Barnabas, The Epistle of Barnabas

When, therefore, He has fulfilled the commandment, what saith He? “Who is he that will contend with Me? let him oppose Me: or who is he that will enter into judgment with Me? let him draw near to the servant of the Lord.”50 Isa. l. 8. “Woe unto you, for ye shall all wax old, like a garment, and the moth shall eat you up.”51 Isa. l. 9. And again the prophet says, “Since52 The Latin omits “since,” but it is found in all the Greek mss. as a mighty stone He is laid for crushing, behold I cast down for the foundations of Zion a stone, precious, elect, a corner-stone, honourable.” Next, what says He? “And he who shall trust53 Cod. Sin. has “believe.” Isa. viii. 14, Isa. xxviii. 16. in it shall live for ever.” Is our hope, then, upon a stone? Far from it. But [the language is used] inasmuch as He laid his flesh [as a foundation] with power; for He says, “And He placed me as a firm rock.”54 Isa. l. 7. And the prophet says again, “The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner.”55 Ps. cxviii. 22. And again he says, “This is the great and wonderful day which the Lord hath made.”56 Ps. cxviii. 24. I write the more simply unto you, that ye may understand. I am the off-scouring of your love.57 Comp. 1 Cor. iv. 13. The meaning is, “My love to you is so great, that I am ready to be or to do all things for you.” What, then, again says the prophet? “The assembly of the wicked surrounded me; they encompassed me as bees do a honeycomb,”58 Ps. xxii. 17, Ps. cxviii. 12. and “upon my garment they cast lots.”59 Ps. xxii. 19. Since, therefore, He was about to be manifested and to suffer in the flesh, His suffering was foreshown. For the prophet speaks against Israel, “Woe to their soul, because they have counselled an evil counsel against themselves,60 Isa. iii. 9. saying, Let us bind the just one, because he is displeasing to us.”61 Wisdom ii. 12. This apocryphal book is thus quoted as Scripture, and intertwined with it. And Moses also says to them,62 Cod. Sin. reads, “What says the other prophet Moses unto them?” “Behold these things, saith the Lord God: Enter into the good land which the Lord swore [to give] to Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and inherit ye it, a land flowing with milk and honey.”63 Ex. xxxiii. 1; Lev. xx. 24. What, then, says Knowledge?64 The original word is “Gnosis,” the knowledge peculiar to advanced Christians, by which they understand the mysteries of Scripture. Learn: “Trust,” she says, “in Him who is to be manifested to you in the flesh—that is, Jesus.” For man is earth in a suffering state, for the formation of Adam was from the face of the earth. What, then, meaneth this: “into the good land, a land flowing with milk and honey?” Blessed be our Lord, who has placed in us wisdom and understanding of secret things. For the prophet says, “Who shall understand the parable of the Lord, except him who is wise and prudent, and who loves his Lord?”65 Not found in Scripture. Comp. Isa. xl. 13; Prov. i. 6. Hilgenfeld, however, changes the usual punctuation, which places a colon after prophet, and reads, “For the prophet speaketh the parable of the Lord. Who shall understand,” etc. Since, therefore, having renewed us by the remission of our sins, He hath made us after another pattern, [it is His purpose] that we should possess the soul of children, inasmuch as He has created us anew by His Spirit.66 The Greek is here very elliptical and obscure: “His Spirit” is inserted above, from the Latin. For the Scripture says concerning us, while He speaks to the