Seed
SEED
Gen 1:11 ; often used figuratively in Scripture, Dan 9:1 1Pe 1:23 1Jo 3:9 . There was an injunction in the Mosaic Law against sowing a field with mingled seed of diverse kinds, Lev 19:19 . The “precious seed” is often committed to the ground with many fears; but the harvest, at least in spiritual things, shall be a season of joy, Psa 126:5,6 .
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Seed
The early Christians used seed in its natural sense, of that which contains the germ-cell (1) of plants (, Mat 13:24; Mat 13:27; Mat 13:32; Mat 13:37 f., Mar 4:31, 1Co 15:38, 2Co 9:10; , Mar 4:26 f., Luk 8:5; Luk 8:11), and (2) of man (, Heb 11:11; , 1Pe 1:23). Metaphorically, seed () was used (1) of the nucleus of the Jewish race left from the Captivity (Rom 9:29); (2) of offspring in general, either (a) taken literally (Mat 22:24 f., Mar 12:19-22, Luk 1:55; Luk 20:28, Joh 7:42; Joh 8:33; Joh 8:37, Act 3:25; Act 7:5 f., Act 13:23, Rom 1:3; Rom 4:13; Rom 9:7; Rom 11:1, 2Co 11:22, 2Ti 2:8, Heb 2:16; Heb 11:18, Rev 12:17), or (b) figuratively, as when believers were called Abrahams seed because they emulated his faith (Rom 4:16; Rom 4:18; Rom 9:8, Gal 3:16; Gal 3:19; Gal 3:29); and, finally, (3) of the generating power of God acting through His Word (cf. 1Pe 1:23) and His Spirit (1Jn 3:9). St. Paul argued in Rabbinical fashion from the distinction between seed and seeds (Gal 3:16 ff.). Since the singular stood in Gen 13:15 f. and Gen 17:7 f., he concluded that the promise made to Abraham pointed to Christ as an individual and not collectively to Jews. For this and similar examples of artificial exegesis in the NT, see Interpretation.
S. J. Case.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
seed
A word commonly used in Sacred Scripture for family, race, posterity, offspring. A lengthy and interesting example is found in Galatians 3. Our Lord in His parables has immortalized its metaphorical meaning, likening the Word of God to a seed (Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8).
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Seed
(, zera; ). The seed time of Palestine (Lev 26:5) for grain came regularly in November and December (Lightfoot, Hor. Hebr. p. 340, 1003; Korte, Reis. p. 432). Since the harvest began in the middle of Nisan, the time of growth and culture was about four months (Joh 4:35; see Lcke, ad loc.). But this was certainly a very general reckoning, and perhaps had become proverbial. (In this passage the word , yet, does not seem to accord with this explanation; see also Anger, De Temp. Act. Ap. p. 24 sq.; Wieseler, Chronol. Synops. p. 216 sq.; Jacobi, in Stud. u. Krit. 1838, p. 858 sq.). SEE AGRICULTURE.
Sowing was done by the hand, as often with us, though according to the Gemara (Baba Metsia, fol. 105) the Jews used machines also for this purpose (Otho, Lex. Rab. p. 685). The seed when sown and the young plants have more enemies in the East than even here: not only drought, hail, mice (1Sa 6:5), fire, but also grasshoppers and locusts (see these words), often destroy promising harvests. The following legal regulations are found in the Pentateuch:
1. Two kinds of seed, as wheat and barley, must not be sown on the same land (Lev 19:19; comp. Josephus, Ant. 4, 8, 20). The Talmudists (Mishna, Chilaim, 2, 8) say that between two fields sown with different seeds must intervene either fallow ground or a ditch, path, or wall; but the law does not include garden beds (ibid. 3, 1; Shab. 9, 2). Michaelis (Mos. R. 4, 320 sq.) strives to show that the lawgiver meant simply to require a careful sorting of the seed, which is recommended by the ancients as very advantageous (Virgil, Georg. 1, 193 sq.; Varro, R. R. 1, 52, 1), and which would render impossible the springing up of weeds (especially the Lolium temulentum). But this cannot be supported, and a custom so advantageous to the agriculturist did not need the authority of law. Lappenberg (in the Brem. u. Verdensch. Biblioth., 5, 937 sq.) gives a purely theological exposition of it; and perhaps other parts of the law furnish an easier explanation of this class of regulations than this one. SEE DIVERSE.
