Sending the Twelve: “The Harvest Is Plentiful” and “A Flock Among Wolves”

Matt. 9:37-38; 10:16a; Luke 10:2-3

(Huck 58, 139; Aland 98-99, 177; Crook 102, 197-198)^[110]

Revised: 2 November 2021

וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם הַקָּצִיר מְרֻבֶּה וְהַפֹּעֲלִים מְמֻעָטִים בַּקְּשׁוּ מִבַּעַל הַקָּצִיר שֶׁיּוֹצִיא פֹּעֲלִים לִקְצִירוֹ לְכוּ הֲרֵינִי שׁוֹלֵחַ אֶתְכֶם כַּצֹּאן לְתוֹךְ זְאֵבִים

Yeshua told his twelve emissaries: “There’s a huge harvest, but a shortage of harvesters. So send word to the owner of the field to hire more workers to help them finish the job.

“Go! But beware, I’m sending you out like a defenseless flock into a pack of ravenous wolves.^[111]

Reconstruction

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• ^[1] On the compilation of Matthew's Sending the Twelve discourse, see Sending the Twelve: Commissioning, under the subheading, “Conjectured Stages of Transmission.” ↩
• ^[2] See Knox, 2:51. ↩
• ^[3] Cf. m. Avot 2:16: “It is not your responsibility to finish the work, but neither are you authorized to desist.” ↩
• ^[4] So Marshall, 416; Nolland, Luke, 550. ↩
• ^[5] Cf. Kilpatrick, 98; Knox, 2:51. ↩
• ^[6] See Nolland, Luke, 551; Luz, 2:84-85; Vermes, Authentic, 110. ↩
• ^[7] See Robert L. Lindsey, "Introduction to A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark," under the subheading "Double Tradition"; idem, "Measuring the Disparity Between Matthew, Mark and Luke," under the subheading "Collecting Further Evidence." ↩
• ^[8] The version of “The Harvest Is Plentiful” saying in the Gospel of Thomas is as follows:

  Jesus said: The harvest is indeed great, but the labourers are few; but beg the Lord to send labourers into the harvest. (Gos. Thom. §73 [ed. Guillaumont, 41])