Son, “Let Us make man after Our image, and after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the beasts of the earth, and the fowls of heaven, and the fishes of the sea.”67 Gen. i. 26. And the Lord said, on beholding the fair creature68 Cod. Sin. has “our fair formation.” man, “Increase, and multiply, and replenish the earth.”69 Gen. i. 28. These things [were spoken] to the Son. Again, I will show thee how, in respect to us,70 Cod. Sin. inserts, “the Lord says.” He has accomplished a second fashioning in these last days. The Lord says, “Behold, I will make71 Cod. Sin. has “I make.” the last like the first.”72 Not in Scripture, but comp. Matt. xx. 16, and 2 Cor. v. 17. In reference to this, then, the prophet proclaimed, “Enter ye into the land flowing with milk and honey, and have dominion over it.”73 Ex. xxxiii. 3. Behold, therefore, we have been refashioned, as again He says in another prophet, “Behold, saith the Lord, I will take away from these, that is, from those whom the Spirit of the Lord foresaw, their stony hearts, and I will put hearts of flesh within them,”74 Ezek. xi. 19, Ezek. xxxvi. 26. because He75 Cod. Sin. inserts “Himself;” comp. John i. 14. was to be manifested in flesh, and to sojourn among us. For, my brethren, the habitation of our heart is a holy temple to the Lord.76 Comp. Eph. ii. 21. For again saith the Lord, “And wherewith shall I appear before the Lord my God, and be glorified?”77 Comp. Ps. xlii. 2. He says,78 Cod. Sin. omits “He says.” “I will confess to thee in the Church in the midst79 Cod. Sin. omits “in the midst.” of my brethren; and I will praise thee in the midst of the assembly of the saints.”80 Ps. xxii. 23; Heb. ii. 12. We, then, are they whom He has led into the good land. What, then, mean milk and honey? This, that as the infant is kept alive first by honey, and then by milk, so also we, being quickened and kept alive by the faith of the promise and by the word, shall live ruling over the earth. But He said above,81 Cod. Sin. has “But we said above.” “Let them increase, and rule over the fishes.”82 Gen. i. 28. Who then is able to govern the beasts, or the fishes, or the fowls of heaven? For we ought to perceive that to govern implies authority, so that one should command and rule. If, therefore, this does not exist at present, yet still He has promised it to us. When? When we ourselves also have been made perfect [so as] to become heirs of the covenant of the Lord.83 These are specimens of the “Gnosis,” or faculty of bringing out the hidden spiritual meaning of Scripture referred to before. Many more such interpretations follow.

VI 1. Ὅτε οὖν ἐποίησεν τὴν ἐντολήν, τί λέγει; Τίς ὁ κρινόμενός μοι; ἀντιστήτω μοι· ἢ τίς ὁ δικαιούμενός μοι; ἐγγισάτω τῷ παιδὶ κυρίου. 2. οὐαὶ ὑμῖν, ὅτι ὑμεῖς πάντες ὡς ἱμάτιον παλαιωθήσεθε, καὶ σὴς καταφάγεται ὑμᾶς. καὶ παλιν λέγει ὁ προφήτης, ἐπεὶ ὡς λίθος ἰσχυρὸς ἐτέθη εἰς συντριβήν· Ἰδού, ἐμβαλῶ εἰς τὰ θεμέλια Σιὼν λίθον πολυτελῆ, ἐκλεκτόν, ἀκρογωναῖον, ἔντιμον. 3. εἶτα τί λέγει; Καὶ ὃς ἐλπίσει ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ζήσετα εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. ἐπὶ λίθον οὖν ἡμῶν ἡ ἐλπίς; μͅμὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλ’ ἐπεὶ ἐν ἰσχΰ τέθεικεν τὴν σάρκα αὐτοῦ κύριος. λέγει γάρ· Καὶ ἔθηκέ με ὡς στερεὰν πέτραν. 4. λέγει δὲ πάλιν ὁ προφήτης· Λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας. καὶ πάλιν λέγει· Αὔτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ μεγάλη καὶ θαυματή, ἣν ἐποίησεν ὁ κύριος. 