RE: Mustard seed?

Funny you should ask that, Auralie.  As that was in our Gospel today too, I
had done a bit of research to find a photo of black mustard (brassica nigra)
for the overhead announcements that I do in PowerPoint.  I found this for
you to look at on Google:

[PDF] 12203 Biblical Garden-Layout2File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as
HTML
The seeds of a Mustard plant are extreme-. ly small, in fact, the smallest
that someone. living in the Middle East in Jesus' time. ...
www.dunecraft.com/resources/BiblicalGarden.pdf    

The PDF says: "The seeds of a mustard plant are extremely small, in fact,
the smallest that someone living in the Middle East in Jesus' time. "

Also check this reference:

http://www.biblelight.org/parab2.htm

It says: "The mustard referred to by Jesus is probably Brassica Nigra, the
source of the important condiment black mustard, which for a long time has
been extensively cultivated, and in Bible times was the source of mustard
seed oil and was also used as a medicament. It is an annual herb with large
leaves clustered mainly at the base of the plant. Its central stem branches
prolifically in its upper part and produces an enormous number of yellow
flowers and small, many seeded linear fruits. It normally grows to just over
a metre in height but specimens have been known to grow as high as five
metres."

I have always thought the reference to a tiny seed was proportional as in
the comparison of the size of the mature plant, not that is was so very
small in and of itself.


Blessings,
Bonnie (SW OH - zone 5)

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf
Of Aplfgcnys@aol.com
Sent: Sunday, June 18, 2006 10:15 AM
To: gardenchat@hort.net
Subject: [CHAT] Mustard seed?

The scripture at church this morning was the parable of the mustard seed.
The point is well made, but I've often wondered just what was considered
mustard in the Middle East 2000 years ago.  It certainly doesn't sound like
the mustard I grow in my garden, or the wild mustard that grows around here.
Any ideas as to what it was?
Auralie

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