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Harvard ivinity School

Symbolic Eschatology and the Apocalypticism of QAuthor(s): John S. KloppenborgSource: The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 80, No. 3 (Jul., 1987), pp. 287-306Published by: Cambridge University Presson behalf of the Harvard Divinity SchoolStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1509574.

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HTR80:3

(1987)

287- 306

SYMBOLIC

ESCHATOLOGY

AND THE APOCALYPTICISM OF

Q

*

John

S.

Kloppenborg

University

of Windsor

Introduction

The

relationship

of

the

preaching

and

teaching

of Jesus to

apocalyptic

has

been a vexed one ever since Albert Schweitzer's

assault

on the liberal Lives of

Jesus and his

advocacy

of consistent

eschatology along

with

his characteriza-

tion of Jesus'

teachings

as interim ethics.1 While

many

of the details of

Schweitzer's

hypothesis

failed to be

persuasive,

his

insistence that Jesus'

activity

be

seen

in

the context

of

apocalypticism

has

made a

profound impact

on

subsequent

historical Jesus

scholarship

and,

in

spite

of his own

noncommital

stance with regard to the Two Document Hypothesis, on the theological charac-

terization of

Q.

Although

it

appeared

the

year

after Schweitzer's

book,

Adolf

von

Harack's

monumental treatment

of

Q,

Spriiche

und Reden

Jesu,

was

little influenced

by

Schweitzer's conclusions.

Harnack

continued to be

quite unsympathetic

to

apocalypticism,

criticizing

Mark for

exaggerating

this

element at the

expense

of

the

purely religious

and ethical elements in

Jesus'

teaching.

It

was

the

latter,

of

course,

which for Hamack was so

clearly

exemplified

in

Q.2

*The

original

version

of this

paper

was

presented

o the

joint

meeting

of the SBL

Early

Christian

Apocalypticism

and

Q

Seminars on 23

November 1986

in

Atlanta.

I

am indebted to Adela

Yarbro

Collins

(chair

of

the

Apocalypticism

Seminar),

Hans

Dieter

Betz,

and

Charles

E.

Carlston

for

a

number of

helpful

comments.

A

version of the

paper appears

n

SBLASP

25

(1986)

224-35,

and

parts

of

that

paper

are

reprinted

here with

permisison

of

the

Society

of Biblical

Literature.

I

Albert

Schweitzer,

Von Reimarus zu

Wrede: Eine Geschichte

der

Leben-Jesu-Forschung

(Tubingen:

Mohr-Siebeck,

1906);

ET: The

Quest

of

the Historical

Jesus:

A

Critical

Studyof

Its

Pro-

gress

from

Reimarus to

Wrede

(3d

ed.;

trans.

W.

Montgomery;

London:

A. & C.

Black, 1954;

reprinted

with an

Introduction

y

James

M.

Robinson;

New York:

Macmillan,

1968).

2

Adolf von

Harack,

Spruche

und

Reden Jesu:

Die

zweite

Quelle

des Matthaus und

Lukas

(Beitrage

zur

Einleitung

in das Neue

Testament

2;

Leipzig:

Hinrichs,

1907);

ET: The

Sayings

of

Jesus:

The

Second

Source

of

St.

Matthewand St. Luke

(trans.

J. R.

Wilkinson;

New

TestamentStud-

ies

2;

London:Williams

&

Norgate;

New York:

Putnam's,

1908)

esp.

250

-

51.

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HARVARD

THEOLOGICAL

REVIEW

This

characterization of

Q

was not to

stand,

however.

Those

who,

under

the

influence of

Johannes

Weiss and

Schweitzer,

regarded

Jesus as

a

herald of

the

imminent appearance of the Kingdom quite naturally supposed that Q was

imbued

with

a

similar form

of

apocalypticism.

Rudolf

Bultmann,

for

example,

while

observing

that

Jesus'

preaching

was free from

the

speculative

and

fantas-

tic elements of

some

apocalyptic

traditions,

nonetheless

situated that

preaching

firmly

within

the context

of

apocalyptic

expectations

and

emphasized

Q's

con-

tinuity

with

that context.

The

urgency

of

the mission

to Israel

(Q

10:4-12-I

use Lukan

versification for

Q

texts),

the use

of

the

eschatological

preaching

of

the

Baptist

(Q

3:7-9)

as a

preface

for the

collection,

the

eschatological

con-

sciousness of the

beatitudes

(Q

6:20-23)

and the

parousia

sayings

(Q

17:23- 37) all underlined this continuity.3

Even when more

recent

scholarship

has

had

occasion

to doubt

the

cogency

of

the construct of

the

apocalyptic

Jesus, 4

the

apocalyptic

Q

has remained.

In

fact,

Q

became a benchmark

in

the

apocalypticizing

of

primitive

Christian

preaching.

Two

factors were

decisive here.

First,

Philipp

Vielhauer's conclu-

sion that all

of the Son of

Man

sayings, including

those which

spoke

of the com-

ing

Son

of

Man,

should be

regarded

as

secondary

formulations when

compared

with the

mainly

authentic

Kingdom sayings

has met

with

rather

widespread

acceptance.5

This has had the effect of

underscoring

the

apocalypticism

of

Q,

a

principal source of Son of Man sayings. Second, when Ernst Kasemann

rejected

the

compatibility

of Jesus'

preaching

of the

immediacy

of

God

with

the

expectations

of the

coming

Son of

Man,

the restoration

of

Israel,

and the

Parousia,

it became

necessary

to account

for

the shift from Jesus'

preaching

to

that of the

early

Church. His

explanation

involved

post-Easter

apocalyptic

enthusiasm

mediated

especially

in

sentences

of

holy

law. 6

Again,

Q

provides

textbook

examples

of this form

(Q

12:8-9,

10)

and includes

many

other

instances

of

prophetic

words.

Hence it

is not

particularly

surprising

when

some

authors characterize

virtu-

ally every Q pericope as eschatological in nature7 and describe the community

3

Rudolf

K.

Bultmann,

Theology

of

the New Testament

(trans.

Kendrick

Grobel;

2

vols.;

New

York:

Scribner's,

1951-55)

1.

4-5,

42.

4

For

a

recent

discussion,

see Marcus

Borg,

A

Temperate

Case

of a

Non-Eschatological

Jesus,

Foundations

and Facets

Forum

2/3

(1986)

81 -102.

5

Philipp

Vielhauer,

Gottesreich

und

Menschensohn

in

der

Verkiindigung

Jesu,

in

idem,

Aufsdtze

zum

Neuen

Testament

(ThBii

31;

Munich:

Kaiser,

1965)

55-91; idem,

Jesus und

der

Menschensohn, bid.,

92-140.

6

Ernst

Kasemann,

The

Beginnings

of Christian

Theology,

in

idem,

New Testament

Questions

of Today(trans.W. J. Montague;London:SCM, 1969) 101-2. See also idem, On the Subjectof

Primitive

Christian

Apocalyptic,

ibid.,

108-

37.

7

Howard

Clark

Kee

holds that

only

11

of the

52

units

of tradition

n

Q

are

not

explicitly

eschato-

logical,

and

even

these are

compatible

with

an

eschatological

outlook

( Wisdom

Tradition and

Christology

in

Q

[paper presented

to

the

Q

Consultation

at the One HundredTwentieth

Annual

288


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JOHNS. KLOPPENBORG

which transmitted

he material

as

an

apocalyptic

sect.

