John 8:5

λιθάζειν for λιθοβολεῖσθαι.

5. ἐν δὲ τῷ νόμῳ. Of the two texts given in the margin of our Bible, Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22, probably neither is correct. It is often assumed that ‘put to death’ in Jewish Law means stoning: such however is not Jewish tradition. The Rabbis taught that it meant strangulation; i.e. the criminal was smothered in mud and then a cord was twisted round his neck. But, for the case of a betrothed woman sinning in the city, stoning is specified as the punishment (Deuteronomy 22:23-24), and this is probably what is indicated here. Such cases would be rare, and therefore all the better suited for a casuistical question.

σὺ οὖν τί λέγεις; What therefore sayest Thou? This is the only place in the whole paragraph where S. John’s favourite particle οὖν occurs; and that not in the narrative, where S. John makes such frequent use of it, but in the dialogue, where he very rarely employs it. Scarcely anywhere in this Gospel are there 12 verses of narrative without an οὖν; but see John 2:1-17, and contrast John 4:1-26; John 20:1-9.