Jesus And The Woman Taken In Adultery
The Pericope Adulterae ( /pəˈrɪkəpiː əˈdʌltəriː/) or Pericope de Adultera is a traditional name for a famous passage (pericope) about Jesus and the woman taken in adultery from verses 7:53-8:11 of the Gospel of John. The passage describes a confrontation between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees over whether a woman, caught in an act of adultery, ought to be stoned. Jesus shames the crowd into dispersing, and averts the execution.
Although in line with many stories in the Gospels and probably primitive (Didascalia Apostolorum refers to it, possibly Papias also), critics argue that it was "certainly not part of the original text of St John's Gospel." On the other hand, the Council of Trent declared that the Latin Vulgate was authentic and authoritative. The Latin Vulgate includes the adultery episode in John 7:53-8:11.
The parable, and its messages of not being quick to condemn when one is not blameless and tempering justice with mercy, have endured in Christian thought. Both "let him who is without sin, cast the first stone" and "go, and sin no more" have found their way into common usage.
The English idiomatic phrase to "cast the first stone" is derived from this passage. The subject was fairly common in art, especially from the Renaissance onwards; Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery by Pieter Bruegel is a famous example. There was a medieval tradition, originating in a comment attributed to Ambrose, that the words written were terra terram accusat ("earth accuses earth"), which is shown in some depictions in art, for example the Codex Egberti. There have also been other suggestions as to what was written.
Read more about Jesus And The Woman Taken In Adultery: The Passage, Textual History, History of Textual Criticism On John 7:53-8:11, Manuscript Evidence, Some of The Textual Variants
Famous quotes containing the words jesus, woman and/or adultery:
“Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”
—Bible: New Testament Jesus, in Matthew, 16:23.
Said to Peter, who had suggested that Jesus not go into Jerusalem to meet his fate.
“Being the sons of mothers whose husbands had blundered rather brutally through their feminine sanctities, they were themselves too diffident and shy. They could easier deny themselves than incur any reproach from a woman; for a woman was like their mother, and they were full of the sense of their mother. They preferred themselves to suffer the misery of celibacy, rather than risk the other person.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
—Bible: New Testament Jesus, in Matthew, 5:28.
From the Sermon on the Mount.