The more exact requirements of the rabbins will be found in the Mishna (Chilaiz, ch. 1-3). They are very trifling, and sometimes show a disposition to evade the law; but even anciently it was not so strictly enforced as to prevent giving a field of barley a border of spelt (Isa 28:25; see marg. A.V.). In general the rule is confined to Palestine, and the Jews do not refuse elsewhere to enjoy the fruit of mixed harvests (comp. Hottinger, Hebr. Leges, p. 376 sq.; Darsov, De Mirodis Seminandi Diversa Semina Hebr. Vet. [Viteb. 1695]).
2. Lev 11:37 sq. provides that seed set apart for sowing should remain clean if the carcass of a creeping beast fell upon it; but if it had been wet, it should be made unclean, perhaps because wet seed takes up impurities far easier than dry (comp. the analogy, Lev 11:34). Similar is the law of purification in the Zendavesta (2, 335, Kleuker), and a similar distinction of wet and dry is observed among the Arabs still (Niebuhr, Beschs p. 40).
By an easy metaphor, seed, as the prolific principle of future life, is taken in Scripture for posterity, whether of man, beasts, trees, etc., all of which are said to be sown and to fructify as the means of producing a succeeding generation (Jer 31:27). Hence seed denotes an individual, as Seth in the stead of Abel (Gen 4:25 etc.). and the whole line of descent; as the seed of Abraham, of Jacob, etc., the seed royal, etc., much in the same acceptation as children. The seed of Abraham denotes not only those who descend from him by natural issue, but those who imitate his character (Rom 4:16), for if he be the father of the faithful, then the faithful are his seed by character, independent of natural descent; and hence the Messiah is said to see his seed, though, in fact, Jesus left no children by descent, but by grace or conversion only (Isa 53:10). This is occasionally restricted to one chief or principal seed, one who by excellence is the seed, as the seed of the woman (Gen 3:15; Gal 3:16), the seed of Abraham, the seed of David meaning the most excellent descendant of the woman, of Abraham, of David. Or understand by the seed of the woman the offspring of the female sex only, as verified in the supernatural conception of Jesus (Mat 1:18, etc.; Luk 1:26, etc.), and of which the birth of Abraham’s seed (Isaac) was a figure. See below.
Seed is likewise taken figuratively for the Word of God (Luk 8:5; 1Pe 1:23), for a disposition becoming a divine origin (1Jn 3:9), and for truly pious persons (Mat 13:38).
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Seed
SEED.Excluding the use of this term as equivalent to progeny, offspring, or race (cf. e.g. Mar 12:19-24, Luk 1:55, Joh 7:42), we find it exclusively employed in the parables of Jesus as an apt symbol for Divine influence, or for the expansion of the moral and religious life in communities or individuals.
1. In Mar 4:26-29, a parable peculiar to Mark, Jesus uses the process of sowing and the subsequent conduct of the farmer to illustrate the certain success of His Kingdom upon earth. What He preached about seemed perhaps to the disciples, as well as to outsiders, as weak as a grain of seed flung upon a field. Yet neither is an isolated or foreign thing in the world. On the side of the gospel were certain mysterious powers which would ensure it success, apart from human aid or interference. All it required was time. The order of things was a ripening order, and at the proper moment these favourable conditions would bring about the fruit and result of what at present seemed a very precarious and unpromising movement among men. Such is the general point of the parable. The seeds vital energy and its appointed correspondence with the powers of nature symbolize features in the gospel which enable Jesus to await the future with quiet confidence and an easy mind. Neither is just what it seems to the outward eye. Each sets in action a slow but sure process of growth, upon which the sensible person will count. Fruit grows thus, said Epictetus; the seed must be buried for some time, hidden, and then grow slowly if it is to reach perfection. It is by an extension, or rather a special application, of this usage that the self-sacrifice of man is compared to the burying of the seed in the furrow (Joh 12:23-25), with special reference to the death of Jesus Himself. The ultimate effects of such self-immolation depend on the thoroughness of the process itself.
