On Excluding John 7:53-8:11

You will see in the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible that John 7:53-8:11 does not appear in the earliest copies we have of the Bible.

The ESV has this whole section in brackets. The brackets signal this passage is not really there. Some translations have even relegated it to the footnotes (e.g., RSV).

So why is this beloved passage excluded from the main text?

Daniel Wallace, who is a New Testament scholar at Dallas Theological Seminary, provides a helpful explanation in this video: Link.

The video is only about 30 minutes, but here is a brief summary of its more salient points.

• Wallace says John 7:53-8:11 is “my favorite passage that’s not in the Bible.”
• The best and earliest manuscripts do not contain the story (e.g., P66, P75, א, B, A, and C).¹
• Through the 8th century, only three manuscripts contained the story.
• Earlier translations (e.g., Coptic, Syriac, etc) do not contain the story.
• There are no patristic comments on these verses until the 12th century.
• Several manuscripts that do include the passage have asterisks on this story, indicating John 7:53-8:11 is questioned.
• John 7:53-8:11 is a “floating” text, meaning it appears at different places in different manuscripts, which suggests it was not original to John but people were trying to squeeze it in.
• The vocabulary, syntax, and style of this passage differ from the rest of John.
• As a point of comparison, John 7:53-8:11 has more evidence against its inclusion than Mark 16:9-20.

So, what does Wallace conclude? He concludes the story is largely, historically true (with some accretions perhaps), but it is not scripture (i.e., It is not inspired or canonical). For this reason, it is excluded from the main text of scripture in the Gospel of John.

Perspective

Excluding John 7:53-8:11 may feel strange or confusing, but please do not be dismayed; be encouraged!

1. Be encouraged because Jesus does in fact do the kinds of things he does in John 7:53-8:11 all through the Gospels. He forgives big-time, scandalous sinners. He gives grace. He claims authority over the law. He receives all who come to him. And he does tell sinners to sin no more (5:14). So please know that nothing is lost or jeopardized by moving this story to the footnotes.
2. Be encouraged by how seriously the global Church takes preserving the scriptures accurately. People sometimes claim the scriptures are this willy-nilly amalgamation of stories and myths that the church put in at-will. But that’s just not true. The church has always been careful to only include what was authorized and authenticated by God through one of his prophets or apostles. And the exclusion of John 7:53-8:11 demonstrates that commitment to accuracy. The church has historically noted this story with an asterisk or footnote precisely because it takes the question of what is God’s word and what is scripture so seriously.

So be encouraged. You can have great confidence in who Jesus is and what you are reading.

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Got questions? Comment below.

1. These letters and symbols are scholarly shorthand for the manuscript names. ↩︎