  ↩

• ^[9] On the possible relationship of the Gospel of John to the synoptic tradition, see David Flusser, “The Gospel of John’s Jewish-Christian Source.” ↩
• ^[10] See Randall Buth, “Edayin/Tote—Anatomy of a Semitism in Jewish Greek,” Maarav 5-6 (1990): 33-48; idem, “Matthew’s Aramaic Glue.” ↩
• ^[11] On the use of the historical present in the Synoptic Gospels, see the charts in “LOY Excursus: Mark’s Editorial Style.” ↩
• ^[12] The author of Matthew gives the inaccurate impression that Jesus had only twelve disciples, all of whom he made apostles. See Choosing the Twelve, Comment to L7; Sending the Twelve: Commissioning, Comment to L16. ↩
• ^[13] In LXX the phrase ἔλεγεν/ἔλεγον δέ is rare. The four instances are in books composed in Greek (2 Macc. 15:22; 4 Macc. 17:1; 18:6, 12). ↩
• ^[14] In NT ἔλεγεν/ἔλεγον δέ occurs 13xx: 1x in Matthew (Matt. 26:5); 1x in Mark (Mark 7:20); 9xx in Luke (Luke 5:36; 9:23; 10:2; 12:54; 13:6; 14:7, 12; 16:1; 18:1); and 2xx in John (John 6:71; 10:20). ↩
• ^[15] The combination εἶπεν/εἶπαν δέ + πρός occurs in Gen. 14:21, 22; 15:7; 16:2, 5, 6; 17:18; 18:9; 19:7, 12, 18, 31; 22:7; 24:5, 6; 26:16; 27:11, 38, 46; 29:21; 31:3; 34:4, 11; 35:1; 37:19, 26; 43:8; 45:3, 4, 17; 46:31; Exod. 2:9; 3:7; 4:10, 11, 19, 21, 27; 6:10, 13; 7:14, 19, 26; 8:1, 5, 12, 16; 9:1, 8, 13, 22; 10:1, 12, 21; 11:1, 9; 12:1, 43; 13:1, 3; 14:13, 15, 26; 16:4, 9, 15, 19, 23, 28; 17:14; 19:9, 10; 20:22; Ruth 3:5; 2 Kgdms. 18:12; Esth. 4:10; 6:7; 9:12; Job 2:3; Bel 9. ↩
• ^[16] Examples of καὶ εἶπεν/εἶπαν + πρός as the translation of -וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל/לְ in LXX are found in Gen. 4:8, 9, 13; 6:13; 17:9; 18:13; 19:34; 22:1; 37:13; 42:21; 46:30; 47:5; 48:11; Exod. 3:11, 13, 14; 4:4; 6:1, 2; 7:1, 8; 10:10; 12:21; 14:11; 16:3, 33; 17:5; 19:21, 23; 24:12; 30:34; 32:22, 33; 33:12, 17; 34:1, 27; 35:1, 4; Lev. 8:31; 9:2; 10:3, 6; 16:2; 21:1; Num. 3:40; 7:4, 11; 9:8; 10:30; 11:11, 16, 23; 12:4, 11, 14; 13:17; 14:11, 13; 15:37; 16:8, 15, 16; 17:11, 25; 18:1; 20:10, 12, 18, 23; 21:8, 34; 22:8, 10, 12, 37, 38; 23:3, 4, 11, 13, 15, 25, 27, 29; 24:10, 12; 27:12; 32:20, 29; Deut. 1:42; 2:2, 9, 31; 3:2, 26; 5:1, 28; 9:12, 13; 10:11; 18:17; 29:1; 31:2, 14, 16; 32:46; 34:4; Josh. 2:9; 3:7; 6:2; 7:10; 8:1, 18; 9:8; 10:8, 25; 11:6; 13:1; 14:6; 23:2; 24:2, 19, 21, 22, 24, 27; etc. ↩
• ^[17] See Sending the Twelve: Conduct on the Road, Comment to L51. ↩
• ^[18] In LXX καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς translates וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם/אֲלֵהֶם in Exod. 10:10; 12:21; 35:1; Num. 9:8; 13:17; 22:8; 32:20, 29; Deut. 5:1; 29:1; 31:2; 32:46; Josh. 9:8; 10:25; 23:2; Judg. 3:28; 7:17; 8:2, 23, 24; 12:2; 18:4, 18; 19:23; 1 Kgdms. 11:2; 2 Kgdms. 2:5; 18:4; 21:2; 3 Kgdms. 12:5; 4 Kgdms. 1:2, 5; 6:11, 19; 10:18; 11:15; 12:8; 18:19, 27; 2 Esd. 10:10; Jonah 1:9; Jer. 21:3; Ezek. 9:7. ↩
• ^[19] In Num. 20:10 and 2 Esd. 4:3, καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς translates וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם, exactly as in HR. The combination καὶ εἶπεν πρός as the translation of -וַיֹּאמֶר לְ is mostly found in the later books of the Jewish Scriptures. See Num. 20:10; 23:3; 1 Chr. 21:27; 2 Chr. 1:2, 8, 11; 2 Esd. 4:3; Esth. 5:14; 8:7. ↩
• ^[20] See David N. Bivin, “Jesus’ ‘Harvest’ Saying.” ↩
• ^[21] Rabbi Tarfon was born prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. Cf. y. Yom. 3:7; Eccl. Rab. 3:11 §3. ↩
• ^[22] H. S. Jones, trans., Hippocrates IV (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1959), 99. See דוד פלוסר, ”משלי ישו והמשלים בספרות חזל,“ יהדות ומקורות הנצרות; מחקרים ומַסוֹת (תל אביב: ספרית פועלים, תשל″ט‎),‎ 195-193. ↩
• ^[23] See Young, JHJP, 36. ↩
• ^[24] Chana Safrai examines the parallel roles that the concepts of Torah study and the Kingdom of Heaven play in the Gospels and in rabbinic literature in “The Kingdom of Heaven and the Study of Torah” (JS1, 169-189). ↩
