SEV Biblia, Chapter 13:8
Y parte cay en buena tierra, y dio fruto: uno a ciento, y otro a sesenta, y otro a treinta.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 13:8
Verse 8. Good ground] Where the earth was deep, the field well ploughed, and the brambles and weeds all removed. See more on chap. xiii. 18, &c., and see on Luke viii. 15. Some a hundred-fold.] For the elucidation of this text, I beg leave to introduce the following experiment. In 1816 I sowed, for a third crop, a field with oats, at Millbrook, in Lancashire; the grains weighed, on an average, 3/4 of a grain each. One grain produced three stalks with three ears: the largest had 68 grains in it, the second 26, and the third 25.
Whole number of grains 119, which togetherweighed 82 grs.
The root separately, after washing and drying, weighed 13 _.
The stalks and remaining leaves (for many had perished in the wet season) 630 _.
Weight of the whole produce of one grain of oats 726 grs.
which was 725 times and one quarter more than the original weight.
The power of grain to multiply itself, even in the same year, is a subject as much of curiosity and astonishment as of importance and general utility.
For the farther elucidation of this text, I shall give the following example from a practice in agriculture, or rural economy, which is termed filtering.
On the 2nd of June, 1766, Mr. C. Miller, of Cambridge, sowed some grains of the common, red wheat; and on the 8th of August a single plant was taken up, and separated into 18 parts, and each planted separately: these plants having pushed out several side shoots, about the middle of September some of them were taken up and divided; and the rest between that time and October. This second division produced 67 plants. These plants remained through the winter, and another division of them, made between the middle of March and the 12th of April, produced 500 plants.
They were divided no farther, but permitted to remain in the field. These plants were in general stronger than any of the wheat in the field. Some of them produced upwards of 100 ears from a single root and many of the ears measured seven inches in length, and contained between sixty and seventy grains. The whole number of ears produced from the single plant was 21,109, which yielded three pecks and three-quarters of clear corn, weighing 47lbs. 7oz., and, from a calculation made by counting the grains in an ounce, the whole number of grains was about 576,840. Mr. Miller thinks that, had he made a second division in the spring, the number of plants would have amounted to 2000. Who can help admiring the wisdom and providence of God in this single grain of corn! He has, in some sort, impressed on it an idea of his own infinity; and an idea which, like the subject to which it refers, confounds our imagination and reason. How infinitely great is God, even in his minor works.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 8. But others fell into good ground , etc.] Not beaten and trodden by the feet of men, nor stony, nor thorny, but well broke up, manured, and tilled; which designs good, honest hearted hearers who become so by the Spirit and grace of God; who with a spiritual understanding, experience, savour, and relish, what they hear; (see Matthew 13:23) and brought forth fruit, some an hundred fold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold : some seeds produced an hundred, others sixty, and others thirty. The first of these especially was a large increase, but what was sometimes had, and which Isaac received in Gerar, in the land of the Philistines, ( Genesis 26:12) and is what Pliny says of Byzacium, a country of the Lybiphoenicians, that it yielded an hundred fold to its husbandmen; and of such fruitfulness was the land of Israel, of which the Jewish doctors say some things incredible: they tell us a story of one that sowed a measure of vetches, or pease, yas twam l h[w , and it produced three hundred measures; they say unto him, the Lord hath begun to bless thee, etc.
Here, in the parable, these various increases intend the different degrees of fruitfulness in gracious souls; for though the fruits of grace, in believers, are of the same quality, yet not of the same quantity. Some believers are grown to a greater maturity than others; some are but little children, some are young men, some are fathers.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-23 - Jesus entered into a boat that he might be the less pressed, and be the better heard by the people. By this he teaches us in the outwar circumstances of worship not to covet that which is stately, but to make the best of the conveniences God in his providence allots to us Christ taught in parables. Thereby the things of God were made mor plain and easy to those willing to be taught, and at the same time mor difficult and obscure to those who were willingly ignorant. The parabl of the sower is plain. The seed sown is the word of God. The sower in our Lord Jesus Christ, by himself, or by his ministers. Preaching to multitude is sowing the corn; we know not where it will light. Some sort of ground, though we take ever so much pains with it, brings fort no fruit to purpose, while the good soil brings forth plentifully. S it is with the hearts of men, whose different characters are her described by four sorts of ground. Careless, trifling hearers, are a easy prey to Satan; who, as he is the great murderer of souls, so he is the great thief of sermons, and will be sure to rob us of the word, i we take not care to keep it. Hypocrites, like the stony ground, ofte get the start of true Christians in the shows of profession. Many ar glad to hear a good sermon, who do not profit by it. They are told of free salvation, of the believer's privileges, and the happiness of heaven; and, without any change of heart, without any abidin conviction of their own depravity, their need of a Saviour, or the excellence of holiness, they soon profess an unwarranted assurance. But when some heavy trial threatens them, or some sinful advantage may be had, they give up or disguise their profession, or turn to some easie system. Worldly cares are fitly compared to thorns, for they came i with sin, and are a fruit of the curse; they are good in their place to stop a gap, but a man must be well armed that has much to do with them they are entangling, vexing, scratching, and their end is to be burned Heb 6:8. Worldly cares are great hinderances to our profiting by the word of God. The deceitfulness of riches does the mischief; they cannot be said to deceive us unless we put our trust in them, then they chok the good seed. What distinguished the good ground was fruitfulness. But these true Christians are distinguished from hypocrites. Christ does no say that this good ground has no stones in it, or no thorns; but non that could hinder its fruitfulness. All are not alike; we should aim a the highest, to bring forth most fruit. The sense of hearing cannot be better employed than in hearing God's word; and let us look to ourselves that we may know what sort of hearers we are.
Greek Textus Receptus
αλλα 243 A-NPN δε 1161 CONJ επεσεν 4098 5627 V-2AAI-3S επι 1909 PREP την 3588 T-ASF γην 1093 N-ASF την 3588 T-ASF καλην 2570 A-ASF και 2532 CONJ εδιδου 1325 5707 V-IAI-3S καρπον 2590 N-ASM ο 3739 R-ASN μεν 3303 PRT εκατον 1540 A-NUI ο 3739 R-ASN δε 1161 CONJ εξηκοντα 1835 A-NUI ο 3739 R-ASN δε 1161 CONJ τριακοντα 5144 A-NUI
Vincent's NT Word Studies
8. A hundred-fold. Mentioned as something extraordinary. Compare Gen. xxvi. 12. Herodotus (i. 93) says of Babylonia, "In grain it is so fruitful as to yield commonly two-hundred-fold; and when the production is the greatest, even three-hundred-fold."
Robertson's NT Word Studies
13:8 {Yielded fruit} (edidou karpon). Change to imperfect tense of didwmi, to give, for it was continuous fruit-bearing. {Some a hundredfold} (ho men hekaton). Variety, but fruit. this is the only kind that is worth while. The hundredfold is not an exaggeration (cf. #Ge 26:12). Such instances are given by Wetstein for Greece, Italy, and Africa. Herodotus (i. 93) says that in Babylonia grain yielded two hundredfold and even to three hundredfold. this , of course, was due to irrigation as in the Nile Valley.
