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English translation and notes by John Barach
Chapter 12
Lessons about the cross
12:1 Ὁμοίως πάλιν περὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ ὁρίζει ἐν ἄλλῳ προφήτῃ λέγοντι·
Καὶ πότε ταῦτα συντελεσθήσεται;
λέγει κύριος·
ὅταν ξύλον κλιθῇ καὶ ἀναστῇ, καὶ ὅταν ἐκ ξύλου αἷμα στάξῃ.
ἔχεις πάλιν περὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ καὶ τοῦ σταυροῦσθαι μέλλοντος.
 Similarly, He defines again concerning the cross in another prophet who says:
“And when shall these things be accomplished? Says the Lord: When a tree shall be bent and rise up, and when blood shall drip from a tree.”
You have again [instruction] concerning the cross and Him who was about to be crucified.
12:2 λέγει δὲ πάλιν τῷ Μωϋσῇ, πολεμουμένου τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων, καὶ ἵνα ὑπομνήσῃ αὐτοὺς πολεμουμένους, ὅτι διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν παρεδόθησαν εἰς θάνατον·
λέγει εἰς τὴν καρδίαν Μωϋσέως τὸ πνεῦμα, ἵνα ποιήσῃ τύπον σταυροῦ καὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος πάσχειν, ὅτι, ἐὰν μή, φησίν, ἐλπίσωσιν ἐπ' αὐτῷ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα πολεμηθήσονται.
τίθησιν οὖν Μωϋσῆς ἓν ἐφ' ἓν ὅπλον ἐν μέσῳ τῆς πυγμῆς, καὶ ὑψηλότερος σταθεὶς πάντων ἐξέτεινεν τὰς χεῖρας, καὶ οὕτως πάλιν ἐνίκα ὁ Ἰσραήλ.
εἶτα, ὁπόταν καθεῖλεν, ἐθανατοῦντο.
 And He says again to Moses, when Israel was being attacked by foreigners—and in order to remind them while being attacked that they were handed over to death because of their sins—the Spirit speaks to the heart of Moses, that he should make a type of the cross and of Him who was about to suffer, because, He says, unless they set their hope upon Him, they shall be fought against forever.
Moses therefore places one weapon upon another in the midst of the battle, and standing higher than all, he stretched out his hands, and thus Israel was victorious again.
Then, whenever he let them down, they were put to death.
12:3 πρὸς τί;
ἵνα γνῶσιν ὅτι οὐ δύνανται σωθῆναι, ἐὰν μὴ ἐπ' αὐτῷ ἐλπίσωσιν.
 To what end?
So that they might know that they cannot be saved unless they set their hope upon Him.
12:4 καὶ πάλιν ἐν ἑτέρῳ προφήτῃ λέγει·
ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἐξεπέτασα τὰς χεῖράς μου πρὸς λαὸν ἀπειθῆ καὶ ἀντιλέγοντα ὁδῷ δικαίᾳ μου.
 And again in another prophet He says:
“All day long I stretched out My hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people to My righteous way.”
12:5 πάλιν Μωϋσῆς ποιεῖ τύπον τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ὅτι δεῖ αὐτὸν παθεῖν, καὶ αὐτὸς ζωοποιήσει, ὃν δόξουσιν ἀπολωλεκέναι, ἐν σημείῳ πίπτοντος τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, ἐποίησεν γὰρ κύριος πάντα ὄφιν δάκνειν αὐτούς, καὶ ἀπέθνησκον (ἐπειδὴ ἡ παράβασις διὰ τοῦ ὄφεως ἐν Εὔᾳ ἐγένετο), ἵνα ἐλέγξῃ αὐτούς, ὅτι διὰ τὴν παράβασιν αὐτῶν εἰς θλῖψιν θανάτου παραδοθήσονται.
 Again Moses makes a type of Jesus:
that He must suffer, and He Himself will give life—whom they will think they have destroyed—in the sign of Israel falling (for the Lord made every serpent bite them, and they were dying since the transgression through the serpent occurred in Eve), in order to convince them that because of their transgression they would be handed over to the affliction of death.
12:6 πέρας γέ τοι αὐτὸς Μωϋσῆς ἐντειλάμενος·
Οὐκ ἔσται ὑμῖν οὔτε χωνευτὸν οὔτε γλυπτὸν εἰς θεὸν ὑμῖν, αὐτὸς ποιεῖ, ἵνα τύπον τοῦ Ἰησοῦ δείξῃ.
ποιεῖ οὖν Μωϋσῆς χαλκοῦν ὄφιν καὶ τίθησιν ἐνδόξως, καὶ κηρύγματι καλεῖ τὸν λαόν.
 Finally, Moses himself, though he commanded:
“You shall have neither a molten nor a graven image for a god to you,” himself makes one in order to show a type of Jesus.
Moses therefore makes a bronze serpent and sets it up gloriously, and by a proclamation calls the people.
12:7 ἐλθόντες οὖν ἐπὶ[17] τὸ αὐτὸ ἐδέοντο Μωϋσέως, ἵνα περὶ αὐτῶν ἀνενέγκῃ δέησιν περὶ τῆς ἰάσεως αὐτῶν.
εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτοὺς Μωϋσῆς·
ὅταν, φησίν δηχθῇ τις ὑμῶν, ἐλθέτω ἐπὶ τὸν ὄφιν τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ ξύλου ἐπικείμενον καὶ ἐλπισάτω πιστεύσας, ὅτι αὐτὸς ὢν νεκρός δύναται ζῳοποιῆσαι, καὶ παραχρῆμα σωθήσεται.
καὶ οὕτως ἐποίουν.
ἔχεις πάλιν καὶ ἐν τούτοις τὴν δόξαν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ πάντα καὶ εἰς αὐτόν.
 So when they came together, they begged Moses to offer prayer for them concerning their healing.
But Moses said to them:
“Whenever,” he says, “anyone of you is bitten, let him come to the serpent that is placed upon the wood, and let him hope in faith that although it is dead it is able to give life, and immediately he will be saved.” And they did so.
You have again in these things the glory of Jesus, because all things are in Him and unto Him.
[17] ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό = at same place/time; in common, together.
12:8 Τί λέγει πάλιν Μωϋσῆς Ἰησοῦ, υἱῷ Ναυή, ἐπιθεὶς αὐτῷ τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα, ὄντι προφήτῃ, ἵνα μόνον ἀκούσῃ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ πάντα φανεροῖ περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ Ἰησοῦ;
 What does Moses say again to Joshua [Jesus], the son of Nun, having given him this name when he was a prophet, for the sole purpose that all the people might hear? That the Father reveals all things concerning the Son Jesus.
12:9 λέγει οὖν Μωϋσῆς Ἰησοῦ, υἱῷ Ναυή, ἐπιθεὶς τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα, ὁπότε ἔπεμψεν αὐτὸν κατάσκοπον τῆς γῆς·
Λάβε βιβλίον εἰς τὰς χεῖράς σου καὶ γράψον, ἃ λέγει κύριος, ὅτι ἐκκόψει ἐκ ῥιζῶν τὸν οἶκον πάντα τοῦ Ἀμαλὴκ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν.
 Moses therefore says to Joshua, the son of Nun, having given him this name when he sent him as a spy of the land: “Take a book into your hands and write what the Lord says: that the Son of God will cut off by the roots the whole house of Amalek in the last days.”
12:10 ἴδε πάλιν Ἰησοῦς, οὐχὶ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, ἀλλὰ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, τύπῳ δὲ ἐν σαρκὶ φανερωθείς.
 See again Jesus—not a son of man, but the Son of God, yet revealed in flesh by a type.
Ἐπεὶ οὖν μέλλουσιν λέγειν, ὅτι Χριστὸς[18] υἱὸς Δαυὶδ ἐστιν, αὐτὸς προφητεύει Δαυίδ, φοβούμενος καὶ συνίων τὴν πλάνην τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν·
εἶπεν κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου·
Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, ἕως ἄν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου.
 Since, therefore, they are going to say that Christ is the son of David, David himself prophesies, fearing and understanding the error of sinners:
“The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
[18] Alt. text reads: ὁ Χριστὸς.
12:11 καὶ πάλιν λέγει οὕτως Ἡσαΐας·
εἶπεν κύριος τῷ Χριστῷ μου κυρίῳ, οὗ ἐκράτησα τῆς δεξιᾶς αὐτοῦ, ἐπακοῦσαι ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ ἔθνη, καὶ ἰσχὺν βασιλέων διαρρήξω.
ἴδε, πῶς Δαυὶδ λέγει αὐτὸν κύριον, καὶ υἱὸν οὐ λέγει.
 And again Isaiah speaks thus:
“The Lord said to Christ my Lord, whose right hand I have held, that nations should hear before Him, and I will break the strength of kings.”
See how David calls Him Lord, and does not call Him son!
Summary
In Chapter 12 of the Epistle of Barnabas, the author gathers Old Testament types and prophecies to demonstrate that Christ’s crucifixion, divine Sonship, and ultimate victory were prefigured throughout Israel’s history:

