McNeile, 187; Young, Parables, 257; Notley, “Let the One Who Has Ears to Hear, ‘Hear!’” under the subheading “Hebraisms in Luke’s Version of Jesus’ Parable”; Randall Buth, Living Koiné Greek: Part Two-b (Jerusalem: Biblical Language Center, 2008), 23. ↩
• ^[82] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1129-1130. ↩
• ^[83] We find the phrase עַל הַסֶּלַע in m. Shev. 3:3; m. Ter. 8:11; m. Ned. 4:8; m. Zev. 13:3; m. Kel. 6:2. ↩
• ^[84] Variant spellings of פִּטְרָה include פִּיטְרָה and פִּיטְרָא. See Jastrow, 1162. ↩
• ^[85] See David N. Bivin, “Matthew 16:18: The Petros-petra Wordplay—Greek, Aramaic, or Hebrew?” under the subheading “Petra in a Midrash.” Cf. Lightfoot, 2:214. ↩
• ^[86] Cf. t. Kil. 1:14, and see Irving Mandelbaum, A History of the Mishnaic Law of Agriculture: Kilayim (Chico, Calif.: Scholars Press, 1982), 65-66, 331 n. 270. ↩
• ^[87] See Taylor, 252; Crossan, “The Seed Parables of Jesus,” 245-246; Weeden, “Recovering the Parabolic Intent in the Parable of the Sower,” 99-100. ↩
• ^[88] See Taylor, 252. ↩
• ^[89] On εὐθύς as a sign of Markan redaction, see Lindsey, “Introduction to A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark,” under the subheading “The Markan Stereotypes.” ↩
• ^[90] On the Markan tendency to homogenize the vocabulary within his parables excursus, see Mustard Seed and Starter Dough, Comment to L11. ↩
• ^[91] On καί + participle + aorist as the translation equivalent of vav-consecutive + vav-consecutive, see Return of the Twelve, Comment to L1. ↩
• ^[92] Flusser and Lindsey, in their reconstruction, used the verb נָבַט (nāvaṭ, “sprout”), but נָבַט did not have the meaning “sprout” in BH, nor even in MH, according to Jastrow (868), who lists “shine,” “illuminate,” “look at” and “have a vision” for the meaning of the Hebrew verb. Only to the Aramaic נְבַט (n^evaṭ) did Jastrow assign the meaning “sprout,” “grow.” ↩
• ^[93] See France, Mark, 191; idem, Matt., 504. ↩
• ^[94] See Davies-Allison, 2:383. ↩
• ^[95] See Gill, 142; Gould, 70; Swete, 73. ↩
• ^[96] Cf. Guelich, 194. ↩
• ^[97] See Crossan, “The Seed Parables of Jesus,” 245-246; Weeden, “Recovering the Parabolic Intent in the Parable of the Sower,” 99. ↩
• ^[98] See Swete, 73. ↩
• ^[99] See Robert L. Lindsey, “Measuring the Disparity Between Matthew, Mark and Luke,” under the subheading “Further Proof of Mark’s Dependence on Luke.” ↩
• ^[100] Cf. France, Mark, 191. ↩
• ^[101] Pace, Young, Parables, 256 n. 14, 257. ↩
• ^[102] See Dos Santos, 127; cf. Hatch-Redpath, 2:957. ↩
• ^[103] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:957. ↩
• ^[104] See Dos Santos, 76. ↩
• ^[105] Examples of διὰ τό + infinitive are found in Gen. 6:3; 39:9, 23; Exod. 16:8; 17:7; 19:18; 33:3; Deut. 1:27, 36; 4:37; Josh. 5:7; 14:14; 22:19; Judg. 3:12; 1 Kgdms. 15:20; 3 Kgdms. 10:9; 4 Kgdms. 19:28; 1 Chr. 13:10; 2 Chr. 29:36; Isa. 27:11; 36:21; 53:7; 60:9, 15; 63:9; Jer. 9:12; Ezek. 35:10. Examples of διὰ τὸ μή + infinitive include Deut. 28:55; Isa. 5:13; 8:6; Jer. 7:32; 26[46]:19; Ezek. 33:28; 34:5. See our discussion in Friend in Need, Comment to L17. ↩
• ^[106] See Dos Santos, 110. ↩
• ^[107] See “The Harvest Is Plentiful” and “A Flock Among Wolves,” Comment to L50. ↩
• ^[108] See Darnel Among the Wheat, L8. ↩
• ^[109] See Zohary, 160; cf. Gloria E. M. Suess, “Enemies of the Harvest," under the subheading “The Curse of Thistles.” ↩
• ^[110] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:43. ↩