• ^[25] Since the mission was a mission of twelve apostles who heralded the restoration of the twelve tribes of Israel, and since Isaiah used harvest imagery to describe the ingathering of the exiles (Isa. 27:12-13), it is possible that Jesus intended “The Harvest Is Plentiful” saying to allude to the miraculous redemption of the lost tribes. ↩
• ^[26] In David Flusser, “‘Have You Ever Seen a Lion Toiling as a Porter?’” (Flusser, JSTP2, 331-342), Flusser observed another rabbinic parallel to a different saying of Jesus that showed more Hellenistic influence than the saying recorded in the Gospels. ↩
• ^[27] So Nolland, Luke, 551; Edwards, 305. ↩
• ^[28] See Notley-Safrai, 325. ↩
• ^[29] In "The Harvest Is Plentiful" saying, the landlord represents God. It is audacious to blame God for the lack of laborers, but that is what Jesus asks of his apostles! On the affinity between Jesus and the first-century pietists known as the Hasidim, see Shmuel Safrai, “Jesus and the Hasidim.” ↩
• ^[30] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:649. ↩
• ^[31] See Dos Santos, 185. LXX translated קָצִיר with θερισμός in Gen. 8:22; 30:14; Exod. 23:16; 34:22; Lev. 19:9 (2xx); 23:10 (2xx), 22 (2xx); Josh. 3:15; Judg. 15:1; Ruth 1:22; 2:23 (2xx); 1 Kgdms. 6:13; 12:17; 2 Kgdms. 21:9 (2xx), 10; Job 14:9; 18:16; 29:19; Isa. 18:5; Jer. 5:17, 24; 27[50]:16. ↩
• ^[32] See “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction,’” under the subheading “Guiding Principles.” ↩
• ^[33] Hatch and Redpath, for instance, do not list any Hebrew equivalents for μέν. See Hatch-Redpath, 2:910. ↩
• ^[34] See “ἐργάτης,” LSJ, 682. ↩
• ^[35] In MT פֹּעֵל occurs in the generic sense of “doer,” often in the construct phrase פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן (po‘^alē ’āven, “doers of iniquity”). Cf. Isa. 31:2; Hos. 6:8; Ps. 6:9; 14:4; 28:3; 36:13; 53:5; etc. ↩
• ^[36] For examples of פּוֹעֵל in the sense of “hired worker,” cf. m. Peah 5:7; m. Shev. 8:4; m. Maas. 2:7; 3:3; 5:5; m. Shab. 23:3; m. Bab. Metz. 2:9; 5:4; 7:1, 7; m. Avod. Zar. 5:1; m. Avot 2:15; m. Bech. 4:6. ↩
• ^[37] In LXX ὀλίγος translates מְעַט in Lev. 25:52; Num. 13:18; 26:56; Deut. 28:38; Josh. 7:3; 1 Kgdms. 14:6; 3 Kgdms. 17:10, 12; 4 Kgdms. 10:18; 2 Chr. 29:34; 2 Esd. 12:12; 17:4; Ps. 36[37]:10, 16; 108[109]:8; Prov. 5:14; 6:10 (3xx); 24:33 (3xx); Eccl. 5:1, 11; 9:14; 10:1; Job 10:20; 15:11; Sir. 6:19; 32:8; 40:6; 42:4; 43:32; 51:16; Hag. 1:6, 9; Zech. 1:15; Isa. 10:7; Jer. 49[42]:2; Ezek. 5:3. ↩
• ^[38] There are three instances of מְעַט in the Mishnah: m. Avot 1:15; 4:10; m. Mik. 2:7. ↩
• ^[39] The reason for this ruling is that peace offerings were eaten by the ones bringing the offering, whereas whole burnt offerings were completely consumed on the altar. By bringing more peace offerings than whole burnt offerings the person of limited means will have more to share with his companions. ↩
• ^[40] The person of greater means can afford to bring a larger proportion of offerings that are completely consumed on the altar. He has no need for a large number of peace offerings, because there are only a few people who are eating with him. ↩
• ^[41] Further examples of מְמוּעָט paired with מְרוּבֶּה appear in m. Dem. 5:5; m. Bab. Bat. 9:2, 5; m. Arach. 6:4; m. Kin. 1:2. ↩
• ^[42] For a discussion of this exegetical principle in rabbinic literature, see Guggenheimer, 6 n. 5. ↩
• ^[43] In LXX imperative + οὖν occurs as the translation of a simple imperative in Gen. 6:14; 19:22; 23:4; 29:27; 45:9; Exod. 2:20; 8:24; 9:28; Num. 21:7; Deut. 2:3; Josh. 1:7; Job 7:7. ↩
• ^[44] In LXX imperative + οὖν occurs as the translation of imperative + נָא in Gen. 12:13; 16:2; 34:8; 40:8; Exod. 10:17; 11:2; 1 Kgdms. 19:2; Job 4:7. ↩
• ^[45] On reconstructing οὖν as לְפִיכָךְ, see Fathers Give Good Gifts, Comment to L11. ↩
