Posted on by wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A.

Question:

My question is about the story in John’s gospel about the woman caught in adultery. This has always been one of my favorite, go-to, stories about Jesus to share with people and to teach on. So, I was pretty disappointed when I learned that from a textual critic standpoint that the story is very weak and was likely a story added to John’s gospel hundreds of years later. I’ve read a couple of opinions on how to deal with this. I’ve read some opinions that say we shouldn’t teach/preach with this story anymore because of this and that it should be removed from the Bible. I’ve also read that, though the textual criticism is weak, we can still trust in the “biblical inspiration “ that included the story in the Bible so it is good and okay to use this story when teaching/preaching. What’s your take on this?

Answer:

I believe that you have it completely right here.  There are a relatively small number of significant interpolations which have found their way into our Bibles, including John 5:4 (the stirring of the water at Bethesda), 1 John 5:7-8 (the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit), Mark 16:9-20 (the late-added ending to Mark), Acts 8:37 (if you believe with all your heart…) and John 7:53-8:11 (the woman caught in adultery).  This is the entire list of what I would call significant interpolations.  Of the list, all but the John 8 interpolation are rejected by all or nearly all scholars as not being in the original and, therefore, not being inspired or authoritative.  The exception is the story of the woman caught in adultery.  This passage is found in the vast majority of manuscripts, but not in a small number of early manuscripts. What makes the case a bit confusing, potentially, is that the small number of manuscripts which do not include this passage here in John include the earliest and most authoritative manuscripts, such as Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, as well as two very early papyri.  However, even when the story does not appear at John 7:53, it is found elsewhere–for example John 7:36, John 21:25 (at the end of John), or even at the end of Luke.  Also, the story was being mentioned by church fathers all the way back in the second century.
My conclusion is that this was an extremely well-know story from the life of Jesus which was part of the oral tradition from the very beginning.  It is possible, and perhaps even likely, that it was not found in the original gospel of John at John 7:53.  It seems that the church as a whole was convinced that this was a legitimate story of an actual event which happened in the life of Jesus–in fact that it was one of the favorite of all the stories from the life of Jesus, but there was doubt about where it belonged in the gospels.  For this reason, I have always assumed that this is a factual account of an actual event, and I, therefore, use it as an inspired account of an actual encounter of Jesus with the woman caught in adultery and the Jews who wanted to test Jesus. Personally, I do not hesitate to refer to John 7:53-8:11 as a true event in the life of Jesus. When I use it, I sometimes will inform my hearers that there is some doubt as to where it belongs in the gospels, but sometimes I do not do so, depending on the audience.
John Oakes

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  1. The story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8) is not in the Codex Sinaiticus. How does this relate to biblical infallability?
  2. I read an article that claims John 7:53-8:11 in the KJV was not in the original John. Is that correct?
  3. If it is true, as is claimed, that Luke 23:34, John 7:53-8:11 and other New Testament passages are interpolations, why did these people add to the Scriptures? Didn’t they fear God? What if much of what Jesus says about himself in the NT is also interpolated?
  4. Should Mark 16:9-20 and John 8:1-11 be considered part of the original books of Mark and John?

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