• ^[111] We have already encountered examples of the First Reconstructor’s habit of changing simple verbs to compound forms in L10 and L33. See above, Comment to L10 and Comment to L33. ↩
• ^[112] We wonder whether it is a mere coincidence that both James 1:11, to which the author of Mark alluded in the seed-on-the-rocky-place scenario (see above, Comment to L39-42), and Isa. 32:13 contain references to grass (χόρτος). ↩
• ^[113] The verb συμπνίγειν also occurs in Luke 8:42, with the meaning “to press against.” ↩
• ^[114] See LHNS, 71 §90. ↩
• ^[115] Allen (143) suggested that Vaticanus’ ἀπέπνιξαν could be an assimilation to the more elegant Greek of Luke. Cf. Luz, 2:235 n. 1. ↩
• ^[116] The only other instance of πνίγειν in Matthew occurs in the Unforgiving Slave parable (Matt. 18:28). Since the author of Matthew presumably copied Unforgiving Slave from Anth., the appearance of πνίγειν in Matt. 18:28 provides another argument for supposing that πνίγειν occurred in Anth.’s version of the Four Soils parable. ↩
• ^[117] Note that Flusser and Lindsey also used חָנַק in their reconstruction of the Four Soils parable (see the Reconstruction subheading above). Young (Parables, 255) also discussed חָנַק as a probable reconstruction for “strangle” in the Four Soils parable. ↩
• ^[118] See Crossan, “The Seed Parables of Jesus,” 246. ↩
• ^[119] See LHNS, 71 §90. ↩
• ^[120] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:240-255. ↩
• ^[121] In LXX הָאָרֶץ הַטּוֹבָה is translated as τὴν ἀγαθὴν ταύτην γῆν in Deut. 1:35 and as τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθὴν (ταύτην) in Deut. 3:25; 4:22; 6:18; 9:6; 1 Chr. 28:8. We find ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τῆς ἀγαθῆς in Deut. 8:10 as the translation of עַל הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה, and ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς τῆς ἀγαθῆς as the translation of מֵעַל הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה in Deut. 11:17. ↩
• ^[122] Examples of נָתַן פְּרִי are found in Lev. 25:19; 26:4, 20; Zech. 8:12; Ps. 1:3. Most of these describe the yield of fruit trees and/or vines, but the example in Lev. 25:19 refers to sown crops. Examples of עָשָׂה פְּרִי are found in Gen. 1:11, 12; 2 Kgs. 19:30; Isa. 37:31; Jer. 12:2; 17:8; Ezek. 17:23; Ps. 107:37. Most of these are likewise descriptive of fruit trees and/or vines, although Ps. 107:37 refers to sown crops and vines. ↩
• ^[123] Instances of ποιεῖν + καρπός occur in Matt. 3:8 // Luke 3:8; Matt. 3:10 // Luke 3:9; Matt. 7:18 // Luke 6:43. ↩
• ^[124] On the author of Matthew’s tendency to add ποιεῖν + καρπός, see Darnel Among the Wheat, Comment to L11. ↩
• ^[125] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:723-724. ↩
• ^[126] See Dos Santos, 171. ↩
• ^[127] See Crossan, “The Seed Parables of Jesus,” 246. Lindsey (personal communication) suggested that Mark added αὐξάνειν in order to allude to the three instances of this verb in Acts, where it refers to the word of God's increasing (Acts 6:7; 12:24; 19:20). Cf. HTGM, 54. ↩
• ^[128] On the author of Mark’s redactional preference for imperfect verbs, see LOY Excursus: Mark’s Editorial Style, under the subheading “Mark’s Freedom and Creativity.” ↩
• ^[129] See Notley, “Let the One Who Has Ears to Hear, ‘Hear!’” under the subheading “Hebraisms in Luke’s Version of Jesus’ Parable”; Buth, Living Koiné Greek: Part Two-b, 24; Notley-Safrai, 40. ↩
