A Play with Mirrors: The Parable of the Sower

[Kunigunde Kreuzerin]

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A Play with Mirrors: The Parable of the Sower

Mark 4:1-20 NA 28	Mark 4:1-20 Berean Literal Bible
1 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. 2 καὶ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς ἐν παραβολαῖς πολλὰ καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς ἐν τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ·	1 And again He began to teach beside the sea. And a great crowd was gathered together to Him, so that He, having entered into a boat, sat in the sea, and all the crowd was on the land, close to the sea. 2 And He began teaching them many things in parables, and in His teaching He was saying to them,
3 Ἀκούετε. ἰδοὺ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων σπεῖραι. 4 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ σπείρειν ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ ἦλθεν τὰ πετεινὰ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτό. 5 καὶ ἄλλο ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὸ πετρῶδες ὅπου οὐκ εἶχεν γῆν πολλήν, καὶ εὐθὺς ἐξανέτειλεν διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν βάθος γῆς· 6 καὶ ὅτε ἀνέτειλεν ὁ ἥλιος ἐκαυματίσθη καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ῥίζαν ἐξηράνθη. 7 καὶ ἄλλο ἔπεσεν εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας, καὶ ἀνέβησαν αἱ ἄκανθαι καὶ συνέπνιξαν αὐτό, καὶ καρπὸν οὐκ ἔδωκεν. 8 καὶ ἄλλα ἔπεσεν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν καλὴν καὶ ἐδίδου καρπὸν ἀναβαίνοντα καὶ αὐξανόμενα καὶ ἔφερεν ἓν τριάκοντα καὶ ἓν ἑξήκοντα καὶ ἓν ἑκατόν. 9 καὶ ἔλεγεν· ὃς ἔχει ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.	3 “Listen! Behold, the one sowing went out to sow. 4 And it came to pass as he sowed, some fell along the road, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 And other fell upon the rocky place where it had not much soil, and it jumped up immediately, because of not having depth of soil. 6 And after the sun rose, it was scorched, and because of not having root, it was taken away. 7 And other fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 And others fell into the good soil and began yielding fruit, growing up and increasing, and one bearing thirtyfold, and one sixty, and one a hundred.” 9 And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 Καὶ ὅτε ἐγένετο κατὰ μόνας, ἠρώτων αὐτὸν οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν σὺν τοῖς δώδεκα τὰς παραβολάς. 11 καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· ὑμῖν τὸ μυστήριον δέδοται τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ· ἐκείνοις δὲ τοῖς ἔξω ἐν παραβολαῖς τὰ πάντα γίνεται,12 ἵνα βλέποντες βλέπωσιν καὶ μὴ ἴδωσιν,καὶ ἀκούοντες ἀκούωσιν καὶ μὴ συνιῶσιν, μήποτε ἐπιστρέψωσιν καὶ ἀφεθῇ αὐτοῖς. 13 Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· οὐκ οἴδατε τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην, καὶ πῶς πάσας τὰς παραβολὰς γνώσεσθε;	10 And when He was alone, those around Him with the Twelve began asking Him about the parable. 11 And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, everything is done in parables, 12 so that, ‘Seeing, they might see and not perceive; and hearing, they might hear and not understand; read ever they should turn, and they should be forgiven. 13 And He says to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables?
14 ὁ σπείρων τὸν λόγον σπείρει. 15 οὗτοι δέ εἰσιν οἱ παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν· ὅπου σπείρεται ὁ λόγος καὶ ὅταν ἀκούσωσιν, εὐθὺς ἔρχεται ὁ σατανᾶς καὶ αἴρει τὸν λόγον τὸν ἐσπαρμένον εἰς αὐτούς. 16 καὶ οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη σπειρόμενοι, οἳ ὅταν ἀκούσωσιν τὸν λόγον εὐθὺς μετὰ χαρᾶς λαμβάνουσιν αὐτόν, 17 καὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν ῥίζαν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀλλὰ πρόσκαιροί εἰσιν, εἶτα γενομένης θλίψεως ἢ διωγμοῦ διὰ τὸν λόγον εὐθὺς σκανδαλίζονται. 18 καὶ ἄλλοι εἰσὶν οἱ εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας σπειρόμενοι· οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ τὸν λόγον ἀκούσαντες, 19 καὶ αἱ μέριμναι τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ ἡ ἀπάτη τοῦ πλούτου καὶ αἱ περὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἐπιθυμίαι εἰσπορευόμεναι συμπνίγουσιν τὸν λόγον καὶ ἄκαρπος γίνεται. 20 καὶ ἐκεῖνοί εἰσιν οἱ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν τὴν καλὴν σπαρέντες, οἵτινες ἀκούουσιν τὸν λόγον καὶ παραδέχονται καὶ καρποφοροῦσιν ἓν τριάκοντα καὶ ἓν ἑξήκοντα καὶ ἓν ἑκατόν.	14 The one sowing sows the word. 15 And these are those along the road, where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word having been sown in them. 16 And these are [likewise] those sown upon the rocky places, who when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy, 17 and they have no root in themselves, but are temporary. Then tribulation or persecution having arisen on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And these are those sown among the thorns. These are those having heard the word, 19 and the cares of this age and the deceit of riches, and the desires of the other things entering in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.20 And these are those who have been sown upon the good soil, such as hear the word and receive it, and bring forth fruit: one thirtyfold, and one sixty, and one a hundred.”