• ^[46] Of the 22 instances of δεῖσθαι in NT, 8 occur in Luke and 7 occur in Acts, compared to a single instance in Matthew and zero instances of δεῖσθαι in Mark. ↩
• ^[47] In LXX δεῖσθαι translates הִתְחַנֵּן in Deut. 3:23; 3 Kgdms. 8:33, 47, 59; 9:3; 4 Kgdms. 1:13; 2 Chr. 6:24, 37; Esth. 8:3 (Sinaiticus); Ps. 29[30]:9; 141[142]:2; Job 8:5; 9:15; 19:16; Hos. 12:5. ↩
• ^[48] An example of the imperative of בִּקֵּשׁ is found in m. Pes. 9:9. ↩
• ^[49] Cf. Marshall, 416. ↩
• ^[50] See Moulton-Milligan, 102. ↩
• ^[51] See Allen, Matt., 99. ↩
• ^[52] According to Nolland (Luke, 551), “The present low number of workers and the verb here for ‘send out’ (ἐκβάλῃ), which normally carries overtones of force, may suggest a reluctance on the part of the potential harvesters.” Likewise, Edwards (305) wrote, “ekballein is stronger than ‘send’...and is slightly unusual, implying that workers will not volunteer for this mission but must be dispatched for it.” ↩
• ^[53] See the discussion in Sending the Twelve: Commissioning, Comment to L21. ↩
• ^[54] In LXX ὅπως is the translation of אֲשֶׁר in Deut. 4:10; 6:3; 3 Kgdms. 22:16; 2 Chr. 1:11; 2 Esd. 18:14, 15; Eccl. 3:11; 7:21, 22; 8:12; Mic. 5:6; Ezek. 12:12; Dan. 1:8. ↩
• ^[55] See Segal, 42-43. ↩
• ^[56] Babrius, Aesopic Fables of Babrius in Iambic Verse, fable 132. ↩
• ^[57] The fact that sheep were offered as sacrifices made them especially suited as symbols of those who died for their faithfulness to Torah. The New Testament, which is rife with the imagery of martyr as sacrificial lamb, not only with reference to Jesus (John 1:29; Acts 8:32-35; 1 Cor. 5:7; 1 Peter 1:19; Rev. 5:12), but also to early believers (Rom. 8:36), reflects this Jewish tradition. ↩
• ^[58] On the date of Jubilees’ composition, see George W. E. Nickelsburg, “The Bible Rewritten and Expanded,” in Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period: Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Qumran Sectarian Writings, Philo, Josephus (CRINT II.2; ed. Michael E. Stone; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), 89-156, esp. 101-103. ↩
• ^[59] On exchanges between the Jewish sages and Roman emperors in rabbinic literature, see Moshe David Herr, “The Historical Significance of the Dialogues Between Jewish Sages and Roman Dignitaries,” Scripta Hierosolymitana 22 (1971): 123-150. ↩
• ^[60] Cf. Bundy, 159. ↩
• ^[61] On the anti-Jewish tendency of Matthew’s Gospel, see David Flusser, “Two Anti-Jewish Montages in Matthew” (Flusser, JOC, 552-560); idem, “Matthew’s ‘Verus Israel’” (Flusser, JOC, 561-574); idem, “Anti-Jewish Sentiment in the Gospel of Matthew” (Flusser, JSTP2, 351-353); R. Steven Notley, “Anti-Jewish Tendencies in the Synoptic Gospels”; Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven, under the subheading “Redaction Analysis: Matthew’s Version.” ↩
• ^[62] See Sending the Twelve: Conduct on the Road, Comment to L66. ↩
• ^[63] The imperative of ὑπάγειν appears in Matt. 4:10; 5:24, 41; 8:4, 13, 32; 9:6; 16:23; 18:15; 19:21; 20:4, 7, 14; 21:28; 26:18; 27:65; 28:10. ↩
• ^[64] Mark 1:44; 2:11; 5:19, 34; 6:38; 7:29; 8:33; 10:21, 52; 11:2; 14:13; 16:7. ↩
• ^[65] Luke 10:3; 19:30. ↩
• ^[66] The verb ὑπάγειν is found in Exod. 14:21; Tob. 8:21 (Sinaiticus); 10:11 (Sinaiticus), 12 (Sinaiticus); 12:5 (Sinaiticus); 4 Macc. 4:13; Jer. 43[36]:19 (var.). ↩
• ^[67] See Harnack, 13. ↩
• ^[68] The five examples of this kind are Matt. 8:7 opposite Luke 7:3; Matt. 22:32 (= Mark 12:26) opposite Luke 20:37; Matt. 26:22 (= Mark 14:19) opposite Luke 22:23; Matt. 26:33 (= Mark 14:29) opposite Luke 22:33; and Matt. 26:39 (= Mark 14:36) opposite Luke 22:42. ↩
• ^[69] We regard the personal pronoun ἐγώ in L49 to be Hebraic because it is superfluous in Greek, the person being indicated by the form of the present tense verb ἀποστέλλω ("I send"). In Hebrew, on the other hand, participles require a personal pronoun (or a pronominal suffix) + הֲרֵי to indicate person (i.e., הֲרֵי אֲנִי שׁוֹלֵחַ or הֲרֵינִי שׁוֹלֵחַ). ↩