• ^[130] See Taylor, 254. ↩
• ^[131] See Gould, 77; Metzger, 83. ↩
• ^[132] See W. C. Allen, “The Aramaic Element in St. Mark,” Expository Times 13.7 (1902): 328-330; Torrey, The Four Gospels: A New Translation, 298; Black, 90; Jan Joosten, “Varieties of Greek in the Septuagint and the New Testament,” in The New Cambridge History of the Bible (4 vols.; ed. James Carleton Paget, Joachim Schaper et al.; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013-2015), 1:22-45, esp. 40-41. ↩
• ^[133] Elephantine Papyrus 30 line 3 (ed. Cowley, 112). See A. E. Cowley, ed. and trans., Aramaic Papyri of the Fifth Century B.C. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1923). Cited by Black, 90. ↩
• ^[134] See Allen, 143. ↩
• ^[135] See C. H. Turner, “Marcan Usage: Notes, Critical and Exegetical, on the Second Gospel [Part 2],” Journal of Theological Studies 26 (1924): 12-20, esp. 17. Cf. Swete, 74; McNeile, 188; Taylor, 254. ↩
• ^[136] Unpublished essay. Buth cited the example of ἐν δραχμαῖς ἐννακοσίαις (“amounting to 900 drachmas”), which occurs in a second-century papyrus (Berlin Museum, BGU 970, 14). ↩
• ^[137] See Weeden, “Recovering the Parabolic Intent in the Parable of the Sower,” 108, 116; Nolland, Matt., 528. ↩
• ^[138] In LXX there is only one instance of ἑκατονταπλασίων, where it is the translation of מֵאָה פְעָמִים (mē’āh p^e‘āmim, “one hundred times”; 2 Kgdms. 24:3). ↩
• ^[139] See Buth, Living Koiné Greek: Part Two-b, 24. ↩
• ^[140] The Hebrew for “they measured it a hundred times” is מֵאָה פְעָמִים (mē’āh p^e‘āmim). As we noted in a previous footnote, ἑκατονταπλασίων (hekatontaplasiōn, “a hundred times as much”), the adjective Luke used in the Four Soils parable, occurs only one time in LXX, where it translates the phrase מֵאָה פְעָמִים (2 Kgdms. 24:3). ↩
• ^[141] See m. Avot 3:10, representing the Hasidic point of view, in contrast to Sifre Deut. §41 (ed. Finkelstein, 85-86), representing the point of view of the rabbinic mainstream. On the study versus deeds debate, see Shmuel Safrai, “Teaching of Pietists in Mishnaic Literature,” Journal of Jewish Studies 16 (1965): 15-33, esp. 16 n. 11; idem, “Jesus and the Hasidim,” under the subheading “Torah Study”; Notley-Safrai, 22-23. ↩
• ^[142] Although the precise formulation of the midrash cited in t. Ber. 6:8 is attributed to Rabbi Meir, it is probable that earlier versions of the midrash existed at the end of the Second Temple period. According to Kister, “aggadic statements in rabbinic literature should be regarded principally as traditions, and the sages to whom these utterances are attributed as tradents of ancient material. Studies that consider rabbinic literature together with writings of the Second Temple period (such as Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Qumran, Philo, Josephus, and Gospels) validate time and again this assertion.” See Menahem Kister, “Allegorical Interpretations of Biblical Narratives in Rabbinic Literature, Philo, and Origen: Some Case Studies,” in New Approaches to the Study of Biblical Interpretation in Judaism of the Second Temple Period and in Early Christianity (ed. Gary A. Anderson, Ruth A. Clements, and David Satran; Leiden: Brill, 2013), 133-183, quotation on 142. ↩
• ^[143] See Fitzmyer, 1:704; Davies-Allison, 2:385; Nolland, Luke, 1:372. Ancient sources that are regularly cited in the discussion include the following:

