Is Barnabas docetic?

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Ben C. Smith
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Is Barnabas docetic?

Post by Ben C. Smith »

Consider:

Barnabas 12.10a: Ἴδε πάλιν Ἰησοῦς, οὐχὶ υἱὸς ἀνθρωπου, ἀλλὰ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, τύπῳ δὲ ἐν σαρκὶ φανερωθείς. / Behold again Jesus, not son of man, but rather son of God, but having been made manifest by a type in flesh.

This passage goes on to speak of the error of thinking Jesus to be the son of David.

Despite Barnabas' insistence (not only here, but also elsewhere in the epistle) that Jesus was made manifest in the flesh, does this way of wording it imply a kind of docetism? Barnabas says that Jesus was made manifest in flesh by a type or pattern. Usually the word τύπος is not the thing itself; it is a representation or symbol of the thing, as is clear throughout the rest of the epistle:

Barnabas 6.11: 11 Since, therefore, having renewed us by the remission of our sins, He hath made us after another type [ἄλλον τύπον], it is His purpose that we should possess the soul of children, inasmuch as He has created us anew by His Spirit.

Barnabas 7.3: 3 Moreover, when fixed to the cross, He had given Him to drink vinegar and gall. Hearken how the priests of the people gave previous indications of this. His commandment having been written, the Lord enjoined, that whosoever did not keep the fast should be put to death, because He also Himself was to offer in sacrifice for our sins the vessel of the Spirit, in order that the type [ὁ τύπος] established in Isaac when he was offered upon the altar might be fully accomplished.

Barnabas 7.7-8: 7 Mark how the type [ὁ τύπος] of Jesus now comes out. 8 "And all of you spit upon it, and pierce it, and encircle its head with scarlet wool, and thus let it be driven into the wilderness." And when all this has been done, he who bears the goat brings it into the desert, and takes the wool off from it, and places that upon a shrub which is called Rachia, of which also we are accustomed to eat the fruits when we find them in the field. Of this kind of shrub alone the fruits are sweet.

Barnabas 7.10-11: 10 For how like is He to Him! With a view to this, He required the goats to be of goodly aspect, and similar, that, when they see Him then coming, they may be amazed by the likeness of the goat. Behold, then, the type [τὸν τύπον] of Jesus who was to suffer. 11 But why is it that they place the wool in the midst of thorns? It is a type [τύπος] of Jesus set before the view of the Church. They place the wool among thorns, that any one who wishes to bear it away may find it necessary to suffer much, because the thorn is formidable, and thus obtain it only as the result of suffering. Thus also, says He, "Those who wish to behold Me, and lay hold of My kingdom, must through tribulation and suffering obtain Me."

Barnabas 8.1: 1 Now of what do you suppose this to be a type [τύπον], that a command was given to Israel, that men of the greatest wickedness should offer a heifer, and slay and burn it, and, that then boys should take the ashes, and put these into vessels, and bind round a stick purple wool along with hyssop, and that thus the boys should sprinkle the people, one by one, in order that they might be purified from their sins?

Barnabas 12.2: 2 Yet again He speaks of this in Moses, when Israel was attacked by strangers. And that He might remind them, when assailed, that it was on account of their sins they were delivered to death, the Spirit speaks to the heart of Moses, that he should make a type [τύπον] of the cross, and of Him about to suffer thereon; for unless they put their trust in Him, they shall be overcome for ever. Moses therefore placed one weapon above another in the midst of the hill, and standing upon it, so as to be higher than all the people, he stretched forth his hands, and thus again Israel acquired the mastery. But when again he let down his hands, the were again destroyed.

Barnabas 12.5-6: 5 And again Moses makes a type [τύπον] of Jesus, signifying that it was necessary for Him to suffer, and also that He would be the author of life to others, whom they believed to have destroyed on the cross when Israel was failing. For since transgression was committed by Eve through means of the serpent, the Lord brought it to pass that every kind of serpents bit them, and they died, that He might convince them, that on account of their transgression they were given over to the straits of death. 6 Moreover Moses, when he commanded, "Ye shall not have any graven or molten image for your God," did so that he might reveal a type [τύπον] of Jesus. Moses then makes a brazen serpent, and places it upon a beam, and by proclamation assembles the people.

