Saying 103 - A Parable Of A Landowner And Brigands

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text

BLATZ (103) Jesus said: Blessed is the man who knows [in which] part (of the night) the robbers are coming, that he may rise and gather his [ . . . ] and gird up his loins before they come in.

LAYTON (103) Jesus said, "Blessed is the man who recognizes [which] district the brigands are going to enter, so as to arise, gather (the forces of) his domain, and arm himself before they enter."

DORESSE 107 [103]. Jesus says: "Blessed is the man who knows [where] the robbers are going to enter, so that he watches, he gathers his [. . .] and girds his loins before they enter."

 

Funk's Parallels

GThom 21:3
When the owners of the field come, they will say, "Give our field back to us."

Luke 12:39-40
And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

Matt 24:37-44
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

1 Thess 5:2
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

2 Pet 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Rev 3:3
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Rev 16:15
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

 

Scholarly Quotes

Gerd Ludemann writes:

"The beatitude picks up the woe from the previous logion. The logion is a free version of 21.5-7; Matt. 24.43-44/Luke 12.39-40 (=Q). It puts a new emphasis on the Q parallel by indicating the place (and not the time) of the attack. Perhaps Thomas could interpret this logion in a Gnostic way, starting from 'know'."

(Jesus After 2000 Years, pp. 639-640)

J. D. Crossan writes:

"There are five major differences betwewen this version [103] and the preceding one [21]. (a) The form of 21c was metaphor succeeded by application, that of 103 is beatitude, beginning with the Greek loan-word makarios. (b) In 21c the protagonist is a householder, but in 103 he is simply a man, and there is no mention at all of a house. (c) In 21c the metaphor mentions a singular thief, but the application mentions the plural brigands or robbers. In 103 there is only mention of brigands or robbers, using the same Greek loan-word as earlier in 21c. (d) In 21c it is a question of knowing the time of attack, but in 103 it is the place of attack that is in question. There is, however, a textual problem here. The Coptic reads literally: 'Blessed is the man who knows in what part the robbers are coming' (Wilson, 1973:521). The problem is whether 'part,' using the Greek loan-word meros, is to be taken as 'part (of the property),' that is, 'where' (so Lambdin: 129), or 'part (of the night),' that is, 'when' (so Guillaumont, 1959:52-53). I am accepting the Lambdin interpretation because there are enough other differences between Thomas and Q on this saying to render intrusions from Q into Thomas on this point at least doubtful. (e) This is also an important point but it depends on an even greater textual problem, one of restoration rather than interpretation. In 21c the phrase 'his house of his domain' (tefmentero) appears, as was seen earlier. In 103 the protagonist sets out to 'muster his menet [. . .].' That is, the object of that action is uncertain because of a bad tear in the manuscripts outside top corner. Most translators attempt no reconstruction after 'his.' They simply leave a gap. But Lambdin proposes reading 'muster his domain,' presuming menter (domain, kingdom) as the missing word. If that reconstruction is correct, it is an important connection between 21c and 103, and it would indicate that 103 has infiltrated the application not only by the plural 'robbers' or 'brigands,' but also by the term 'domain' or 'kingdom.' I find this reconstruction very appealing, but there is a major problem in that the manuscript's photographic copy evidences a fourth letter after that opening triad (mnt), a fourth letter that is mostly lost in the lacuna but which could not be e or r. Accordingly, although I accept Lambdin's 'muster his domain,' I do so with some doubts."

(In Fragments, pp. 62-63)

J. D. Crossan continues:

"But even apart from that reconstruction, it is now clear that there are important content differences between Gos. Thom. 21c and 103. (a) That latter text concerns a man knowing the place where brigands will invade his property. Place, not time, is what is important. The former text concerns a householder knowing that a thief is going to attack his house. One could presume here that time (when) rather than place (where) is the significant point. But I would emphasize that time is not explicitly mentioned within the metaphor itself and that place would seem even more indicated in the application ('find a way to come to you'). (b) That application in 21c links even more closely with the distant image in 103 than with the proximate and preceding one in 21c itself. One sees, in other words, a slight movement from explicit place in 103 to implicit time in 21c's metaphor, but with 21c's application still capable of moving in either direction."

(In Fragments, p. 63)

 

Visitor Comments

The brigands are the learnt self-destructive attitudes. When one is aware of them one can arm one's self with one's learnt constructive attitudes.
- Rodney

I think the key word in understanding this saying is "arise". According to Marvin Meyer's interpretation of Saying 17 in the Q Thomas Reader, the last part of this saying is "what has not arisen in the human heart". As someone notes there (re saying 17), but modified to be consistent with the Meyer translation, Jesus is promising to arise in our hearts when we understand the Gospel of Thomas well enough. So I read Saying 103 here as follows: "Servants and dupes of Satan (the 'Great Deceiver') will soon try to break your faith. The assault will be formidable. Understand the Gospel of Thomas well and their lies will be met with truth." It sounds scary. But the big point seems to be that Christians had better well start understanding the Gospel of Thomas if they are going to save their faith.
- jayjay

Know Yourself! For there are brigands within...
- Thief37