A few months ago, our former colleague Tenorikuma (Paul Davidson) wrote a nice introduction to the parable of the sower.

The Origins of the Parable of the Sower (and Other Seedy Riddles)
FEBRUARY 22, 2023 PAUL D.

Above all, his contribution shows that the parable of the sower stands in a literary tradition that includes both Jewish and Greco-Roman texts.

Words should be scattered like seed; no matter how small the seed may be, if it once has found favorable ground, it unfolds its strength and from an insignificant thing spreads to its greatest growth.

Seneca, Epistles 38:2

The parable is just one of many other seed riddles whose content is teaching or preaching. Tenorikuma wrote:

Where did the parables of Mark 4 about sowers and seeds come from? It seems clear, based on the work of the aforementioned scholars, that the author of Mark borrowed heavily from the agricultural parables of earlier Jewish and Hellenistic writing, as well as the themes of Jewish apocalypticism.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, an overwhelming consensus has emerged among historical-critical scholars. Whatever the doubts you can have, one thing is certain: the historical Jesus preached in parables. But at least since Michael Goulder, those days are over. Similar to Tenorikuma, Neil Godrey wrote a few years ago:

"Jesus Did Not Speak in Parables — the Evidence"

Here is Goulder’s distilled reflection on how he came to the conclusion that the parables of Jesus originated as literary creations by each Gospel author:

It was well known that all the best parables come in Luke’s Gospel, like the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. The more I thought of it the more it seemed that each Synoptic Gospel had its own style of parable.

Mark’s parables were mostly agricultural: the Sower, the Seed Growing Secretly, the Mustard Seed. This was rather in line with Old Testament parables, which are said often to be about trees, ‘form the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall’.

Matthew’s parables are about people, mostly kings or wealthy merchants. Luke’s parables, on the other hand, are about more down-to-earth characters: a prodigal son, an unjust steward, a widow, a beggar, a Samaritan. Feldman’s book put an interesting gloss on this: he gave numerous examples of rabbinic parables, many of which compare God to a king or wealthy landowner.

I therefore had a theme ready made for my Oxford seminar: the parable in the Gospels were not the parables of Jesus, as was assumed by almost everyone, including the authors of two of the best known books on the subject, C.H. Dodd in The Parables of the Kingdom, and J. Jeremias in Parables of Jesus: rather, they were the creation of the evangelists, each of whom produced instances in his own style. (Goulder: Five Stones and a Sling, pp. 58-59)

The parable of the sower should therefore be an excellent argument for Mark being its creator and at the same time for Mark's priority. In one of my next posts I want to show how our own Ben C. Smith challenged this opinion with very interesting arguments and what Adolf Jülicher had to say about it long before him.

The parable should be particularly interesting because it is a play with mirrors. On an external level, Mark teaches his readers, within that Jesus teaches his audience, and within that the Sower teaches the word to the various hearers.

[andrewcriddle]

I think you should distinguish between the idea that Mark created the explanation for this parable and the idea that Mark created the parable itself.

