What is meant is not a piece full of stones, but rather rocky ground with a thin layer of soil on top. Because the farmer has not yet plowed, he does not know where the rocky ground lies. On this kind of soil everything grows much more quickly than, for example, on a piece of land full of thorns (Matthew 13:7). Yet what at first looks very promising produces nothing in the end.
If seed falls on such a spot, it cannot take root. The tender plants, which have no significant root because they lack sufficient soil, cannot endure the heat of the Middle Eastern sun, so they wither.
What is meant here in Matthew 13:5 is not a piece full of stones that is very common in the Middle East, but rather rocky ground with a thin layer of soil on top. Because the farmer has not yet plowed, he does not know exactly where the rocky ground lies. A rocky subsoil is not unusual in Palestine. On this kind of soil everything grows much more quickly than, for example, on a piece of land full of thorns (Matthew 13:7). Yet what at first looks very promising in the end produces nothing.1
During the preparation the field was made as level as possible, but beneath the soil lay an uneven rocky subsoil, which sometimes lies very close to the surface in Palestine. If seed falls on such a spot, it cannot take root. The tender plants, which have no significant root because they lack sufficient soil, cannot endure the heat of the Middle Eastern sun and they consequently wither.2
5 Une autre partie tomba dans les endroits pierreux, où elle n'avait pas beaucoup de terre: elle leva aussitôt, parce qu'elle ne trouva pas un sol profond;