• ^[70] See Bendavid, 343; Preparations for Eating the Passover Lamb, Comment to L22. ↩
• ^[71] In the Mishnah הֲרֵי + pronominal suffix occurs in: m. Bik. 4:4, 5; m. Naz. 1:1 (3xx), 3 (3xx), 5, 6, 7; 2:1, 2, 3 (2xx), 4, 5, 7, 8 (2xx), 9 (2xx), 10; 3:1 (2xx), 3 (2xx), 4; 4:1 (4xx), 2 (2xx), 7; 5:5 (3xx), 6 (2xx), 7 (7xx); m. Men. 13:10. ↩
• ^[72] Examples of הֲרֵי אֲנִי + participle are found in m. Peah 6:11 (הֲרֵי אֲנִי קוֹצֵר; “Behold, I am harvesting”); m. Ter. 8:11 (הֲרֵי אֲנִי מְטַמֵּא; “Behold, I am making ritually impure”); m. Pes. 8:3 (הֲרֵי אֲנִי שׁוֹחֵט; “Behold, I am slaughtering”); m. Bab. Metz. 8:3 (הֲרֵי אֲנִי מְשַׁלְּחָהּ; “Behold, I am sending her”); m. Bab. Metz. 9:7 (הֲרֵי אֲנִי לוֹקֵיַח; “Behold, I am purchasing”); m. Bab. Bat. 9:3 (הֲרֵי אֲנִי עוֹשָׂה וְאוֹכֶלֶת; “Behold, I am making and eating”); m. Arach. 7:1 (הֲרֵי אֲנִי נוֹתֵן; “Behold, I am giving”). ↩
• ^[73] We have reconstructed ἀποστέλλειν with שָׁלַח in Tower Builder and King Going to War, L20; Sending the Twelve: Commissioning, L29; Sending the Twelve: "The Harvest Is Plentiful" and "A Flock Among Wolves", L49; Preparations for Eating the Passover Lamb, L10. ↩
• ^[74] In MT we find “lamb” paired with “wolf” in Isa. 11:6 (זְאֵב עִם כֶּבֶשׂ = λύκος μετὰ ἀρνός) and in Isa. 65:25 (זְאֵב וְטָלֶה = λύκοι καὶ ἄρνες). ↩
• ^[75] Cf. Harnack (13): “the original word was πρόβατα (ἄρνας is more refined).” ↩
• ^[76] On the rationale for basing the reconstruction text on Codex Vaticanus, see "Introduction to 'The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction,’" under the subheading “Codex Vaticanus or an Eclectic Text?” ↩
• ^[77] In the LXX translation of Genesis ὡς occurs as the equivalent of -כְּ in Gen. 3:5, 22; 9:3; 10:9; 13:10 (2xx), 16; 18:25 (2xx); 19:31; 22:17 (2xx); 26:4; 27:12, 23, 27; 28:14; 29:13, 20; 31:2, 5, 26; 32:13; 34:7; 38:29; 39:13, 18, 19; 44:10; 48:5, 20 (2xx); 49:4, 9 (2xx); 50:20. The second most common term or phrase behind ὡς in the LXX version of Genesis is כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’^asher, “like that,” “when that”). In Genesis ὡς serves as the translation of כַּאֲשֶׁר in Gen. 18:33; 27:4, 9; 29:10; 30:25. Our statistics exclude instances of ὡς ἂν, which occur in Gen. 6:4; 12:12; 16:16; 30:38; 33:10. ↩
• ^[78] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1204-1205. ↩
• ^[79] See Dos Santos, 174. ↩
• ^[80] In Mic. 5:6 ὡς ἄρνες ἐπὶ ἄγρωστιν (“like lambs upon the grass”) is the translation of כִּרְבִיבִים עֲלֵי עֵשֶׂב (“like rains upon the grass”). ↩
• ^[81] See Nickelsburg, “Stories of Biblical and Early Post-Biblical Times,” in Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period, 33-87, esp. 52; Randall Buth, “Distinguishing Hebrew from Aramaic in Semitized Greek Texts, with an Application for the Gospels and Pseudepigrapha” (JS2, 247-319, esp. 295). ↩
• ^[82] In LXX ὡς πρόβατα/πρόβατον is the translation of כַּצֹּאן/כְּצֹאן in 2 Chr. 18:16; Ps. 43[44]:12, 23; 48[49]:15; 76[77]:21; 77[78]:52; 106[107]:41; Job 21:11; Mic. 2:12; Zech. 9:16; Isa. 13:14; 53:6; Ezek. 36:37, 38 (2xx). ↩
• ^[83] LXX also translates כַּצֹּאן as ὡσεὶ πρόβατα (Num. 27:17; Ps. 79[80]:2) and as ὡς ποίμνιον (hōs poimnion, “like a flock”; 3 Kgdms. 22:17). ↩
• ^[84] See BDB, 838; Jastrow, 1257; Joüon-Muraoka, 2:497. According to Broshi, the ratio of sheep to goats in an average flock was about 7:3. See Magen Broshi, “The Diet of Palestine in the Roman Period—Introductory Notes,” Israel Museum Journal 5 (1986): 41-56, esp. 48. Perhaps it was because sheep so outnumbered goats that צֹאן was so frequently translated in LXX as πρόβατα (“sheep” [plur.]). ↩
• ^[85] The story of Jacob’s agreement with Laban supplies an excellent example of how צֹאן can refer to a flock made up of both sheep and goats:

