The Meaning of Matthew 13:6 Explained

Matthew 13:6

KJV: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

YLT: and the sun having risen they were scorched, and through not having root, they withered,

Darby: but when the sun rose they were burned up, and because of not having any root were dried up;

ASV: and when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  when the sun  was up,  they were scorched;  and  because  they had  no  root,  they withered away. 

What does Matthew 13:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 13:1-9 - Sowing In Different Soils
The varying results of gospel preaching are due, not primarily to the sower or to the seed, but to the ground. Four classes of hearers are described in this parable. (1) The wayside or path, trampled hard as the sower goes to and fro. It was once soft, rich loam like the rest of the field, but in the course of years it has been trodden down by passengers and traffic. The seed falls on the surface, but cannot penetrate. When our heart reaches that condition, we need to ask God to drive through us the ploughshare of conviction or sorrow. (2) There is the superficial soil, very light and thin, beneath which lies the rock. How many are easily moved and touched, but refuse to allow God's truth time to root itself and are as quickly moved by some other appeal. (3) They are the rich with their luxuries, and the poor with their cares, in the thorny ground of whose divided hearts there is no chance for the struggling ears of grace. (4) A fourth part of our hearers will receive the implanted Word into true hearts, and their hundred-fold will amply repay our toils and tears. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 13

1  The parable of the sower and the seed;
18  the explanation of it
24  The parable of the weeds;
31  of the mustard seed;
33  of the leaven;
36  explanation of the parable of the weeds
44  The parable of the hidden treasure;
45  of the pearl;
47  of the drag net cast into the sea
53  Jesus is a prophet without honor in his own country

Greek Commentary for Matthew 13:6

The sun was risen [ηλιου ανατειλαντος]
Genitive absolute. “The sun having sprung up” also, same verb except the absence of εχ — ex (ανατελλω εχανατελλω — anatellō exanatellō). [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 13:6

James 1:11 Ariseth [ανετειλεν]
Gnomic or timeless aorist active indicative of the old compound ανατελλω — anatellō used here of plants (cf. αναταλλω — anathallō in Philemon 4:10), often of the sun (Matthew 13:6). [source]
Revelation 16:8 To scorch with fire [καυματισαι εν πυρι]
First aorist active infinitive of καυματιζω — kaumatizō late (Plutarch, Epictetus) causative verb (from καυμα — kauma heat), in N.T. only here and Revelation 16:9; Matthew 13:6; Mark 4:6. The addition of εν πυρι — en puri (in fire, with fire) intensifies the picture. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 13:6 mean?

[the] sun now having risen they were scorched and through the not having root were dried up
ἡλίου δὲ ἀνατείλαντος ἐκαυματίσθη καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ῥίζαν ἐξηράνθη

ἡλίου  [the]  sun 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ἥλιος  
Sense: the sun.
δὲ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
ἀνατείλαντος  having  risen 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ἀνατέλλω  
Sense: rise.
ἐκαυματίσθη  they  were  scorched 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: καυματίζω 
Sense: to burn with heat, to scorch.
διὰ  through 
Parse: Preposition
Root: διά  
Sense: through.
ῥίζαν  root 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ῥίζα  
Sense: a root.
ἐξηράνθη  were  dried  up 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ξηραίνω  
Sense: to make dry, dry up, wither.