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- What it is: An anonymous narrative of Jesus's ministry that claims to be an account by Barnabas.
- Date: Scholars generally place its composition in the late medieval or early modern period.
- Manuscripts: Its principal witness is Italian and held in Vienna; a Spanish version survives in a copy in Sydney.
- Why it matters: It is studied as evidence for later Christian-Muslim controversy, not as an independent eyewitness source for Jesus.
The Gospel of Barnabas is an anonymous account of Jesus's ministry, attributed within the work to Barnabas but generally dated by scholars to the late medieval or early modern period. It survives principally in Italian and Spanish witnesses, not in an ancient manuscript tradition. Its presentation of Jesus shares features with Islamic teaching but also differs from the Quran. It is a separate work from the early Christian Epistle of Barnabas and the later Acts of Barnabas.
This guide moves from the work's claimed authorship to its surviving manuscripts and scholarly dating, then outlines its contents without quoting them. It next separates the three writings associated with Barnabas, explains the religious debate surrounding the gospel, and closes with related guides.
What is the Gospel of Barnabas?
The work presents itself as an account of Jesus written by Barnabas. The historical Barnabas was an early Christian missionary associated with Paul in the New Testament Acts of the Apostles. That historical figure and the narrator's claimed identity are not treated as the same by mainstream scholars: they do not regard this gospel as a work written by the historical Barnabas.
In form, it is an extended narrative of Jesus's ministry rather than a collection consisting only of sayings. It draws extensively on material familiar from the four canonical Gospels, while setting out a different account of Jesus's identity and mission. The Italian text is divided into 222 parts. Its use of gospel narrative gives it a recognizable framework, but does not establish its claimed authorship.
The manuscripts and the question of date
The principal surviving witness is an Italian manuscript held by the Austrian National Library in Vienna, generally dated to the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century. It contains Arabic marginal annotations. A Spanish version survives in an eighteenth-century copy at the University of Sydney. That copy has a substantial gap and came to scholarly attention in the 1970s; its preface presents the Spanish version as a translation from Italian.
The precise date and place of composition remain unsettled. Scholars generally place the work in a late medieval or early modern Mediterranean setting, in the context of encounters between Christianity and Islam. No ancient Greek, Latin, Syriac or Coptic manuscript of this surviving gospel is known. Medieval cultural features and historical anachronisms also inform its dating, including a hundred-year jubilee commonly discussed in relation to medieval Christian practice.
What the narrative contains
The narrative presents Jesus as a human prophet sent by God and explicitly rejects identifying him as God or God's son. It names Muhammad as a future messenger. It also denies that Jesus is the Messiah, associating that title with the coming messenger instead. This last feature differs from the Quran, which calls Jesus the Messiah, so the work cannot simply be described as fully consistent with Quranic teaching.
The account of the crucifixion says that Judas is made to resemble Jesus and is crucified in his place, while Jesus is taken up to heaven rather than dying on the cross. Alongside these narrative differences, the work contains extended speeches about repentance, judgment and religious conduct. It also portrays Paul as responsible for teachings rejected by its narrator. These are descriptions of the work's positions, not statements of historical conclusions.
Three different writings associated with Barnabas
The Epistle of Barnabas is an early Christian Greek work, usually dated to the late first or early second century, and belongs to the collection conventionally called the Apostolic Fathers. It interprets Jewish Scripture as pointing to Jesus, treating laws and institutions as signs with spiritual meanings. Its closing moral teaching contrasts two ways of life. It is not another title or version of the gospel.
The Acts of Barnabas is a separate surviving Christian apocryphal narrative, usually dated to the fifth century, rather than a lost version of this gospel. Told in the claimed voice of John Mark, it follows Barnabas's mission and conflict in Cyprus. Ancient lists mentioning a gospel under Barnabas's name present a different issue: those references do not establish that the surviving Italian and Spanish work existed in antiquity.
Why it is discussed, and how scholars regard it
Some Muslim apologetic writers have cited the work in arguments about Jesus's humanity and the announcement of Muhammad. Muslim scholarly responses, however, are not uniform: Muslim scholars have also rejected its claimed apostolic authenticity. Its place in religious debate therefore cannot be reduced to a single Christian position opposed to a single Muslim position. The work is not an Islamic scripture, nor is it part of the New Testament canon of any major Christian tradition.
Mainstream scholarship studies the gospel as evidence for later Christian-Muslim religious controversy rather than as an independent first-century source for Jesus. That approach gives it a historical subject of its own: the religious encounters in which its account took shape. Questions about its value for understanding those encounters are distinct from accepting its claim to record the testimony of an early follower of Jesus.
Where to go next
For the early Christian letter bearing the same name, the related guide to the Epistle of Barnabas is the next topic. Broader related guides cover the pseudepigrapha and the lost books of the Bible.
The edition on this site is titled The Gospel of Barnabas; the library also holds The Epistle of Barnabas and The Acts of Barnabas.
Keep exploring
Ascoltalo prima di decidere
Every book’s page plays the opening of its audiobook. Open The Gospel of Barnabas below and press play.
The Gospel of BarnabasAnonymousHear a sample
The Epistle of BarnabasAttributed to BarnabasHear a sample
The Acts of BarnabasAttributed to John MarkHear a sample
Questions about the Gospel of Barnabas
What is the Gospel of Barnabas?
It is an anonymous narrative of Jesus's ministry that presents itself as an account written by Barnabas. It portrays Jesus as a human prophet and gives an account differing from the canonical Gospels. Mainstream scholars treat it as a later work, not as testimony written by the historical Barnabas.
Is the Gospel of Barnabas the same as the Epistle of Barnabas?
No, they are separate works from different periods. The Epistle of Barnabas is an early Christian Greek writing usually dated to the late first or early second century and grouped among the Apostolic Fathers. Scholars generally place the gospel in the late medieval or early modern period. The Acts of Barnabas is a third, distinct work.
When was the Gospel of Barnabas written?
Scholars generally place it in the late medieval or early modern period, although its exact date remains unsettled. The main Italian manuscript is usually dated to the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century. That manuscript date is evidence for the surviving work, not a settled date for its original composition.
Why is the Gospel of Barnabas controversial?
Its account of Jesus differs from canonical Christian accounts and has been cited in Muslim apologetic arguments, while its claimed early authorship is rejected by mainstream scholarship. Its relationship to Islamic teaching is also qualified: it names Muhammad, but its denial that Jesus is the Messiah differs from the Quran.
Where are the manuscripts of the Gospel of Barnabas?
The principal Italian manuscript is held by the Austrian National Library in Vienna. A Spanish version survives in an eighteenth-century copy held by the University of Sydney, with a substantial gap in its text. No ancient Greek, Latin, Syriac or Coptic manuscript of the surviving gospel is known.
