The Epistle of Barnabas

Complete Edition

The Epistle of Barnabas is not an epistle and was not written by Barnabas. It is an anonymous 2nd-century theological treatise that was so highly regarded in early Christianity that it was included as canonical scripture in the Codex Sinaiticus — one of the oldest and most authoritative manuscripts of the Bible in existence. Then it was cut.

Codex Digital EditionComing soonEdition currently in preparation

Edition017

FormatDigital PDF

Editorial statusIn review

TraditionLost Scripture

Before you read

Context without the mythology.

Codex ISO separates the surviving evidence from later interpretation, so you can encounter the text without being told what to believe about it first.

01 / Historical context

Written circa 70–130 AD. Included in the Codex Sinaiticus as canonical scripture. Removed from the Bible by the Council of Laodicea, 364 AD.

02 / Why it matters

It was in your Bible. They took it out.

From / associated with the text

““The covenant was given to us; but they lost it forever in this way, when Moses had just received it.””

THE CODEX STANDARD

Source before story.

We identify the edition, translation and surviving evidence; distinguish documentation from tradition; and state uncertainty rather than turning it into a sales claim.

Our editorial standard ↗

Continue the archive

The Epistle of Barnabas

Context without the mythology.

Source before story.

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