  אֶעֱבֹר בְּכָל צֹאנְךָ הַיּוֹם הָסֵר מִשָּׁם כָּל שֶׂה נָקֹד וְטָלוּא וְכָל שֶׂה חוּם בַּכְּשָׂבִים וְטָלוּא וְנָקֹד בָּעִזִּים וְהָיָה שְׂכָרִי

  Today I will pass through your flock to remove from there every speckled and spotted individual, that is, every brown individual among the sheep, and every spotted and speckled individual among the goats, and they will be my wage. (Gen. 30:32)

  ↩

• ^[86] In MT the indefinite form כְּצֹאן is found in Isa. 13:14; Jer. 12:3; Ezek. 36:38 (2xx); Mic. 2:12; Zech. 9:16; Ps. 44:12, 23. The definite form כַּצֹּאן is found in Num. 27:17; 1 Kgs. 22:17; Isa. 53:6; Ezek. 36:37; Ps. 49:15; 77:21; 78:52; 80:2; 107:41; Job 21:11; 2 Chr. 18:16. ↩
• ^[87] In rabbinic literature כַּר appears mainly in biblical quotations, though there are a few examples where כַּר appears in non-biblical contexts (cf., e.g., t. Kel. Bab. Metz. 7:1[2]; b. Meg. 12b). ↩
• ^[88] In a survey of all the instances of μεσός in the Pentateuch we found that μεσός occurs as the translation of תָּוֶךְ in Gen. 1:6 (1^st instance); 2:9; 3:3, 8; 15:10; 19:29; 23:10; 35:2; 37:7; 40:20; Exod. 7:5; 11:4 (2^nd instance); 14:16, 22, 23, 27, 29; 15:19; 24:16, 18; 26:28 (2^nd instance); 28:32, 33; 36:30 [39:23], 32 [39:25]; Lev. 16:16; 22:32; 25:33; Num. 1:49; 2:17; 3:12; 4:2, 18; 5:21; 8:6, 14, 16, 19; 9:7; 16:21, 33; 17:10, 21; 18:6, 20, 23, 24; 19:6, 20; 25:7; 26:62 (2xx); 27:3, 4 (2xx), 7; 33:8; 35:5, 34; Deut. 3:16; 4:12, 15, 33, 36; 5:4, 22, 23, 24, 26; 10:4; 11:3; 19:2. In the Pentateuch μεσός occurs as the translation of something other than תָּוֶךְ, usually בֵּין, in Gen. 1:4 (2xx), 6 (2xx), 7 (2xx), 14 (2xx), 18 (2xx), 3:15 (4xx); 9:12 (2xx), 13, 15 (2xx), 16 (2xx), 17 (2xx): 10:12 (2xx); 13:3 (2xx), 7 (2xx), 8 (2xx); 15:17; 16:5, 14 (2xx); 17:2 (2xx), 7 (3xx), 10 (2xx), 11; 20:1 (2xx); 23:15; 26:28 (2xx); 30:36 (2xx); 31:37, 44 (2xx), 46, 48, 49, 53; 32:17; 42:23; 49:14; Exod. 8:18 (2xx); 9:4 (2xx); 11:4 (1^st instance), 33; 30:18 (2xx); 31:14; Lev. 10:10 (2xx); 11:47 (2xx); 20:25 (3xx); 23:5; 26:46 (2xx); 27:12 (2xx), 14 (2xx); Num. 7:89; 17:2, 13; 21:13 (2xx); 26:56; 30:17 (2xx), 27 (2xx); 33:49; 35:24 (2xx); Deut. 1:1, 16 (4xx); 2:16; 4:36; 5:5; 11:6; 14:1; 17:8 (4xx); 25:1; 29:10, 15; 33:12. The number of times μεσός occurs as the translation of בֵּין is inflated because of the usual doubling of בֵּין in a sentence. ↩
• ^[89] In a survey of all the instances of תָּוֶךְ in the Torah, we found that the LXX translators rendered תָּוֶךְ with μεσός in Gen. 1:6; 2:9; 3:3, 8; 15:10; 19:29; 23:10; 35:2; 37:7; 40:20; Exod. 7:5; 11:4; 14:16, 22, 23, 27, 29; 15:19; 24:16, 18; 26:28; 28:32, 33; 39:23 [36:30], 25 [39:32]; Lev. 16:16; 22:32; 25:33; Num. 1:49; 2:17; 3:12; 4:2, 18; 5:21; 8:6, 14, 16, 19; 9:7; 16:21, 33; 17:10, 21; 18:6, 20 (2^nd instance), 23, 24; 19:6, 20; 25:7; 26:62 (2xx); 27:3, 4 (2xx), 7; 33:8; 35:5, 34 (2^nd instance); Deut. 3:16; 4:12, 15, 33, 36; 5:4, 22, 23, 24, 26; 10:4; 11:3; 19:2. In the same survey we found that the LXX translators rendered תָּוֶךְ with something other than μεσός in Gen. 9:21; 18:24, 26; 23:6, 9; 41:48; 42:5; Exod. 2:5; 3:2, 4; 9:24; 12:31, 49; 25:8; 28:1; 29:45, 46; 33:11; 36:33; 39:3 [36:10] (4xx); Lev. 11:33; 15:31; 16:29; 17:8, 10, 12, 13; 18:26; 20:14; 24:10; 26:11, 12, 25, 28 (1^st instance); Num. 1:47; 2:33; 5:3; 13:32; 15:14, 26, 29; 16:3; 17:12; 18:20 (1^st instance); 19:10; 25:11; 32:30; 35:15, 34 (1^st instance); Deut. 9:10; 13:17; 21:12; 22:2; 23:11, 12; 32:31 (2xx). Thus we find that the LXX translators rendered תָּוֶךְ as μεσός more than half the time. ↩
