[B-Greek] Matt 13:32a

Bert de Haan b_dehaan at sympatico.ca
Wed Aug 1 20:45:53 EDT 2007


You are right.  I did assume that DENDRON refers to tree and didn't know 
that it can be any kind of relatively large woody plant.  (I assume (There I 
go again; Assuming.) that woody is not referring to the opposite of 
herbaceous because then Mustard still does not fit the bill.)
Now the passage makes sense without having to go through hoops.
Thank you.
Bert de Haan.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bert de Haan" <b_dehaan at sympatico.ca>


>One more question about this passage. Not a critical one for understanding
>the passage but I find it interesting just the same.
>"hO MIKROTERON MEN ESTIN PANTWN TWN SPERMATWN" means "which is smaller than
>all the seeds" (Not: a bit on the small side) and "MEIZON TWN LAXANWN ESTIN
>KAI GINETAI DENDRON" means "is greatest among the vegetables and becomes a
>tree."(Not: of great importance compared to the other vegetables....)
>Mustard seeds are a bit on the small side but not the smallest by anyones
>standard and I don't think any mustard plant grows tall enough to be called
>a tree.
>Assumtions can get one in trouble but is it a reasonable assumption that
>SINAPI is not the same as our mustard?
>=================================

Yes, assumptions can easily get us in trouble. You seem to assume (like many
others) that DENDRON refers to the kind of plant that in English goes by the
name tree. Is a rhododendron a tree or a bush? L&N says for DENDRON: any
kind of relatively large woody plant - 'tree, bush.' Other dictionaries I
have checked miss the fact that the word can refer to a large bush as well
as a tree. Most English translations are somewhat misleading as they use the
word "tree" in this place.
NCV avoids the problem by saying: "... It becomes big enough for the wild
birds to come and build nests in its branches."

In addition, the word "all" is relative within a particular "universe". It
is not a botanical statement about all the seeds of the world, but a
comparison to other seeds that they were used to handle, like barley and
wheat and the seeds of grapes.
According to Fauna and Flora of the Bible (UBS) the mustard plant (Brassica
nigra) can exceed the height of a man and the stem can be as thick as a
man's arm.
The book also suggests that something very small was proverbially compared
to "a mustard seed" (cf. Mt 17.20)

Iver Larsen





More information about the B-Greek mailing list