John David Punch

The Pericope Adulterae: Theories of Insertion & Omission: an Academic Essay in Theology John David Punch

While the majority of the scholarly world seems to be settled in accepting the fact that John 7:53-8:11 is a non-Johannine interpolation, numerous questions remain unanswered, such as who penned these words, where does the story originates from, and when was it inserted/omitted/re-inserted into the Fourth Gospel. The present work tests a hypothesis of several theories relating to the insertion or omission (and subsequent re-insertion) of the passage from the Gospel of John. In all, five theories of omission/insertion are then highlighted, setting the foundation for the work that will follow. These theories are categorized as Redactional Insertion, Ecclesiastical Insertion, Liturgical Omission, Accidental Omission, and Ecclesiastical Suppression. Such theories are proposed in relation to collation of internal and external evidence both for and against the inclusion of the pericope. No particular theory is advocated for; instead each theory is evaluated based upon the evidence present based upon the evidence presented in this work and suggestions for further work are offered.