5. ἀπολούστερον ὑμῖν γράφω, ἵνα συιῆτε· ἐγὼ περίψημα τῆς ἀγάπης ὑμῶν. 6. τί οὖν λέγει πάλιν ὁ προφητης; Περιέσχεν με συναγωγὴ πονηρευομένων, ἐκύκλωσάν με ὡσεὶ μέλισσαι κηρίον, καί· Ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον. 7. ἐν σαρκὶ οὖν αὐτοῦ μέλλοντος φανεροῦσθαι καὶ πάσχειν, προεφανερώθη τὸ πάθος. λέγει γὰρ ὁ προφήτης ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰσραήλ· Οὐαὶ τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτῶν, ὅτι βεβούλευνται βουλὴν πονηρὰν καθ’ ἑαυτῶν, εἰπόντες· Δήσωμεν τὸν δίκαιον, ὅτι δύσχρηστος ἡμῖν ἐστίν. 8. τί λέγει ὁ ἄλλος προφήτης Μωϋσῆς αὐτοῖς; Ἰδού, τάδε λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός· Ἐισέλθατε εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθήν, ἣν ὤμοσεν κύριος τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακώβ, καὶ κατακληρονομήσατε αὐτήν, γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι. 9. τί δὲ λέγει ἡ γνῶσις; μάθετε. ἐλπίσατε, φησίν, ἐπὶ τὸν ἐν σαρκὶ μέλλοντα φανεροῦσθαι ὑμῖν Ἰησοῦν. ἄνθρωπος γὰρ γῆς ἐστιν πάσχοῦσα· ἀπὸ προσώπου γὰρ τῆς γ͂ς ἡ πλάσις τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ἐγένετο. 10. τί οὖν λέγει Εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθήν, γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι; εὐλογητὸς ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν, ἀδελφοί, ὁ σοφίαν καὶ νοῦν θέμενος ἐν ἡμῖν τῶν κρυφίων αὐτοῦ· λέγει γὰρ ὁ προφήτης παραβολὴν κυρίου· τίς νοήσει, εἰ μὴ σοφὸς καὶ ἐπιστήμων καὶ ἀγαπῶν τὸν κύριον αὐτοῦ; 11. ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀνακαινίσας ἡμᾶς ἄλλον τύπον, ὡς παιδίων ἔχειν τὴν ψυχήν, ὡς ἂν δὴ ἀναπλάσσοντος αὐτοῦ ἡμᾶς. 12. λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφὴ περί ἡμῶν, ὡς λέγει τῷ υἱῷ· Ποιήσωμεν κατ’ εἰκόνα καὶ καθ’ ὁμοίσιν ἡμῶν τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ἀρχέτωσαν τῶν θηρίων τῆς γῆς καὶ τῶν πετεινῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῶν ἰχθύων τῆς θαλάσσης. καὶ εἶπεν κύριος, ἰδὼν τὸ καλὸν πλάσμα ἡμῶν· Αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθυνέσθε καὶ πληρώσατε τὴν γῆν. ταῦτα πρὸς τὸν υἱόν. 13. πάλιν σοι ἐπιδειξω, πῶς πρὸς ἡμᾶς λέγει. δευτέραν πλάσιν ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων ἐποίησεν. λέγει δὲ κύριος· Ἰδού, ποιῶ τὰ ἔσχατα ὡς τὰ πρῶτα. εἰς τοῦτο οὖν ἐκήρυξεν ὁ προφήτης· Εἰσέλθατε εἰς γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι καὶ κατακυριεύσατε αὐτῆς. 14. ἴδε οὖν, ἡμεῖς ἀναπεπλάσμεθα, καθὼς πάλιν ἐν ἑτέρῳ προφήτῃ λέγει· Ἰδού, λέγει κύριος, ἐξελῶ τούτων, τουτέστιν ὧν προέβλεπεν τὸ πνεῦμα κυρίου, τὰς λιθίνας καρδίας καὶ ἐμβαλῶ σαρκίνας· ὅτι αὐτὸς ἐν σαρκὶ ἔμελλεν φανεροῦσθαι καὶ ἐν ἡμῖν κατοικεῖν. 15. ναὸς γὰρ ἅγιος, ἀδελφοί μου, τῷ κυρίῳ τὸ κατοικητήριον ἡμῶν τῆς καρδίας. 16. λέγει γὰρ κύριος πάλιν· Καὶ ἐν τίνι ὀφθήσομαι τῷ κυρίῳ τῷ θεῷ μου καὶ δοξασθήσομαι; λέγει· Ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ ἀδελφῶν μου, καὶ ψαλῶ σοι ἀνάμεσον ἐκκλησίας ἁγίων. οὐκοῦν ἡμεῖς ἐσμέν, οὓς εἰσήγαγεν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἀγαθήν. 17. τί οὖν τὸ γάλα καὶ τὸ μέλι; ὅτι πρῶτον τὸ παιδίον μέλιτι, εἶτα γάλακτι ζωοοιεῖται· οὕτως οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς τῇ πίστει τῆς ἐπαγγελίας καὶ τῷ λόγῳ ζωοποιούμενοι ζήσομεν κατακυριεύοντες τῆς γῆς. 18. προειρήκαμεν δὲ ἐπάνω. Καὶ αὐξανέσθωσαν καὶ πληθυνέσθωσαν καὶ ἀρχέτωσαν τῶν ἰχθύων ἢ πετεινῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ; αἰσθάνεσθαι γὰρ ὀφείλομεν, ὅτι τὸ ἄρχειν ἐξουσίας ἐστίν, ἵνα τις ἐπιτάξας κυριεύσῃ. 19. εἰ οὖν οὐ γίνεται τοῦτο νῦν, ἄρα ἡμῖν εἴρηκεν, πότε· ὅταν καὶ αὐτοὶ τελειωθῶμεν κληρονόμοι τῆς διαθήκης κυρίου γενέσθαι.