A Johannine Reading of the Pericope Adulterae

The Pericope Adulterae (John 7,53-8,11) has long puzzled scholars due to its contested textual status. Rayan J. Lobo shows that it can nonetheless be read meaningfully within its literary context as part of the Gospel of John – as a wisdom tale rooted in oral tradition and a Jewish trial of Jesus that summarizes John 7-8.

John 7,53-8,11, known as the Pericope Adulterae (PA), is well known for its problematic textual history, which includes questions about its authenticity and its place within the Gospel of John. While previous studies on PA have largely limited themselves to the examination of the textual status of PA or to the interpretation of a few verses from PA, Rayan J. Lobo demonstrates that the entire Pericope Adulterae can be read within its current literary context and understood in a meaningful way as part of the Gospel of John. He employs both synchronic and diachronic methods, focusing on the origin, form, and interpretation of PA, as well as its role in Jn 7-8. In doing so, the author systematically demonstrates that the roots of PA lie in the oral tradition, that it follows the literary form of wisdom tales, and that it must be interpreted as a Jewish trial of Jesus.

General Introduction
1. Status Quaestionis
2. The Objective and Scope
3. Methodological Considerations
4. General Outline of the Study
Chapter I: The Textual Status and the Origins of PA
Introduction
1.1 External Evidence
1.2 Different Locations of PA
1.3 PA's Origin and Existence
1.4 Internal Evidence
1.5 Suppression or Insertion?
1.6 Oral Tradition
1.7 Spiritual Gospel
Conclusion
Chapter II: The Narrative Analysis of John 7-8
Introduction
2.1 Delimitation?
2.2 The Kind of Plot
2.3 The Plot Analysis
2.4 Character Studies in John 7-8
2.5 The Other Narrative Elements in John 7 and 8
2.6 Important Themes in John 7-8
Conclusion
Chapter III: PA - A Wisdom Tale in the Sapiential Framework of John 7-8
Introduction
3. 1 Jesus, the Wisdom Protagonist in Jn 7-8
3.2 Wisdom Metaphors: The Living Water and the Light of the World
3.3 Wisdom Tales
3.4 Wisdom Tales and Trial Motif
Conclusion
Chapter IV: A Johannine Reading of Pericope Adulterae
Introduction
4.1 Lawsuit Motif in the Gospel of John
4.2 The Lawsuit Motif in Jn 7-8
4.3 The Trial in Jn 7,53-8,11
4.4 The Woman Caught in Adultery on Trial
4.5 Jesus on Trial
4.6 The Scribes and the Pharisees on Trial (The Reversal)
4.7 Jesus Writes on the Ground
4.7.1 Writing and the Finger of God in the Old Testament
4.7.2 The Finger of God - The Finger of Jesus
4.7.3 Anagnorisis
4.8 The Identity of Jesus in Jn 7-8 and in Pericope Adulterae
4.9 Jesus, the Judge, and the Woman Accused
4.10 Κύριος - The Response of the Woman
4.11 Mercy, A Divine Attribute
4.12 Did She Believe in Jesus?
4.13 Re-reading the Verdict in Jn 8,11
Conclusion
Chapter V: Christological Reading of the Identity of Jesus
Introduction
5.1 Jesus - The Son of God
5.2 Jesus-The Messiah
Conclusion
Chapter VI: Role - Placement - Identity
Introduction
6.1 The Role of PA in Jn 7-8
6.2 The Placement of PA
6.3 The Identity of Jesus
Conclusion
General Conclusion

• By (author) Rayan J. Lobo