Overview of the Epistle of Barnabas
When discussing The Epistle of Barnabas, the content most often explored is the strange and controversial interpretation it gives of the Old Testament Law. And while this does make sense, as it makes up a huge portion of the epistle, there are interesting quotes on other subjects found in the writing. For example, Barnabas gives us some of the Church’s earliest descriptions of baptism, the Atonement, and Christ’s role in Creation.
It’s also a decently structured epistle. I may not like all the content in it, but I do think Barnabas does a decent job flowing its points together from beginning to end. Structurally speaking, I would say my biggest complaint is that the letter drags too long, and the author way overstates their case regarding the Old Testament. Of course, it doesn’t help that the case being made is done through a flawed interpretation of the Old Testament.
So, as we dive into Barnabas, my hope is to bring a broad overview of not just the controversial content, but the epistle as a whole.
Introduction (Chapter 1)
Barnabas opens in a way similar to the New Testament epistles with greetings, praise, and encouragement to their Christian brothers and sisters:
“Seeing the divine fruits of righteousness abound among you, I rejoice exceedingly and above measure in your happy and honored spirits, because you have with such effect received the engrafted spiritual gift. Wherefore also I inwardly rejoice the more, hoping to be saved, because I truly perceive in you the Spirit poured forth from the rich Lord of love.”
Barnabas informs the congregation that his purpose for the letter is to, “have perfect knowledge”. (1.5) This understanding of perfect knowledge seems to set up the epistle’s lengthy interpretations of multiple Old Testament passages. By understanding the “true” meaning of the Old Testament, they will have perfect knowledge of their salvation.
Sacrifices, Fasts, and Jesus (Chapters 2-8)
Barnabas spends the next fifteen chapters diving into the Old Testament and its fulfillment found in Jesus Christ. The first couple examples given are the Old Testament sacrifices along with fasting. Barnabas quotes from the first chapter of Isaiah (LXX version), in which God rebukes Israel for vain sacrifices, temple practices, and Sabbath keeping due to their disobedience and injustice. This particular passage would later be frequently quoted by Christian apologists of the early Church to prove that the works of Torah are not what matters most to God.
After quoting Isaiah 1:11-13, Barnabas states in regards to sacrifices and other practices, “He (God) has therefore abolished these things, that the new law of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is without the yoke of necessity, might have a human oblation.” (2.6)
Regarding fasting, Barnabas quotes Isaiah 58 to show that abstaining from food and performing lip service to God is not the fast God seeks. Instead, followers of God fast by humbling themselves and bringing justice to victims. So far, Barnabas hasn’t said anything strange and Christian tradition would generally agree with these points.
The epistle begins to take a strange turn in chapter 4. Referencing the Golden Calf incident in Exodus 32, Barnabas claims that this is the specific moment Israel “lost” their covenant with God. (4.7) While the Bible (both Old and New Testament) acknowledges the Golden Calf incident as a notable event of Israel’s failure and turn to idolatry, we still see through the rest of the Old Testament God mercifully and faithfully working through His covenant with Israel. As if this wasn’t odd enough, Barnabas then tries tying this to Jesus and the New Covenant:
“And Moses understood, and cast the two tables out of his hands; and their covenant was broken, in order that the covenant of the beloved Jesus might be sealed upon our heart, in the hope which flows from believing in Him.”
This is where we start to see the frustrating flaws of Barnabas. Christians agree that the New Covenant in Jesus is better than the Old, with the Spirit dwelling in each believer. And as we see in the quote above, this flows from having faith in Christ. But to tie this into the idea that Israel lost their covenant with God after the sin of the Golden Calf is just inaccurate and misleading.
Referencing Israel’s failure, Barnabas encourages Christians to stay faithful to God’s commands and constantly seek fellowship together to help each other grow and stay accountable.
The Salvation of Jesus Christ (Chapter 5)
The epistle turns to the suffering Jesus endured in order to save us from our sins. Using Isaiah 53, Barnabas shows how the blood of Jesus atoned for our sins, His resurrection abolished death, and His unknown return will bring judgment to the world. Barnabas notes how Jesus picked flawed disciples in order to show that He came to save sinners, and His death on the cross was necessary to fulfill the prophets.
Chapter 6 spends time arguing that the promise God made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses is and will ultimately be fulfilled in the New Earth by Jesus Christ. This seemed to be a popular eschatology in the early Church, as seen from Papias among others. The “true” land flowing with milk and honey is not Israel on earth, but the New Earth to come.
Chapter 7 highlights Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac as a foreshadowing of God sacrificing His Son. This interpretation of seeing the Gospel of Jesus in Genesis 22 is still commonly taught to this day. Again, we see Barnabas teaching some Old Testament traditions Christians commonly hold to. But once again, the epistle takes an unfortunate and strange turn.
Circumcision and Food Laws (Chapters 9-10)
In my opinion, this is when Barnabas really goes off the rails with its allegorical interpretation. Barnabas cites passages such as Deuteronomy 10:16 in showing that God’s will for circumcision isn’t truly about the physical act, but the heart of being set apart for Him. Deuteronomy 10:16 is another passage many Church Fathers would later use in their debates with Jewish critics. The call in Deuteronomy 10:16 to circumcise the heart, to spiritually set yourself apart for God, is more important to Him than the physical act of circumcision. Christians would agree with this. However, Barnabas makes a statement that thankfully would not be used by later Church Fathers:
“For He declared that circumcision was not of the flesh, but they (the Israelites) transgressed because an evil angel deluded them.”
According to Barnabas, the Jewish custom of circumcision was a deceptive instruction from an evil angel, and not from God. To say this goes against Scripture and Jewish/Christian traditions is an understatement and has been a confusing passage for scholars to interpret.