The Kingdom is also compared to seed in the parable of the Mustard Seed (Mar 4:30-32 = Mat 13:31-32 = Luk 13:18-19). A small thing to begin with, it ultimately surpasses all other movements which make a greater show at first to the untrained eye. Here the Kingdom is conceived of, not eschatologically, but historically. When it is likened to seed, the thought is mainly of the immense possibilities of growth in it, as compared with its initial size, the correspondence between it and the soul of man, and the pledge, which it contains, of some final and splendid issue.
2. Seed, on the other hand, depends to a certain extent upon soil. While essentially designed to co-operate with the vital forces of nature, it may be rendered wholly or partially barren. And in this further sense it forms a symbol for Jesus of the Divine word and its fortunes in the world of men. Consequently we find that in two other parables the seed represents not the Kingdom, but the word (cf. Mat 13:19).
The first of these, the parable of the Sower and the Soils (Mar 4:2 f. = Mat 13:3 f. = Luk 8:5 f.), bears on the difficulties and disappointments encountered in the preaching of the word of God. The latter is compared to the vital germ or grain of the plant, which, through no fault of its own or of the sower, may fail to germinate, owing to the unpromising nature of the ground on which it chances to fall. Nevertheless, the work of the sower must proceed. The partial failure of his efforts is not to render his career or calling void. In the parable itself, which is undoubtedly genuine, the original reference is to the experiences of Jesus Himself as a preacher. Jesus has to preach; the rest is Gods concern (Wellhausen). But in the subsequent interpretation of the parable, which, like other interpretations, must be held to contain in whole or part reflexions of the Apostolic age and traces of the editors hand, the scope widens to include the general preaching of Christian evangelists, who are counselled not to let themselves be daunted by finding the unsympathetic and the preoccupied among their hearers. The seed must be sown. The word must be trusted to do its work in congenial hearts. The teaching must be imparted. Such is the supreme lesson for evangelists drawn here by Jesus from the vegetable world.
The other parable is that of the Tares, or darnel (Mat 13:24 f.), which may be an allegorized variation, and in part an expansion, of the ideas contained in Mar 4:26-29. Certainly, whatever be the original nucleus, the editorial reflexions indicate a rather advanced period in the history of the early Churchs mission and discipline. Growth, here too, is a partial feature of the situation. But the seed or word is further exposed to deliberate and widespread corruption and rivalry. Another power of influence is stealthily at work among men. Gods message finds no virgin soil, for the growth of the seed is thwarted; and specious, vigorous rivals abound.
Both of the latter parables, in so far as they emphasize the nature of Gods word or message as seed, thus touch wisely and earnestly on its mysterious power of growth. The spoken word is essentially fruitful. It is the instrument of the Divine mission. We forget too often that language is both a seed-sowing and a revelation, says Amiel. Man is a husbandman; his whole work rightly understood is to develop life, to sow it everywhere. And the supreme method is the contact of one personality with another, especially through the medium of that spoken intercourse which conveys the truth of God to the soul of man. This, and no external means, is the chosen way of Jesus.
Literature.In addition to the critical editors on the passages above cited, and writers on the Parables (especially Trench, Bruce, Jlicher, and Godet), cf. T. G. Selby, Ministry of the Lord Jesus, p. 157 f.; Keim, Jesus of Nazara, iv. p. 138 f.; and J. Rendel Harris, Union with God, p. 171 f.