Siegfried

Schulz,

follow-

ing

Kasemann's

thesis

concerning

the

generative

characterof

apocalypticism

for primitivePalestinianChristianity,affirmsthe thoroughlyapocalypticcharac-

ter

of the earliest

Q

stratum:

There

is no

question

that the Palestinian

Jewish-Christianity

which

stands

behind

the

oldest

Q

materialwas an

eschatological

and enthusiasticmove-

ment

filled with a

burning

expectation

of

the

end,

and in this

respect

was no

different from other communities

in

Israel.

This is not

altered

by

the

fact

that

in the oldest

Q

material titles such as the true Israel or the

new

Israel

or,

as

in the

Aramaic-speaking

ommunity

in

Jerusalem,

he

escha-

tological

title the

Elect and the

Holy

Ones

( the

poor ?)

are absent.

The oldest

Q

community

understood tself as the

community

of

the end-

time.8

The

presence

in

Q

of sentences

of

holy

law

played

a

decisive

role

in

this

assess-

ment.9

Apocalyptic

sectarianism

s likewise stressed

in

Norman

Perrin's

treatment

f

Q:

The

community

that createdthe source

Q

proclaimed

he

imminent

coming

of Jesus from heaven as

Son of Man and

prepared

for

that

coming,

challenging

others

to do the same. 10

Son of Man

christology

is

key,

providing

the

lens

through

which

both the

present

experience

and the

future

expectations

of the

community

are

interpreted.

The

model for the alienated

Christian who

awaits

the End is the alienated

Son of Man who

has no

home,

and the

hope

of the

alienated Christian

is the

hope

for

the Son of Man who

will

come as

judge

and

Meeting

of the

Society

of Biblical

Literature,

Chicago,

8-

11 December

1984]).

This division of

Q

is based on his

analysis

in

Jesus

in

History:

An

Approach

to the

Study

of

the

Gospels

(2d

ed.;

New

York/Chicago/San

Francisco:

Harcourt,Brace, Jovanovich,

1977)

84-87.

In

the

first edition of

Jesus

in

History

(1970),

Kee divided

Q

into 41

units,

of which

only

three

(Q

11:34-36;

16:13;

17:3-6)

were

purely

didactic

(71).

In

the later

works,

there is no

indicationas to which

11

peri-

copes

are

noneschatological,

although

presumably

he three

above mentioned and

7:1

-10

are to be

included.

8

Siegfried

Schulz,

Q:

Die

Spruchquelle

der

Evangelisten

(Zurich:

Theologischer

Verlag,

1972)

168.

My

translation.

9

Schulz

(Spruchquelle,

33-34)

points

out that most of the

Matthean texts

upon

which

Kasemann built his thesis are

in

fact

Q

texts.

Q

10:23-24;

6:22-23;

12:11-12

reflect

prophetic

enthusiasm;

Q

12:8-9

and 12:10 are

sentences

of

holy

law;

the

eschatological

future

appears

n

sen-

tences such as

Q

10:12, 13-15; 11:31-32;

apocalyptically interpreted

ayings

occur at

Q

6:37;

14:11; 12:2-3; 17:33, and Q has several apocalyptic blessings and curses (6:20-23; 10:13-15;

13:26-27,

28-29).

I have convertedall of Kasemann's

and Schulz's

Mattheancitations

into

Q

[=

Lukan]

versification.

10

Norman

Perrin

and Dennis

C.

Duling,

The New

Testament:

An

Introduction

(2d

ed.;

New

York/Chicago/San

Francisco:

Harcourt,

Brace, Jovanovich,

1982)

73

-

79,

100- 7

(quotation,

p.

75).

289


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HARVARD

THEOLOGICAL

REVIEW

savior. 11

On this

view,

apocalyptic

vindication

of the elect lies at the

heart

of

the

theology

of

Q.

These characterizations f Q arecertainlynot without truth. To leave matters

here, however,

would be

to

obscure other

important

eatures

of

Q

and

indeed

to

miss some

of the

peculiarities

of

Q's

eschatology.

Richard Edwards

rightly

points

to the

significant

contributions

of

Q

from

sapiential

as well as

apocalyptic

and

prophetic

traditions12

and Charles

Carlston's

careful

catalogue

of

the wis-

dom materials

in

Q

demonstrates hat wisdom is

a

basic,

not an

adventitious,

element

in

the

theological

outlook of the

Q

community. '3

At

the same

time,

Carlston

notes

the

relative

paucity

of

writings

in

the late Hellenistic

period

which

give equal

weight

to

both

wisdom and

apocalyptic simultaneously.

Nor-

mally, one becomes a function of the other. Sapiential parenesis occurs in 1

Enoch,

2

Enoch,

and

the

Testament

of

Levi but there it functions within

a

larger

apocalyptic

framework. On the other

hand,

the Wisdom of

Solomon

is

some-

times

called an

apocalyptic

wisdom book 14

n

recognition

of its

use of

apoca-

lyptic

tradition,

especially

the notion of elevation of

the

just

to the

heavenly

sphere

(5:5).15

But the differences

between

wisdom and

apocalyptic

books are

just

as

striking,

even

on

subjects

such as

post-mortem

exaltation where the two

display interesting

similarities.'6 And

while

Daniel

shares some

sapiential

features,

these

belong mainly

to

the

sphere

of

mantic

wisdom,

that

is,

the wis-

dom obtained n dreamsandvisions.17

In

assessing

the natureof

Q's

eschatology,

it

is essential to attendboth to

the

type

of

apocalyptic

motifs

which

Q

evidences and to

the broader

et

of

theologi-

cal

assumptions

within

which these

apocalyptic

themes

function.

'

Ibid.,

106-7.

12

Richard A.

Edwards,

An

Approach

to

a

Theology

of

Q,

JR 51

(1971)

247-69; idem,

A

Theology

of

Q: Eschatology, Prophecy,

and

Wisdom

Philadelphia:

Fortress,

1976).

13

Charles

E.

Carlston,

Wisdom and

Eschatology

in

Q,

in

Joel

Delobel,

ed.,

Logia:

Les

paroles

de Jesus-The Sayingsof Jesus: MemorialJoseph Coppens(BETL59; Leuven: Peeters and Leuven

University

Press,

1982)

101

-

19

(quotation,p.

112).

The

significance

of

sapiential

elements

for

the

assessment of the

genre

of

Q

was

already

identified

by

James

M. Robinson

in

his

1964

essay,

LOGOI

SOPHON:

On the

Gattung

of

Q,

now in idem

and Helmut

Koester,

Trajectories

hrough

Early Christianity

(Philadelphia:

Fortress,

1971)

71-113.

Robinson's

insights

have been carried

further

by

the

present

author

in

The Formation

of

Q: Trajectories

in Ancient Wisdom Collections

(Studies

in

Antiquity

and

Christianity;

Philadelphia:

Fortress,

1987).

14

Johannes

Fichtner,

Die

Stellung

der

Sapientia

Salomonis

in

der Literatur-und Geistes-

geschichte

ihrer

Zeit,

ZNW

36

(1937)

113

-

32.

15

See David

Winston,

The Wisdom

of

Solomon

(AB

43;

Garden

City,

NY:

Doubleday,

1979)

147;

John

J.

Collins,

The

Apocalyptic

Vision

of

the Book

of

Daniel

(HSM

16;

Missoula:

Scholars

Press, 1977)210- 12.

16

See James

M.

Reese,

Hellenistic

Influence

on the Book

of

Wisdom and Its

Consequences

(AnBib

41;

Rome:

PontificalBiblical

Institute,

1970)

62-

71.