• ^[90] The phrase ἐν μέσῳ occurs in LXX 287xx (254xx in books also in MT), where it translates בְּתוֹךְ in Gen. 1:6; 2:9; 3:3, 8; 23:10; 37:7; 40:20; Exod. 14:29; 15:19; Lev. 16:16; 22:32; 25:33; Num. 1:49; 5:21; 9:7; 18:20, 23, 24; 26:62 (2xx); 27:3, 4, 7; 35:34; Deut. 11:3; 19:2; Josh. 3:17; 13:9; 15:3; 17:4, 6; 19:9; 21:41; Judg. 7:16; 9:51; 12:4 (2xx); 18:1; 20:42; 1 Kgdms. 10:10, 23; 25:29; 2 Kgdms. 1:25; 7:2; 20:12; 23:12, 20; 24:5; 3 Kgdms. 3:8; 6:19, 27; 11:20 (2xx); 4 Kgdms. 4:13; 6:20; 23:9; 1 Chr. 11:14; 16:1; 21:6; 2 Chr. 6:13; 2 Esd. 14:16; 19:11; Ps. 21[22]:15, 23; 39[40]:9; 67[68]:26; 108[109]:30; 115[116]:10[19]; 134[135]:9; 136[137]:2; Prov. 5:14; 27:22 (?); Job 2:1; 20:13; Amos 3:9; Mic. 2:12; 7:14; Zeph. 2:14; Hag. 2:5; Zech. 2:8, 9, 14, 15; 5:4, 7; 8:3, 8; Isa. 5:2; 6:5; 24:13; 41:18; Jer. 12:16; 27[50]:37; 36[29]:32; 44[37]:12; 46[39]:14; 47[40]:1, 5, 6; 48[41]:8; 52:25; Ezek. 1:1; 2:5; 3:15, 24; 5:2, 5, 8, 10, 12; 6:7, 13; 7:6[9], 8[4]; 8:11; 9:2, 4; 10:10; 11:1, 7, 11; 12:2, 10, 12, 24; 14:14, 16, 18, 20; 16:53; 17:16; 18:18; 19:2, 6; 20:8, 9; 21:37; 22:3, 9, 13, 18, 21, 22 (2xx), 25 (2xx), 26; 23:39; 24:5, 7, 11; 26:5, 15; 27:27, 34; 28:14; 29:3, 12 (2xx), 21; 30:7 (2xx); 31:14, 17, 18; 32:20, 25, 28, 32; 33:33; 34:12, 24; 36:23; 37:1, 26, 28; 39:7; 43:7, 9; 44:9; 46:10; 47:22 (3xx); 48:8, 10, 15, 21, 22. ↩
• ^[91] In LXX εἰς μέσον is the translation of בְּתוֹךְ in Exod. 11:4; 14:16, 22; 1 Kgdms. 9:14, 18; 2 Kgdms. 6:17; Ezek. 26:12. ↩
• ^[92] In LXX εἰς μέσον is the translation of אֶל תּוֹךְ in Exod. 14:23; Num. 19:6; Josh. 4:5; 2 Esd. 4:5; Jer. 28[51]:63; Ezek. 5:4; 22:19, 20. The remaining instances of εἰς μέσον in LXX that correspond to MT are found in Ps. 77[78]:28 (= בְּקֶרֶב); Ezek. 10:7 (= מִבֵּינוֹת); Ezek. 31:3 (= בֵּין); Ezek. 31:10, 14 (= אֶל בֵּין). ↩
• ^[93] The two exceptional cases of אֶל תּוֹךְ are in 1 Kgs. 6:27 (used with נֹגְעֹת) and Jer. 41:7b (used with וַיִּשְׁחָטֵם). The other instances of אֶל תּוֹךְ are found in Exod. 14:23; Lev. 11:33; Num. 17:12; 19:6; Deut. 13:17; 21:12; 22:2; 23:11, 12; Josh. 4:5; 2 Sam. 3:27; Jer. 21:4; 41:7a; 51:63; Ezek. 5:4; 22:19, 20; Zech. 5:8; Neh. 4:5; 6:10. ↩
• ^[94] In the Mishnah אֶל תּוֹךְ occurs only in biblical quotations (m. Sot. 5:2; m. Sanh. 10:6), whereas לְתוֹךְ occurs over 300xx. ↩
• ^[95] In Ezek. 19:2 we find בְּתוֹךְ כְּפִרִים רִבְּתָה גוּרֶיהָ (“among young lions she raised her cubs”), and in Ezek. 19:6 we read וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ בְּתוֹךְ אֲרָיוֹת (“and he prowled among lions”), which might be similar to “among wolves.” But in neither of these cases is there movement from outside into the lions’ space. ↩
• ^[96] The Mishnah states:

