◄ Deuteronomy 22:9 ►
Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; if you do, the entire harvest will be defiled--both the crop you plant and the fruit of your vineyard.
Study Bible
Do not plant
The Hebrew root for "plant" is "nata," which means to set or fix in place. This command is not merely agricultural but symbolic of purity and separation. In ancient Israel, planting was a significant act of stewardship over God's creation. The directive to not plant mixed seeds underscores the importance of maintaining purity and order as ordained by God.

your vineyard
The term "vineyard" in Hebrew is "kerem," which refers to a place of growth and fruitfulness. Vineyards were central to the economy and culture of ancient Israel, symbolizing prosperity and blessing. Spiritually, a vineyard can represent one's life or ministry, where God expects growth and fruitfulness according to His standards.

with two types of seed
The phrase "two types of seed" translates from the Hebrew "kilayim," meaning mixed kinds. This prohibition against mixing seeds is a metaphor for maintaining spiritual and moral purity. It reflects God's desire for His people to be distinct and not to adopt the practices or beliefs of surrounding nations, which could lead to spiritual compromise.

if you do
This conditional phrase introduces the consequence of disobedience. It serves as a warning that actions contrary to God's commands have repercussions. The choice to obey or disobey is presented clearly, emphasizing personal responsibility in maintaining holiness.

the entire harvest
The word "harvest" in Hebrew is "tevuah," which signifies the yield or produce of the land. In a broader sense, it represents the results of one's labor and life. The integrity of the harvest is contingent upon adherence to God's laws, illustrating the principle that spiritual compromise can taint the fruits of one's efforts.

will be defiled
The Hebrew word for "defiled" is "qadash," which means to be set apart or made unclean. This term indicates that mixing seeds leads to a loss of sanctity. In a spiritual context, it warns against allowing impurity to infiltrate one's life, which can lead to a loss of divine blessing and favor.

both the crop you plant
This phrase highlights the immediate consequence of disobedience. The "crop" refers to the specific seeds sown, symbolizing one's actions and decisions. The defilement of the crop serves as a reminder that disobedience affects not only the present but also the future outcomes of one's choices.

and the fruit of your vineyard
The "fruit" represents the long-term results and legacy of one's life. In Hebrew, "peri" denotes fruitfulness and productivity. The defilement of the vineyard's fruit underscores the far-reaching impact of disobedience, affecting not just the individual but also the community and future generations. This serves as a call to uphold God's standards to ensure lasting spiritual fruitfulness.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The author of Deuteronomy, delivering God's laws to the Israelites.

2. Israelites
The recipients of the law, God's chosen people, preparing to enter the Promised Land.

3. Promised Land
The land of Canaan, which the Israelites are about to enter and where they are to live according to God's laws.

4. Vineyard
A common agricultural setting in ancient Israel, representing the livelihood and sustenance of the people.

5. Canaan
The land where these laws are to be practiced, a place with existing agricultural practices that the Israelites are to transform according to God's commands.
Teaching Points
Principle of Purity and Separation
The command not to mix seeds symbolizes the broader biblical principle of maintaining purity and distinctiveness in our lives as believers.

Holiness in Daily Life
Just as the Israelites were to keep their agricultural practices pure, Christians are called to live lives that are set apart and holy, reflecting God's character.

Consequences of Compromise
Mixing seeds leads to defilement of the harvest, illustrating how compromising God's standards can lead to negative consequences in our spiritual lives.

Faithfulness in Obedience
Obeying God's commands, even in seemingly small matters, is an expression of faithfulness and trust in His wisdom and provision.

Symbolism of Spiritual Growth
The vineyard can be seen as a metaphor for our spiritual lives, where we must be careful about what we "plant" in our hearts and minds.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the principle of not mixing seeds in Deuteronomy 22:9 apply to our spiritual lives today?

2. In what ways can we ensure that we are maintaining purity and separation in our daily practices and relationships?

3. How does the concept of holiness in the Old Testament relate to the New Testament teachings on being set apart as believers?