(FWIW the late John Meier in A Marginal Jew the Parables argued in detail that although many of the parables were created by the Gospel writers several were not. )

Andrew Criddle

[robert j]

KK, thanks for posting the interesting Davidson article.

I did some work on the Parable of the Sower previously when discussing the Thomasine version on the forum. Such agricultural lore brought out the farm boy in me, and I looked for possible scriptural inspirations for the details in the parable, but didn’t post them until now.

The Parable of the Sower is a very simple, agrarian common folk story that even city folk would understand. Each part is very easily understood, at least on a literal level. I saw a ”book review and ratings for kids” thing on the internet that gave the “reading level” of the NT Parable of the Sower as grade 5. And understanding the logic of the literal story, if listened to, I think would be similar.

I don’t have an opinion on whether or not the author of GMark was the originator of the parable, but whoever first wrote the story did have some knowledge of farming. For example, everyone knows that seed scattered on the ground will attract birds. But why should seed sown on the surface of a prepared field be OK, when seed scattered on the road is eaten by the birds? Some knowledge of farming provides the answer. Farmers had learned centuries before, or likely millennia before, to rake or drag their field after sowing the seed to protect the seed from the birds and to improve germination. Modern farmers pull “seed drills” to place the seed under the surface.

You already highlighted Jeremiah about the thorns. Here are a few examples from the LXX --- with both literal and figurative meaning --- in which aspects of the parable are found in the scriptures ---

And other fell upon the rocky place (πετρῶδες) … (Mark 4:5)

O Lord … they did not want to take correction. They solidified their faces more than rock (πέτραν) and they did not want to turn towards you. (Jeremiah 5:3, LXX)

And other fell upon the rocky place where it had not much soil, and it sprang up immediately, because of not having depth of soil. And after the sun rose, it was scorched, and because of not having root (ῥίζαν), it withered away (ἐξηράνθη). (Mark 4:5-6)

For in no way shall they plant, nor shall they sow, nor shall they be rooted (ριζωθή) in the earth of their root (ρίζα). He breathed upon them, and they were dried up (εξηράνθησαν); and a blast shall take them away as sticks. (Isaiah 40:24)

Blooming in the morning, and may it go by; in the evening it shall fall away, may it be hardened and dried up (ξηρανθείη). For we faltered in your anger … (Psalm 90:6-7, LXX)

And other fell among the thorns (ἀκάνθας), and the thorns (ἄκανθαι) grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. (Mark 4:7)

… Plow to yourselves fields prepared for plowing, and you should not sow among thorn-bushes (ακάνθαις). (Jeremiah 4:3, LXX)

And other fell into the good soil and began yielding fruit … (Mark 4:8)

They shall bring forth a root (ρίζαν) downwards, and they shall produce grain upward. (Isaiah 37:31, LXX)

… growing up and increasing, and one bearing thirtyfold, and one sixty, and one a hundred (ἑκατόν). (Mark 4:8)

And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found in that year barley bearing a hundred (fold) (εκατοστεύουσαν), and the Lord blessed him. (Genesis 26:12, LXX)

The highest yield in Mark is the same as the hundred-fold yield of grain in Genesis, characterized as a blessing from the Lord.

A hundred-fold yield of grain would have definitely been seen as a blessing from God in those days, and would have been rare even on the best of soils under ideal conditions. Even with a thirtyfold grain yield in those days, the farmer would have been dancing with joy.

[Kunigunde Kreuzerin]

I think you should distinguish between the idea that Mark created the explanation for this parable and the idea that Mark created the parable itself.

(FWIW the late John Meier in A Marginal Jew the Parables argued in detail that although many of the parables were created by the Gospel writers several were not. )

Andrew Criddle

Thanks Andrew for your comment. I'm happy to admit that.

Although I haven't read John Meier, the theory that the parable and its explanation came from different authors has been around since the 19th century among German scholars. I wanted to get to that point when addressing Ben's arguments.

In one of my next posts I want to show how our own Ben C. Smith challenged this opinion with very interesting arguments ...

Regardless, I think Tenorikuma's post is excellent and I have no intention of advocating for this or that opinion in this thread. I would like to think more calmly about the parable.

