Epistle of Barnabas

About this text

An allegorical interpretation of the Old Testament arguing that Christians — not Jews — are the true heirs of God's covenant. Not actually by the biblical Barnabas.

Significance

Included in the Codex Sinaiticus alongside the New Testament books.

How to Read This Historical Text

Epistle of Barnabas is included here as a historical and educational resource, not as Scripture and not as a replacement for the biblical canon. Readers may find it useful for understanding the ideas, debates, devotional language, and literary settings that surrounded Jewish and Christian communities in different periods.

Read this text with context in mind. Notice its era, category, and relationship to canonical passages, then compare its themes with the Bible itself. Some library works preserve valuable historical background, while others represent viewpoints that many Christian traditions rejected. Inclusion in this library does not mean endorsement of every claim or doctrine in the text.

For more about how The Bible Companion handles public-domain writings, Bible translations, attribution, and devotional material, see the Sources & Editorial Policy.

Key excerpts

"Before we believed in God, the habitation of our heart was corrupt and weak, like a temple built with hands."

Scripture cross-references

• 1 Corinthians 3:16 — "You are God's temple" — same concept
• Acts 17:24 — God does not dwell in temples made with hands

Continue exploring

This text is one of 19 in the Early Christian Writings (Non-Canonical) category, and one of 62 across the entire library.