Works Epistle of Barnabas (100) Epistula Barnabae

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The Epistle of Barnabas

Chapter IX.--The spiritual meaning of circumcision.

He speaks moreover concerning our ears, how He hath circumcised both them and our heart. The Lord saith in the prophet, "In the hearing of the ear they obeyed me." 1 And again He saith, "By hearing, those shall hear who are afar off; they shall know what I have done." 2

And, "Be ye circumcised in your hearts, saith the Lord." 3 And again He says, "Hear, O Israel, for these things saith the Lord thy God." 4 And once more the Spirit of the Lord proclaims, "Who is he that wishes to live for ever? By hearing let him hear the voice of my servant." 5 And again He saith, "Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for God 6 hath spoken." 7 These are in proof. 8

And again He saith, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of this people." 9 And again He saith, "Hear, ye children, the voice of one crying in the wilderness." 10 Therefore He hath circumcised our ears, that we might hear His word and believe, for the circumcision in which they trusted is abolished. 11 For He declared that circumcision was not of the flesh, but they transgressed because an evil angel deluded them. 12 He saith to them, "These things saith the Lord your God"--(here 13 I find a new 14 commandment)--"Sow not among thorns, but circumcise yourselves to the Lord." 15 And why speaks He thus: "Circumcise the stubbornness of your heart, and harden not your neck?" 16 And again: "Behold, saith the Lord, all the nations are uncircumcised 17 in the flesh, but this people are uncircumcised in heart." 18 But thou wilt say, "Yea, verily the people are circumcised for a seal." But so also is every Syrian and Arab, and all the priests of idols: are these then also within the bond of His covenant? 19 Yea, the Egyptians also practise circumcision. Learn then, my children, concerning all things richly, 20 that Abraham, the first who enjoined circumcision, looking forward in spirit to Jesus, practised that rite, having received the mysteries 21 of the three letters. For [the Scripture] saith, "And Abraham circumcised ten, and eight, and three hundred men of his household." 22 What, then, was the knowledge given to him in this? Learn the eighteen first, and then the three hundred. 23 The ten and the eight are thus denoted--Ten by I, and Eight by E. 24 You have [the initials of the, name of] Jesus. And because 25 the cross was to express the grace [of our redemption] by the letter T, he says also, "Three Hundred." He signifies, therefore, Jesus by two letters, and the cross by one. He knows this, who has put within us the engrafted 26 gift of His doctrine. No one has been admitted by me to a more excellent piece of knowledge 27 than this, but I know that ye are worthy.

  1. Ps. xviii. 44.  ↩

  2. Isa. xxxiii. 13.  ↩

  3. Jer. iv. 4.  ↩

  4. Jer. vii. 2.  ↩

  5. Ps. xxxiv. 11-13. The first clause of this sentence is wanting in Cod. Sin.  ↩

  6. Cod. Sin. has "Lord." ↩

  7. Isa. i. 2.  ↩

  8. In proof of the spiritual meaning of circumcision; but Hilgenfeld joins the words to the preceding sentence.  ↩

  9. Isa. i. 10.  ↩

  10. Cod. Sin. reads, "it is the voice," corrected, however, as above.  ↩

  11. Cod. Sin. has, "that we might hear the word, and not only believe," plainly a corrupt text.  ↩

  12. Cod. Sin., at first hand, has "slew them," but is corrected as above.  ↩

  13. The meaning is here very obscure, but the above rendering and punctuation seem preferable to any other.  ↩

  14. Cod. Sin., with several other mss., leaves out "new." ↩

  15. Jer. iv. 3. Cod. Sin. has "God" instead of "Lord." ↩

  16. Deut. x. 16.  ↩

  17. This contrast seems to be marked in the original. Cod. Sin. has, "Behold, receive again." ↩

  18. Jer. ix. 25, 26.  ↩

  19. Dressel and Hilgenfeld read, "their covenant," as does Cod. Sin.; we have followed Hefele.  ↩

  20. Cod. Sin. has "children of love," omitting "richly," and inserting it before "looking forward." ↩

  21. Literally, "doctrines." ↩

  22. Not found in Scripture: but comp. Gen. xvii. 26, 27, Gen. xiv. 14.  ↩

  23. Cod. Sin. inserts, "and then making a pause." ↩

  24. This sentence is altogether omitted by inadvertence in Cod. Sin.  ↩

  25. Some mss. here read, "and further:" the above is the reading in Cod. Sin., and is also that of Hefele.  ↩

  26. This is rendered in the Latin, "the more profound gift," referring, as it does, to the Gnosis of the initiated. The same word is used in chap. i.  ↩

  27. Literally, "has learned a more germane (or genuine) word from me," being an idle vaunt on account of the ingenuity in interpreting Scripture he has just displayed.  ↩

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Barnabas (Lightfoot)

9.