But it doesn’t stop there.
Relying on the LXX, Barnabas connects the number of men Abraham circumcised with the Greek alphabet, and actually argues that it spells out “Jesus”, with the first letter, “T”, representing the cross, and the next two letters, “IE”, spelling “Jesus”. (Hvalvik, 2021, Pg. 280-281)
It keeps going.
Chapter 10 shifts from circumcision to the food laws in Torah. Barnabas argues the Jewish people completely missed the mark in obeying these laws, believing God wasn’t actually commanding them to avoid certain foods such as pork. Rather, Barnabas believes God was using such creatures as an allegory for the kind of people they should avoid.
According to Barnabas, pigs are “actually” referring to rich and self-indulgent sinners who live like pigs. Eagles and hawks are “actually” referring to lazy moochers who take advantage of others. Fish with scales are “actually” representing condemnation, with these fish swimming deep in the water to symbolize the abyss. Therefore, to avoid fish with scales is to avoid those living a condemned lifestyle. Barnabas goes on a bit more, but I think you get the point.
We certainly can’t say Barnabas isn’t creative.
The Cross and Baptism (Chapters 11-12)
The epistle turns to baptism, linking the sacrament and the cross to different Old Testament passages found in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Psalm 1, and Ezekiel. Barnabas’s focus was not to explain the doctrine of baptism, but to argue that the Scriptures prophesied baptism being reserved for Christians and not the Israelites. With this said, it is worth noting that Barnabas describes baptism leading to the forgiveness of sins. (11.1) For those who wish to study the doctrine of baptism in the early Church, this would be an important passage to analyze. Barnabas then illustrates more examples of the Crucifixion being foreshadowed in the Old Testament.
The Covenant (Chapters 13-14)
Continuing the “Us (Christian) vs Them (Jews)” rhetoric, Barnabas discusses inheritance and covenant in a somewhat similar way Paul does in Galatians 4. Using examples of Jacob and Esau, and Ephraim and Manasseh, Barnabas believes the Christians represent the offspring that inherent the greater blessing from God.
Sabbath and the Temple (Chapters 15-16)
Returning to the allegorical interpretation of an Old Testament command, Barnabas argues that the rest on Sabbath is actually a foreshadowing of final judgment and the New Earth:
“Attend, my children, to the meaning of this expression, ‘He finished in six days.’ This implies that the Lord will finish all things in six thousand years. And He Himself testifies, saying, ‘Behold, today will be as a thousand years.’ Therefore, my children, in six days, that is, six thousand years, all things will be finished.
‘And He rested on the seventh day.’ This means: when His Son, coming, shall destroy the time of the wicked man, and judge the ungodly, and change the sun, and the moon, and the stars, then shall He truly rest on the seventh day.”
Interestingly, the “6 days=6000 years till the end” theory was popular for a time with other Church Fathers.
Turning attention to the Temple, Barnabas gives us some clues as to when this epistle was written and possibly why. The destruction of the Temple in AD 70 is mentioned, implying this must have been written after, and the author claims in 16.4 that a rebuilding of the Temple is happening.
Barnabas only briefly mentions this, with his emphasis being more on how Christians are the true temple of God. However, scholars have debated whether or not The Epistle of Barnabas was a polemic reaction to rumors of a new temple being built, possible a third Jewish Temple. One of the more popular theories is that Barnabas was written around AD 130-132 during the reign of Hadrian.
In a previous blog, we looked into the possibility that the temple would be a new Jewish Temple. However, it is worth mentioning that other scholars believe the temple Hadrian would’ve built would have been pagan, but built on the ground of the previous Second Temple. (Hvalvik, 2021, Pg. 273-274)
This is all speculation, so we don’t know for sure. Personally, I think the temple theory, whether it was going to be a Jewish temple or pagan temple, makes sense in both the context of the passage and some of the bigger themes found in Barnabas. But it is still speculation.
After discussing the Temple, The Epistle of Barnabas shifts the epistle’s content into application for the Christian life, framed in the Two Ways teaching.
The Two Ways (Chapters 18-20)
The Two Ways is often described as the way of life and the way of death. In the case of Barnabas, it is described as the way of light and the way of darkness. Examples of walking the way of light includes loving God, loving your neighbor, living a simplistic and humble life, not joining sinful company, not committing sexual immortality, seeking peace, etc.
Barnabas describes the way of darkness with examples of idolatry, boasting, adultery, murder, hypocrisy, dishonesty, sorcery, persecution, mistreating widows, orphans and the poor, oppression, etc. Both the way of light and darkness are packed with examples.
Closing (Chapter 21)
Barnabas closes with a reminder to keep God’s commands as the return and judgment of Christ is near: “For he who keeps these shall be glorified in the kingdom of God; but he who chooses other things shall be destroyed with his works. On this account there will be a resurrection, on this account a retribution.” (21.1.b)
Conclusion
This was a tough blog to write, and I didn’t even go over every weird statement Barnabas makes! While The Epistle of Barnabas was popular in different settings of the early Church, there is a good reason it didn’t have the lasting influence 1st Clement, The Didache, or The Martyrdom of Polycarp had. It is a very Christ-centered epistle, and at different points it does have to some beautiful descriptions of fellowship and salvation. But the exclusive allegorical interpretation of the Old Testament is not only hard to read at times but it goes on for far too long. Of all the Apostolic Fathers, it is easily the one I enjoy reading the least.
Bibliography
Schaff, P. (2016). The Complete Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Collection of Early Church Fathers. Toronto, Canada.
Hvalvik, R. (2021). The Epistle of Barnabas. In M. Bird and S. Harrower, The Cambridge Companion to the Apostolic Fathers. University Printing House, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press.