In this groundbreaking study, Kloppenborg uses genre criticism and redaction criticism to examine the composition and development of the sayings source Q. He argues that Q is composed of three compositional layers, or strata, each of which reflects certain stages of development in the Q community. The first, and formative, layer reflects the influence of collections of ancient sapiential sayings and contains six wisdom speeches. The second layer reflects the influence of the prophetic literature of judgment and contains prophetic oracles and many Son-of-Man sayings. A third layer adds a temptation story, which moves the document from a chriae collection in the direction of a biography.

James Robinson at Claremont University notes: "John Kloppenborg's impressively wide-ranging survey of the various genres of collection sayings in antiquity and his placing of Q within that context have elevated this dimension of the study of Q to a new niveau of sophistication. With its publication, all previous studies of the genre of Q are rendered inadequate."

"This fine, well-written book is an outstanding contribution to synoptic studies....It is undoubtedly the best book on Q available in English."-Arland D. Jacobsen, Journal of Biblical Literature

John S. Kloppenborg teaches at the University of St. Michael's College and the University of Toronto (both in Toronto). His previous books include Conflict and Invention: Literary, Rhetorical, and Social Studies on the Sayings Gospel Q (Trinity) and The Shape of Q: Signal Essays on the Sayings Gospel.

For: New Testament scholars interested in the Synoptic Gospels; seminarians and graduate students.