  ἐν Βαβυλῶνι.... γίνεται δὲ μὴ καλῶς ἐργασαμένοις πεντηκονταχόα, τοῖς δὲ ἐπιμελῶς ἑκατονταχόα

  At Babylon...if the ground is ill cultivated, it produces fifty fold, if it is carefully cultivated, a hundred fold. (Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants 8:7 §4; Loeb)

  τοῖσι μόνοις καρπὸν τελέθει ζείδωρος ἄρουρα
  ἐξ ἑνὸς εἰς ἑκατόν, τελέθοντό τε μέτρα θεοῖο.

  For these alone the fertile soil yields fruit
  from one- to a hundredfold, and the measures of God are produced. (Sib. Or. 3:263-264 [ed. Geffcken, 62]; trans. Charlesworth)

  In Italia in Subaritano dicunt etiam cum centesimo redire solitum, in Syria ad Gadara et in Africa ad Byzacium item ex modio nasci centum.

  Around Sybaris in Italy the normal yield is said to be even a hundred to one, and a like yield is reported near Gadara in Syria, and for the district of Byzacium in Africa. (Varro, On Agriculture 1:44 §2; Loeb)

  πολύσιτος δ᾽ ἄγαν ἐστίν, ὥστε ἑκατοντάχουν δι᾽ ὁμαλοῦ καὶ κριθὴν καὶ πυρὸν ἐκτρέφειν, ἔστι δ᾽ ὅτε καὶ διακοσιοντάχουν

  Susis abounds so exceedingly in grain that both barley and wheat regularly produce one hundred fold, and sometimes even two hundred.... (Strabo, Geography 15:3 §11; Loeb)

  Tritico nihil est fertilius...utpote cum e modio, si sit aptum solum quale in Byzaeio Africae campo, centeni quinquageni modii reddantur. ...cum centesimo quidem et Leontini Siliae campi fundunt aliique et tota Baetica et in primis Aegyptus.

  Nothing is more prolific than wheat...inasmuch as a peck of wheat, given suitable soil like that of the Byzaeium plain in Africa, produces a yield of 150 pecks. ...At all events the plains of Lentini and other districts in Sicily, and the whole of Andalusia, and particularly Egypt reproduce at the rate of a hundred fold. (Pliny, Nat. Hist. 18:21 §94-95; Loeb)

  McIver, however, argued that reports such as these are more likely folkloric or “tall tales” from far away places or distant times. See Robert K. McIver, “One Hundred-fold Yield—Miraculous or Mundane? Matthew 13.8, 23; Mark 4.8, 20; Luke 8.8,” New Testament Studies 40.4 (1994): 606-608. McIver cited Columella and Rabbi Yose as more reliable authorities on typical returns:

  Nam frumenta maiore quidem parte Italiae quando cum quarto responderint, vix meminisse possumus.

  For we can hardly recall a time when crops, thoughout at least the greater part of Italy, returned a yield of four for one. (Columella, On Agriculture 3:3 §4; Loeb)

  אמר רבי יוסי סאה ביהודה היתה עושה חמש סאין

  Rabbi Yose said, “A seah in Judah would produce five seahs....” (b. Ket. 112a)

  ↩

• ^[144] Cf. Young, Parables, 259. ↩
• ^[145] See Malcolm Lowe and David Flusser, “Evidence Corroborating a Modified Proto-Matthean Synoptic Theory,” New Testament Studies 29.1 (1983): 25-37, esp. 36-37; J. Duncan M. Derrett, “‘He Who has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear’ (Mark 4:9 and Parallels),” Downside Review 119.417 (2001): 255-268, esp. 263. ↩
• ^[146] See Derrett, “‘He Who has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear’ (Mark 4:9 and Parallels),” 263. ↩
• ^[147] On reconstructing ἔχειν (echein, “to have”) with יֵשׁ (yēsh, “there is”), see Tower Builder and King Going to War, Comment to L4. ↩
• ^[148] In Isa. 50:4 ὠτίον ἀκούειν (“ear to hear”) is the translation of אֹזֶן לִשְׁמֹעַ (“ear to hear”). ↩
• ^[149]

