Book review: Chris Keith, The Pericope Adulterae, the Gospel of John, and the Literacy of Jesus (New Testament Tools, Studies, and Documents 38; Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2009). Pp. xvi + 350. Hardback €121.00/$166.00. ISBN 978-90-04-17394-1.

Abstract

"When it comes to textual variants within the New Testament, perhaps no passage has received more attention than John 7:53-8:11, the Pericope Adulterae (PA). Generations of scholars have offered countless hypotheses regarding its origins, its proper interpretation, and the history of its textual transmission. Thus, one might wonder whether we really need another piece of scholarship on this well-worn passage. However, Chris Keith’s recent volume—originally written as his doctoral thesis under Larry Hurtado at the University of Edinburgh—is a refreshing reminder that new discoveries are possible for those willing to mine more deeply into early Christian texts. Taking a cue from a brief comment from Edgar Goodspeed about the purpose of the PA, Keith makes a twofold argument: (a) the PA is best understood as making a claim that Jesus was “grapho-literate” (i.e., he could write) in the face of challenges from the Pharisees in John 7:15 (cf. 7:52) that he was illiterate; and (b) the PA was inserted into the Johannine textual tradition in the third century in order to respond to pagan challenges that Christians (and their founder) were illiterate and uneducated. Keith has produced 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."(pg 1)