Neither Forgery nor Fiction
- Authors
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Michael Constantine
Author
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- Abstract
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The account of the woman caught in adultery, traditionally located in John 7:53–8:11, remains one of the most debated passages in the New Testament. This paper examines whether the Pericope Adulterae is original to the Gospel of John, whether it should be regarded as inspired Scripture, and how its textual uncertainty should shape theological interpretation. The study evaluates the earliest manuscript evidence, noting the passage’s absence from key Alexandrian witnesses and its unstable location in later manuscripts. It also considers linguistic arguments against Johannine authorship, the narrative disruption between John 7:52 and 8:12, and the historical reception of the passage among early Christian writers. While the evidence strongly suggests that the passage was not original to John’s Gospel, this conclusion does not require dismissing the account as fraudulent, theologically dangerous, or spiritually worthless. Patristic references indicate that a story of Jesus and an accused woman circulated early within Christian tradition, even before its later stabilization in the Johannine textual tradition. This paper argues that the Pericope Adulterae is best understood as non-Johannine yet deeply Christian: a historically valued tradition that reflects the mercy, wisdom, and grace of Christ while requiring careful handling in preaching, doctrine, and textual criticism.
- Author Biography
- References
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Augustine. De Adulterinis Conjugiis. In Patrologia Latina, edited by J.-P. Migne, vol. 40. Paris, 1845. Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Edited by John T. McNeill. Louisville: Westminster John
Knox, 1960.
Eusebius of Caesarea. The Ecclesiastical History. Translated by Kirsopp Lake. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1926.
Jerome. Biblia Sacra Vulgata. Edited by Robert Weber. 5th ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2007. Secondary Sources
Barrett, C. K. The Gospel according to St. John: An Introduction with Commentary and Notes on the Greek Text. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978.
Carson, D. A. The Gospel According to John. Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991.
Ehrman, Bart D. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2005.
Ehrman, Bart D. The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Hays, Richard B. Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2014.
Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of John: A Commentary. 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003. Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.
Knust, Jennifer, and Tommy Wasserman. To Cast the First Stone: The Transmission of a Gospel Story. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019.
Metzger, Bruce M. A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament. 2nd ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1994.
Parker, David C. The Living Text of the Gospels. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Robinson, John A. T. Redating the New Testament. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1976.
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- 2026-07-12
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