  Four Soils parable
  Luke’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  συνιόντος δὲ ὄχλου πολλοῦ καὶ τῶν κατὰ πόλιν ἐπιπορευομένων πρὸς αὐτὸν εἶπεν διὰ παραβολῆς ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι τὸν σπόρον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ σπείρειν αὐτὸν ἃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν καὶ κατεπατήθη καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατέφαγεν αὐτά καὶ ἕτερον κατέπεσεν ἐπὶ πέτραν καὶ φυὲν ἐξηράνθη διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ἰκμάδα καὶ ἕτερον ἔπεσεν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἀκανθῶν καὶ συμφυεῖσαι αἱ ἄκανθαι ἀπέπνιξαν αὐτό καὶ ἕτερον ἔπεσεν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθὴν καὶ φυὲν ἐποίησεν καρπὸν ἑκατονταπλασείονα ταῦτα λέγων ἐφώνει ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω		καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἰδοὺ ὄχλοι πολλοὶ πορευομένων πρὸς αὐτόν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς παραβολὴν λέγων ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπείρειν τὸν σπόρον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ σπείρειν αὐτὸν ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν καὶ κατεπατήθη καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατέφαγεν αὐτό καὶ ἕτερον ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν καὶ φυὲν ἐξηράνθη διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ἰκμάδα καὶ ἕτερον ἔπεσεν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἀκανθῶν καὶ φυὲν αἱ ἄκανθαι ἀπέπνιξαν αὐτό καὶ ἕτερον ἔπεσεν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθὴν καὶ φυὲν ἐποίησεν καρπὸν καὶ εὗρεν ἑκατονταπλασείονα ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω
  Total Words:	89	Total Words:	93
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	70	Total Words Taken Over in Luke:	70
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	78.65%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Luke:	75.27%

  ↩

• ^[150]

  Four Soils parable
  Mark’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  καὶ πάλιν ἤρξατο διδάσκειν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ συνάγεται πρὸς αὐτὸν ὄχλος πλεῖστος ὥστε αὐτὸν εἰς πλοῖον ἐμβάντα καθῆσθαι ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἦσαν καὶ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς ἐν παραβολαῖς πολλὰ καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς ἐν τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε ἰδοὺ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων σπεῖραι καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ σπείρειν ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν καὶ ἦλθεν τὰ πετεινὰ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτό καὶ ἄλλο ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὸ πετρῶδες καὶ ὅπου οὐκ εἶχε γῆν πολλήν καὶ εὐθὺς ἐξανέτειλεν διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν βάθος τῆς γῆς καὶ ὅτε ἀνέτειλεν ὁ ἥλιος ἐκαυματίσθησαν καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ῥίζαν ἐξηράνθη καὶ ἄλλο ἔπεσεν εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας καὶ ἀνέβησαν αἱ ἄκανθαι καὶ συνέπνιξαν αὐτό καὶ καρπὸν οὐκ ἔδωκεν καὶ ἄλλα ἔπεσεν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν καλὴν καὶ ἐδίδου καρπὸν ἀναβαίνοντα καὶ αὐξανόμενα καὶ ἔφερεν εις τριάκοντα καὶ εν ἑξήκοντα καὶ εν ἑκατόν καὶ ἔλεγεν ὃς ἔχει ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω		καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἰδοὺ ὄχλοι πολλοὶ πορευομένων πρὸς αὐτόν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς παραβολὴν λέγων ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπείρειν τὸν σπόρον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ σπείρειν αὐτὸν ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν καὶ κατεπατήθη καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατέφαγεν αὐτό καὶ ἕτερον ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν καὶ φυὲν ἐξηράνθη διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ἰκμάδα καὶ ἕτερον ἔπεσεν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἀκανθῶν καὶ φυὲν αἱ ἄκανθαι ἀπέπνιξαν αὐτό καὶ ἕτερον ἔπεσεν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθὴν καὶ φυὲν ἐποίησεν καρπὸν καὶ εὗρεν ἑκατονταπλασείονα ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω
  Total Words:	153	Total Words:	95
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	53	Total Words Taken Over in Mark:	53
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	34.64%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Mark:	56.99%

