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Epistle of Barnabas

A Christian reading of Israel’s Law that finds Jesus in Abraham’s 318 men and turns food rules into moral instruction.^{4 sources}4 sources1. Barnabas)2. Genesis 14:14 3. Barnabas)4. Leviticus 11:7

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At a glance

Author: Unnamed; attributed to Paul’s companion Barnabas by Clement of Alexandria, disputed by T. W. Crafer.^{5 6 7}
Written: AD 130–131 (Paulin Ladeuze); AD 70–79 (Lightfoot, reported by Crafer).^{8 9 10}
Genre: Exhortation and symbolic interpretation of the Law.¹¹
Found in: Codex Sinaiticus, after the New Testament and before the Shepherd.^{12 13}

Summary

Why would Abraham’s 318 men point to Jesus and the cross? The Epistle of Barnabas reads numbers and Israel’s laws as Christian symbols: food rules become lessons in moral conduct. It ends with Two Ways teaching shared with the Didache. The author attacks Jewish readings of the Law and claims Jews lost the covenant. These are his judgments about Judaism. The letter is unsigned. Greek church writer Clement of Alexandria attributed it to Paul’s companion Barnabas; Anglican scholar T. W. Crafer disputed that attribution.^{12 sources}12 sources3. Barnabas)4. Leviticus 11:7 1. Barnabas)2. Genesis 14:14 14. Barnabas)15. Schachterle 2026 11. Ladeuze 1907 16. Barnabas)17. Exodus 32:19 5. Alexandria 6. Acts 4:36 7. Crafer 1920

Exhortation and the covenant
Chapters 1–5:4
The opening urges its readers onward and warns them against treating the covenant as shared with Jews. It locates the loss of that covenant in the breaking of Moses’ tablets.^{4 sources}4 sources11. Ladeuze 1907 16. Barnabas)1. Barnabas)17. Exodus 32:19
Read the Law through symbols
Chapters 5:5–17
The author reads laws and numbers as Christian lessons: food laws concern moral conduct, 318 points to Jesus and the cross, and the eighth day celebrates Jesus’ resurrection.^{7 sources}7 sources11. Ladeuze 1907 3. Barnabas)4. Leviticus 11:7 1. Barnabas)2. Genesis 14:14 18. Barnabas)19. Isaiah 1:13
The Two Ways and conclusion
Chapters 18–21
The work sets the ways of light and darkness before its readers, then concludes. This moral section overlaps with the Didache’s Two Ways.^{11 14 15}

Stories

Jesus and the cross in a number
Chapter 9
Greek letters also serve as numbers. The author reads 318 as I and H, beginning Jesus’ name, plus T, whose shape he takes as the cross.^{1 2}
A food rule becomes a warning about people
Chapter 10
The prohibition on eating swine becomes a warning against people who act like swine. The author insists that treating it as a literal diet rule misses its meaning.^{3 4}

Connections to the Bible

Quotations

Isaiah 1:13 · Chapter 15
The author cites Isaiah’s rejection of Sabbaths, then celebrates the eighth day as the day of Jesus’ resurrection.^{18 19}

Echoes and allusions

Matthew 22:14 · Chapter 4medium confidence
Barnabas introduces a saying matching Matthew as written authority. Catholic scholar Ladeuze reads this as a quotation of Matthew as Scripture; Koester, reported by Schachterle, doubts that Barnabas used the written Gospels.^{4 sources}4 sources16. Barnabas)20. Matthew 22:14 21. Ladeuze 1907 22. Schachterle 2026

Expansions

Genesis 14:14 · Chapter 9
The 318 men of Abraham’s household become a symbolic reading of Jesus and the cross. The circumcision setting also draws on Genesis 17.^{1 2}
Leviticus 11:7 · Chapter 10
The swine prohibition becomes a moral rule about human behavior in the author’s interpretation.^{3 4}
Exodus 32:19 · Chapter 4
Barnabas says the Jews lost the covenant when Moses broke the tablets at Sinai.^{16 1 17}

Shared figures

Acts 4:36 · Traditional author attributionlow confidence
Clement of Alexandria identified the author with Paul’s companion Barnabas. Crafer doubted the attribution; it is not a self-identification in the letter.^{5 6 7}

Contrasts

Romans 11:1–2 · Chapter 4
The author’s claim that Jews lost the covenant stands in contrast to Paul’s denial in Romans 11 that God rejected his people.^{16 1 17}

Did an apostolic name make the letter Scripture?

