Mar 4:5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
Stone is used symbolically by Christ throughout the Gospels. He uses the term in two different ways and, in doing so, uses two different terms. This is not apparent in English translation but it is in Greek.
The first type of stone refers to the substance of the natural world that does not give life. In his temptations, the physical temptation is turning stone into bread. In Mat 7:9, Christ again contrasts the life giving nature of bread to stone. In the second temptation, Christ is tempted by the idea of angels saving him from falling onto stone. All these uses refer to lithos, which means the substance of stone. This is not the word used here. It is the negative use of stone.
The other symbolic use of stone is as a strong foundation. This is the positive nature of stone. The parable of the houses build on rock and sand and the naming of Peter both refer to this type of stone. Here, the term for stone is petros or petra. This is the form referred to here in the adjective petrôdês.
So, like the wayside and the birds, these stony places are not evil in any sense. They are useful for a foundation. The problem is that these areas lack "depth" of "earth." So what does Christ mean by this?
He only uses the term for depth in the context of this parable, but you might be familiar with the word use, bathos. The term means "depth" in Greek, but it doesn't only mean physical depth but emotional depth. In English, it specifically means "sentimentality."
This connection to emotion and feeling is important because it is one of the three realms that Christ teaches about, the physical, the mental, and the emotional. This emotional realm specifically deals with our connections and relationships with people. True to this idea, the point here is about the depth of "earth" (gê ). Again, Christ uses a lot of different terms that are translated as "earth" in the Gospels, but this is the word that is used when Christ refers to the realms of "heaven" and "earth." This is the earth that the meek inherit (Mat 5:5)and that people are the salt of (Mat 5:13). This is the earth that has laws (at 5:18). It is the earth that is defined by the "tribes of earth" (Mat 24:30).
In other words, this is the earth of human society, not simply the physical planet.
So those with little depth of earth are those with few human connections and, because of that, little depth of emotion or character. Again, this is not an evil thing, but it does set some people apart from others.
These people can bring the word into their lives but because they have too few human connections, the word cannot grow and survive. These lives have a strong foundation, but they are too barren to give life to the word, the make it grow and pass it on. In this case, stability and solidness is not enough.
As a side not, there are both symbolic similarities and differences between these rocky areas and the wayside. Both are "hard" but one is hard because of how it has been used. The wayside can have depth of earth and many relationships, but it has been turned off to those relationships and grown hard over time. In the case of the stony areas, these areas were not changed over time. It is simply their nature not to have many relationships, to be more physical or mental rather than emotional.
"Stony ground" is from petrôdês (petrodes), which means "like rock or stone," "rocky," and "stony." Its source is petros (petros) petra (petra)which means "rock," "boulder," and "stone" as a building material. It also has the specific meaning of "rocky cliffs" of "ledges" over the sea and a "rocky peak" or "ridge." Another word for stone used in the Gospels is lithos, which means "a stone," "stone as a substance," and various specific types of stones, such as touchstones, and altar stones.
"Great" is from polus, which means "many (in number)," "great (in size or power or worth)," and "large (of space)." As an adverb is means "far," "very much," "a great way," and "long."
"Earth" (in both cases) is from gê (ge), which means "the element of earth," "land (country)," "arable land," "the ground," and "the world" as the opposite of the sky.
"Deepness" is bathos (bathos), which means "height" or "depth" measuring up or down. In Greek, it was also use as a metaphor (as it is in English) for depth of mind, e.g. "He is deep." The exact phrase here is me (no) bathos (depth), which we would describe in English as "shallowness."
Stone is used symbolically by Christ throughout the Gospels. He uses the term in two different ways and, in doing so, uses two different terms. This is not apparent in English translation but it is in Greek.
The first type of stone refers to the substance of the natural world that does not give life. In his temptations, the physical temptation is turning stone into bread. In Mat 7:9, Christ again contrasts the life giving nature of bread to stone. In the second temptation, Christ is tempted by the idea of angels saving him from falling onto stone. All these uses refer to lithos, which means the substance of stone. This is not the word used here. It is the negative use of stone.
The other symbolic use of stone is as a strong foundation. This is the positive nature of stone. The parable of the houses build on rock and sand and the naming of Peter both refer to this type of stone. Here, the term for stone is petros or petra. This is the form referred to here in the adjective petrôdês.
So, like the wayside and the birds, these stony places are not evil in any sense. They are useful for a foundation. The problem is that these areas lack "depth" of "earth." So what does Christ mean by this?
He only uses the term for depth in the context of this parable, but you might be familiar with the word use, bathos. The term means "depth" in Greek, but it doesn't only mean physical depth but emotional depth. In English, it specifically means "sentimentality."
This connection to emotion and feeling is important because it is one of the three realms that Christ teaches about, the physical, the mental, and the emotional. This emotional realm specifically deals with our connections and relationships with people. True to this idea, the point here is about the depth of "earth" (gê ). Again, Christ uses a lot of different terms that are translated as "earth" in the Gospels, but this is the word that is used when Christ refers to the realms of "heaven" and "earth." This is the earth that the meek inherit (Mat 5:5)and that people are the salt of (Mat 5:13). This is the earth that has laws (at 5:18). It is the earth that is defined by the "tribes of earth" (Mat 24:30).
In other words, this is the earth of human society, not simply the physical planet.
So those with little depth of earth are those with few human connections and, because of that, little depth of emotion or character. Again, this is not an evil thing, but it does set some people apart from others.
These people can bring the word into their lives but because they have too few human connections, the word cannot grow and survive. These lives have a strong foundation, but they are too barren to give life to the word, the make it grow and pass it on. In this case, stability and solidness is not enough.
As a side not, there are both symbolic similarities and differences between these rocky areas and the wayside. Both are "hard" but one is hard because of how it has been used. The wayside can have depth of earth and many relationships, but it has been turned off to those relationships and grown hard over time. In the case of the stony areas, these areas were not changed over time. It is simply their nature not to have many relationships, to be more physical or mental rather than emotional.
"Stony ground" is from petrôdês (petrodes), which means "like rock or stone," "rocky," and "stony." Its source is petros (petros) petra (petra)which means "rock," "boulder," and "stone" as a building material. It also has the specific meaning of "rocky cliffs" of "ledges" over the sea and a "rocky peak" or "ridge." Another word for stone used in the Gospels is lithos, which means "a stone," "stone as a substance," and various specific types of stones, such as touchstones, and altar stones.
"Great" is from polus, which means "many (in number)," "great (in size or power or worth)," and "large (of space)." As an adverb is means "far," "very much," "a great way," and "long."
"Earth" (in both cases) is from gê (ge), which means "the element of earth," "land (country)," "arable land," "the ground," and "the world" as the opposite of the sky.
"Deepness" is bathos (bathos), which means "height" or "depth" measuring up or down. In Greek, it was also use as a metaphor (as it is in English) for depth of mind, e.g. "He is deep." The exact phrase here is me (no) bathos (depth), which we would describe in English as "shallowness."
posted by Gary Gagliardi at 11:29 AM
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