  ↩

• ^[151]

  Four Soils parable
  Matthew’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐξελθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῆς οἰκίας ἐκάθητο παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ συνήχθησαν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὄχλοι πολλοί ὥστε αὐτὸν εἰς πλοῖον ἐμβάντα καθῆσθαι καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγιαλὸν ἱστήκει καὶ ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς πολλὰ ἐν παραβολαῖς λέγων ἰδοὺ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπείρειν καὶ ἐν τῷ σπείρειν αὐτὸν ἃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν καὶ ἐλθόντα τὰ πετεινὰ κατέφαγεν αὐτά ἄλλα δὲ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη ὅπου οὐκ εἶχεν γῆν πολλήν καὶ εὐθέως ἐξανέτειλαν διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν βάθος τῆς γῆς ἡλίου δὲ ἀνατείλαντος ἐκαυματώθη καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ῥίζαν ἐξηράνθη ἄλλα δὲ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὰς ἀκάνθας καὶ ἀνέβησαν αἱ ἄκανθαι καὶ ἀπέπνιξαν αὐτά ἄλλα δὲ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν τὴν καλὴν καὶ ἐδίδου καρπόν ὃ μὲν ἑκατόν ὃ δὲ ἑξήκοντα ὃ δὲ τριάκοντα ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκουέτω		καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἰδοὺ ὄχλοι πολλοὶ πορευομένων πρὸς αὐτόν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς παραβολὴν λέγων ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπείρειν τὸν σπόρον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ σπείρειν αὐτὸν ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν καὶ κατεπατήθη καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατέφαγεν αὐτό καὶ ἕτερον ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν καὶ φυὲν ἐξηράνθη διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ἰκμάδα καὶ ἕτερον ἔπεσεν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἀκανθῶν καὶ φυὲν αἱ ἄκανθαι ἀπέπνιξαν αὐτό καὶ ἕτερον ἔπεσεν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθὴν καὶ φυὲν ἐποίησεν καρπὸν καὶ εὗρεν ἑκατονταπλασείονα ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω
  Total Words:	132	Total Words:	95
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	53	Total Words Taken Over in Matt:	53
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	40.15%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Matt.:	56.99%

  ↩

• ^[152] Cf., e.g., Schweizer, Matt., 297. ↩
• ^[153] On the question of the coordination of sowing and plowing in the Four Soils parable, see Jeremias, Parables, 11-12; K. W. White, “The Parable of the Sower,” Journal of Theological Studies 15.2 (1964): 300-307; P. B. Payne, “The Order of Sowing and Ploughing in the Parable of the Sower,” New Testament Studies 25.1 (1978): 123-129. Although in Jeremias’ view a great deal depended on the plowing taking place after the sowing, the parable itself is entirely silent as to the timing of the plowing, which strongly implies that it has no bearing on the correct interpretation of the parable. See Luz, 2:241; Snodgrass, 167. ↩
• ^[154] Nolland’s interpretation of the Four Soils parable is based on his conclusion that the sower was extravagant in sowing in places he knew had little chance of producing a crop. See Nolland, Luke, 1:372-373; idem, Matt., 529-530. Cf. Vermes, 117. ↩
• ^[155] See Plummer, Matt., 191. ↩
• ^[156] Cf. France, Mark, 191; Snodgrass, 167. ↩
• ^[157] For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.’” ↩
• ^[158] This translation is a dynamic rendition of our reconstruction of the conjectured Hebrew source that stands behind the Greek of the Synoptic Gospels. It is not a translation of the Greek text of a canonical source. ↩