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From Matthew 13:31-32,

31 He [Jesus] put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

Is it true that mustard seeds are smaller than all other seeds?

Christian
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user19593
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    The smallest of seeds anywhere on earth, or only in the middle east? – Andrew Grimm Jun 05 '14 at 03:41
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    Jesus says "it [the mustard seed] is the smallest of *all* seeds." Thus, this question concerns *all* seeds, not just those in a particular region. – user19593 Jun 05 '14 at 03:43
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    Please see my [question on Biblical Hermeneuitcs](http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/2110/does-jesus-always-use-the-mustard-seed-to-signify-the-property-of-smallness). The mustard seed was popularly used as a symbol of smallness just like [Reno](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reno,_Nevada) calling itself the "The Biggest Little City in the World". It's a [conceptual metaphor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_metaphor). – Jon 'links in bio' Ericson Jun 05 '14 at 03:59
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    @JonEricson Those are interesting reads, but this question is not concerned with *metaphorical* interpretations. It is concerned with, in particular, the *literal* interpretation. – user19593 Jun 05 '14 at 04:32
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    Where is the notable claim? What sense does it have to take a metaphoric text in literal sense? – Suma Jun 05 '14 at 08:25
  • Is the mustard seed the smallest seed that people know about at the time? – Ian Ringrose Jun 05 '14 at 09:37
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    It gets worse: mustard is not to my knowledge "the greatest of shrubs" (it does grow pretty tall, but I've seen taller) and on the whole birds don't nest in its branches. In other news, I have some doubts that girls don't want to do anything *at all* other than have fun. – Steve Jessop Jun 05 '14 at 14:04
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    I am interested in the literal interpretation of, "The kingdom of heaven is **like** a mustard seed," and the literal interpretation of, "Love is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get." Is it true you never know (what about those pictures and descriptions that come on the paper on top)?Can the OP and **literal** interpretations answerers be serious? – user1873 Jun 05 '14 at 15:40
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    If you want to see the answer for yourself, just go look at the spices in your grocery store - there will likely be mustard seeds there, and you'll see that they're much larger than for example the nearby poppy seeds. – Cascabel Jun 05 '14 at 17:41
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    @user1873: The quote is "life is like a box of chocolates", not love. – Flimzy Jun 05 '14 at 23:22
  • Eh, it's one of those things like "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar". I don't sweat inaccuracies. – Sean Duggan Jun 06 '14 at 01:14
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    I speculate that the mustard seed might have been the smallest *crop seed* in use in the region. Hence its general (albeit literally false when taking into account flower seeds or whatnot) reputation as "the smallest seed", which was re-iterated in what the questioner considers a notable claim of Jesus / Matthew. So, a refinement to the question, can anyone provide examples of smaller seeds that are crops of the time? – Steve Jessop Jun 06 '14 at 08:12
  • I find it interesting that biblical writings become allegorical or metaphorical once it is discovered that they are factually untrue. Of course, I'm sure god has provided a decoder ring for all those allegories and metaphorical passages beforehand... – JasonR Dec 16 '15 at 22:14

3 Answers3

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To repeat Oddthinking's answer, that is a simple NO. The mustard seed is far from the smallest. That distinction belongs to the Orchid. With over 26,000 species, many having seeds no larger than grains of dust from 0.4mm to 0.2mm in size. This document (PDF) actually gives a pretty full accounting of Orchid seeds.

Oddthinking
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Larian LeQuella
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    Question about bats, for anyone interested. http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/q/10373/2274 (I hope this comment isn't regarded as offensive) – Andrew Grimm Jun 06 '14 at 02:09
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No.

Several sources put mustard seeds as between 1 and 2 or 3 mm in diameter.

For example:

During the hulling of white mustard seeds and rapeseeds, 1.4 mm to 2.8 mm in diameter, on a disk equipped with blades [...]

Meanwhile, begonia seeds, as an example, are much smaller:

Species description Begonia fangii [...] Seeds many, brown, ellipsoid, 0.5-0.6 mm long, 0.3-0.35 mm in diam.

Oddthinking
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No, but one should not expect a literal interpretation of of parable.

It is a good idea to use an interlinerar bible when reading translated works. A concordance or other search tool that allows you to search in multiple languages can also be useful to determine the best translation. In this particular instance, the translation you quoted above seems fairly accurate.

The important part of Matthew 13:31-32 that you seem to be overlooking is that Jesus is speaking in parables to the multitudes. These stories are used to illustrate a religious or moral attitude, and need not be factual. There are multiple interpretations of what this parable is meant to symbolize, but no religious scholar takes that passage literally.

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user1873
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    So the parts that science shows to be untrue are parable, but all the rest is the direct word of god. Where did you happen to find this decoder ring? – Larian LeQuella Jun 07 '14 at 03:14
  • @LarianLeQuella, I found it in [Linguistics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistics), which is the study of language form, language meaning, and language in context. [Reread Matthew](http://biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/Matthew-Henry/Matt/Parable-Sower-3209) and note that Jesus is speaking in parable. Like the Greek fable, simile, or metaphor, you wouldn't expect it to be entirely accurate. The elements were chosen to convey a deeper meaning. – user1873 Jun 07 '14 at 04:47
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    You wouldn't admonish Aesop for saying town mice have [dining tables](http://read.gov/aesop/004.html), that [they talk](http://read.gov/aesop/007.html), or that [they express emotion](http://read.gov/aesop/011.html). If you would, you might want to try out that secret decoder ring (which the science of Linguistics have shown to be true). – user1873 Jun 07 '14 at 04:48
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    @LarianLeQuella You say "direct word of god" but many (perhaps most) Christians (except in the USA) don't necessarily believe that everything in the bible is meant literally. According to the Catholic church, for example, the "decoder ring" you asked about is a) being informed by the Holy Spirit when you read b) being informed by the Magisterium i.e. the teachings of the Church. – ChrisW Jun 07 '14 at 08:24
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    @ChrisW, especially when the bible **specifically states** that a passage is **figurative**. To seriously argue otherwise literally makes my head explode. ;) – user1873 Jun 07 '14 at 08:28
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    `the bible specifically states that a passage is figurative` -- Matthew 13:3 says, "[And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;](http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Matthew-Chapter-13/)" and later, "And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?" – ChrisW Jun 07 '14 at 09:12
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    I live in the US, you'd be surprised at how incredibly horrid the environment is in this country for people taking the bible as the literal word of god, even US catholics. It's a special type of crazy that just makes me wonder if all those years of using leaded gasoline severely affected their cognitive functions. – Larian LeQuella Jun 08 '14 at 04:09
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    @LarianLeQuella, don't let your religious fervor cloud your judgement. Just realize that you didn't notice that that particular passage specifically noted that the mustard metaphor was a parable. There is no shame in that. You might want to remove the board from your own eye before worrying about the speck in others's eyes. – user1873 Jun 08 '14 at 05:11
  • @user1873 He's an atheist. – Twilight Sparkle May 14 '15 at 23:31