A mustard seed is neither the smallest seed, nor does it porduce the
largest bush. However, one must consider the context of the Bible quote.
It was made to illustrate a point to people with limited geographic
knowledge of plants. It could very easily have been the smallest seed
known to the average person - afterall, there were no professional
botanists then and the understanding of plant reproduction (and even human
reproduction) was scanty. I can't quite as easily explain the largest
bush, but one needs to look at the original Greek. It is very likely that
our use of bush in that context is a broad translation, and as an
allegory, mental images are more important than precision.
Janice
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Janice M. Glime, Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI 49931-1295
jmglime at mtu.edu
906-487-2546
FAX 906-487-3167
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