And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
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Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
And when He was alone: Gr. καταμόνας, Vulg. singularis, solitary, by Himself.
The twelve that were with Him asked Him. The Greek, Syriac, and Arabic have with the twelve, meaning that the seventy disciples, who, with the twelve Apostles, were followers of Jesus, asked Him what was the meaning of the parable of the Sower.
When he was alone: in Greek Ote egeneto Kata monas; i.e. when he was retired and alone, either in the house, out of the city, or at a distance from the multitude. (Tirinus)
He speaks in parables that he may also make his discourse more vivid, and fix the memory of it in them more perfectly, and bring the things before their sight, as did the prophets also. The Gospel of St. Matthew, Homily
Suppose a physician excised a portion from the side of an organism, even in that small part you would find all the elements out of which the whole is composed—nerves and veins, bones, arteries and blood, and a sample, as one might say, of the whole lump. So likewise with regard to the organic unity of the Scriptures. In each distinct portion of what is written, one may see the connection with the whole clearly appearing. The Gospel of St. Matthew, Homily
