Gospel of Barnabas

Euangelium Barnabae italicum

Standard abbreviation: Gos. Barn.

Other titles: none

Clavis numbers: ECCA 799; CANT 46

VIAF: 208742227

Category: Ministry Gospels

Related literature: Diatessaron

Compiled by Lilian Al-Assadi Al-Radi (York University) under the supervision of Tony Burke, York University

Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Al-Assadi Al-Radi, Lilian and Tony Burke. “Gospel of Barnabas.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/gospel-of-barnabas.

Created January 2018. Current as of January 2024.

1. SUMMARY

Gos. Barn. is a retelling of the life and career of Jesus from a Muslim perspective. It was created around the sixteenth century, likely by a Morisco—a forcibly-baptized Muslim. Initial discussion of its origins speculated that it was composed in Arabic but recent scholarship has postulated a Spanish origin. The text is a combination of canonical and noncanonical traditions that recasts Jesus as a prophet in the Islamic tradition. The story is told by Barnabas, a companion of Paul in Acts but cast here as one of the twelve apostles (in place of Simon the Cananaean/Zealot), who appears throughout the text in key moments of the narrative, such as the transfiguration (42) and the return of Jesus, where Barnabas is commissioned to write the gospel (221). A number of Jesus’ teachings are occasioned by questions posed by Barnabas (18, 72, 83, 88, 100, 101, 109, 125–26, 220) and at one point, Jesus expressly reveals to him secrets to reveal after he has departed the world (112).

The gospel begins with a harmony of the canonical infancy narratives (chs. 1–9), with some omissions: there is no account of the birth of John (nor is there an account of the baptism nor of John’s imprisonment and death), and no presentation in the temple. Changes are made also in Christology: in the twin annunciations to Mary and Joseph, the angel Gabriel tells the parents that Jesus will be a prophet and that he must be kept from wine and strong drink and unclean meat; and in the story of Jesus at twelve years old, Jesus tells his parents that service to God comes before father and mother.

The second portion of the text details Jesus’ adult ministry (chs. 10–199). The ministry begins with Jesus at the age of 30 visited by Gabriel who presents him with a mirror and a book that descends into the heart of Jesus, providing him with all of the necessary knowledge for his mission. The author states at this point that Gabriel told him that every prophet and every prophecy came from that book. With this knowledge, Jesus leaves home and fully dedicates himself to his prophetic office. The majority of Jesus’ activities occur in Jerusalem, rather than Galilee.

Again the canonical gospels are harmonized and a number of key stories and teachings are recognizable: the temptation, the gathering of the apostles, the wedding at Cana, the Sermon on the Mount/Plain, the stilling of the storm, the Gerasene demoniac, the Syro-Pheonician woman, the feeding of the four thousand, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich young man, the parable of the good Samaritan, the Lord’s Prayer, the transfiguration, the widow of Nain, the man healed at the pool of Bethesda, the Samaritan woman at the well, the healing of the man born blind, the centurion’s servant, the raising of Lazarus, and the woman caught in adultery. There is plenty of new material in the text also, including protracted teaching cycles on hell (59–62, 135–37), paradise (168–78), and judgment day (51–58), retellings of the fall of Satan (35) and of humanity (39–41), teachings based on Hebrew Bible texts and figures (particularly Abraham, 26–29), and two long tales, one a discourse with a scribe (18–-92) and another where Jesus is confronted about his identity by the chief priest, Pilate, Herod, and an army (91–98).

The Islamic character of the text is observable in Jesus’ teachings, in which he continually states that he is merely a prophet and a messenger. Those he heals proclaim him to be a prophet and holy one of God, not the Son of God; Jesus asserts he is not the messiah but the voice in the wilderness (42), proclaiming a Messenger who will come after him, sometimes explicitly identified as Mohammed (17, 44, 55–56, 82–83, 97, 136–37, 163, 212, 220); and invokes a curse against anyone who inserts into his teachings that he is the son of God (53, 70, 92–95). Jesus also affirms some aspects of Islamic thought and practice, including circumcision (22–23), abstaining from pork and idolatry (32), that God’s promise was made in Ishmael, not Isaac (43–44, 208), and in the creation story, Adam declares the shahadah (39).