4. What are some modern-day examples of "mixing seeds" that could lead to spiritual compromise?

5. How can we apply the lessons from Deuteronomy 22:9 to ensure that our "spiritual vineyard" remains undefiled and fruitful?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Leviticus 19:19
This verse also addresses the prohibition against mixing different kinds, including seeds, animals, and fabrics, emphasizing purity and separation.

Matthew 13:24-30
Jesus' parable of the wheat and the tares highlights the importance of purity and the consequences of mixing good with bad.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18
Paul speaks about not being unequally yoked with unbelievers, drawing a parallel to the concept of separation and purity in relationships and practices.
Sermons
The Minutiae of ConductJ. Orr Deuteronomy 22:6-12
Linsey-WoolseysR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 22:8-12
Directions in Minor MattersD. Davies Deuteronomy 22:9-12
People
Hen, Moses
Places
Beth-baal-peor
Topics
Crop, Crops, Defiled, Divers, Forfeited, Fruit, Fulness, Hast, Increase, Kinds, Lest, Loss, Plant, Planted, Produce, Sanctuary, Seed, Seeds, Separated, Sorts, Sow, Sown, Vine-garden, Vineyard, Yield
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 22:9

     4430   crops
     4506   seed
     4510   sowing and reaping
     4538   vineyard

Library
Spiritual Farming. --No. 2 Ploughing.
There have been during the last few years great improvements in the construction of the plough, but no one dreams of any substitute for it. Ploughing is as necessary as sowing; that is to say, the land must be stirred and prepared for the seed. In heavenly husbandry there are some well-meaning folk who would dispense with the plough, and preach faith without repentance, but only to find that the birds of the air get most of the seed! If there is to be an abiding work there must be conviction of …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

If any Woman, under Pretence of Asceticism, Shall Change Her Apparel And...
If any woman, under pretence of asceticism, shall change her apparel and, instead of a woman's accustomed clothing, shall put on that of a man, let her be anathema. Notes. Ancient Epitome of Canon XIII. Whatever women wear men's clothes, anathema to them. Hefele. The synodal letter in its sixth article also speaks of this. Exchange of dress, or the adoption by one sex of the dress of the other, was forbidden in the Pentateuch (Deut. xxii. 5), and was therefore most strictly interdicted by the whole …
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

Excursus on the Word Theotokos .
There have been some who have tried to reduce all the great theological controversies on the Trinity and on the Incarnation to mere logomachies, and have jeered at those who could waste their time and energies over such trivialities. For example, it has been said that the real difference between Arius and Athanasius was nothing more nor less than an iota, and that even Athanasius himself, in his more placid, and therefore presumably more rational moods, was willing to hold communion with those who …
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

The Story of the Adulteress.
(Jerusalem.) ^D John VII. 53-VIII. 11. [This section is wanting in nearly all older manuscripts, but Jerome (a.d. 346-420) says that in his time it was contained in "many Greek and Latin manuscripts," and these must have been as good or better than the best manuscripts we now possess. But whether we regard it as part of John's narrative or not, scholars very generally accept it as a genuine piece of history.] ^d 53 And they went every man unto his own house [confused by the question of Nicodemus, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