1. Λέγει γὰρ πάλιν περὶ τῶν ὠτίων, πῶς περιέτεμενἡμῶν τὴν καρδίαν. λέγει κύριος ἐν τῷ1 προφήτῃ· Εἰς ἀκοὴν ὠτίου ὑπήκουσάν μου. καὶ2 πάλιν λέγει· Ἀκοῇ ἀκούσονται οἱ πόρρωθεν,3 ἃ ἐποίησα γνώσονται. καί· Περιτμήθητε, λέγεικύριος, τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν. 2. καὶ πάλιν λέγει4 Ἄκουε Ἰσραήλ. ὅτι τάδε λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου.5 καὶ πάλιν τὸ πνεῦμα κυρίου προφητεύει·6 Τίςἐστιν ὁ θέλων ζῆσαι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα; ἀκοῇ ἀκουσάτωτῆς φωνῆς τοῦ παιδός μου. 3. καὶ πάλιν7 λέγει· Ἄκουε οὐρανέ, καὶ ἐνωτίζου γῆ, ὅτι κύριοςἐλάλησεν ταῦτα εἰς μαρτύριον. καὶ πάλιν λέγει·8 Ἀκούσατε λόγον κυρίου, ἄρχοντες τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου.9 καὶ πάλιν λέγει· Ἀκούσατε, τέκνα, φωνῆςβοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ. οὐκοῦν περιέτεμεν ἡμῶντὰς ἀκοάς, ἵνα ἀκούσαντες λόγον πιστεύσωμενἡμεῖς. 4. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ περιτομή, ἐφ̓ ᾗ πεποίθασιν,κατήργηται, περιτομὴν γὰρ εἴρηκεν οὐ σαρκὸςγενηθῆναι· ἀλλὰ παρέβησαν, ὅτι ἄγγελος πονηρὸς[P. 372]() 10 ἐσόφιζεν αὐτούς. 5. λέγει πρὸς αὐτούς· Τάδελέγει κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν ʽὧδε εὑρίσκω ἐντολήν̓·Μὴ σπείρητε ἐπ̓ ἀκάνθαις, περιτμήθητε τῷ κυρίῳ11 ὑμῶν. καὶ τί λέγει; Περιτμήθητε τὴν σκληροκαρδίανὑμῶν, καὶ τὸν τράχηλον ὑμῶν οὐ σκληρυνεῖτε.12 λάβε πάλιν· Ἰδού, λέγει κύριος, πάντατὰ ἔθνη ἀπερίτμητα ἀκροβυστίαν, ὁ δὲ λαὸς οὗτοςἀπερίτμητος καρδίας. 6. ἀλλ̓ ἐρεῖς· Καὶ μὴνπεριτέτμηται ὁ λαὸς εἰς σφραγῖδα. ἀλλὰ καὶπᾶς Σύρος καὶ Ἄραψ καὶ πάντες οἱ ἱερεῖς τῶνεἰδώλων. ἄρα οὖν κἀκεῖνοι ἐκ τῆς διαθήκηςαὐτῶν εἰσίν; ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι ἐν περιτομῇεἰσίν. 7. μάθετε οὖν, τέκνα ἀγάπης, περὶ πάντωνπλουσίως, ὅτι Ἀβραάμ, πρῶτος περιτομὴν δούς,ἐν πνεύματι προβλέψας εἰς τὸν Ἰησοῦν περιέτεμεν,λαβὼν τριῶν γραμμάτων δόγματα. 8. λέγει13 γάρ· Καὶ περιέτεμεν Ἀβραὰμ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκουαὐτοῦ ἄνδρας δεκαοκτὼ καὶ τριακοσίους. τίς οὖνἧ δοθεῖσα αὐτῷ γνῶσις; μάθετε, ὅτι τοὺς δεκαοκτὼπρώτους, καὶ διάστημα ποιήσας λέγειτριακοσίους. τὸ δεκαοκτὼ ι δέκα, η ὀκτώ· ἔχειςἸησοῦν. ὅτι δὲ ὁ σταυρὸς ἐν τῷ ταῦ ἤμελλενἔχειν τὴν χάριν, λέγει καὶ τοὺς τριακοσίους.δηλοῖ οὖν τὸν μὲν Ἰησοῦν ἐν τοῖς δυσὶν γράμμασιν,καὶ ἐν τῷ ἑνὶ τὸν σταυρόν. 9. οἶδεν ὁ τὴνἔμφυτον δωρεὰν τῆς διδαχῆς αὐτοῦ θέμενος ἐνἡμῖν. οὐδεὶς γνησιώτερον ἔμαθεν ἀπ̓ ἐμοῦ λόγον·ἀλλὰ οἶδα, ὅτι ἄξιοί ἐστε ὑμεῖς.P. 374

  1. Ps. 18, 44 ↩

  2. Is33, 13 ↩

  3. Jer. 4, 4 ↩

  4. Jer. 7, 2. 6 ↩

  5. Ps. 39(94), 13;Exod, 15, 26 ↩

  6. kai\ pa/lin... profhteu/ei GL, om. NC. ↩

  7. Is. 1, (??) ↩

  8. Is. 1. 10 ↩

  9. Is. 40, 3 ↩

  10. Jer. 4, 3. 4 ↩

  11. Dent. 10, 16 ↩

  12. Jer, (??), 25. 26 ↩

  13. Gen. 17, 25, 27; 14, 14 ↩

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The Epistle of Barnabas
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Introductory Note to the Epistle of Barnabas

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