Barnabas 13.5: 5 And he brought Manasseh and Ephraim, desiring that Manasseh 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 a type [τύπον] 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, for he is my first-born son." And Jacob said, "I know it, my son, I know it; but the elder shall serve the younger: yet he also shall be blessed."

Barnabas 19.7: 7 Thou shalt not be of double mind or of double tongue, for a double tongue is a snare of death. Thou shalt be subject to the Lord, and to other masters as a type [ὡς τύπῳ] of God, with modesty and fear. Thou shalt not issue orders with bitterness to thy maidservant or thy man-servant, who trust in the same God, lest thou shouldst not reverence that God who is above both; for He came to call men not according to their outward appearance, but according as the Spirit had prepared them.

So is Barnabas saying in 12.10a that Jesus' flesh was manifested only symbolically, after the fashion of a type or a symbol? After all, Barnabas also insists that Jesus is not the son of man, but rather (only) the son of God. Does Barnabas imagine Jesus' flesh as having been fabricated in some way, then, patterned after human flesh but not human flesh?

Ben.
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Re: Is Barnabas docetic?

Post by Secret Alias »

Wouldn't surprise me as the document is Alexandrian. The question isn't how did these 'docetic' passages get in an orthodox text but how did the orthodox passages displace a docetic doctrine? Answer - massive forgery effort supported by forces (likely in Rome) against native Alexandrianism represented in the text. My two cents.
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andrewcriddle
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Re: Is Barnabas docetic?

Post by andrewcriddle »

Ben C. Smith wrote: Wed Dec 13, 2017 8:55 pm Consider:

Barnabas 12.10a: Ἴδε πάλιν Ἰησοῦς, οὐχὶ υἱὸς ἀνθρωπου, ἀλλὰ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, τύπῳ δὲ ἐν σαρκὶ φανερωθείς. / Behold again Jesus, not son of man, but rather son of God, but having been made manifest by a type in flesh.

This passage goes on to speak of the error of thinking Jesus to be the son of David.

Despite Barnabas' insistence (not only here, but also elsewhere in the epistle) that Jesus was made manifest in the flesh, does this way of wording it imply a kind of docetism? Barnabas says that Jesus was made manifest in flesh by a type or pattern. Usually the word τύπος is not the thing itself; it is a representation or symbol of the thing, as is clear throughout the rest of the epistle:
The passage as a whole reads
Barnabas 12:8
What again saith Moses unto Jesus (Joshua) the son of Nun, when he
giveth him this name, as being a prophet, that all the people might
give ear to him alone, because the Father revealeth all things
concerning His Son Jesus?

Barnabas 12:9
Moses therefore saith to Jesus the son of Nun, giving him this name,
when he sent him as a spy on the land; Take a book in thy hands,
and write what the Lord saith, how the Son of God shall cut up by
the roots all the house of Amalek in the last days.

Barnabas 12:10
Behold again it is Jesus, not a son of man, but the Son of God, and
He was revealed in the flesh in a figure. Since then men will say
that Christ is the son of David, David himself prophesieth being
afraid and understanding the error of sinners; The Lord said unto
my Lord, Sit thou on My right hand until I set thine enemies for a
footstool under Thy feet.

Barnabas 12:11
And again thus sayith Isaiah; The Lord said unto my Christ the
Lord, of whose right hand I laid hold, that the nations should give
ear before Him, and I will break down the strength of kings. See
how David calleth Him Lord, and calleth Him not Son.
Very tentatively, I think that Barnabas means that Joshua (Jesus) in the time of Moses was a type in the flesh of Jesus (Joshua) the son of God who has suffered for us in the last days.

Andrew Criddle
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