17

Hans-Peter

Miiller,

Mantische Weisheit und

Apokalyptik,

Congress

Volume,

Uppsala

(VTSup

22;

Leiden:

Brill,

1972)

268 -93.

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JOHN S. KLOPPENBORG

Of

course,

Q

is

not

an

apocalypse

nor does it contain one.

There is no

vision

or tour of

heaven,

no

angelic

mediator,

no mantic elements. Nor is

Q

interested

in Listenwissenschaftand astral or cosmic secrets. The most obvious apocalyp-

tic

items in

Q's

inventory

of

sayings

are future Son of

Man

sayings.

At

this

point,

however,

we

confront a serious

interpretive question

posed

in

recent

redactionaland

compositional analysis

of

Q.

Independently

of each

other,

and

using

strikingly

different

methods,

Helmut Koester and

Heinz

Schiirmannboth

concluded that Son of Man

sayings

did not

belong

to

the

earliest

strata

of

Q.18

Schiirmann,

n

addition,

argued

that

the Son of Man

sayings

were

not added as

late as the final

assembling

of

Q.

Hence,

these

sayings

characterizeneither the

formative

layers

of

Q

nor the

perspective

of the

final

redaction. This

conclusion

effectively

overturnedHeinz E. T6dt's assertion that Son of Man

Christology

and

Q

belong together

both

in

their

concepts

and

in

their

history

of

tradition.

9

Even if this sort of

apocalypticism

does not

constitute the

impulse

operative

behind

the

initial

or

final

stages

of

Q,

it

is,

of

course,

possible

that at some

point

in

its

development,

Q

breathed

enough

of

the

apocalyptic

atmosphere

o

justify

the characterization f Schulz and Perrin. But

precisely

this

conclusion must be

defended on the basis of two

inquiries.

First,

why

were

apocalyptic

elements

such as the

coming

Son of Man

sayings

absorbed

nto

Q?

And

second,

how did

they

function

in

the

theological

matrix

to which

they

were

secondarily

attached?

In order to

begin

to address these

questions,

we must first look at some of the

formativeelements

in

Q.20

Eschatological

Wisdom n

Q

In

any

accounting

of

Q,

sapiential

elements

play

a

major

role. It is

difficult to

miss the

pervasive eschatological

tenor of

these wisdom

elements.21 But

it

is

another

question

whether

the

term

apocalyptic

s an

accurate

characterizationor

the

redeployment

of

these

wisdom

materials.

18

See Helmut

Koester,

Apocryphal

and

Canonical

Gospels,

HTR 78

(1980)

112-14;

Heinz

Schiirmann,

Beobachtungen

zum

Menschensohn-Titel n

der

Redequelle,

in

Rudolf Pesch

and

Rudolf

Schnackenburg,

eds.,

Jesus und der

Menschensohn: Fur

Anton

Vogtle

(Freiburg/

Basel/Vienna:

Herder

&

Herder,

1975)

124-47;

reprinted

Gottesreich-Jesu

Geschick: Jesu

ureigener

Tod im Licht

seiner

Basileia-Verkundigung

Freiburg/Basel/Vienna:

Herder

&

Herder,

1983)

153-82.

19

Heinz Eduard

Todt,

The

Son

of

Man in the

Synoptic

Tradition

(trans.

D. M.

Barton;

London:

SCM,

1965)

269.

20

For a discussion of the formativecomponentsof Q, see John S. Kloppenborg, The Formation

of

Q

and

Antique

Instructional

Genres,

JBL 105

(1986)

443-62.

21

Similarly

Edwards,

Approach,

259, 261;

Carlston,

Wisdom

and

Eschatology,

112-13;

John Dominic

Crossan,

In

Fragments:

The

Aphorisms

of

Jesus

(San

Francisco:

Harper

&

Row,

1983)

129-30.

291


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One

example

sufficiently

illustrates he

thoroughlyeschatological

use of wis-

dom materials. The instruction

concerning anxiety

in the

face

of

persecution

Q

12:2-12) begins with the wisdom sentence, There is nothingcovered up that

will not be

revealed,

and hidden that

will

not be known

(Q

12:2).

Although

it

is conceivable

that

this

saying originated

as a secular

proverboffering

the

banal

observation

everything

eventually

comes

to

light,

it is

certainly

not used in

that

way

here. Instead

Q

12:2

provides

the ultimate warrant or

preaching

(Q

12:3)22

nd for

enduring

he

physical

abuse

which

may

attend

such

preaching

(Q

12:4-7,

11

-12).

The wisdom

sentence about inevitable

disclosure here refers

to

the ineluctable disclosure

of the

Kingdom,

and it is

the

very inevitability,

expressed

aphoristically,

hat

impels

and

justifies

such

preaching.

Thus wisdom

is set in the eschatologicalcontext of the manifestationof the Kingdomand con-

versely,

the

coming

or

presence

of the

Kingdom

is

expressed

by

means

of

sapiential

ogic.

Expectations

associated

with the

coming

and

presence

of the

Kingdom pro-

vide the sanction

for much

of

Q's

instructionalmaterial

and

in

this

regard

Q

is

thoroughly permeated

by

eschatology.

Nevertheless it is

important

to ask

whether

the

presence

of

an

eschatological

horizon

justifies

the

label

apocalyp-

tic.

In this

respect

two observations

are crucial.

First,

much of

the

specialized

vocabulary

of

apocalypticism

and

even

some

of

its

central

presuppositions

are

absentfrom largeportionsof Q. And second, in those sections which do reflect

apocalyptic

idiom,

the restraint

and

high

degree

of

selectivity

in

Q's

use

of

apocalyptic

language

and

assumptions

are

striking,

and

require

some

explana-

tion.

Nonapocalyptic

Configurations

n

Q

In

his

analysis

of

eschatology

in

the

Sermonon the

Mount

and

the Sermon on

the

Plain,23

Hans Dieter

Betz observed

that the Lukan

Sermon on the

Plain

(which is closer in extent

and

construction

o

Q

than is Matthew's

sermon)24

s

nonapocalyptic

in idiom

and

projects

a

soteriology

based

on

enlightenment

through

education

in the

ethics

of Jesus.

The use of

apocalyptic

topoi

does not

go

beyond

the

traditional,

onventional,

even

stereotypical.

This

verdict

is even

clearer

for

the

Q

inaugural

sermon

(Q

6:20b-49)

than

it is for Luke's

sermon,

which contains

several

redactional

elements

which

Q

lacks,

such as

in that

day

(Luke 6:23)

and the

now

...

then

schema

of

eschatological

rewardand

22

With

Harack

(Sayings

of

Jesus,

83),

Frans

Neirynck

( Recent

Developments

in the

Study

of

Q, Logia [see n. 13]),andothers,I reconstructQ following Matt10:27.

23

Hans

Dieter

Betz,

Eschatology

in the

Sermon

on the Mount

and the Sermon

on the

Plain,

SBLASP

24

(1985)

343

-

50.

24

Betz

himself

evidently

assumes

a rather

complex

relationship

between the

two

sermons

and

Q

since

he

argues

that both were

discrete

pre-Synoptic

and

presumably,pre-Q)

compositions.

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reversal.25

For Betz the

striking

ack of

apocalypticism

n the

Lukansermon

per-

mits the

supposition

that it was

formulated

at a time

before

apocalypticism

became a burning ssue or, conceivably, in a context in which apocalypticteach-

ing

was still

regarded

as a kind of arcanumreserved

for the

initiated.26

What Betz finds for the Sermon on the Plain

holds mutatis

mutandis or

the

Q

inaugural

sermon

and for several

other sections of

Q

as well.

