Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 181:723 (Jul 2024)
Article: "Aenigma Adulterae," Part 2: Amnesia And Ancient Answers
Author: Eric J. C. Ellison

BSac 181:723 (July-September 2024) p. 313

Aenigma Adulterae, Part 2: Amnesia And Ancient Answers

Eric J. C. Ellison

Eric J. C. Ellison is a pastor serving in the Iglesia Adventista de Monteverde in Costa Rica.

Abstract

This article argues that a thorough understanding of the requirements for execution under the law of Moses satisfactorily explains how Jesus escaped a trap set by his opponents and the import of this case’s final ruling (John 7:53–8:11). It begins by examining the Mosaic laws that clarify the dynamics of the trap in the pericope adulterae. Then it exposes some common misconceptions about this passage. It concludes with an examination of the probable rationale for its placement in the Fourth Gospel.

The first part of this study examined the text-critical and interpretive questions besetting the pericope adulterae in John 7:53–8:11 and found that the text is likely not original to the Fourth Gospel but is ancient, reflecting an authentic episode Jesus encountered.1 It asserted that Jesus’s words in this incident must be understood through the lens of Mosaic law, which served as the foundation of the argument brought by Jesus’s accusers in 8:5. This article demonstrates how this understanding of the pericope upholds his teachings elsewhere in the Gospels and helps illuminate the reasons for its placement in John.

Legal Prescriptions And Precautions

“Now, in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such” (8:5).2 The scribes and Pharisees here capitalize on one of the stricter penalties in Mosaic law. Leviticus 20:10 states that both adulterers

BSac 181:723 (July-September 2024) p. 314

should surely be put to death. This ruling is further established in Deuteronomy 22:22. Neither verse specifies the method of execution explicitly stated by the woman’s accusers. Deuteronomy 22:23–27 outlines stoning in a case where a betrothal has been violated and commands stoning for both parties if their guilt is equally attributed, but only the man dies if the woman’s guilt cannot be established. This has led to the suggestion that John 8 pictures a betrothed bride, not a case of married adultery.3 This argumen...