J. Moffatt.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Seed
This word is differently used in Scripture-sometimes in figure, and at others literally. It is used in a way of figure when spoken of the word of God; thus Christ compares his word to “seed cast into the ground.” (Luk 8:5) Peter calls it the “incorruptible seed which liveth and abideth for ever.” (1Pe 1:23) But it is used in a literal sense also when referring to the increase of men or beasts. (Jer 31:27) And it is used in a spiritual sense when the faithful in Christ Jesus are called the seed of Abraham, (Gal 3:29) And yet in a still more peculiar, personal, and eminent manner when considered in relation to our union with Christ; “I will pour my Spirit (saith JEHOVAH to Christ) upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.” (Isa 44:3; Isa 59:21)
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Seed
sed (Old Testament always for , zera, Aramaic (Dan 2:43) , zera, except in Joe 1:17 for , perudhoth (plural, the Revised Version (British and American) seeds, the King James Version seed), and Lev 19:19 (the King James Version mingled seed) and Deu 22:9 (the King James Version divers seeds) for , kil’ayim, literally, two kinds, the Revised Version (British and American) two kinds of seed. Invariably in Greek Apocrypha and usually in the New Testament for , sperma, but Mar 4:26, Mar 4:27; Luk 8:5, Luk 8:11; 2Co 9:10 for , sporos, and 1Pe 1:23 for , spora): (1) For seed in its literal sense see AGRICULTURE. Of interest is the method of measuring land by means of the amount of seed that could be sown on it (Lev 27:16). The prohibition against using two kinds of seed in the same field (Lev 19:19; Deu 22:9) undoubtedly rests on the fact that the practice had some connection with Canaanitish worship, making the whole crop consecrated (taboo). Jer 31:27 uses seed of man and seed of beast as a figure for the means by which God will increase the prosperity of Israel (i.e. seed yielding men). (2) For the transferred physiological application of the word to human beings (Lev 15:16, etc.) see CLEAN; UNCLEAN. The conception of Christians as born or begotten of God (see REGENERATION) gave rise to the figure in 1Pe 1:23; 1Jo 3:9. If the imagery is to be stressed, the Holy Spirit is meant. In I Joh 3:9 a doctrine of certain Gnostics is opposed. They taught that by learning certain formulas and by submitting to certain rites, union with God and salvation could be attained without holiness of life. John’s reply is that union with a righteous God is meaningless without righteousness as an ideal, even though shortcomings exist in practice (1Jo 1:8). (3) From the physiological use of seed the transition to the sense of offspring was easy, and the word may mean children (Lev 18:21, etc.) or even a single child (Gen 4:25; 1Sa 1:11 the Revised Version margin). Usually, however, it means the whole posterity (Gen 3:15, etc.); compare seed royal (2Ki 11:1, etc.), and Abraham’s seed (2Ch 20:7, etc.) or the holy seed (Ezr 9:2; Isa 6:13; 1 Esdras 8:70; compare Jer 2:21) as designations of Israel. So to show one’s seed (Ezr 2:59;, Neh 7:61) is to display one’s genealogy, and one’s seed may be simply one’s nation, conceived of as a single family (Est 10:3). From this general sense there developed a still looser use of seed as meaning simply men (Mal 2:15; Isa 1:4; Isa 57:4; The Wisdom of Solomon 10:15; 12:11, etc.).
