John 8:3

3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman taken in adultery: and when they had set her in the midst,

John 8:3 Meaning and Commentary

John 8:3

And the Scribes and Pharisees
The members of the sanhedrim, who had been so miserably disappointed the day before, were no less diligent and industrious in their wicked way, seeking all opportunities, and taking all advantages against Christ; and fancying they had got something whereby to ensnare him, and bring him into disgrace or danger, they pursue it; and

brought unto him a woman taken in adultery;
who, as some conjecture, might have been taken in it the day before, in one of their booths; being drawn into it through intemperance and carnal mirth, which at this feast they greatly indulged themselves in; which shows, that they were far from drawing the Holy Ghost at this time upon them; that on the contrary, they fell into the hands, and under the power of the unclean spirit: who this woman was, is not material to know; what is pretended to be taken out of the annals of the Spanish Jews, is no doubt a fable; that she was the wife of one Manasseh of Jerusalem, an old man, whose name was Susanna ^F4:

and when they had set her in the midst;
of the company, as the Persic version reads, to be seen by all the people. This history of the woman taken in adultery, is wanting in the Alexandrian copy, and in other ancient copies; nor is it in Nonnus, Chrysostom, and Theophylact; nor in any of the editions of the Syriac version, until it was restored by De Dieu, from a copy of Archbishop Usher's; but was in the Arabic and Ethiopic versions, and in the Harmonies of Tatian and Ammonius; the former of which lived about the year 160, and so within 60 years, or thereabouts, of the death of the Evangelist John, and the other about the year 230; it was also in Stephens's sixteen ancient Greek copies, and in all Beza's seventeen, excepting one; nor need the authenticness of it be doubted of; Eusebius ^F5 says, it is in the Gospel according to the Hebrews; nor should its authority be called in question.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 Vid. Selden. Uxor Hebr. l. 3. c. 11. p. 377.
F5 Hist. Ecless. l. 3. c. 39.

John 8:3 In-Context

1 Jesus went to the mount of Olives:

2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him; and he sat down and taught them.

3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman taken in adultery: and when they had set her in the midst,

4 They say to him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned; but what sayest thou?