Letter of Barnabas

This letter, written to an unknown group of Christians, is considered by many to be anonymous because the text of the letter does not contain the name of the author. However, the letter has traditionally been attributed to Barnabas. Clement of Alexandria (writing in the later second century) claimed that this letter was written by the Barnabas who was Paul’s companion. It is possible that Origen (writing in the third century) thought the same.

The letter was well regarded enough to have been included with the New Testament books and The Shepherd of Hermas in the fourth-century Bible referred to as Codex Sinaiticus. Eusebius (writing in the fourth century) says that the letter was one of the rejected writings.

The date this letter was written is unknown but it is generally dated after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. and before the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-136 A.D.).

Suggested first translation(s):

Two easy-to-read, modern English translations that are freely available are the ones by Edgar J. Goodspeed from 1950 and by Robert A. Kraft from 1965 listed below. A more literal translation that is also in modern English and freely available is the anonymous one from 2013 listed below.

English translations:

• William Wake (translated ~1719)
  • The Genuine Epistles of the Apostolical Fathers… (published 1719) — facsimile
  • The Genuine Epistles of the Apostolical Fathers… (published 1810) — facsimile
  • The Suppressed Gospels and Epistles of the Original New Testament of Jesus the Christ, volume. 6 — text/HTML
• Charles H. Hoole (translated ~1872)
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1872) — facsimile
    • read online
• Gerald Henry Rendall (translated ~1876)
  • A Dissertation on the Epistle of S. Barnabas, … (published 1877) – facsimile
• George A. Jackson (translated ~1879)
  • The Apostolic Fathers and The Apologists of the Second Century (published 1879) — facsimile
• Samuel Sharpe (translated ~1880)
  • The Epistle of Barnabas (published 1880) — facsimile
• J.B. Lightfoot/J.R. Harmer (translated ~1891)
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1912) — facsimile
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1891) — text/HTML
• Alexander Roberts/James Donaldson (translated ~1866)
  • Ante-Nicene Fathers volume 1 (published 1866)
    • read online
• Kirsopp Lake (translated ~1912)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume I (published 1912) — facsimile
    • read online
• Francis X. Glimm (translated ~1947)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume 1 of The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation, The Catholic University of America Press (published 1947)
• James A. Kleist (translated ~1948)
  • The Didache, The Epistle of Barnabas, The Epistles and the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, The Fragments of Papias, The Epistle to Diognetus, Volume 6 of Ancient Christian Writers (published 1948)
• Edgar J. Goodspeed (translated ~1950)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: An American Translation, Harper & Brothers. (published 1950)
• Robert A. Kraft (translated ~1965)
  • Barnabas and the Didache, Volume 3 of The Apostolic Fathers: A New Translation and Commentary, Thomas Nelson & Sons (published 1965)
• Maxwell Staniforth/A. Louth (translated 1968/revised 1987)
  • Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers, Penguin (published 1987)
• Michael W. Holmes (translated 1989-2007)
  • The Apostolic Fathers in English, Baker Academic (various editions, published 1989-2006)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations of Their Writings, Baker Academic (various editions, published 1992-2007)
• Bart D. Ehrman (translated ~2003)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume II, Harvard University Press (published 2003)
• Anonymous (translated ~2013, but revised since)
  • Letter of Bar-Naba (Barnabas) (published 2013) — text/PDF
• Rick Brannan (translated ~2017)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: A New Translation, Lexham Press (published 2017)
• Jonathon Lookadoo (translated ~2022)
  • The Epistle of Barnabas: A Commentary, Cascade Books (published 2022) — facsimile/preview