The

instructionon

prayer

(Q

11:2-4,

9-13)

obviously

contains

eschatological

features:

mention

of the

coming

of the

Kingdom

(11:2),

and the

final

petition

that

Christiansnot be

led into

testing

(netpaoaoi6).

But such references are

quite general

and

in

the

present

context

they

serve to dramatizethe

transformation f

human

existence

expected

when the absolute

dependence

of human life

and the

universe on

God

is brought o consciousness.27The constructionof the unit in Q, with the essen-

tially sapiential

admonitionsand illustrations n

11:9-13,28

directs

attention

not

to

apocalyptic

iberation

n

the

future,

but instead

towards

God's

sustaining

help

in

the

present.29

Much the same can

be said of

Q

12:22-34.

While attention

s

directedto the

Kingdom

(Q

12:31),

the verb used in this

context,

to seek

(~rqT?o),

does not

belong

in

the orbit of

apocalyptic language

but with

sapiential

usage.30

Again,

the instructiondoes not look

forward to an

apocalyptic

deliverance,

nor

are its

admonitions framed with the

judgment

in view.

When

the

instruction

advises

not to treasure up treasures on earth (12:33-34), it does so not on the

assumption

that

temporal acquisitions

will

eventually

be

destroyed

apocalypti-

cally

as,

for

example,

seems

to be

implied

in 1

Cor 6:13:

Food is for

the

belly

and the

belly

for food-and

God

will

destroy

both

one

and the other.

Instead,

its counsel is

based on the

inherently

transitory

characterof

material

posses-

sions.

An

eschatological

horizon

is,

in

general

terms,

evident

here but the

meta-

phors

of the

Kingdom

and

incorruptible

heavenly

treasure

serve

primarily

to

25

See John S. Kloppenborg, Blessing and Marginality:The 'PersecutionBeatitude'in Q, Tho-

mas and

Early

Christian

Tradition,

Foundationsand

Facets Forum

2/3

(1986)

36-56.

26

Betz,

Eschatology,

350.

27

See Amos Niven

Wilder,

The

Symbolic

Realism of Jesus'

Language,

in

idem,

Jesus'

Par-

ables and the War

of Myths: Essays

on

Imagination

in the

Scriptures

(ed.

James

Breech;

Philadel-

phia:

Fortress,

1982)

133

-

52.

28

See the

excellent

formal

analysis

of this cluster

of

sayings by

Ronald A.

Piper,

Matthew

7,7-

11

Par. Luke

11,9

-

13:

Evidence of

Design

and

Argument

n

the Collection

of Jesus'

Sayings,

Logia

[seen.

13]

411

-

18.

29

Some of the

components

of

Q

11:2

-4,

9

-

13

may

have been

transmitted

by

and

for

itinerant

preachers

who

depended absolutely

upon providential

provision.

The

present

composition,

with

its

petition concerningforgiveness and its catechetical flavor is consistent with an ecclesial Sitz. See

Schiirmann,

Das

Zeugnis

der

Redenquelle

fur

die

Basileia-Verkiindigung

esu,

Logia

[see

n.

13]

151.

30

See Joachim

Jeremias,

New

Testament

Theology,

vol 1: The

Proclamation

of

Jesus

(trans.

John

Bowden;

London:

SCM,

1971)

33,

and cf.

Prov

8:32-35;

Sir

6:27-28; 51:28;

Wis 6:12.

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undergird

the

appeal

to utter

dependence

on

God's

providential

care

in

the

present.

Q's

Use

of

Apocalyptic

Language

The label

apocalyptic implies,

of

course,

that a

significant

number

of

features

characteristicof

apocalypticism

are

either

expressly

stated or

in

some

obvious

manner

presupposed.

While most authorsare

appropriately

hesitant to

attempt

a

comprehensive

and

universally

valid definitionof

apocalypticism,

ew

would

disagree

that

several features are more or less

constant.

1)

Spatial

and

temporal

dualism is

key, expressed

on the one

hand

in

the

acknowledgment of heavenly and nonhuman realities, supernaturalbeings,

angels,

and

demons,

usually

accompanied by

a

relative

denigration

of

the

ulti-

mate

significance

of human

willing

and action.

Explanations

of the

ultimate

causes

of human

sinfulness,

answers

to the

problem

of

theodicy

and

the forces

impelling

human

history

are

found

in this

spatially

transcendent

ealm.

Temporal

dualism

is

expressed,

on

the

other

hand,

in

the

idea

of

two

ages,

or

the

coming

of a new earth or

the

like. The

implication

that the two

ages

are

discontinuous

is usual

in

Jewish

apocalyptic, though

at

Qumran

and

in

some

expressions

of

primitive Christianity

apocalyptic

characterizations re

extended

to both the immediatepastandthe present,thereby mplyingan interpenetration

of

the two

ages.31

It should be

noted,

however,

that

not

all

apocalyptic systems

expect

divine

intervention

n

an

empirically

verifiable

manner,

for

example, by

the

establishing

of

a

Kingdom

of

God

on

earth.

The Testament

of

Abrahamand

3 Baruch

expect

rewardand redressafter death.

2)

A

central

apocalyptic assumption

is that the cosmos is

in

a state of

disorder

or anomie

and

accordingly,

human

affairs are

characterized

by pessi-

mism and alienation.

JonathanSmith

puts

it thus: The

wrong king

is on

the

throne,

the

cosmos

will

be

thereby destroyed,

and the

right god

will

either

restoreproperkingship(his terrestrial ounterpart) r will assumekingshiphim-

self. 32

This

loss

of world

is

dramatized

by

reports

or

predictions

of serious

dysfunctions

in

natural

processes, physical

and

social

degeneration,

moral and

cultural

ailure,

apostasy among

the

faithful,

and

persecution

of

God's remnant.

31

See Elisabeth Schiissler

Fiorenza,

The

Phenomenon of

Early

Christian

Apocalyptic:

Some

Reflections

on

Method,

in David

Hellholm,

ed.,

Apocalypticism

n

the Mediterranean

World

and

the Near East (Tiibingen:Mohr-Siebeck,1983) 295

-

316.

32

Jonathan

Z.

Smith,

A Pearl of Great

Price

and

a

Cargo

of Yams:

A

Study

in

Situational

Incongruity,

HR

16

(1976)

1-19

(quotation,

p.

8);

similarly,

John

J.

Collins,

Cosmos and Salva-

tion:

Jewish Wisdom and

Apocalyptic

n the

Hellenistic

Age,

HR

17

(1977)

121

-42;

Paul

D.

Han-

son,

Apocalypticism,

IDBSup

1976)

28-34.

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3)

The erosion

and forfeiture

of all inheritedstructures

mplies

that

humanity

is without the

resources for

its own

recovery.

The

only possibility

remaining

involves, as Amos Wilderputs it, a resort to precultural patterns-to archaic

motifs

and to

language

devoid of

personal

and current

sociocultural eatures. 33

This is the

language

of new

creation,

resurrection,

onflagration,

universal

udg-

ment visited

not

only upon

humankind,

but

upon

the entire cosmos

and its

in-

habitantsand

effected

largely

by

nonhuman

agencies.

4)

Historical determinism

is usual

too,

expressed variously by

means

of

schematic

divisions of

history,

indications of the

signs

of the

times,

and,

occasionally,

numeric

patterns

which

permit

actual calculation

of the time of the

end.

