Neue Dissertation über »Jesus und die Ehebrecherin«

John David Punch hat unter der Supervision von an G. van der Watt eine Dissertation über die Perikope von der Ehebrecherin (Joh 7,53–8,11) geschrieben. Punch schlägt keine neue Lösung des textkritischen Problems vor (Nestle-Aland stuft den Abschnitt als nicht ursprünglich ein; siehe auch hier), gewährt aber durch seine Arbeit einen Einblick in die aktuelle Diskussion.

Hier das Abstract:

A new dissertation in New Testament textual criticism has seen the light at Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen written by John David Punch under the supervision of Jan G. van der Watt, and with the title “The Pericope Adulterae: Theories of Insertion and Omission.”

While the majority of the scholarly world seems to be settled in accepting the fact that the Pericope Adulterae (John 7:53-8:11) is a non- Johannine interpolation, numerous questions remain unanswered in regards to the pericope, such as who penned these words, where the story originates from, and when was it inserted/omitted/re-inserted into the Fourth Gospel. In addition to this, there are mild debates that continue in regards to Greek manuscripts, the influence of lectionary practice, and the relevancy of the Patristic witnesses. Further, there is a minority who still argue for the inclusion of the Pericope Adulterae in the Fourth Gospel. Though there is a majority viewpoint, issues related to John 7:53-8:11 appear to be far from settled.

The present work does not argue for either side, but instead tests a hypothesis of several theories relating to the insertion or omission (and subsequent re-insertion) of the passage from the Gospel of John. Such theories are proposed in relation to collation of internal and external evidence both for and against the inclusion of the pericope. No particular theory is advocated for; instead each theory is evaluated based upon the evidence presented in this work and suggestions for further work are offered.

Chapter 1 presents an introduction to the Pericope Adulterae itself, along with a brief summary of the history of biblical interpretation and the history of such interpretation in relation to the Gospel of John in particular. Five theories of omission/insertion are then highlighted, setting the foundation for the work that will follow. These theories are categorized as Redactional Insertion, Ecclesiastical Insertion, Liturgical Omission, Accidental Omission, and Ecclesiastical Suppression.

Chapter 2 summarizes the history of research regarding John 7:53-8:11, beginning with the nineteenth century developments in textual criticism that broke away from Textus Receptus. This summary is not exhaustive, but rather highlights the major movements in the research of this passage up to the present day, detailing scholars who have either had a profound impact on textual criticism, written major works relating to the Pericope Adulterae, or written multiple works on the subject.

Chapter 3 presents a working translation and exegesis of the pericope. The translation is offered with comparison to the numerous variants associated with the passage; the exegesis is offered based upon the traditional location of John 7:53-8:11 immediately following John 7:52 and preceding 8:12.

Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the internal evidence of the literary context, style, and vocabulary of the Pericope Adulterae. In Chapter 4, comparison is made between the pericope and the immediate context of John 7-8 as well as the larger context of the Gospel of John. This includes discussion of various themes common to the Tabernacles Discourse and to the Gospel of John as a whole. Further, issues of transition between John 7:52 and 8:12 are evaluated. In Chapter 5, suggested “non-Johannine“ and “Johannine“ style and vocabulary are discussed, in addition to arguments relating to hapax legomena, Lukan and/or Synoptic influence, and the relationship between the Pericope Adulterae and Susanna.

Chapter 6 presents the external evidence of the Greek papyri/ manuscripts, manuscripts in additional languages, and the Patristic Witnesses. Evaluation is made in regards to both the presence and absence of John 7:53-8:11 in numerous manuscripts and in the works of various Church Fathers. Further, several theories traditionally offered in response to the external evidence, such as Source Theories, Lectionary Text Theories, Majority Text Theories, and Multiple Edition Theories, are discussed as well.

Chapter 7 discusses each of the theories presented in Chapter 1. The five theories presented include Redactional Insertion, suggesting that a later Johannine redactor or community inserted the pericope at a later date; Ecclesiastical Interpolation, suggesting that later scribes not related to the Johannine redactor or community inserted the pericope; Liturgical Omission, suggesting that due to lectionary practice and manuscripts the pericope was omitted; Accidental Omission, suggesting that multiple copies of the Gospel of John were released, one without the pericope and one with the pericope; and Ecclesiastical Suppression, suggesting that the Church omitted the pericope out of fears that it could be misinterpreted and/or misapplied. Each theory is treated individually, though at times theories overlap with one another. Further, each is evaluated based upon the evidence presented in Chapters 4-6. Following this evaluation, suggestions for further study of the Pericope Adulterae are offered.

Die Arbeit kann hier herunter geladen werden: FORMATTED.%20JD%20PUNCH%20FINAL%203.4.10a.pdf.

VD: evangelicaltextualcriticism.blogspot.com

Das virtuelle Manuskriptarchiv des INTF

VMR.pngFreunde der neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft und der Textkritik werden von der Internetseite »New Testament: Virtual Manuscript Room« (NT.VMR) begeistert sein.

Das Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung (INTF) in Münster dokumentiert und erforscht die Geschichte der Überlieferung des Neuen Testaments in seiner griechischen Ursprache. Dafür führt das INTF die so genannte Handschriftenliste, in der sämtliche neutestamentlichen Handschriftenbestände mit ihren Grunddaten katalogisiert sind. Zu jeder neutestamentlichen Handschrift ist im Archiv des INTF eine Akte vorhanden, in der unterschiedlichste Informationen gesammelt sind. Diese Dossiers sollen nach und nach im NT.VMR veröffentlicht werden. Jetzt sind zu folgenden Papyrushandschriften die ersten Dossiers als pdf-Dateien zugänglich: P1, P20, P21, P22, P26 und P37.

Ein Besuch des virtuellen Manuskriptarchivs lohnt sich: intf.uni-muenster.de.

Jesus und die Ehebrecherin

Fast jeder Theologiestudent muss sich im Verlauf seines Studiums mit der ziemlich verwickelten Manuskriptlage zur Perikope über die Ehebrecherin befassen (Johannes 7,53–8,11). Daniel B. Wallace vom Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts hat im Juni 2007 ein Team nach Albanien geschickt, um dort sehr alte Manuskripte fotografieren zu lassen. Christianity Today berichtet über die Ergebnisse: www.christianitytoday.com.

Hochwertige Aufnahmen einiger NT Manuskripte

AlexandrinusFol65v.jpgDas Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) unter dem Dach des Center for the Research of Early Christian Documents (CRECD) hat es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht, bedeutende griechische Manuskripte digital zu fotografieren und so der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich zu machen. Inzwischen hat das Zentrum eine beeindruckende Fotosammlung wichtiger Manuskripte archiviert und stellt sie über ein Browserschnittstelle zur Verfügung. Wer das Bedürfniss hat, z. B. den ägyptischen Codex Sinaiticus aus dem 4. Jahrhundert oder den Codex Alexandrinus aus dem 5. Jahrhundert oder andere Manuskripte am Monitor zu studieren, wird an der Datenbank des CSNTM Freude haben.