Pericope Adulterae, the Gospel of John, and the Literacy of Jesus

Chris Keith, Ph.D. (2008), University of Edinburgh, is Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London

This title has won the 2010 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise."Keith's impressive, thought-provoking study will be of great interest to tholse interested in the Gospel of John, literacy in the Greco-Roman world, and intersections between textual history and Christian origins." – Frances Taylor Gench, in: Biblical Interpretation 20 (2012)"This book presents an impressively researched, inquisitive, and careful discussion of its primary focus (the Pericope Adulterae), its primary field (John’s Gospel), and its primary point (the social significance of portraying a grapho-literate Jesus)." – Rafael Rodríguez, Johnson Bible College, Knoxville"[Dieses Werk] befasst sich auf erfrischende und kreative Weise mit einer textgeschichtlich seit Erasmus von Rotterdam umstrittenen Perikope. [...] Es wird nicht nur in den Stand der Forschung über eine textgeschichtlich und theologisch-ethisch umstrittene Perikope, [..] umfassend und kompetent eingeführt, sondern es werden auch frisch und mutig neue Hypothesen auf argumentative Weise vorgetragen." – Ulrich Busse, in: Theologische Literaturzeitung 135 (2010)"...a most worth-while volume that will be a benefit not only to those in textual criticism, but also those more broadly in the field of New Testament studies and early Christian history.[...] Overall, Keith’s volume is an excellent contribution to the study of the PA and no doubt will alter the direction of future research on this passage. [...] an excellent resource for New Testament scholars. Not only does it make an impressive (and convincing) contribution to our understanding of the PA, but it illumines other important areas of early Christianity along the way." – Michael J. Kruger, in: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism 2011 (full review)

• Table of ContentsForeword (Helen K. Bond) PrefaceAbbreviations Introduction: The Most Popular Story in the GospelsChapter One: A History of Research on John 8.6, 8Chapter Two: Speaking of Writing: καταγράφω and γράφω in Hellenistic, Jewish, and New Testament ContextsChapter Three: Writing and Gradations of LiteracyChapter Four: Scribal Literacy in the New Testament World: The Scribes (and Pharisees) as Text-BrokersChapter Five: The Pericope Adulterae at John 7.53–8.11: The LocationChapter Six: The Pericope Adulterae at John 7.53–8.11: The Preceding Context of John 7 Chapter Seven: The Pericope Adulterae at John 7.53–8.11: The NarrativeChapter Eight: The Pericope Adulterae at John 7.53–8.11: The (Divine) Grapho-Literacy of Jesus Chapter Nine: The Historical Context for the Insertion of the Pericope Adulterae into the Gospel of John: A ProposalConclusion: The Pericope Adulterae in the Early ChurchBibliography