{As sheep in the midst of wolves} (h(9373) probata en mes(9369)
luk(936e)). The presence of wolves on every hand was a fact then and
now. Some of these very sheep ( 10:6 ) at the end will turn out
to be wolves and cry for Christ's crucifixion. The situation
called for consummate wisdom and courage. The serpent was the
emblem of wisdom or shrewdness, intellectual keenness ( Ge 3:1  Ps 58:5 ), the dove of simplicity ( Ho 7:11 ). It was a proverb,
this combination, but one difficult of realization. Either
without the other is bad (rascality or gullibility). The first
clause with arnas for probata is in  Lu 10:3  and apparently
is in a _Fragment of a Lost Gospel_ edited by Grenfell and Hunt.
The combination of wariness and innocence is necessary for the
protection of the sheep and the discomfiture of the wolves. For
"harmless" (akeraioi) Moffatt and Goodspeed have "guileless,"
Weymouth "innocent." The word means "unmixed" (a privative and
kerannumi), "unadulterated," "simple," "unalloyed."