A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Questioning the Standard Missionary Reading of Q 10:3

The International Q Project reconstructs Q 10:3 as follows: “Be on your way! Look, I send you like sheep in the midst of wolves.” Traditionally, this logion has been interpreted as an instruction and warning to missionaries. According to this reading, the sheep represent missionaries, and the wolves represent the recipients of missionary work. The current article intends to problematise this traditional reading. The article will first consider the reconstruction of Q 10:3, then survey relevant intertexts that mention sheep, lambs, and wolves in the Hebrew Scriptures, and finally argue against the traditional reading of Q 10:3.