Jesus and The Woman Taken in Adultery

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.