Sowing Sower
Morrish Bible Dictionary [1]
Besides the common reference to agriculture (for which see SEASONS),sowing is used symbolically for spreading the gospel, as in the parable of the Sower, of which the Lord graciously gave His own explanation. When He came to Israel He found no fruit, and He became the Sower, and sowed the good seed, which fell upon different descriptions of ground, with varied results, as the Lord explains. Notwithstanding the influence of Satan to hinder any seed taking root, some fell upon good ground (not good by nature, but prepared by God), and fruit was the result. Matthew 13:3-43 . Whenever the gospel is preached, the seed is being sown, and doubtless falls upon different sorts of ground as in the parable. Blessed are they that sow beside all waters: God's servant will reap if he does not faint.
Sowing is also the beautiful figure used as to placing the body in the ground. For the Christian it is sown a natural body, in corruption, dishonour, and weakness; but will be raised a spiritual body, in incorruption, in glory, and in power. 1 Corinthians 15:36-44 .
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible [2]
Sower, Sowing . See Agriculture, § 1 .
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [3]
(usually some form of זָרִע , Zara, Σπείρω ) . The operation of sowing with the hand is one of so simple a character as to need little description. The Egyptian paintings furnish many illustrations of the mode in which it was conducted. The sower held the vessel or basket containing the seed in his left hand, while with his right he scattered the seed broadcast (Wilkinson, Anc. Egqypt. 2, 12, 18, 39). The "drawing out" of the seed is noticed, as the most characteristic action of the sower, in Psalms 126:6 (A.V. "precious") and Amos 9:13 : it is uncertain whether this expression refers to drawing out the handful of seed from the basket, or to the dispersion of the seed in regular rows over the ground (Gesenius, Thesaur. p. 827). In some of the Egyptian paintings the sower is represented as preceding-the plough: this may be simply the result of bad perspective, but we are told that such a practice actually prevails in the East in the case of sandy soils, the plough serving the purpose of the harrow for covering the seed (Russell, Aleppo, 1, 74). In wet soils the seed was trodden in by the feet of animals ( Isaiah 32:20), as represented in Wilkinson's Anc. Egypt. 2, 12. The sowing season commenced in October and continued to the end of February, wheat being put in before and barley after-the beginning of January (Russell, Aleppo, 1, 74). The Mosaic law prohibited the sowing of mixed seed ( Leviticus 19:19; Deuteronomy 22:9): Josephus ( Ant. 4, 8, 20) supposes this prohibition to be based on the re pugnancy of nature to intermixture, but there would appear to be a further object of a moral character, viz to impress on men's minds the general lesson of purity The regulation offered a favorable opportunity for Rabbinical refinement, the results of which are embodied it the treatise of the Mishna entitled Kilaim, § 1-3. That the ancient Hebrews did not consider themselves prohibited from planting several kinds of seeds in the same field appears from Isaiah 28:25. A distinction is made in Leviticus 11:37-38, between dry and wet seed, in respect to contact with a corpse; the latter, as being more susceptible of contamination, would be rendered unclear thereby, the former would not. The analogy between the germination of seed and the effects of a principle of a course of action on the human character for good or for evil is frequently noticed in Scripture ( Proverbs 11:18 Matthew 13:19; Matthew 13:24; 2 Corinthians 9:6; Galatians 6:7). (See Agriculture).