  הַזְּאֵב וְהָאֲרִי וְהַדּוֹב וְהַנָּמֵר וְהַפַּרְדְּלֵס וְהַנָּחָשׁ הֲרֵי אֵילּוּ מוּעָדִים

  The wolf and the lion and the bear and the leopard and the panther and the snake: behold, these are attested dangers. (m. Bab. Kam. 1:4)

  Did the Mishnah name wolves first among these dangerous animals because they were the most feared, or the most common, or for some other reason? In Avot de-Rabbi Natan, wolves, lions, bears, leopards, panthers and snakes are classed together with brigands and robbers as the kind of life-threatening danger that can both see and be seen (Avot de-Rabbi Natan, Version A, 40:7 [ed. Schechter, 128]). And cf. Avot de-Rabbi Natan, Version A, 29:2 (ed. Schechter, 87). Likewise, in printed texts of the Mishnah, the same list of animals appears in m. Sanh. 1:4, as creatures that are likely to kill a human being, but in the Kaufmann and Parma MSS זְאֵב (“wolf”) is omitted. ↩

• ^[97] For Jewish and non-Jewish references in ancient literature to wolves as dangerous creatures, especially for flocks, see Günther Bornkamm, “λύκος,” TDNT 4:308-311. ↩
• ^[98] Wolf attacks on flocks are discussed in m. Bab. Metz. 7:9. ↩
• ^[99] Cf., e.g., t. Ber. 1:13[11] (Notley-Safrai, 77). ↩
• ^[100] In the Tosefta, for instance, the question is asked:

  מהו להציל את הרועה מפי הזאב

  What is the halachah pertaining to rescuing a shepherd from the mouth of a wolf? (t. Yev. 3:3[1]; Zuckermandel)

  ↩

• ^[101] H. B. Tristram, The Survey of Western Palestine: The Fauna and Flora of Palestine (London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, 1884), 20-21. ↩
• ^[102] F. S. Bodenheimer, Animal Life In Palestine: An Introduction to the Problems of Animal Ecology and Zoogeography (Jerusalem: Mayer, 1935), 110. ↩
• ^[103] See Alon Reichmann and David Saltz, “The Golan Wolves: The Dynamics, Behavioral Ecology, and Management of an Endangered Pest,” Israel Journal of Zoology 51.2 (2005): 87-133. Reichmann and Saltz projected that by 2015 the wolf population in the Golan Heights would reach around 80 to 100 individuals. As the title of their article attests, wolves are still regarded by some people in a negative light. ↩
• ^[104] See Bornkamm, “λύκος,” TDNT 4:311. ↩
• ^[105] In MT זְאֵב occurs 13xx: 6xx as a personal name (Judg. 7:25 [4xx]; 8:3; Ps. 83:12)—always transliterated as Ζηβ (Zēb)—and 7xx as the word for "wolf" (Gen. 49:27; Isa. 11:6; 65:25; Jer. 5:6; Ezek. 22:27; Hab. 1:8; Zeph. 3:3). In Prov. 28:15 λύκος appears in LXX where MT has דֹּב (dov, “bear”), but the entire verse is a very loose translation. ↩
• ^[106]

  “The Harvest Is Plentiful” and “A Flock Among Wolves”
  Luke’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  ἔλεγεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς ὁ μὲν θερισμὸς πολύς οἱ δὲ ἐργάται ὀλίγοι δεήθητε οὖν τοῦ κυρίου τοῦ θερισμοῦ ὅπως ἐργάτας ἐκβάλῃ εἰς τὸν θερισμὸν αὐτοῦὑπάγετε ἰδοὺ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς ἄρνας ἐν μέσῳ λύκων		καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς ὁ μὲν θερισμὸς πολύς οἱ δὲ ἐργάται ὀλίγοι δεήθητε οὖν τοῦ κυρίου τοῦ θερισμοῦ ὅπως ἐκβάλῃ ἐργάτας εἰς τὸν θερισμὸν αὐτοῦὑπάγετε ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα εἰς μέσον λύκων
  Total Words:	34	Total Words:	35
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	29	Total Words Taken Over in Luke:	29
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	85.29%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Luke:	82.86%

  .

  “The Harvest Is Plentiful” and “A Flock Among Wolves”
  Matthew’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  τότε λέγει τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ὁ μὲν θερισμὸς πολύς οἱ δὲ ἐργάται ὀλίγοι δεήθητε οὖν τοῦ κυρίου τοῦ θερισμοῦ ὅπως ἐκβάλῃ ἐργάτας εἰς τὸν θερισμὸν αὐτοῦἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα εἰς μέσον λύκων		καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς ὁ μὲν θερισμὸς πολύς οἱ δὲ ἐργάται ὀλίγοι δεήθητε οὖν τοῦ κυρίου τοῦ θερισμοῦ ὅπως ἐκβάλῃ ἐργάτας εἰς τὸν θερισμὸν αὐτοῦ ὑπάγετεἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα εἰς μέσον λύκων
  Total Words:	35	Total Words:	35
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	30	Total Words Taken Over in Matt:	30
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	85.71%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Matt.:	85.71%

  ↩

• ^[107] See Vermes, Authentic, 106, 321. ↩
• ^[108] See Manson, Sayings, 75. ↩
• ^[109] The allusion here is to Gandalf’s words to Frodo in “The Shadow of the Past.” See J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (2d ed.; Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965), 70. ↩
• ^[110] For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.’” ↩
• ^[111] This translation is a dynamic rendition of our reconstruction of the conjectured Hebrew source that stands behind the Greek of the Synoptic Gospels. It is not a translation of the Greek text of a canonical source. ↩