5)

The social function served

by apocalypticism

s, in broadterms,exhorta-

tion or consolation.

While one cannot conclude that all

apocalyptic

systems

arose

during

a time of

persecution,

there is no doubt that

many

of our

examples

did.34

Anomic

phenomena

such as those

arising

from

persecution

ind theirreso-

lution

in an

imaginative

constructof

the futureand of the

true

meaning

of the

present.

Revelation of the

mysteries concerning

the

transcendent ealm and

the

manner

in

which

it

impinges

upon

human existence and

disclosures about

the

coming

end

may

serve to recommend a

particular

course

of action

designed

to

effect

redemption,

for

example,

revolutionary

engagement

or withdrawl

from

society.

But such disclosures

may

also resolve anomic

phenomena

without

any

obvious

promise

of

immediate

relief,

as is the case

in

those

apocalyptic systems

which

promise

only post-mortem

vindicationat the

judgment.

Redemption

may

be

operative,

but

in an

empirically

nonverifiable

way.35

In

this

instance,

the

apocalyptic

imagination

serves to make

perseverance

n

the midst of

crisis

pos-

sible. John J. Collins remarks:

[Apocalyptic technique] provides

a

resolution

in the

imagination by instilling

conviction

in

the

revealed

'knowledge'

that it

imparts.

The function of

apocalyptic

literature

s

to

shape

one's

imaginative

perception

of

a situation and so

lay

the basis for

whatever course of

action it

exhorts.

36

33

Wilder,

Apocalyptic

Rhetorics,

Jesus' Parables and

the

War

of Myths,

153-68

(quotation,

p.

157).

34

See

George

W. E.

Nickelsburg,

Social

Aspects

of Palestinian

Jewish

Apocalypticism,

in

Hellholm

(ed.),

Apocalypticism

n the Mediterranean

World,

641-54;

John

J.

Collins,

The

Sym-

bolism of Transcendence n

Jewish

Apocalyptic,

BR

19

(1974)

8.

35See PeterL. Berger,TheSacred Canopy:Elementsof a Sociological Theory of Religion (Gar-

den

City,

NY:

Doubleday,

1969)

70-71.

36

John J.

Collins,

The

Apocalyptic Imagination:

An Introduction o

the Jewish

Matrix

of

Chris-

tianity

(New

York:

Crossroad,

1984)

32. See also David

Hellholm,

The Problem

of

Apocalyptic

Genre and the

Apocalypse

of

John,

SBLASP

21

(1982)

166-68.

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Takenas a

whole,

Q

reflects

some,

but not

all,

of these features.

Obviously

Q's perspective is framed both spatially by transcendent realities-heaven

(6:23;

12:33),

hell or Hades

(10:5; 12:5),

Sophia

(7:35; 11:49),

the

Son

of

Man

(12:8-9,

10, 40,

etc.),

angels

(12:8-9),

demons

(11:14-26),

and the

devil

(4:1

-

13)-and

temporally

by

the

coming judgment

(3:7-9;

10:13-15;

11:31-32;

22:28-30),

the

destructionof the

impenitent

at the Parousia

(3:17;

17:26-30),

and

the

eschatological

meal

in the

Kingdom

(13:28-29;

cf.

14:16-24).

Consistent

with

apocalyptic

idiom,

the Parousia marks an

abrupt

termination

of the

present

age.

However for

Q,

as for some other

expressions

of

Christian

apocalypticism,

the

present

already partakes

of

eschatological

reali-

ties.

That the

community representedby

Q

experienced

what it described as

per-

secution

is

clear,

and

in

this

respect

Q

seems to cohere with one

typical

situation

in which

apocalypticismplayed

a

major

role.

In

fact it

appears

that

what is at

issue

is the

rejection

(and

possibly

the

abuse)

of missionaries

ratherthan overt

persecution

of the entire

community.

All

three

explicit

references to

persecution

or abuse

(6:22-23;

11:49-51;

13:34-35)

occur

alongside

the mention of the

prophets

and the

two

sayings implying

the

possibility

of abuse

in

10:3

and

12:4-7

are both aimed

in the first instance at missionaries.

It is a moot

point

whetherthe

community

as such

experienced

social

pressure

to the

degree

that

Daniel's

addressees

did,

although

to be

sure,

apocalyptic

can function

in

situa-

tions

besides those

of

socio-political

pressure

and overt

religious persecution.

Interestingly,

or

Q

this

persecution

or

rejection

is traced not to some tran-

scendent

cause

such as demonic

oppression,

astral

influence,

or the hostile

efforts

of

angels

of the

nations,

but

to the historical

pattern

of Israel's

per-

secution

of

the

prophets

6:23;

11:49-51;

13:34-35).37

Both

the

impending

judgment

and

the destruction of the

impenitent

loom

large

in

Q

and the

catastrophic

destruction

of the

world,

at

least,

is visualized

by

means of the

primal

elements of fire

(3:9,

17; 12:49;

17:29)

and flood

(17:27).

Historical

determinism

is

implicit

in

regard

to both the

eschatological

events

which have

already

occurred

(10:23-24)

and those

which are

yet

to occur.

Accordingly,

there

is mention of

the wrath to come

(3:7),

the one

who is

to

come

(3:16;

13:35),

the

coming

of the Son of Man

(12:40;

17:24),

signs

of the

times

(12:54-56),

and

the

punishment

to be visited

on this

generation

(11:51).

But

there is also assurance

hat the

plight

of the

poor,

hungry,

and

per-

secuted

will be reversed

(6:20b-

23).

37

On this see

Arland

D.

Jacobson,

Wisdom

Christology

n

Q

(Ph.D.

diss.,

ClaremontGraduate

School,

1978);

idem,

The

LiteraryUnity

of

Q,

JBL

101

(1982)

365

-

89.

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JOHN

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Notable

by

their

absence are

several

crucial

apocalyptic

features.

Although

persecution

and

rejection

are

part

of

Q's

experience,

there is little evidence of

the sense of anomie characteristicof apocalypticism. This generation may

be

oblivious and

unreceptive

o

the

message

of

Q's

preachers,

demon

possession

may

be a

possibility

(11:24-26),

and

the

pursuit

of

wealth and

security

may

be

fundamentally

opposed

to the

reign

of God

(12:33-34; 16:13),

but the

wrong

king

is not

on the throne and the cosmos

is

not

in

revolt or

decay.

Q

still

speaks

of God's

intimate involvement in creation in

quite positive

terms: God

feeds

and clothes

both birds and

flowers

(12:24-27)

and attends to the fate of

spar-

rows

(12:6).

Instead of the

spectre

of a

topsy-turvy

cosmos,

Q

appeals

to

the

normalcy

of

biological

and social

processes.

Good

speech

is

to

be

expected

from virtuous persons just as good produce comes from healthy trees

(6:43-45);

discipleship

can be

compared

to

prudent

house

construction

(6:47-49);

prayer

is

illustrated

by

the

ordinary

ransactionsof human

families

(11:11-13)

and the

startling

growth

of the

Kingdom

is

visualized in

the ordi-

nary biological processes

of the

growth

of the

mustard and

yeast

(13:18-19;

20:21).

An

obvious

analogy

for this use

of

sapiential

argumentation

s

provided

by

the introduction o

the Enochic Book of Watchers

(I

Enoch

1-36).