The final section of the gospel naturally retells the Passion and Resurrection (200–22). The key differences in this account are the rescue of Jesus by the angels Gabriel, Michael, Rafael and Uriel (he is taken to the third heaven, 215) and the substitution of Judas for Jesus (216–17). Even the apostles and Mary are convinced that Jesus died on the cross, but Jesus returns to reveal that he was taken by the angels and will abide in heaven until the end of the world, just as he has promised (220). The gospel closes with the apostles spreading out to preach and a declaration that certain evil men preached that Jesus died and rose again, or died and did not rise again, and that Jesus was the Son of God (including Paul, who is twice described as “deceived”).

Named Historical Figures and Characters: Abraham (patriarch), Ahab, Abel, Adam (patriarch), Amos (prophet), Andrew (apostle), Aaron, Ananias, Archelaus, Barnabas, Bartholomew (apostle), Beelzebub, Benjamin (patriarch), Augustus (emperor), Cain, Cyrus, David (king), Daniel (prophet), Elijah (prophet), Elisha (prophet), Enoch, Eve (matriarch), Ezekiel (prophet), Gabriel (angel), Goliath, Haggai, Herod (the Great), Herod Antipas, Hosea (prophet), Isaac (patriarch), Isaiah (prophet), Ishmael, Jacob (patriarch), James (son of Zebedee), Jehoshaphat (king), Jeremiah (prophet), Jesus Christ, Jezebel, Job, John (son of Zebedee), Joseph (of Nazareth), Joseph of Arimathea, Joshua (patriarch), Judah (patriarch), Judas (Iscariot), Judas (not Iscariot, apostle), Lazarus (poor man), Lazarus (of Bethany), Levi (patriarch), Magi, Martha (of Bethany), Mary (Virgin), Mary (of Bethany), Mary Magdalene, Matthew (apostle), Mephibosheth, Michael (angel), Micaiah (prophet), Miriam (sister of Moses), Moses (patriarch), Muhammad, Naaman, Nicodemus, Nebuchadnezzar, Obadiah (king), Obadiah (prophet), Paul (apostle), Peter (apostle), Pharaoh (of Exodus), Philip (apostle), Pontius Pilate, Rachel (matriarch), Raphael (angel), Samuel (prophet), Satan, Saul (king), Simon the leper, Solomon (king), Thaddaeus (apostle), Thomas (apostle), Uriah, Uriel (angel), Uzzah, Widow of Nain, woman caught in adultery, Zacchaeus (of Jericho), Zechariah (prophet).

Geographical Locations: Babylon, Bethany, Bethlehem, Caesarea Philippi, Capernaum, Damascus, Egypt, Galilee, hell, Israel, Jerusalem, Jericho, Jordan River, Judea, Mount Calvary, Mount Carmel, Mount of Olives, Mount Sinai, Nain, Nazareth, Nineveh, Paradise, Ramah, Red Sea, Rome, Samaria, Sidon, Tarsus, temple (Jerusalem), Tyre.

2. RESOURCES

“Gospel of Barnabas.” Internet Sacred Text Archive (transcription of English translation by L. and L. Ragg).

“Gospel of Barnabas.” Wikipedia.

Interview with Rodney Blackhirst on the Gospel of Barnabas. La Trobe University Podcast (audio file and transcript).

Talebzadeh, Nader (dir.). Al-Masih. Jesus the Spirit of God. Tehran, 2007 (An Iranian film based on the Bible, the Qur ‘an and the Gospel of Barnabas).

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

3.1 Manuscripts and Editions

3.1.1 Italian

Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. 2662 (16th cent.)

John Frederick Cramer found the manuscript probably in the library of Gregorio Leti, and he gave it to Prince Eugene of Savoy in 1713; after his death in 1738 it was given to the Austrian National Library.

Ragg, Lonsdale and Laura Ragg. The Gospel of Barnabas Edited and Translated from the Italian MS. in the Imperial Library at Vienna. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907 (editio princeps with English translation).

Cirillo, Luigi and Michel Frémaux. Évangile de Barnabé: recherches sur la composition et l’origine. Paris: Beauchesne, 1977 (re-edition and translation of the Italian text with facsimile and French Translation). Republished in light of rediscovery of Spanish manuscript as Évangile de Barnabé: Fac-simile, traduction et notes. Paris: Beauchesne, 1999.

Giustolisi, Eugenio and Giuseppe Rizzardi. Il vangelo di Barnaba. Un vangelo per i musulmani? Milan: Istituto Propaganda Libraria, 1991 (re-edition of the Italian manuscript with modern Italian translation).

3.1.2 Spanish

Private collection of George Holme, Rector of Headley in Hampshire (1676–1765). An English translation was made by Thomas Monkhouse of Queen’s College, who lent both text and translation to Joseph White. Three passages quoted in Spanish in Sale and nine chapters in English by White. No trace is known of the manuscript since Monkhouse’s death in 1792.

