Sophia Scriptura

Epistle of Barnabas 1.6

Anonymous · Epistle of Barnabas · ca. 70–135 (often ca. 130) · place unknown · Read in context

Traditional ascription rejected: The letter names no author. From Clement of Alexandria (late second century) onward it was ascribed to Barnabas, Paul's companion (Acts 4:36), but its date and its hostility to Jewish practice make that unlikely; modern scholars treat it as anonymous.

Summary: Three teachings of the Lord: hope, righteousness, and love.

Textual problem in this passage: the printed text is uncertain or disputed here. See the notes.

Greek text · Lake, LCL 24:342

Τρία οὖν δόγματά ἐστιν κυρίου· ζωῆς ἐλπίς, ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος πίστεως ἡμῶν· καὶ δικαιοσύνη, κρίσεως ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος· ἀγάπη εὐφροσύνης καὶ ἀγαλλιάσεως ἔργων δικαιοσύνης μαρτυρία.

English · Claude translation

There are, then, three teachings of the Lord: the hope of life, the beginning and end of our faith; and righteousness, the beginning and end of judgment; love of gladness and exultation, the testimony of works of righteousness.

About this passage

Source
Lake, LCL 24:342 · Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1, LCL 24 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1912), 340–407 · Greek text: K. Lake, The Apostolic Fathers (LCL, 1912), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Lake, LCL 24. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; the problem in this passage is discussed in the notes.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Lake (LCL 24, 1912); made independently of existing English translations.
Compare
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)

Notes

Translation notes

  • The Greek of this verse is uncertain and the manuscripts differ; the three “teachings” are hope, righteousness, and love.

Cite this passage

Barn. 1.6 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/barnabas/1/6/).

Plain text
Barn. 1.6 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/barnabas/1/6/).

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