1

Enoch

2.1- 5.3 is

a

series

of

examples

drawn from

nature

demonstrating

he

regularity

of naturalprocesses and the obedience of astral and meteorological phenomena

(2.1-3;

4.1),

trees

(3.1;

5.1),

and the seas

(5.3)

to the

commands of their

crea-

tor. These

are cited to

provide

a

contrast to the

disobedience

of

the wicked

to

God's laws and to

justify

the

judgmentpronounced

upon

them.

As

is

the case

with

Q,

these

sapientialappeals

to

nature

are set

in

an eschato-

logical

context.

The

eschatology

of the

introduction,however,

is

not

heavily

apocalyptic.

James VanderKam

n

fact doubts that the

term

is

appropriate

o

chaps.

1-5:

One shouldnotethat here s nosurvey f worldhistory, oeffort oorgan-

ize

it into

epochs,

and

no

detailing

f finalwoes. The

only

eschatological

event of

importance

s the

judgment.

As a

result,

hough

Enoch

earns

of

the future

hrough

vision,

t

seems

nappropriate

o

label

1

Enoch

1-

5

an

apocalypse

r

its

contents

pocalypticschatology.

These

chapters

tand

n

the

traditionf Israel's

prophets

ndwise men.38

In

his discussion of the

characterization f

apocalypticism,

Betz stresses

that

apocalyptic

should not be

defined

in

terms of

sets

of

literary

elements

(e.g.,

pseudonymity,

visions,

historical

surveys)

nor in

terms

of

sets of

theological

motifs

(e.g., pessimism,

dualism,

determinism),

but

by

means of the

underly-

38

James

C.

VanderKam,

Enoch

and

the

Growth

of

an

Apocalyptic

Tradition

(CBQMS

16;

Wash-

ington,

DC: Catholic Biblical

Association,

1984)

119.

297


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ing problem.

This,

for

Betz,

is

the

pollution

of

the elements

caused

by

bloodshed and the

entrapment

of

humankind

which

is its result.

Man stands

'ensnared n himself, helpless in a hostile world devouringandpenetratinghim

completely.'

39

What

propels

the Book of Watchers nto the

orbit of

apocalyp-

ticism is

the

account

of the

origin

of

violence and fornication

n I

Enoch

6- 11.

This

section traces these

pollutions

to

angelic agents

and

represents

the entire

earth

as

corrupted

and

oppressed

by

the fallen

angels.

Unable to

help

itself,

the

earthaccuses

its

oppressors

and cries to God

for

deliverance

(7.6;

8.4;

9.2,

10).40

In

the

face

of the

pervasive pollution

of the

cosmos,

humankind

s

helpless

and

lost.

Redemption

can

only

come from the

deity,

who

rules over the elemen-

tary

and celestial

spirits.

God's

saving

acts result

in

the

'purification'

of

the

earth,the restitutionof righteousnessand

worship

of the deity

among

men, and

the announcement

of

an era of

paradise. 41

The

mythic

account of

primeval

fall

and

eschatological

deliverance

becomes

the lens

through

which the Enochic

group

interprets

he

violence

and

oppression

which it

experiences,

and

the

vehi-

cle

of

imagination

in

which anomic

phenomena

are resolved and

pollution

is

removed.42

Hence,

the

sapiential

unit

in

1

Enoch 2.1-5.3

has

been

set within a

frame-

work

which

evinces the

apocalyptic

problems

of

anomie, disorder,

and

pollu-

tion.

By

contrast,

it

is

precisely

this sense of

anomie,

of

devastating

and

ines-

capable pollution,

of demonicdominationwhich is not evidenced in

Q.

It is

true that

in

Q's

temptation

story

the devil claims to be able to deliver to

Jesus all the

kingdoms

of the earth and their

glory

(4:5-7).

This

statement,

however,

must be

interpreted

n

accordancewith the function

of

the

story

in

Q.

As the

varying

uses to

which the

account has

been

put amply

demonstrate,

he

temptationstory

is

polyvalent

and

permits

many applications:

as a

paradigm

of

obedience,

as

a

polemic

against

false

christologies,

as a

recapitulation

f

Israel's

wilderness

experience,

to mention

only

a few. It

is

unjustified

o

interpret

he

story

of

Q

on the

analogy

of the function

of Mark 1:12- 13-as the

inauguration

of the

eschatological struggle

in

which Satan

and his minions are bound and the

Kingdom

manifest43

-because

Q

elsewhere shows

such little interest

in

39

Hans

Dieter

Betz,

On the Problem

of the

Religio-Historical

Understanding

of

Apocalypti-

cism,

JTC

6

(1969)

148.

The

quotation

s

from Hans

Jonas,

Gnosis

und

spdtantiker

Geist,

1. Die

mythologische

Gnosis

(3d

ed.;

FRLANT

51;

Gottingen:

Vandenhoeck

&

Ruprecht,

1964)

199.

40

See

George

W. E.

Nickelsburg, Apocalyptic

and

Myth

in

1

Enoch

6-11,

JBL

96

(1977)

383

-405.

41

Betz,

Apocalypticism,

148.

Betz

demonstrates

he

linkages

between

1

Enoch,

Revelation,

and the HermeticKore Kosmou.

42

See

Nickelsburg, Apocalyptic

and

Myth,

390-91;

Collins,

Apocalyptic

Imagination,

36-46.

43

See James

M.

Robinson,

The Problem

of History

in Mark

(SBT

1/21;

London:

SCM,

1975)

21 -32.

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exorcisms, demons,

and Satan

(occurring

only

at

Q 11:14-26).

Instead,

the

story

functions

both

paradigmatically,

llustrating

he

virtues which

Q

elsewhere

enjoins, and as the qualifying test of the sage, an element which belongs

firmly

within the

range

of constituentfeatures of

antique

wisdom

collections.44

Although

in

another

context,

the devil's claim could be

taken as

indicative

of

a

demonic

interpretation

f

the

Imperium

Romanum,45

he function

of the

Q

story

does

nothing

to

promote

such a

view,

and

in

fact

Q

11:3-4,

9

-

13;

12:4-7,

and

12:22-31

suggest

that

the cosmos

is still in

divine control.

Also absent

from

Q

are

the rather

typical

apocalyptic

tableaux

depicting

natural

disastersand

astralevents

(Mark

13:8,

24-25;

Rev

6:12-17;

Did.

16.6)

and

the

apostasy

of the faithful

(Matt

24:10;

Did.

16.3-4;

2

Thess

2:3;

Mart.

Isa. 3.21; Apoc. Peter 2, 5). Insteadof apostasy,Q stressesthe

continuingrejec-

tion

of

God's

messengers

by

Israel.

And

as

already

mentioned,

while

the

motif

of

persecution

of

the faithful is

present,

it

appears

hat

Q

has

invoked

an

apoca-

lyptic

topos

as

a means of

interpreting

he

rejection

of

its

missionarypreaching.

The

apocalyptic

topos

of

the division

of families

appears

in

Q

12:51-53.

But

in

contrast

to

1

Enoch

99.5;

100.2;

2

Apoc.

Bar.

70.2,

and Mark

13:12,

unnatural

amily

relations

are not

represented

as

signs

of

the

approach

of

the

end

but as

the result of Jesus' call. The focus is not

upon

the

decay

of

society

in

general,

but

upon

the divisive effects

of the

responding

to the call of

the

King-

dom. Martin

Hengel

rightly

relates

Q

12:51-53 to

Q

14:26 which calls for the

readiness

to abandon home and

hearth.46To

this

can

be added

Q

9:57-58,

where the

Son

of

Man himself

provides

the

paradigm

of

detachment,

and

Q

9:59-60,

61-62,

where similar behavior

is

demanded

of

disciples.