Sydney, Fisher Library, University of Sydney, Nicholson 41 (18th cent.). A partial copy (chs. 1–120 only) of the lost Spanish manuscript

Pons, Luis F. Bernabé. El texto morisco dei Evangelio de san Barnabé. Biblioteca Chronica nova de Estudios Historicos 57. Granada: Universidad de Granada, 1998 (based on the Spanish manuscript, with chs. 120–199 from the Italian).

Sale, George. The Koran: Preliminary Discourse. 2 vols. London: Frederick Warne & Co., 1734 (vol. 1, pp. ix–x, 51, 82–83).

White, Joseph. Sermons preached before the University of Oxford, in the year 1784, at the lecture founded by the Rev. John Bampton, M.A., late Canon of Salisbury : to which is now added, a sermon, preached before the University of Oxford, July 4, 1784. Boston: William Greenough, 1793 (chs. 96 and 97, notes pp. xxvii–xxix, chs. 216–22, pp. xlv–l).

3.2 Modern Translations

3.2.1 Arabic

Sa‘āda, Khalil, trans. Indjil Birnābā. Cairo, 1907 (translation of Ragg and Ragg’s edition of the Italian manuscript).

3.2.2 English

Rahim, M. A. The Gospel of Barnabas. Karachi, Pakistan: Begum Aisha Bawany Wakf, 1973 (a reproduction of Ragg and Ragg with new introduction by Rahim).

Yusseff, M. A. The Gospel of Barnabas, Notes and Commentary. Indianapolis, IN: American Trust, 1991 (using Ragg and Ragg’s text; available in multiple editions).

3.2.3 French

Cirillo, Luigi and Michel Frémaux. Évangile de Barnabé: recherches sur la composition et l’origine. Paris: Beauchesne, 1977 (re-edition and translation of the Italian text with fascimile and French Translation). Republished in light of rediscovery of Spanish manuscript as Évangile de Barnabé: Fac-simile, traduction et notes. Paris: Beauchesne, 1999.

3.2.4 Indonesian

Alhabsy, Husain Abubakar and Abubakar Basymeleh, trans. Indjil Barnabas. Bandund, 1970 (translation of Ragg and Ragg’s edition of the Italian manuscript).

Affandie, J. Bakhtiar, trans. Indjil Barnaba. Djakarta, 1969 (translation of Ragg and Ragg’s edition of the Italian manuscript).

Drewes, B. and Jan Slomp, trans. Seluk beluk buku yang disebut Injil Barnabas. Jakarta, BPK Gunung Mulia (Protestant) and Penerbit Kanisius (Catholic), 1983 (translation of Ragg and Ragg’s edition of the Italian manuscript).

3.2.5 Italian

3.2.6 Spanish

Linges, Safiyya M. Das Barnabas Evangelium. Bonndorf: Turban Verlag, 1994 (translation of Ragg and Ragg’s edition of the Italian manuscript).

3.2.7 Turkish

Benson, R. Incil-i-Barnba Bilimsel bir Arastirma. Istanbul, 1995 (translation of Ragg and Ragg’s edition of the Italian manuscript).

3.2.8 Urdu

Mukadir, M. Amin, trans. Indjil Barnabās ka Urdu tardjama. Okarah, 1916 (translation of Ragg and Ragg’s edition of the Italian manuscript).

3.3 General Works

Axon, William. “On the Mohammedan Gospel of Barnabas.” JTS 3 (1902): 441–51.

Bergema, H. “Het evangelie naar Barnabas.” Pages 91–110 in Christusprediking in de wereld Studiën op het terrein van de zendingswetenschap gewijd aan de nagedachtenis van Johan Herman Bavinck. Edited by J. van den Berg. Kampen: Kok, 1965.

Blackhirst, Rodney. “Barnabas and the Gospels: Was There an Early Gospel of Barnabas?” Journal of Higher Criticism 7.1 (2000): 1–22.

__________. “The Temptation in the Wilderness in the Medieval Gospel of Barnabas.” Journal of Higher Criticism 6.1 (1999): 83–97.

__________. Sedition in Judaea: The Symbolism of Mizpah in the Gospel of Barnabas. Studies in Western Traditions Occasional Papers 3. Bendigo: School of Arts, La Trobe University of Bendigo, 1996.

