![]() The Greek word for mustard is sinapi (Matth. Perhaps the leaves were used as a vegetable like many members of the mustard family, a family which includes such well known plants as cabbage, turnips, and broccoli.īotanical problems: what is meant by mustard? From interviews of Palestinian farmers, it seems to follow that they use the seeds or eat the vegetative portions of the plant similar to ways we have seen relatives of mustards used in Jordan (4). While mustard is one of the best known of all Bible plants, there is no indication of how ancient Hebrews actually used it (3). For modern, western readers the parable of the mustard seed may be harder to understand. It would have been abundantly clear to Jesus' audience what He meant - they had asked questions about the tares, but not the parable of the mustard seed. The mustard plant, mentioned only in the New Testament, is one of these examples. His examples were always relevant and He was quick to identify with His audience by using familiar examples from everyday life. The Lord Jesus is the perfect Teacher! Through parables, He was able to present profound spiritual truths to simple people. This paper is the result of our on-going research into plants of the Bible. ![]() This conflict has occasioned the present writers, a Bible scholar and a botanist, to cooperate in the study of Bible plants, resulting in a series of booklets, "Plants of the Bible" (2), and numerous other publications in Dutch, English, and French. "With many authors a wall of partition has been erected between nature and Scripture, this double divine revelation," as has been correctly observed (1). Most modern Bible readers, on the other hand, may miss or misinterpret some of these teachings through a lack of acquaintance with nature in the Holy Land. The largely agrarian audience addressed by Jesus can be assumed to have enough knowledge of plants to understand the substance and nuances of his teachings involving plants. in some of the parables told by our Lord. Botanical expertise is usually not a problem in Bible exposition except when it comes to explaining Bible portions in which plants play a prominent part, e.g. But is it large enough to support birds?Ī Bible expositor is usually not a trained botanist, nor is the average botanist trained in Bible exposition. This is an exceptionally large mustard plant (probably Sinapis alba or S.
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