Thus an

apocalyptic image

is redirectedand used in a manner

which

infuses

the

idea of

discipleship

with

eschatological

content

without

thereby

subscribing

o

an

apoc-

alyptic

timetable.

Perhaps

most

surprising

of all

is

Q's

restraintwhen

describing

the

positive

outcome

of

eschatological

intervention. While

there is a virtual

avalanche of

images concerning

the

judgment

and destructionof the

impenitent,

there

is

no

mention at all of the

resurrection,

and

only

passing

reference to the

motifs

of

cosmic

transformation, e-creation,restoration,

and the like.

This is

surprising

44

For a detailed

exposition

of this

interpretation,

ee Dieter

Zeller,

Die

Versuchungen

Jesu

in

der

Logienquelle,

TThZ89

(1980)

61

-

73;

Kloppenborg,

Formation

of

Q,

246

-

62.

45

See Schiirmann,Das Lukasevangelium(HThKNT 3/1; Freiburg/Basel/Vienna:Herder &

Herder,

1969)

1.

211,

219.

46

Martin

Hengel,

The Charismatic

Leader

and His

Followers

(trans.

J.

Grieg;

New York:

Crossroad,

1981)

13.

Similarly,

Dieter

Zeller,

Kommentar

zur

Logienquelle

(Stuttgarter

kleiner

Kommentar,

Neues

Testament

21;

Stuttgart:

Katholisches

Bibelwerk,

1984)

74.

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because of the

high frequency

with

which the motif

of

cosmic transformation

(and

to

a lesser

extent,

resurrection)

ccurs

in Jewish

apocalypses.47

The contrast s starkwhen Q is

compared

with other

expressions

of

primitive

Christian

apocalyptic.

As the

conclusion

of the

first

apocalyptic

scenario,

Mark

13

describes the

angelic gathering

of the faithful

(13:27).

First

Thessalonians

contains a

lengthy

list

of

positive

motifs: deliverance from

the

coming

wrath

(1:10);

invitation

to

God's own

kingdom

and

glory

(2:12);

resurrec-

tion of the Christiandead

(4:16);

gathering up

of the

living

(4:17);

and

eternal

presence

in the

Lord

(4:18).

Second

Thessalonians,

whether Pauline or

not,

echoes

the motif of

gathering up (6jcnp

...

1lCit&v crnvayoyivay

nt'

axrtv,

2:1)

and Didache

16

speaks

of

resurrection,

nd

possibly

of final

recompense

for

all.48

The first beatitudes

n

Q

(6:20b-21)

indeed

imply

some

sort

of

transforma-

tion

in

their assertionthat the situation

of

the

poor, hungry,

and

disconsolate

will

be

(or

is

already)

reversed.

The

reference

is,

however,

quite

vague.

Eschatolog-

ical vindication

in

the form of

participation

n

the

judgment

(cf.

1

Cor

6:3)

is

promised

by

Q

22:28

-

30

and the motif of

gathering up

might

be

present

in

nuce

in

3:17

(Kai

oruvdtcet

tv

oirov

e?i;

tlv

&axo0frclv Xoi).

However,

it

is

worth

noting

that the context

is one of a

judgment

oracle

(3:7-9, 16-17)

and

the

emphasis

falls not

upon

the

promise

of

salvation,

but

squarely upon

the

threatof

fiery

destruction.This is the case with

every

other mention of the

posi-

tive outcome

of

eschatological

intervention:

Q

12:8-9,

42-46; 13:28-29;

19:12

-

27. Each

positive

statement

s

buried

within

sayings

and contexts which

pronounce

doom

on

those

who

reject

the

preaching

of

the

Q

preachers,49

nd

those who

are

not

adequately

prepared

n the face

of the

Parousia.

47

See John J.

Collins,

The

Jewish

Apocalypses,

Semeia

14

(1979)

28,

and the

summaries

on

pp.

29

-49.

In

early

Christian

apocalypses, though

some

form

of belief

in

the afterlife is

constant,

the

motif of cosmic transformation

s

considerably

less

frequent

than that of the

judgment

of

the

wicked/world.

See Adela Yarbro

Collins,

The

Early

Christian

Apocalypses,

Semeia

14

(1979)

104-5.

48

Elsewhere

I

have

argued

that

the

core of Did.

16.2-8 is

pre-Matthean

nd

in

fact a source for

Matthew

24;

see

John S.

Kloppenborg,

Didache 16:6-8 and

Special

Matthean

Tradition,

ZNW70

(1979)

54-67. Because of the

abruptness

of the

ending

of

Did. 16.8

and

paleographic

peculiarities,

Jean-PaulAudet has

argued

that the

Bryennios manuscript

Hierosolymitanus

4)

is

incomplete

(La

Didache.

Instructionsdes

ap6tres

[EtBib;

Paris:

Gabalda,

1958]

73

-74).

Both the

Apostolic

Consti-

tutions 7.32

and

the

Georgian

version of the Didache have

longer endings

mentioning

rewardand

punishment

according

to one's deeds. See G.

Peradse,

Die Lehre der

zwolf

Apostel

in

der

geor-

gischen

Uberlieferung,

ZNW

31

(1932)

11

-

16.

49

Dieter Liihrmann ightly regards12:8-9 not simply as a warning against apostasy,but as an

oracle directed

at those who hear the

message

of

the

preachers

exhorted

in

12:2-7,

11-12

(Die

Redaktion

der

Logienquelle

[WMANT

23;

Neukirchen-Vluyn:

Neukirchener

Verlag,

1969]

52).

Nonresponse

to

preaching

s

probably

also the cause for exclusion

in

13:28-29,

esp.

given

the con-

text

of 13:26-27

+

13:34-35

+

14:16-24.

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We are

faced,

then,

with several curiosities: the use of

apocalyptic anguage,

but little evidence

of the basic conviction that the cosmos

is

disordered;

the

redeploymentof certainapocalyptictopoi along new lines; and a strikingdispro-

portion

of

threatening anguage

when

compared

with

comforting

and

consoling

motifs.

The anomalous

character

of

Q's

use of

apocalyptic imagery

is

illustrated

by

Q

17:23-37.

Although

Hans Conzelmann named this cluster of

sayings

the

Logia apocalypse, 50

the differences between

Q's

apocalyptic

sayings

and

mini-apocalypses

such as Mark

13,

Matthew

24,

Didache

16,

and

2

Thessaloni-

ans

2

are

more

striking

than the similarities. Unlike these

apocalypses,

there is

nothing approaching

a narrative

presentation

of

the

eschatological

events. No

clear sequentialrelationshipamong the various items is established nor is there

any

indication

of

the relation of the

eschatological

events to

the reader's own

time. Connectives

such as

xToT,

era

rtaira,

iorav '6Tre

axiXra

ivo6g?va51

re

wanting

and,

in

fact,

the

purpose

of the cluster is

to

reject

out of

hand

any

resort

to

apocalyptic

imetables.

The

cluster

comprises

two

groups

of

three

sayings

(17:23,

24,

37b);52

and

17:26-27, 38-30,

34-35),

some of which

may

have

circulated

ndependently

prior

to the construction

of

Q

17:23-37. The initial

saying,

Q

17:23,

offers a

variant

of Mark

13:21

but is

explicated

along

ratherdifferent ines. The

Markan

version is imbedded n a list of signs of the End (13:5-8, 19-23) andtreats

the

proclamation

8e )5e 6

XptarTO;,

'6e

EKEi

s the claim of

false christs

and

50

Hans

Conzelmann,

An Outline

of

the

Theology

of

the New

Testament

(trans.

