The Pericopae Adulterae is the famous passage in GJn (and some manuscripts of GLk) describing a woman caught in adultery who is brought to Jesus. Jesus says the famous words "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone", and her accusers leave. Jesus then forgives her and sends her away.
Its presence in GJn, however, (or in GLk) is notoriously unstable in the manuscript traditions (with many textual variants), though not conclusively so. Wikipedia provides a good summary. The language is generally considered non-Johannine, though this is disputed.
Leaving all of this aside, I've discovered something else about the pericope, independent of any theory as to its origins:
It has a chiasm.
Here it is:
A [Everyone went to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives].
B [Now very early in the morning, he came again into the temple], and all the people came to him.
C He sat down, and taught them.
D The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery.
E Having set her in the midst [MESW], they told him, "Teacher, we found this woman in adultery, in the very act. Now in our law, Moses commanded us to stone such. What then do you say about her?"
F They said this testing him, that they might have something to accuse him of.
G But Jesus stooped down, and wrote on the ground with his finger.
H But when they continued asking him, he looked up [ANEKUYEN--Alex.]
H’ and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her."
G’ Again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.
F’ They, when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning from the oldest, even to the last.
E’ Jesus was left alone with the woman where she was, in the middle [MESW].
D’ Jesus, standing up, saw her and said, "Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?"
C’ She said, "No one, Lord."
B’ Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more."
A’ [etc.]
Commentary:
The beginning of the chiasm is a little unclear. The inclusion of vv. 7:53, 8:1, and 8:2 is unstable among the manuscripts. Regardless of whether 7:53 ("Everyone went to his home") is original to the pericope, or is just a bit of filler that some redactor added, no doubt either "Jesus went to the mount of Olives" or "He came again into the temple" was the beginning of the original pericope. If it began with his departure for the mount of Olives, it's possible that the people came to him there, and v. 8:2a is also a bit of redactional filler. But this isn't clear. The point is that the A bracket obviously included Jesus' movement from one location to another, and the real point of the B bracket is that the people came to Jesus. Once we get started, however, the remaining brackets fall easily into place. Here they are, in order.
A/A' Jesus departs for the Mount of Olives (or comes to the temple)/?
This is just the framing bracket. It's not clear where this would have fallen in the original GMk narrative, but this appears to be activity during the Jerusalem ministry. At the end, the narrative would simply have moved on to the next pericope, whatever that might have been.
B/B' [Jesus to the temple and] the people to him/Jesus forgives and says "Go your way"
Again, it's not clear where during the Jerusalem ministry this pericope would have occurred, and the coming of Jesus to the temple might itself have been the A bracket. It does, however, work here--the temple was the site of the expiation of sins for the Jewish nation, so it's appropriate that it's the place where Jesus tells the adulterous woman that he doesn't condemn her, and that she is to go and sin no more. And just as the people come to Jesus, he tells the woman to go her way.
C/C' Jesus teaches/The woman is not condemned
Fairly straightforward; Jesus teaches, and the woman finds she is not condemned. Jesus' teaching is the teaching of forgiveness.
D/D' The scribes bring the woman/Jesus asks her "Where are they?"
Also straightforward; the scribes bring the woman, but later Jesus asks (rhetorically) "Where are they?" They've departed.
E/E' She is set in their midst/She is left in the midst
They set her "in the midst", and that's also where they leave her.
F/F' They're looking to accuse Jesus/They themselves are convicted
The scribes seek to accuse Jesus, but end up themselves being convicted.
G/G' Jesus draws on the ground/Jesus draws on the ground
The characteristic touch-symbolism of Jesus. Notice how the second one works: Jesus says "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Well, who could that be? Oh, hey, wait a minute--Jesus is the one without sin! So he should cast the first stone, right? But he doesn't...instead, he just draws on the ground. This is Markan irony.
H/H' He lifts himself up/"He who is without sin"
Jesus "raises himself" (translated variously), and utters the famous "He who is without sin" line. The parallel here is that the reader would realize that Jesus is the one without sin (again, Markan irony). Furthermore, Jesus raises himself, just as he will later be raised up (either at the crucifixion or the resurrection)--for he is the sinless one whose sacrifice will purify the nation.
The particular attention paid to women, the symbolism of touch, and the clear chiasmus are all features of the original Markan author.
Conclusion:
The Pericopae Adulterae was written by the original Markan author.
(This also means...it was found in Secret Mark.)
I'll just leave it at that for now. We'll hopefully revisit this later.
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