Resumen
Resumen de The Epistle of Barnabas
Go deeper: the whole of The Epistle of Barnabas
The full book, start to finish.Para quién es
For readers who love early Christian history, the interpretation of the Bible, and the Two Ways of light and darkness. It offers a clear window into how early believers thought.
De qué trata este libro
Who writes a letter and never signs his name? The Epistle of Barnabas is a short Christian letter in Greek, written around the turn of the second century. It belongs to the Apostolic Fathers, early writings that stand just after the New Testament. Tradition linked it to Barnabas, the companion of Paul, but most scholars doubt this. The author reads the Jewish Scriptures as pointing to Jesus, and he ends with a short moral guide called the Two Ways. First, he must explain why the old law was never meant to be kept to the letter.
En este resumen
- 1A letter from an unnamed teacherFree
- 2God never wanted the old sacrifices
- 3Scripture foretold the suffering of Christ
- 4Food laws and circumcision carry hidden lessons
- 5The cross, the covenant and the Temple
- 6The Two Ways and what came after
Idea clave 1 de 6
A letter from an unnamed teacher
It is more a tract than a personal letter. The author names no church and no city, and he says he speaks not as a teacher set over his readers but as one of them, passing on a gift.
Scholars do not agree on who he was. Some early writers accepted Barnabas, the Cypriot Levite who travelled with Paul. Modern scholars mostly think a later Christian teacher wrote it. A date between 70 and 135 is the safe range.
The letter survives complete in Codex Sinaiticus, where it stands after the New Testament. Writers such as Clement of Alexandria and Origen quoted it with respect. In the end it was left outside the New Testament, because it was not seen as the work of an apostle.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
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Go deeper: the whole of The Epistle of Barnabas
The full book, start to finish.Questions about The Epistle of Barnabas
What is the Epistle of Barnabas about?
It is an early Christian letter arguing that the Jewish Law, including sacrifices, fasting, food rules and the Temple, held a spiritual meaning pointing to Jesus. It ends with a moral guide called the Two Ways.
Did Barnabas, the companion of Paul, write it?
Probably not. Some early Christians thought so, but the letter does not name its author, and most modern scholars place it after the time of Barnabas. The real author is unknown.
When was the Epistle of Barnabas written?
Scholars do not agree. Most place it between about 70 and 135, with some favoring the late first century and others the reign of Hadrian. It was written in Greek, possibly in Egypt.
Why is the Epistle of Barnabas not in the Bible?
Church leaders did not accept it as the work of an apostle, and Eusebius counted it among disputed books. It does appear after the New Testament in Codex Sinaiticus, a fourth-century manuscript.
What are the Two Ways in the Epistle of Barnabas?
The Two Ways are the way of light and the way of darkness, a list of good and evil conduct that closes the letter. A similar teaching appears in the Didache, suggesting a shared earlier source.
Cite this edition
Barnabas. The Epistle of Barnabas. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-the-epistle-of-barnabas.
Barnabas. (2026). The epistle of Barnabas. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-the-epistle-of-barnabas (Original work published ca. 100)
Barnabas. The Epistle of Barnabas. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-the-epistle-of-barnabas.
@book{barnabas2026epistle,
author = {Barnabas},
title = {The Epistle of Barnabas},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-the-epistle-of-barnabas},
note = {First published ca. 100}
}