Clement of Alexandria attributes the epistle to the apostolic Barnabas. Jerome values it for edification but reckons it apocryphal, while Eusebius lists it among rejected writings. In McDonald’s framework, reported by Alex Jassen, authoritative traditions and a fixed collection are distinct.^{5 sources}5 sources5. Alexandria 6. Acts 4:36 23. Jerome 24. Caesarea 25. Jassen 2008

Apostolic attribution and useful teaching

Early church: Greek

Clement of Alexandria quotes it as the work of the apostolic Barnabas, giving it a connection to Paul’s companion.^{5 6}

Early church: Latin

Jerome calls the letter valuable for building up the church, even while placing it outside Scripture.²³

Rejection and doubts about authorship

Early church: Greek

Eusebius lists the Epistle of Barnabas among rejected writings.²⁴

Protestant: Anglican

Crafer judged the attribution to Paul’s companion unreliable. This is a later scholarly objection, not a documented ancient reason for exclusion.⁷

Sources

25 sources from 14 works

Anonymous (traditionally Barnabas), Epistle of Barnabas, tr. A. Roberts and J. Donaldson (ANF 1, 1885), New Advent
- 1
  ch. 9↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h
- 3
  ch. 10↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
- 14
  ch. 18↩^a ↩^b
- 16
  ch. 4↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
- 18
  ch. 15↩^a ↩^b
2
Genesis 14:14↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
4
Leviticus 11:7↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
5
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, book 2, tr. W. Wilson (ANF 2, 1885), New Advent, Stromata 2.20↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g
6
Acts 4:36↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
T. W. Crafer, The Epistle of Barnabas (SPCK Texts for Students 14, 1920) (1920)
- 7
  Introduction, sec. 1 Author, p. iii↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
- 9
  Introduction, sec. 2 Date, p. iv↩
- 10
  Introduction, sec. 2 Date, p. v↩
- 13
  Introduction, sec. 4 Sources, p. vii↩
Paulin Ladeuze, Epistle of Barnabas, The Catholic Encyclopedia vol. 2 (1907), New Advent (1907)
- 8
  section Date↩
- 11
  section Contents↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
- 12
  section Authorities for the text and editions↩
- 21
  section General characteristics↩
Joshua Schachterle, “Is the Epistle of Barnabas in the Bible? Text, Date, and Summary (bartehrman.com, 2026)” (2026)
- 15
  section Epistle of Barnabas Summary↩^a ↩^b
- 22
  section Date and Occasion↩
17
Exodus 32:19↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
19
Isaiah 1:13↩^a ↩^b
20
Matthew 22:14↩
23
Jerome, De viris illustribus (Lives of Illustrious Men), tr. E. C. Richardson (NPNF 2.3, 1892), New Advent, ch. 6↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
24
Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History, book 3, tr. A. C. McGiffert (NPNF 2.1, 1890), New Advent, 3.25.4↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
25
Alex Jassen, “Review of Lee Martin McDonald, The Biblical Canon (2007), Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 8 (2008)” (2008)↩^a ↩^b

Epistle of Barnabas

At a glance

Summary

Contents

Exhortation and the covenant

Read the Law through symbols

The Two Ways and conclusion

Stories

Jesus and the cross in a number

A food rule becomes a warning about people

Connections to the Bible

Quotations

Echoes and allusions

Expansions

Shared figures

Contrasts

Did an apostolic name make the letter Scripture?

Apostolic attribution and useful teaching

Early church: Greek

Early church: Latin

Rejection and doubts about authorship

Early church: Greek

Protestant: Anglican

Further reading

Sources

Report a problem

At a glance

Summary

Contents

Exhortation and the covenant

Read the Law through symbols

The Two Ways and conclusion

Stories

Jesus and the cross in a number

A food rule becomes a warning about people

Connections to the Bible

Quotations

Echoes and allusions

Expansions

Shared figures

Contrasts

Did an apostolic name make the letter Scripture?

Apostolic attribution and useful teaching

Early church: Greek

Early church: Latin

Rejection and doubts about authorship

Early church: Greek

Protestant: Anglican

Related books

Further reading

Sources

Report a problem