Contents

Foreword (Helen K. Bond)

Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction The Most Popular Story in the Gospels

1. The Inquiry of this Book

2. Methodological Notes on Constructing the Question

Chapter One A History of Research on John 8.6, 8

1. Previous Assessments of John 8.6, 8

1.1. Scriptural Intertextual Interpretations of John 8.6, 8

1.2. Miscellaneous Other Interpretations of John 8.6, 8

2. A New Direction

3. History of Research Conclusion

Chapter Two Speaking of Writing: καταγραφω and γραπω in Hellenistic, Jewish, and New Testament Contexts

1. καταγραφω Diachronically

2. καταγραφω Synchronically

2.1. Diodorus Siculus

2.2. Strabo

2.3. Plutarch

2.4. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri

2.5. Flavius Josephus

2.6. LXX

3. γραφω in the NT

3.1. γραφω in the Perfect Tense in the NT

3.2. Non-Formulaic Uses of γραφω in the NT

4. Conclusion

Chapter Three Writing and Gradations of Literacy

1. The Literacy Landscape: Languages and Gradations

1.1. Polyglot Societies

1.2. Gradations of Literacy

2. Reading and Writing in Literate Education

2.1. Writing in Greco-Roman Egypt

2.2. Writing in Roman Palestine

2.3. Writing in the Early Church

3. Summary

Chapter Four Scribal Literacy in the New Testament World: The Scribes (and Pharisees) as Text-Brokers

1. A Fourth Complexity: Scribal Literacy

1.1. Definitions

1.2. The Brokering of Texts

2. Scribes and Grapho-Literacy

2.1. Scribes as Professional Writers

2.2. Some Professional Writers as Torah Experts

3. The Scribes (and Pharisees) as Text-Brokers in the NT

3.1. Scribes as (Non-)Copyists in the NT

3.2. 'The Scribes and the Pharisees' and Other Groups

4. Summary and Conclusions

Chapter Five The Pericope Adulterae at John 7.53–8.11: The Location

1. John 7.53–8.11 is the Majority Location for PA

2. John 7.53–8.11 is the Earliest Demonstrable Location for PA

2.1. The Manuscript Evidence

2.2. The Patristic Evidence

3. The Impact of the Lectionary System

3.1. Knowledge of GJohn with and without PA in Early Christianity

3.2. Scribal Confusion

3.3. Lectionary Influence

4. Summary and Conclusion

Chapter Six The Pericope Adulterae at John 7.53–8.11: The Preceding Context of John 7

1. Who is Jesus?: The Johannine Characters' Apprehension of Jesus' Identity

1.1. Who is Jesus?: The Answer of the Crowd

1.2. Who is Jesus?: The Answer of the Jewish Leadership

2. Moses, the Law, and Right Judgment

3. Education and the Problem of a Galilean Origin

3.1. 'How does this man know letters?' (John 7.15)

3.2. 'Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee' (John 7.41)

3.3. 'No prophet arises out of Galilee' (John 7.52)

4. Summary of John 7

Chapter Seven The Pericope Adulterae at John 7.53–8.11: The Narrative

1. The Narrative of John 7.53–8.11

2. Summary of PA

Chapter Eight The Pericope Adulterae at John 7.53–8.11: The (Divine) Grapho-Literacy of Jesus

1. John 8.6, 8: Jesus, Moses, and the Writing of the Decalogue

1.1. The Writing of the Decalogue (Exodus 32.15–16 LXX)

1.2. The Writing on the Ground (John 8.6, 8)

2. Further Resonances between PA and GJohn

2.1. Jesus' Superiority to Moses

2.2. Double Meanings

2.3. Jesus and the Johannine Trial

2.4. The Importance of Textuality

3. Summary and Conclusion

Chapter Nine The Historical Context for the Insertion of the Pericope Adulterae into the Gospel of John: A Proposal

1. The Evidence Concerning PA's Insertion

1.1. The terminus ad quem for Johannine Insertion—380's ce

1.2. Other and Earlier (Non-Johannine?) Citations of PA

1.3. PA in the Early Church—a Paradigm of Jesus

1.4. Summary of Evidence Concerning PA's Insertion into GJohn

2. Previous Assessments of PA's Insertion

2.1. A Socio-Historical Answer—the Suppression Theory

2.2. Text-Critical Answers

3. The Context for the Insertion of a Grapho-Literate Jesus

3.1. Pagan Criticisms of Christian Illiteracy

3.2. The Christian Response

4. Conclusion and Further Considerations on Date

4.1. Increasingly Overt Portrayals of a Literate Jesus

4.2. The Affinity between Knowledge of PA in GJohn and Knowledge of Jesus' Writing

4.3. The Possibility that PA First Entered GJohn in a Latin-Influenced Environment

Conclusion The Pericope Adulterae in the Early Church

Bibliography

Index of Ancient Sources

Index of Authors

Index of Subjects