John

Bowden;

London:

SCM,

1969)

135.

Similarly

Erich

Grasser,

Das Problem der

Parusieverzogerung

n

den

synoptischen

Evangelien

und in der

Apostelgeschichte

BZNW

33;

3d

ed.;

Berlin: De

Gruyter,

1977)

170;

Schulz,

Spruchquelle,

277.

Wolfgang

Schenk

(Synopse

zur

Redenquelle

der

Evangelisten

[Dusseldorf:

Patmos,

1981]

120)

calls this

section Die zweite und

abschliessende

Endzeitrede

(the

first

being

Q

12:39-13:21).

I

have used Conzelmann's

designation

n

my

Formation

of

Q

(see

n. 13).

51

'Ev

Kceivvn

Tj

T/iepq

in

Luke 17:31 is

Lukan,

used to connect

the

Q

material

with

Mark

13:15-16.

See Rudolf

Schnackenburg,

Der

eschatologische

Abschnitt

Lukas

17,20-37,

in

idem,

Schriften

zum Neuen Testament

Munich:

Kosel,

1971)

231;

Josef

Zmijewski,

Die

Eschatolo-

giereden

des

Lukas-Evangeliums

BBB

40;

Bonn:

Hanstein,

1972)

473-78.

To6e

in

Matt

24:40 is

likewise redactional.

Taizn

Trf

viucKx

n

Luke

17:34

may

be redactional

cf.

12:20)

but

even

if

it

does

belong

to

Q

(thus

Schnackenburg,

Der

eschatologische

Abschnitt, 233;

A.

Strobel,

In

dieser Nacht

(Luk 17:34):

Zu einer ilteren Form der

Erwartung

n Lk

17,20- 37,

ZThK

58

[1961]

20),

it serves

only

to attach this

saying

to

17:26-27

(28-30)

rather than

to

imply

a

narrative

sequence.

52

There is

disagreement

between Matthew and Luke

in

the relative

placement

of

Q

17:37. Todt

plausibly suggests (Sonof Man,38) that Luke moved 17:37b to eliminatethe infelicitousassociation

of the Son of

Man

with the

image

of

carrion-eating

irds. Luke

17:33 does not

belong

to

the context

of

Q

17:23-37 at all but instead

comes from

a

cluster of

discipleship sayings

in

Matt

10:37

-

39/Luke

14:26

-

27;

17:33.

See on this

Rudolf

Laufen,

Die

Doppeliiberlieferung

der

Logien-

quelle

und des

Markusevangeliums

BBB

54;

Bonn:

Hanstein,

1980)

318

-

20.

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false

prophets,

and

indeed,

as

emanating

from

Christian circles.53 For

Q

the

problem

of false

prophets

does not

appear

o

be

so

urgent

nor is there

any

antici-

pation that Christianprophetswill embrace a heretical eschatology. It neither

dignifies

the false

opinion by ascribing

t to

prophetic igures,

nor

does

it

accord

it a

position

within

an

apocalyptic

timetable. The traditional

warning against

messianic

pretenders-a

warning

which

may

well have

become a

commonplace

reflecting

the

continuing

resistance

to

Roman

occupation-is

cited

only

to sub-

vert

all such claims.

Q's

principal

nterest

emerges only

in the

following

verse.

The

Son of

Man will

appear

in

a

spectacular,heavenly,

and

unavoidably

obvi-

ous

manner

(17:24).54

There

will

be

no

mistaking

it. This is reinforced

by

the

eagle saying

(17:37b)

which evokes not

only

the idea

of aerial

visibility

but

also the

proverbial

swiftness and surenesswith which an

eagle

locates

prey

(cf.

Job

39:30).

Incidentally,

this

saying

creates

the

spectre

not

of

joyful

liberation

at the

Parousia,

but

of

swift

and

unexpected

death.

The

second

trio of

sayings

(assuming

that 17:28-30 is from

Q)55

shifts atten-

tion

from the

public

and

heavenly

nature

of

the Parousia

to

its

unexpected

occurrence.

Here

too,

Q's

use of

traditional

magery

is

innovative. While the

usual

parenetic applications

of

the Noah and Lot stories

focus

either on

God's

punishment

of

disobedience,

fornication,

and

impiety

or

on

his

rescue of the

righteous

(or

both),56

Q

uses the two as illustrations of

the

completely

unheraldedcharacterof the Parousia. The list of

everyday activities-eating,

drinking,marrying,

buying, selling

(17:27, 28)-is

not what one

expects

when

the

contemporaries

of

Noah

and

Lot

are

mentioned. One

expects

a

catalogue

of

sins.

But

Q's

interest

ies

not in

their sinfulness nor even

in

the

righteousness

of

Noah

and

Lot, but,

as

the

following

saying

makes

clear,

in the

unapocalyptic

character

of

the events

prior

to the

end.

While Mark 13:14-16 and Luke

17:31-33

assume

that the faithful

will

wisely

cease mundane

activities in

order

to

flee,

Q

implies

that

no

warning

will

be

given

at all.

Eschatological

division

will occur

in the

midst of

quotidian

activities and

it will tear

apart

families,

friends,57

nd

coworkers.

53

See

Werner

H.

Kelber,

The

Kingdom

n Mark

(Philadelphia:

Fortress,

1974)

113-

16.

54

An

interestingparallel

to the

eschatological

correlative

n 17:24

occurs

in

4QpsDan

Aa

[=

4Q

246]:

As comets

(flash)

to

sight,

so

shall be their

kingdom.

See

Joseph

A.

Fitzmyer,

The

Con-

tribution

of

Qumran

Aramaic

o

the

Study

of the New

Testament,

in

idem,

A

Wandering

Aramean:

Collected

Aramaic

Essays

(SBLMS

25;

Missoula:

Scholars

Press,

1979)

93.

55

See the discussion of

this

problem

n

Zmijewski,

Eschatologiereden,

452

-

57.

56

Sir 16:7-8; Jub. 20.5-6; T. Naph. 3.4-5; 3 Macc 2.4-5; Wis 10:4, 6; Philo De vit. Mos.

2.52-65;

2

Pet

2:4-

10;

1

Clement

9-

12;

Apostolic

Constitutions

8.12.22. See

Luhrmann'sdiscus-

sion

of these in

Redaktion,

78

-

83,

and

idem,

Noah und

Lot

(Lk

17

26-29)-ein

Nachtrag,

ZNW

63

(1972)

130-32.

57

Luke's

860oEici

KcXVTI;

t&

(17:34)

probably

refers

to

two

males

(6

E?[

... 6

eTepo;)

at table.

302


8/11/2019 1509574

18/21

JOHN

S.

KLOPPENBORG

What is

surprising

in

all

this

is the

uniformly

destructive

images

of the

Parousia. The two

correlatives stress universal destruction

(icai

a&ctxaev

[fpev] cadvxra)atherthan the salvationof Noah and Lot (and,by implication,

of the members

of the

Q-community).

And

while

many

assume that

iaxpaXkaipvo

in

Q

17:34-35 attests

to a belief

in

the

taking

up

of

the

faith-

ful

(1

Thess

4:13-18),58

this

is

far less

likely

for

Q

than

it

is

for the

Lukan

context

where the

things

left behind

(17:31)

are

destroyed.

In

Q,

as in the LXX

story

of

Lot,

&dpirlmt

eans

to

spare

(Gen

18:26)

1509574

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