In Gal 3:16 Paul draws a distinction between seeds and seed that has for its purpose a proof that the promises to Abraham were realized in Christ and not in Israel. The distinction, however, overstresses the language of the Old Testament, which never pluralizes zera when meaning descendants (plural only in 1Sa 8:15; compare Rom 4:18; Rom 9:7). But in an argument against rabbinical adversaries Paul was obliged to use rabbinical methods (compare Gal 4:25). For modern purposes it is probably best to treat such an exegetical method as belonging simply to the (now superseded) science of the times.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Seed
Every herb, tree, and grass, yields its own
Gen 1:11-12; Gen 1:29
Each kind has its own body
1Co 15:38
Not to be mingled in sowing
Lev 19:19; Deu 22:9
Parables concerning
Mat 13; Luk 8
Illustrative
Ecc 11:6; Hos 10:12; 2Co 9:6; Gal 6:7-8
Sowing of, type of burial of the body
1Co 15:36-38
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Seed
akin to speiro, “to sow” (Eng., “sperm,” “spermatic,” etc.), has the following usages, (a) agricultural and botanical, e.g., Mat 13:24, Mat 13:27, Mat 13:32 (for the AV of Mat 13:19-23, see sow, as in the RV); 1Co 15:38; 2Co 9:10; (b) physiological, Heb 11:11; (c) metaphorical and by metonymy and for “offspring, posterity,” (1) of natural offspring e.g., Mat 22:24-25, RV, “seed” (AV, “issue”); Joh 7:42; Joh 8:33, Joh 8:37; Act 3:25; Rom 1:3; Rom 4:13, Rom 4:16, Rom 4:18; Rom 9:7 (twice), Rom 9:8, Rom 9:29; Rom 11:1; 2Co 11:22; Heb 2:16; Heb 11:18; Rev 12:17; Gal 3:16, Gal 3:19, Gal 3:29; in the 16th verse, “He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ,” quoted from the Sept. of Gen 13:15; Gen 17:7-8, there is especial stress on the word “seed,” as referring to an individual (here, Christ) in fulfillment of the promises to Abraham, a unique use of the singular. While the plural form “seeds,” neither in Hebrew nor in Greek, would have been natural any more than in English (it is not so used in Scripture of human offspring; its plural occurrence is in 1Sa 8:15, of crops), yet if the Divine intention had been to refer to Abraham’s natural descendants, another word could have been chosen in the plural, such as “children;” all such words were, however, set aside, “seed” being selected as one that could be used in the singular, with the purpose of showing that the “seed” was Messiah. Some of the rabbis had even regarded “seed,” e.g., in Gen 4:25; Isa 53:10, as referring to the Coming One. Descendants were given to Abraham by other than natural means, so that through him Messiah might come, and the point of the Apostle’s argument is that since the fulfillment of the promises of God is secured alone by Christ, they only who are “in Christ” can receive them; (2) of spiritual offspring, Rom 4:16, Rom 4:18; Rom 9:8; here “the children of the promise are reckoned for a seed” points, firstly, to Isaac’s birth as being not according to the ordinary course of nature but by Divine promise, and, secondly, by analogy, to the fact that all believers are children of God by spiritual birth; Gal 3:29.
As to 1Jo 3:9, “his seed abideth in him,” it is possible to understand this as meaning that children of God (His “seed”) abide in Him, and do not go on doing (practicing) sin (the verb “to commit” does not represent the original in this passage). Alternatively, the “seed” signifies the principle of spiritual life as imparted to the believer, which abides in him without possibility of removal or extinction; the child of God remains eternally related to Christ, he who lives in sin has never become so related, he has not the principle of life in him. This meaning suits the context and the general tenor of the Epistle.
akin to No. 1, properly “a sowing,” denotes “seed sown,” (a) natural, Mar 4:26-27; Luk 8:5, Luk 8:11 (the natural being figuratively applied to the Word of God); 2Co 9:10 (1st part); (b) metaphorically of material help to the needy, 2Co 9:10 (2nd part), RV, “(your) seed for sowing” (AV, “seed sown”).
akin to No. 1, and like No. 2, “a sowing, seedtime,” denotes “seed sown,” 1Pe 1:23, of human offspring. In the Sept. 2Ki 19:29.
Fuente: Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words
Seed
Mat 13:24 (a) It is the Word of GOD which, in all of its multitudinous aspects and forms, produces a variety of results. (See Mat 13:19).
Mat 13:38 (a) The people of GOD are the seed in this parable. The Lord takes His children and plants them in soil where they will produce the best results for Him.
2Co 9:10 (b) There are precious portions of the Scripture which can best be used by each individual Christian. The Spirit of GOD reveals to each person the special truths in His Word which seem particularly adapted to his nature and mentality. The Christian then takes this line of truth and ministers or plants it in the hearts of others.