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Authorship, date, and setting
The work is anonymous: it does not identify itself as the work of Paul's companion Barnabas. Attribution to him belongs to its reception and remains disputed. In one specific proposal, the Catholic Encyclopedia places composition in 130–131, using allusions interpreted against Hadrian's time; other readings place it more broadly between the late first and the second century. The text discusses how followers of Jesus relate to Israel's Scriptures and practices after the destruction of the temple. Its opposition to Judaism is an early Christian polemic, not an impartial account of the Jewish religion.
Structure of the twenty-one chapters
Chapters 1–4 combine greeting and moral warning. In 5–17, interpretations of biblical passages and practices such as sacrifice, circumcision, food rules, Sabbath, and temple predominate; these are read as figures of Christ and his community. Chapter 17 admits limits to the exposition. In 18–20, the two ways teaching opposes light and darkness; chapter 21 gives a final exhortation and farewell.
Themes and key passages
The treatment of sacrifices in 2–3 shifts attention toward ethical dispositions. In 7–8, rites linked to atonement are read as signs of Jesus' passion; in 9–10, circumcision and food laws receive allegorical readings. Water and the cross appear in 11–12. The covenant argument in 13–14 claims biblical inheritance for Christians in an exclusionary way. In 15–16, Sabbath is linked to the so-called eighth day and the temple to a spiritual dwelling. The choice between paths of light and darkness in 18–20 turns interpretation of Scripture into a choice of conduct.
Summary by parts
1–4: The writer greets his readers, offers to share knowledge, and urges watchfulness before judgment. He insists that faith and just practice belong together.
5–10: Jesus' suffering becomes a key for reading prophecies and rites. The writer moves through atonement images, circumcision, and forbidden animals, seeking symbolic meanings in place of literal observance.
11–17: Water, wood, and the serpent are connected with the cross and baptism. Arguments about covenant, Sabbath, and temple follow; the writer closes the exposition by acknowledging that he has not explained everything.
18–21: Two ways are set out as opposing guides. The way of light gathers commands of love and justice; the way of darkness lists vices. The close urges readers to practice what they have learned and offers a farewell.
Reception, canon, and manuscripts
Clement of Alexandria and Origen knew the work, but its authority was not accepted in every community. Eusebius places it among writings he did not count as recognized New Testament books. The fourth-century Codex Sinaiticus preserves it after the New Testament books, alongside part of the Shepherd of Hermas; its position in that codex shows circulation and regard, not canonical consensus. The eleventh-century Codex Hierosolymitanus is another complete Greek witness. An ancient Latin translation preserves only the first seventeen chapters.
Sources
- Roberts e Donaldson (trad.), The Epistle of Barnabas (1885).
- Catholic Encyclopedia, Epistle of Barnabas (1907).
- Eusébio de Cesareia, Church History, Book III (século IV).