In Tenorikuma's post, I particularly noticed the quote from Seneca. The 38th letter is very short, so it can be quoted in full here.

XXXVIII. On Quiet Conversation

1. You are right when you urge that we increase our mutual traffic in letters. But the greatest benefit is to be derived from conversation, because it creeps by degrees into the soul. Lectures prepared beforehand and spouted in the presence of a throng have in them more noise but less intimacy. Philosophy is good advice; and no one can give advice at the top of his lungs. Of course we must sometimes also make use of these harangues, if I may so call them, when a doubting member needs to be spurred on; but when the aim is to make a man learn, and not merely to make him wish to learn, we must have recourse to the low-toned words of conversation. They enter more easily, and stick in the memory; for we do not need many words, but, rather, effective words.

2. Words should be scattered like seed; no matter how small the seed may be, if it has once found favourable ground, it unfolds its strength and from an insignificant thing spreads to its greatest growth. Reason grows in the same way; it is not large to the outward view, but increases as it does its work. Few words are spoken; but if the mind has truly caught them, they come into their strength and spring up. Yes, precepts and seeds have the same quality; they produce much, and yet they are slight things. Only, as I said, let a favourable mind receive and assimilate them. Then of itself the mind also will produce bounteously in its turn, giving back more than it has received. Farewell.

imho the comparison with Seneca illustrates some of the peculiarities of the Markan parable very well.

The main difference, of course, is that Seneca speaks of quiet philosophizing in private or in correspondence, whereas Mark is rather talking about preaching the word in general. Seneca also speaks of favorable ground, but does not address inadequate soil conditions. Both emphasize the vegetative effect of the growing (unlike Matthew, Luke and Thomas, but Paul in 1 Thess 2:13 mentioned "the word of God, which is indeed at work in you"), but the bearing of fruit is not Seneca's point.

[Kunigunde Kreuzerin]

Such agricultural lore brought out the farm boy in me ... The Parable of the Sower is a very simple, agrarian common folk story that even city folk would understand. Each part is very easily understood, at least on a literal level. I saw a ”book review and ratings for kids” thing on the internet that gave the “reading level” of the NT Parable of the Sower as grade 5. And understanding the logic of the literal story, if listened to, I think would be similar.

Hi Robert! Yes, many scholars have pointed out and argued that the parable narrative could also be read as a realistic account of a farmer's sowing, if one ignores the surrounding verses that specifically state that it is a parable.

For example, everyone knows that seed scattered on the ground will attract birds. But why should seed sown on the surface of a prepared field be OK, when seed scattered on the road is eaten by the birds? Farmers had learned centuries before, or likely millennia before, to rake or drag their field after sowing the seed to protect the seed from the birds and to improve germination. Modern farmers pull “seed drills” to place the seed under the surface.

I read somewhere that thin soil over bedrock warms up better in spring, which would explain the faster growth in verse 5. Don't know if that's true.

5 And other fell upon the rocky place where it had not much soil, and it jumped up immediately

I don’t have an opinion on whether or not the author of GMark was the originator of the parable, but whoever first wrote the story did have some knowledge of farming ... Some knowledge of farming provides the answer.

This may very well be possible. Most people at that time probably had even closer relations to rural life and agriculture than most of us. But I wouldn't be sure. Although Virgil grew up in a village, it seems that he never worked on the farm, but was still able to write the Georgica. I suspect that a basic level of agricultural knowledge was part of general education in intellectual circles at least since Virgil. This knowledge may have been sufficient to write the parable.

I looked for possible scriptural inspirations for the details in the parable, but didn’t post them until now ...

Here are a few examples from the LXX --- with both literal and figurative meaning --- in which aspects of the parable are found in the scriptures ---

Very nice overview! Thanks Robert

[Kunigunde Kreuzerin]

The parable of the sower should therefore be an excellent argument for Mark being its creator and at the same time for Mark's priority. In one of my next posts I want to show how our own Ben C. Smith challenged this opinion with very interesting arguments ...

