Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 13:25

"but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away." — Matthew 13:25 (ASV)

“Sleeping” does not imply that the servants were neglectful but that the enemy was stealthy and malicious. What he sowed in the field was almost certainly bearded darnel, which is botanically close to wheat and difficult to distinguish from it when the plants are young. The roots of the two plants entangle themselves around each other; but when the heads of grain appear on the wheat, there is no doubt which plant is which. As the growing takes place, the servants tell their master or the head of the house about the weeds.