List of Abbreviations Used in Reference to Rabbinic Writings Quoted in this Work.
THE Mishnah is always quoted according to Tractate, Chapter (Pereq) and Paragraph (Mishnah), the Chapter being marked in Roman, the paragraph in ordinary Numerals. Thus Ber. ii. 4 means the Mishnic Tractate Berakhoth, second Chapter, fourth Paragraph. The Jerusalem Talmud is distinguished by the abbreviation Jer. before the name of the Tractate. Thus, Jer. Ber. is the Jer. Gemara, or Talmud, of the Tractate Berakhoth. The edition, from which quotations are made, is that commonly used, Krotoschin, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Whether There is to be a Resurrection of the Body?
Objection 1: It would seem that there is not to be a resurrection of the body: for it is written (Job 14:12): "Man, when he is fallen asleep, shall not rise again till the heavens be broken." But the heavens shall never be broken, since the earth, to which seemingly this is still less applicable, "standeth for ever" (Eccles. 1:4). Therefore the man that is dead shall never rise again. Objection 2: Further, Our Lord proves the resurrection by quoting the words: "I am the God of Abraham, and the God …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Annunciation to Joseph of the Birth of Jesus.
(at Nazareth, b.c. 5.) ^A Matt. I. 18-25. ^a 18 Now the birth [The birth of Jesus is to handled with reverential awe. We are not to probe into its mysteries with presumptuous curiosity. The birth of common persons is mysterious enough (Eccl. ix. 5; Ps. cxxxix. 13-16), and we do not well, therefore, if we seek to be wise above what is written as to the birth of the Son of God] of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed [The Jews were usually betrothed ten or twelve months …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Parable of the Good Samaritan.
(Probably Judæa.) ^C Luke X. 25-37. ^c 25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and made trial of him, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? [For the term lawyer see pp. 313, 314, The lawyer wished to make trial of the skill of Jesus in solving the intricate and difficult question as to how to obtain salvation. Jesus was probably teaching in some house or courtyard, and his habit of giving local color to his parables suggests that he was probably in or near Bethany, through …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Healing of the Woman - Christ's Personal Appearance - the Raising of Jairus' Daughter
THERE seems remarkable correspondence between the two miracles which Jesus had wrought on leaving Capernaum and those which He did on His return. In one sense they are complementary to each other. The stilling of the storm and the healing of the demonised were manifestations of the absolute power inherent in Christ; the recovery of the woman and the raising of Jairus' daughter, evidence of the absolute efficacy of faith. The unlikeliness of dominion over the storm, and of command over a legion of …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Among the People, and with the Pharisees
It would have been difficult to proceed far either in Galilee or in Judaea without coming into contact with an altogether peculiar and striking individuality, differing from all around, and which would at once arrest attention. This was the Pharisee. Courted or feared, shunned or flattered, reverently looked up to or laughed at, he was equally a power everywhere, both ecclesiastically and politically, as belonging to the most influential, the most zealous, and the most closely-connected religions …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Barren Fig-Tree. Temple Cleansed.
(Road from Bethany and Jerusalem. Monday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXI. 18, 19, 12, 13; ^B Mark XI. 12-18; ^C Luke XIX. 45-48. ^b 12 And ^a 18 Now ^b on the morrow [on the Monday following the triumphal entry], ^a in the morning ^b when they were come out from Bethany, ^a as he returned to the city [Jerusalem], he hungered. [Breakfast with the Jews came late in the forenoon, and these closing days of our Lord's ministry were full of activity that did not have time to tarry at Bethany for it. Our …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Mothers, Daughters, and Wives in Israel
In order accurately to understand the position of woman in Israel, it is only necessary carefully to peruse the New Testament. The picture of social life there presented gives a full view of the place which she held in private and in public life. Here we do not find that separation, so common among Orientals at all times, but a woman mingles freely with others both at home and abroad. So far from suffering under social inferiority, she takes influential and often leading part in all movements, specially …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

How Does it Come?
How does the Filling of the Spirit come? "Does it come once for all? or is it always coming, as it were?" was a question addressed to me once by a young candidate for the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. There are many asking the same question. We have considered how the Fullness is obtained, but now we proceed to consider, How does the Fullness come? In speaking of the blessing of being filled with the Spirit, the New Testament writers use three tenses in the Greek--the Aorist, the Imperfect, and the …
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life

The Development of the Earlier Old Testament Laws
[Sidenote: First the principle, and then the detailed laws] If the canon of the New Testament had remained open as long as did that of the Old, there is little doubt that it also would have contained many laws, legal precedents, and ecclesiastical histories. From the writings of the Church Fathers and the records of the Catholic Church it is possible to conjecture what these in general would have been. The early history of Christianity illustrates the universal fact that the broad principles are …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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