Ben believed that the parable and its explanation were not written by the same author. One of his reasons was the following:

Indeed, I have argued before, with respect to the very parable to which this explanation is attached, that the interpretation of the parable of the sower postdates the actual parable itself:

This is my current best explanation for the unevenness, and for the parable as a whole with relation to its Marcan context:

The parable is not of Marcan origin. Mark likes to simplify spectra of humans into binary categories: insiders and outsiders, those "with me" and those "against me," those who will enter the kingdom and those who will not. (Mark is not alone in this Christian predilection.) The parable, however, dwells upon nuances. A similar process can be seen in Matthew and Luke with respect to the parable of the pounds/talents, vis-à-vis the version in one of the Jewish-Christian gospels, which I argue to have preceded the canonical version: an original array of three separate outcomes has been flattened into only two outcomes, acceptance and rejection.

Such assessments may certainly always be somewhat subjective, but I think that Ben is not at all wrong. In GMark there is actually sometimes a certain focus on those inside and those outside, especially in chapter 4. A parable that distinguishes between four soils may therefore, at first glance, be more "nuanced" than the surrounding chapter. In Germany, the parable is therefore better known as the Parable of the forefold soil.

I would like to leave Ben's reasoning as it is and in no way refute it, but I will briefly explain why the majority of modern Markan scholarship does not agree with Ben here.

In the wording of Mark's parable, the seed changes from singular to plural in verse 8. The wording is understood to mean that a "part" of the seed falls along the way, "another" part falls on the rocky ground, "another" part falls among the thorns, and the "others" (the other parts) fall into good soil. For contemporary Markan scholarship, the parable in GMark therefore distinguishes not between four soils, but fundamentally between three parts of seeds that do not bear fruit and three parts of seeds that do bear fruit, namely one thirtyfold, another sixtyfold, and another a hundredfold.

Mark 4:3-8 NA 28

Mark 4:3-8 Berean Literal Bible

3 Ἀκούετε. ἰδοὺ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων σπεῖραι. 4 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ σπείρειν ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ ἦλθεν τὰ πετεινὰ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτό. 5 καὶ ἄλλο ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὸ πετρῶδες ὅπου οὐκ εἶχεν γῆν πολλήν, καὶ εὐθὺς ἐξανέτειλεν διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν βάθος γῆς· 6 καὶ ὅτε ἀνέτειλεν ὁ ἥλιος ἐκαυματίσθη καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ῥίζαν ἐξηράνθη. 7 καὶ ἄλλο ἔπεσεν εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας, καὶ ἀνέβησαν αἱ ἄκανθαι καὶ συνέπνιξαν αὐτό, καὶ καρπὸν οὐκ ἔδωκεν. 8 καὶ ἄλλα ἔπεσεν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν καλὴν καὶ ἐδίδου καρπὸν ἀναβαίνοντα καὶ αὐξανόμενα καὶ ἔφερεν ἓν τριάκοντα καὶ ἓν ἑξήκοντα καὶ ἓν ἑκατόν. 9 καὶ ἔλεγεν· ὃς ἔχει ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.

3 “Listen! Behold, the one sowing went out to sow. 4 And it came to pass as he sowed, some fell along the road, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 And other fell upon the rocky place where it had not much soil, and it jumped up immediately, because of not having depth of soil. 6 And after the sun rose, it was scorched, and because of not having root, it was taken away. 7 And other fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 And others fell into the good soil and began yielding fruit, growing up and increasing, and one bearing thirtyfold, and one sixty, and one a hundred.” 9 And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Many readers will probably see the three numbers in verse 8 as a rather insignificant part of the parable or as a literary gimmick by Mark, especially since neither Luke nor Thomas offer three numbers. But for Markan scholars, these three numbers are very important precisely because they establish this basic and typical Markan division into two groups (three on one side, three on the other side). In particular, the literary intention is made clear by the enumeration: one ..., one ..., one ...

without fruit	with fruit
one along the way one on rocky ground one among the thorns	one bearing thirtyfold one sixty one a hundred

[Kunigunde Kreuzerin]

The Parable of the Sower is a very simple, agrarian common folk story that even city folk would understand.

I read the parable a few more times and wondered if the parable discussed the real problems of a farmer.

