Thursday, June 23, 2016

A Fresh Analysis of John 7:53-8:11

$4.99
in the United States
(as of June 23, 2016)
.

Various commentators, preachers and seminary professors have called for the removal of John 7:53-8:11 – the story about Jesus and the adulteress – to be removed from the Bible, because it is not in some important early manuscripts, and because, in some other manuscripts, it is in different locations.  In this book I offer the following:  

● A case for the genuineness of John 7:53-8:11,
● Corrections and clarifications of some well-circulated falsehoods and misinformation (answering especially some claims spread by Bruce Metzger, Dan Wallace, Bart Ehrman, David Parker, John Piper, and James White),
● An explanation of the simple scribal mechanism that elicited the loss of the passage in an early transmission-stream,
● An explanation of the influence of lection-cycles that led to the transference of the passage to other locations  including a consideration of the rarely cited evidence from Palestinian Aramaic texts.
● A refutation of the theory that the passage was a “floating” anecdote,
● A consideration of Augustine’s theory about why the passage was removed from the text, 
● A thorough review of the relevant external evidence, including not only Greek manuscripts but also versional and patristic evidence, 
● An examination of the internal evidence, and the disruption in the narrative that results when the pericope adulterae is removed, and
● Some brief notes about miscellaneous concerns which have a bearing on the question about John 7:53-8:11 (or upon which the question about John 7:53-8:11 has a bearing) in one way or another. 

I have tried to make this digital volume affordable for the typical Bible student.  (The price varies from country to country.)  Those for whom the price is prohibitively high are welcome to request a copy directly from me.  

1 comment:

Cory Howell said...

I highly recommend James's book on the Pericope Adulterae for anyone who is interested in textual criticism. He lays out all the evidence in a sensible, logical manner. As someone who used to take Bruce Metzger and Dan Wallace's expertise (and authority) for granted, I have to admit, James has made me reexamine my position!