The Householder, the Robber and the Son of Man: Reconsidering the Redaction of Q 12:39–40

In his influential 1987 monograph, Kloppenborg identified three layers in the Sayings Gospel Q: the ‘formative stratum’ (or Q¹), the ‘main redaction’ (or Q²), and the ‘final recension’ (or Q³). He ascribed the cluster of sayings in Q 12: 39–59 to the main redaction. This cluster is introduced by the saying about the Son of Man coming like a robber (Q 12: 39–40). In my view, however, Kloppenborg's attribution of Q 12:39 to Q's redactional layer rests on flimsy foundations. It will presently be argued that only the Son of Man saying (Q 12:40) belongs to the main redaction, while the saying about the robber (Q 12:39) belongs to the formative stratum. In the process, a novel reading of the robber saying will be exposed.