In the Georgica, Virgil writes lengthy explanations about the quality of the soil, its fertilization, about seasonal fallow land and the need for a seasonal change in planting material. Every farmer is likely to be concerned about weather conditions, especially drought, plant diseases, weeds, animals invading fields, and fires. Taxes and other charges are added to reduce earnings. I read that most of the land in Galilee was rented (as in the parable of the wicked tenants) and the usual rent reduced the yield by about 50 percent.

Given this background, is it a serious problem for a farmer that a few grains fall on the path during sowing? An intellectual like Seneca finds in sowing seeds on good soil a suitable metaphor for philosophizing. But would a real farmer care about the few grains that fall along the way?

Isn't it clear from the start that this story can never be a realistic story about sowing, but only a parable?

[lsayre]

This statement "Then tribulation or persecution having arisen on account of the word, immediately they fall away." as found within the answer to the parable presents a clear indication that the Gospel attributed to Mark definitively dates later in composition than that which is commonly accepted.

[Ken Olson]

A brief note here because I don't have time to write a long one: I think I am in general agreement with Kungunde Kreuzerin's approach (and lsayre's comment) and will be interested to see how this thread progresses.

I read Richard Bauckham on pseudonymity in the epistles some time ago where he argued that one of the telltale signs of pseudonymity is when the purported author addresses some specific issue that he thinks will arise after his death and we know that that specific issue did indeed arise ('after I am departed there will be ...'). The real author of the work wants to address an issue in his own time and makes the purported author (whom the audience knows to be dead) address it specifically so that the audience will know the message applies to them and not to some earlier problem irrelevant to them

It occurred to me that a good deal of Mark's gospel, and particularly the Parable of the Sower and its Interpretation, can be explained this way. The author of the gospel has Jesus (who was dead at the time the gospel was written) address a situation that does not apply in his own time, but does at a later time. There are a number of people who have converted to Christianity, but they have begun to fall away for various reasons, including trouble and persecution. As elsewhere in Mark, the author is encouraging his Christian audience (sometime after 70, as I think) not to apostasize, but to hold on just a little bit longer.

Best,

Ken

[robert j]

The Parable of the Sower is a very simple, agrarian common folk story that even city folk would understand.

I read the parable a few more times and wondered if the parable discussed the real problems of a farmer.

In the Georgica, Virgil writes lengthy explanations about the quality of the soil, its fertilization, about seasonal fallow land and the need for a seasonal change in planting material. Every farmer is likely to be concerned about weather conditions, especially drought, plant diseases, weeds, animals invading fields, and fires. Taxes and other charges are added to reduce earnings. I read that most of the land in Galilee was rented (as in the parable of the wicked tenants) and the usual rent reduced the yield by about 50 percent.

Given this background, is it a serious problem for a farmer that a few grains fall on the path during sowing? An intellectual like Seneca finds in sowing seeds on good soil a suitable metaphor for philosophizing. But would a real farmer care about the few grains that fall along the way?

Isn't it clear from the start that this story can never be a realistic story about sowing, but only a parable?

The Parable of the Sower is a very simple, agrarian common folk story that even city folk would understand. Each part is very easily understood, at least on a literal level.

KK, I think you may have misinterpreted what I wrote here. I wasn’t implying that the parable was a pre-existing story that Mark adopted and adapted. Perhaps the word “common” was the culprit --- when I re-read it even before your post here, I was tempted to remove the word. It was intended as --- common enough that even city folk would understand, and that each part of the parable is easily understood on a literal level.

A parable is a type of folk story. Let me try again ---

The Parable of the Sower is a very simple, agrarian parable that even city folk would understand. Each part is very easily understood, at least on a literal level.

In my previous post I wrote that I don’t have an opinion on whether or not the author of GMark was the originator of the parable. Yes, I should be more clear. My intention was that I just didn’t want to venture into that question at the time. Like an intellectual such as Virgil, the author of GMark could have had adequate knowledge of farming. Gun to the head, even before reading your subsequent arguments, I would have favored the author of GMark as the originator.

So far, I’m finding the arguments that you have provided very interesting, and compelling for a particularly distinctive Markan character for the parable.

Certainly, the author of GMark could have adopted and adapted a pre-existing story to better suit his own predilections. But I’m generally not a fan of falling-back on “lost” material, and I see no reason to do so here. And I haven’t seen any compelling reason to place the other extant versions in Matthew, Luke or Thomas as being earlier.