• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer

Stephen M. Miller

Award-Winning, Bestselling Christian Author

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Blog Features
  • Bible
  • Contact
Painting/photo of Jerusalem Temple-Casual English Bible

What did Jesus write in the dirt?

Stephen M. Miller
Painting of Jesus
SCRIBBLES IN THE DIRT. When Jewish scholars brought to Jesus a woman caught in adultery, what did Jesus write in the dust? Names of the scholars and the dirt he had on them? Or maybe tic-tac-toe, which has surprising parallels to the story. Painting by Vasiliy Polenov / Wikimedia.

THAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.

It comes from Tom Temple, who gets a free, signed copy of one of my books for taking the time to send me the question.

Here’s how he asked it:

I have heard a lot opinions on this but what do you think Jesus was writing in the dirt…during the scene of the women about to be stoned?

Here’s the scene.

Early morning. Jerusalem. Jesus is at the Jewish temple. A crowd gathers around him. He sits and starts teaching them.

A group of Jewish religion scholars arrive, including Pharisees—a Jewish sect famous for its over-the-top legalism. The men have a woman in tow.

They interrupt Jesus and say “This woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” (John 8:5 NLT).

Jesus apparently knows they are trying to trap him.

  • If he recommends stoning, he doesn’t seem so peace-loving and “forgive 70 times 7” anymore.
  • If he orders her released, he’s a heretical law-breaker.

Here’s the odd twist in the story.

“Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, ‘All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!’ Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust” (John 8:6-8 NLT).

One by one the religion scholars walked away.

No stoning today.

What did Jesus write?

I don’t know and I’ll bet the Bible writer didn’t know either.

If Jesus had starting writing names of the scholars alongside the names of ladies with whom they had dillied and dallied, as some theorize, the writer probably would have said so—if he had any sense. That would have added a juicy hook to the story.

Or maybe Jesus was listing other sins they had committed.

Or maybe the lady was still naked, “caught having sex,” and Jesus was diverting his eyes.

Let me add another theory. For fun.

Jesus was playing tic-tac-toe.

Why not? It’s a game of entrapment. Romans played it with stones.

Romans called their version of the game Terni Lapilli, “Three Little Stones.” Romans had been playing this game for 100 years by the time Jesus arrived.

Each player had three stones, which they kept moving around a board until they got three in a row.

Egyptians had a similar game.

But the short, honest answer to Tom’s question is that the Bible doesn’t give one solid clue about what Jesus wrote.

Besides, what Jesus wrote in the dirt is a detour from the point the writer was trying to make.

If the point of the story had been a game of rock, scissors, paper—forgiveness beats condemnation.

Jesus: “Where is everyone? Isn’t there anyone left to accuse you?”

Woman: “No sir.”

Jesus: “I am not going to accuse you either. You may go now, but don’t sin anymore” (John 8:10-11 CEV).

Grace. It accepts people right where they are in life’s journey—just as they are.

But it doesn’t leave them there. It points them to a new and better place.

Share this:

  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...
View All Posts - Ordered by Most Recent First
« Previous
Next »

About Stephen M. Miller

STEPHEN M. MILLER is an award winning bestselling Christian author of easy-reading books about the Bible and Christianity and author of the Casual English Bible® paraphrase. His books have sold over two million copies and include The Complete Guide to the Bible and Who’s and Where’s Where in the Bible.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. joe

    December 10, 2022 at 5:58 pm

    Far as I know it was never said what Jesus really wrote in the dirt. Now he did talk about If you have not Sin cast the 1st stone. But it was never said that that’s what he wrote.. Just because he said it doesn’t mean that’s what he wrote he Could have wrote something else. So I don’t think people should say that’s what he wrote without really knowing what he really said in the writing In the dirt . I would just leave it as he probably could have said that or. Something else..

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sidebar

Casual English Bible Website

Featured Book

Complete Guide to the Bible

Complete Guide to the Bible
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Books-A-Million
Buy from Christian Book Distributor
Buy from Google Play

Latest Posts

  • I do one thing better than God May 27, 2025
  • When our faith glitches May 5, 2025
  • Job is the right book for me now April 16, 2025

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog Features
  • Books
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Copyright © 2025 · Stephen M. Miller · All Rights Reserved

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Reject AllAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
%d