Bowman, John. “The Gospel of Barnabas and the Samaritans.” ANES 30 (1992): 20–33

Campbell, William F. The Gospel of Barnabas: Its True Value. Rawalpindi: Christian Study Centre, 1989

Cannon III, James. “The Gospel of Barnabas.” The Moslem World 32 (1942): 167-78.

Cirillo, Luigi. “Le Pseudo-Clementine e il Vangelo di Barnaba della bibliotheca nazaionale di Vienna.” Asprenas 18 (1971): 333-69.

Clohessy, Christopher P. “The Gospel of Barnabas: A Précis.” Encounter 295 (2003): 291–300.

Cotterell, F. P. “The Gospel of Barnabas.” VE 10 (1977): 43–47.

Durrani, M. H. The Forgotten Gospel of St. Barnabas. Karachi: International Islamic Publishers, 1982.

Epalza, Mikel de. “Garcia Gómez und die Autorschaft des Barnabas-Evangeliums.” Religionen im Gespräch 6 (2000): 10–13.

__________. “Le milieu hispano-moresque de l’Evangile islamisant de Barnabé (XVI-XVIIe s.).” Islamochristiana 8 (1982): 159–83.

Erhorn, Daniel A. Das Barnabas Evangelium und die Wiederentdeckung des Judenchristentums. Lympia/Cyprus: Spohr, 2018.

Fabricius, Johann Albert. Codex Apocryphus Novi Testamenti. 3 vols. 2nd ed. Hamburg: Schiller, 1719 (excerpts and testimonia, vol. 3, pp. 366–94).

Fletcher, J. E. “The Spanish Gospel of Barnabas.” NovT 18 (1976): 314–20.

Gairdner, W. H. T. and S. Abdul-Ahad. The Gospel of Barnabas: An Essay and Enquiry. Hyderabad, India: Henry Martyn Institute of Islamic Studies, 1975.

Gilchrist, John D. Origins and Sources of the Gospel of Barnabas. Durban, South Africa: 1980.

Jadeed, Iskandar. The Gospel of Barnabas: A False Testimony. Rikon, Switzerland: The Good Way, 1980.

Hollander, A. den and U. Schmid. “The Gospel of Barnabas, the Diatessaron, and Method.” VC 61 (2017): 1–20.

Jenkins, Philip. “Gospel of Barnabas.” Pages 38–57 in Early New Testament Apocrypha. Edited by J. Christopher Edwards. Ancient Literature for New Testament Studies 9. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2022.

__________. “A gospel that admits it’s a false prophecy.” Christian Century. Posted 5 September 2023. Online: https://www.christiancentury.org/column/voices/gospel-admits-it-s-false-prophecy.

Jomier, Jaques. “A propos d’un apocryphe. L’Évangile selon Barnabé.” Esprit et Vie 22 (1999): 481–86.

__________. “Une énigme persistante: L’Évangile dit de Barnabé.” MIDEO 14 (1980): 45–81.

__________. “L’Évangile selon Barnabé.” MIDEO 6 (1959–1961): 137–226.

Joosten, Jan. “The Date and Provenance of the Gospel of Barnabas.” JTS 61 (2010): 200–15.

__________. “The Gospel of Barnabas and the Diatessaron. A Critical Essay.” HTR 95.1 (2002): 73–96.

__________. “Jésus et l’aveugle-né (Jn, 9-34) dans l’Évangile de Barnabas et dans le Diatessaron.” RHPR 80 (2000): 359–69.

Kollmann, Bernd. Joseph Barnabas: His Life and Legacy. Translated by Miranda Henry. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2004 (esp. pp. 59–60).

Koningsveld, Pieter S. van. “The Islamic Image of Paul and the Origin of the Gospel of Barnabas.” JSAI 20 (1996): 200–28.

Kritzinger, J. N. J. A Critical Study of the Gospel of Barnabas. Benoni, South Africa: Jesus to the Muslims, 1979.

__________. The Gospel of Barnabas Carefully Examined. Pretoria, South Africa, 1975.

Linges, Safiyya M. Das Barnabas Evangelium: Wahres Evangelium Jesu, genannt Christus, eines neuen Propheten, von Gott der Welt gesandt gemäss dem Bericht des Barnabas, seines Apostels. Boondorf: Turban Verlag, 1994.

Kvalvaag, Robert W. “Barnabasevangeliet og det muslimske synet på Jesus.” Norsk Tidsskrift for Misjon 52.4 (1998): 231–50.

Leirvik, Oddbjørn. Images of Christ in Islam. 2nd ed. London: Continuum, 2010.

