Texts in Conversation
In Matthew and the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus urges both a serpent's wisdom and a dove's innocence. In Song of Songs Rabbah, God assigns these qualities to different relationships, innocence toward him and cunning toward the nations.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Matthew 10:16
New Testament
16 “I am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of people, because they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues. 18 And you will be brought before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them and to the Gentiles. 19 Whenever they hand you over for trial, do not worry about how to speak or what to say, for what you should say will be given to you at that time.
Gospel of Thomas 39
Nag Hammadi
38 Jesus said, “Many times you have desired to hear these sayings that I am speaking to you, and you have no one else from whom to hear them. There will be days when you will seek me and will not find me.” 39 Jesus said, “The Pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of knowledge and have hidden them. They have not entered, nor have they permitted those who want to enter to do so. But you—be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.” 40 Jesus said, “A grapevine has been planted apart from the Father, and since it is not strong, it will be pulled up by its roots and destroyed.”
Song of Songs Rabbah 2.14.1
Aggadah
Rabbinic
“My dove, in the clefts of the rock.” Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: The Holy One blessed be He said of Israel: ‘For Me they are innocent like doves; however, for the nations of the world they are as cunning as snakes’—that is what is written: “Shadrakh, Meshakh, and Aved Nego spoke, saying to the king: Nebuchadnezzar…” (Daniel 3:16). If “the king,” why “Nebuchadnezzar,” if “Nebuchadnezzar,” why “the king”? Rather, this is what they said to him: ‘With regard to municipal tax, head tax, state tax, and produce tax, you are our king; that is what is written: “To the king: Nebuchadnezzar.” But with regard to this matter, that you are telling us to prostrate ourselves to your idol, you are Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadnezzar is your name; this man and [a dog] who barks are equal to us.’ Nebuchadnezzar barks [navaḥ] like a dog, inflates like a [leather] jug [kad], and chirps [nazar] like a cricket. Immediately, he barked like a dog, inflated like a jug, and chirped like a cricket.
Date: 790-990 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... 39.3 But you, be clever as serpents, and innocent as doves. This paradox is paralleled in Matt. 10.16 as well as in P. Oxy. LX 4009 (which some have assigned to the Gospel of Peter). There is a strikingly similar Rabbinic parallel: ‘R. Judah said in the name of R. Simeon: “With me [sc. God] they are innocent like doves, but with the nations they are cunning like serpents.”’ Valantasis glosses ‘wise’ as ‘sly’ here, which is probably overly negative: despite the association which φρόνιμος could have not just with serpents but with the Serpent, within Thomas the more natural associations are the wise fisherman (8.1–2), the ‘prudent man’ (21.9), and the shrewd merchant (76.2). The emphasis is thus probably on ‘shrewdness’, rather than underhand cunning. The innocence probably refers to being uncorrupted by false teaching from any of the groups rivalling the Thomas movement. ...”
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