Interestingly enough, the earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of John do not contain this beloved passage. Indeed, the first manuscript to contain the story is from around 400 C.E. Around 4% of Greek manuscripts that include the passage place it in locations other than John 8:1-8:11; the earliest of these is from around the ninth and tenth centuries C.E. This perplexing manuscript history fuels debates about whether the story was originally in John’s Gospel and, if so, where. The majority of scholars believe a later Christian scribe inserted the passage into John’s Gospel at John 8:1-8:11 and that the alternate locations are due to the effects of later liturgical reading in what is known as the lectionary system. This popular method of reading the Bible broke the text into individual units that were designated for specific days and often rearranged the order of the holy text in order to reflect these reading preferences. The story of the woman caught in adultery was one of several such relocated passages.
Today the lectionaries used in Lutheran and other liturgical churches include a reading from one of the four Gospels, a reading from some other book in the New Testament, generally the Epistles, and a reading from the Old Testament. The Gospel reading is considered the main reading and the other readings are intended to support the preaching on, and explanation of, the content of the Gospel reading. In Lutheran and other liturgical churches, we stand for the reading of the Gospel, in honor of Christ who is often the one speaking in the Gospel reading, or being spoken about directly.
These verses are present in most of the medieval Greek minuscule manuscripts, but they are absent from virtually all early Greek manuscripts that have come down to us, representing great diversity of textual traditions. The most notable exception is the Western uncial D, known for its independence in numerous other places. They are also missing from the earliest forms of the Syriac and Coptic Gospels, and from many Old Latin, Old Georgian and Armenian manuscripts.
Today the lectionaries used in Lutheran and other liturgical churches include a reading from one of the four Gospels, a reading from some other book in the New Testament, generally the Epistles, and a reading from the Old Testament. The Gospel reading is considered the main reading and the other readings are intended to support the preaching on, and explanation of, the content of the Gospel reading. In Lutheran and other liturgical churches, we stand for the reading of the Gospel, in honor of Christ who is often the one speaking in the Gospel reading, or being spoken about directly.
These verses are present in most of the medieval Greek minuscule manuscripts, but they are absent from virtually all early Greek manuscripts that have come down to us, representing great diversity of textual traditions. The most notable exception is the Western uncial D, known for its independence in numerous other places. They are also missing from the earliest forms of the Syriac and Coptic Gospels, and from many Old Latin, Old Georgian and Armenian manuscripts.
Ground/sand is a very very erasable surface... He wrote the certificate of divorce, that the husband was supposed to give... He divorced the accuser... they were actually the adulterous wife while accusing another of adultery... pointing fingers since Adam... "the woman YOU gave me made me do it"... wow just wow...