__________. “History as a Literary Weapon: The Gospel of Barnabas in Muslim-Christian Polemics.” ST 56 (2002): 123–34.

Peerbhai, Adam. World Seminar on the Gospel of Barnabas. Cape Town, South Africa: Al-Jihaad International Islamic Movement, 1975.

__________. Missing Documents from Gospel of Barnabas. Durban, South Africa: Islamic Institute, 1967.

Philonenko, Marc. “Une tradition essénienne dans l’Évangile de Barnabas.” Pages 191–95 in Mélanges d’histoire des réligions offerts à Henri-charles Puech. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1974.

Pons, Luis F. Bernabé. “Zur Wahrheit und Echtheit des Barnabasevangeliums.” Religionen im Gespräch 4 (1996): 133–38.

Pulcini, Theodore. “In the Shadow of Mount Carmel: The Collapse of the ‘Latin East’ and the Origins of the Gospel of Barnabas.” ICMR 12 (2001): 191–211.

Ragg, Lonsdale. “Dante and the ‘Gospel of Barnabas.’” Modern Language Review 3 (1908): 157–65.

_________. “The Mohammedan ‘Gospel of Barnabas.’” JTS 23 (1905): 424–33.

Reed, Annette Yoshiko. “‘Muslim Gospel’ excites ‘Da Vinci Code’ conspiracists.” Salon. Posted 29 May 2014. Online: https://www.salon.com/2014/05/29/muslim_gospel_excites_da_vinci_code_conspiracists_partner/.

_________. “‘Muslim Gospel’ Revealing the ‘Christian Truth’ Excites the Da Vinci Code Set.” Religion Dispatches. Posted 22 May 2014. Online: https://religiondispatches.org/muslim-gospel-revealing-the-christian-truth-excites-the-da-vinci-code-set/.

Ritter, S. Der Ausgang des Lebens Jesu nach dem Barnabasevangelium. Tübingen, 1998.

Ryad, Umar. Islamic Reformism and Christianity. Leiden: Brill, 2009 (discussion of Arabic translation made by Islamic reformer Rashid Rida in 1908, pp. 213–42).

Schirrmacher, Christine.“Das ‘Evangelium des Barnabas.’ Hintergründe einer Polemik.” Religionen Unterwegs 6 (2000): 10–13.

_________. Mit den Waffen des Gegners. Islamkundliche Untersuchungen 162. Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, Berlin, 1992 (see pp. 241–425).

Slomp, Jan. “Das Barnabasevangelium – zur Forschungslage.” Religionen im Gespräch 5 (1998): 625-25.

____________. “The ‘Gospel of Barnabas’ in Recent Research.” Islamochristiana 23 (1997): 81–109.

____________. “El Seudoevangelio de Bernabe.” Encuentro: Documentos para el entendimiento Islamo-Christiano 103 (1980): 1–15.

____________. “The Gospel in Dispute (A Critical Evaluation of the First Translation with Italian Text and Introduction of the So-Called Gospel of Barnabas.” Islamochristiana 4 (1978): 67–112.

__________. “The Pseudo-Gospel of Barnabas.” Bulletin 11.1 (1976): 69–77.

__________. “Pseudo-Barnabas in the Context of Muslim-Christian Apologetics.” Al-Mushir 16.1–3 (1974): 106–31.

Sox, David. The Gospel of Barnabas. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1984.

Toland, John. Nazarenus: or Jewish, Gentile and Mahometan Christianity. London: J. Brown, 1718.

Wiegers, Gerard A. “Gospel of Barnabas.” In Encyclopedia of Islam. 3rd ed. Edited by Kate Fleet et al. Leiden: Brill Online, 2013.

_________. “The Quest for the Religious and Historical Origins of a Forgery. Henry Corbin and the Gospel of Barnabas.” Pages 177–94 in Henry Corbin. Philosophie et sagesses des religions du livre. Edited by Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, et al. Turnhout: Brepols, 2005.

_________. “Mahoma visto como el Mesias. Comparación de las obras polémicas de Juan Alonso con el Evangelio de Bernabé.” Ílu 1 (1996): 127–222.

__________. “Muhammad as the Messiah: A Comparison of the Polemical Works of Juan Alonso with the Gospel of Barnabas.” BO 52.3/4 (1995): 245–92.

Yasin, Ibn. The Authenticity of the Gospel of Barnabas. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris, 2011.

Yusseff, M. A. The Dead Sea Scrolls, the Gospel of Barnabas and the New Testament. Indianapolis, IN: American Trust, 1985.