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Barnabas (Lightfoot)

13.

1. Ἴδωμεν δὲ εἰ οὗτος ὁ λαὸς κληρονομεῖ ἡὁ πρῶτος, καὶ εἰ ἡ διαθήκη εἰς ἡμᾶς ἢ εἰςἐκείνους. 2. ἀκούσατε οὖν περὶ τοῦ λαοῦ τί λέγει¹ ἡ γραφή· Ἐδεῖτο δὲ Ἰσαὰκ περὶ Ῥεβέκκας τῆςγυναικὸς αὐτοῦ, ὅτι στεῖρα ἦν· καὶ συνέλαβεν.² εἶτα ἐξῆλθεν Ῥεβέκκα πυθέσθαι παρὰ κυρίου,καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς αὐτήν· Δύο ἔθνη ἐν τῇγαστρί σου καὶ δύο λαοὶ ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ σου, καὶ[P. 388]()ὑπερέξει λαὸς λαοῦ καὶ ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷἐλάσσονι. 3. αἰσθάνεσθαι ὀφείλετε, τίς ὁ Ἰσαὰκκαὶ τίς ἡ Ῥεβέκκα. καὶ ἐπὶ τίνων δέδειχεν, ὅτιμείζων ὁ λαὸς οὗτος ἢ ἐκεῖνος. 4. καὶ ἐν ἄλλῃπροφητείᾳ λέγει φανερώτερον ὁ Ἰακὼβ πρὸς³ Ἰωσὴφ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, λέγων· Ἰδού, οὐκ ἐστέρησένμε κύριος τοῦ προσώπου σου· προσάγαγέμοι τοὺς υἱούς σου, ἵνα εὐλογήσω αὐτούς. 5. καὶ⁴ προσήγαγεν Ἐφραὶμ καὶ Μανασσῆ, τὸν Μανασσῆθέλων ἵνα εὐλογηθῇ, ὅτι πρεσβύτερος ἦν· ὁ γὰρἸωσὴφ προσήγαγεν εἰς τὴν δεξιὰν χεῖρα τοῦπατρὸς Ἰακώβ. εἶδεν δὲ Ἰακὼβ τύπον τῷ πνεύματι⁵ τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ μεταξύ· καὶ τί λέγει; Καὶἐποίησεν Ἰακὼβ ἐναλλὰξ τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ καὶἐπέθηκεν τὴν δεξιὰν ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν Ἐφραίμ,τοῦ δευτέρου καὶ νεωτέρου, καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτόν.καὶ εἶπεν Ἰωσὴφ πρὸς Ἰακώβ· Μετάθες σου τὴνδεξιὰν ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν Μανασσῆ, ὅτι πρωτότοκόςμου υἱός ἐστιν. καὶ εἶπεν Ἰακὼβ πρὸςἸωσήφ· Οἰδα, τέκνον, οἶδα· ἀλλ̓ ὁ μείζων δουλεύσειτῷ ἐλάσσονι, καὶ οὗτος δὲ εὐλογηθήσεται. 6. βλέπετε, ἐπὶ τίνων τέθεικεν, τὸν λαὸν τοῦτονεἶναι πρῶτον καὶ τῆς διαθήκης κληρονόμον. 7. εἰοὖν ἔτι καὶ διὰ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ἐμνήσθη, ἀπέχομεν⁶ τὸ τέλειον τῆς γνώσεως ἡμῶν. τί οὖν λέγει τῷἈβραάμ, ὅτε μόνος πιστεύσας ἐτέθη εἰς δικαιοσύνην;⁷ Ἰδού, τέθεικά σε, Ἀβραάμ, πατέραἐθνῶν τῶν πιστευόντων δἰ ἀκροβυστίας τῷ θεῷ.P. 390

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The Epistle of Barnabas

Chapter XIII.--Christians, and not Jews, the heirs of the covenant.

But let us see if this people ¹ is the heir, or the former, and if the covenant belongs to us or to them. Hear ye now what the Scripture saith concerning the people. Isaac prayed for Rebecca his wife, because she was barren; and she conceived. ² Furthermore also, Rebecca went forth to inquire of the Lord; and the Lord said to her, "Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples in thy belly; and the one people shall surpass the other, and the elder shall serve the younger." ³ You ought to understand who was Isaac, who Rebecca, and concerning what persons He declared that this people should be greater than that. And in another prophecy Jacob speaks more clearly to his son Joseph, saying, "Behold, the Lord hath not deprived me of thy presence; bring thy sons to me, that I may bless them." ⁴ And he brought Manasseh and Ephraim, desiring that Manasseh ⁵ should be blessed, because he was the elder. With this view Joseph led him to the right hand of his father Jacob. But Jacob saw in spirit the type of the people to arise afterwards. And what says [the Scripture]? And Jacob changed the direction of his hands, and laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, the second and younger, and blessed him. And Joseph said to Jacob, "Transfer thy right hand to the head of Manasseh, ⁶ for he is my first-born son." ⁷ And Jacob said, "I know it, my son, I know it; but the elder shall serve the younger: yet he also shall be blessed." ⁸ Ye see on whom he laid ⁹ [his hands], that this people should be first, and heir of the covenant. If then, still further, the same thing was intimated through Abraham, we reach the perfection of our knowledge. What, then, says He to Abraham?

"Because thou hast believed, ¹⁰ it is imputed to thee for righteousness: behold, I have made thee the father of those nations who believe in the Lord while in [a state of] uncircumcision." ¹¹