Moses' Outstretched Hands: During the battle with Amalek (Exodus 17), Moses stretching out his arms forms a physical type of the cross (τύπος σταυροῦ), demonstrating that victory comes only through hope in the crucified One.

The Bronze Serpent: The creation of the bronze serpent (Numbers 21)—despite the general ban on images—is explained as a deliberate messianic type (τύπος τοῦ Ἰησοῦ).
Looking in faith at the lifeless serpent on the wood brings life to those wounded by sin.

The Naming of Joshua: Moses renaming Hosea to Joshua (Ἰησοῦς) prefigures the Son of God who destroys the enemies of God’s people (Amalek).

Davidic Sonship and Lordship: Citing Psalm 110:1 and Isaiah 45:1, the author argues against a purely earthly/human Davidic descent, emphasizing that David himself calls the Messiah "Lord," proving His divine origin as the Son of God revealed in flesh.
Significant Greek Expressions
τύπον σταυροῦ καὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος πάσχειν (a type of the cross and of Him who was about to suffer): Illustrates the author’s primary typological framework—viewing Old Testament physical actions (like Moses extending his arms in battle) as prefiguring Christ’s execution.

ἐξεπέτασα τὰς χεῖράς μου (I stretched out My hands): Quotes Isaiah 65:2 (LXX), an early Christian proof-text used to interpret God/Christ stretching out His arms on the cross toward a rebellious people.

ἐπὶ τοῦ ξύλου ἐπικείμενον (placed upon the wood/tree): Refers to the bronze serpent mounted on a pole, linking the wooden pole (ξύλον) directly to the wooden cross of Jesus (cf. John 3:14–15).

ἀπολωλεκέναι (to have destroyed / brought to ruin): Highlights the paradox of the crucifixion—that while persecutors believed they had destroyed Jesus, His death was actually the instrument of universal life-giving power (ζωοποιήσει).

Ἰησοῦς, οὐχὶ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, ἀλλὰ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (Jesus, not a son of man, but Son of God): Uses the shared Greek name Ἰησοῦς (Jesus/Joshua) to make a high Christological point, stressing Jesus’s divine nature over mere human ancestry.

Δαυεὶδ λέγει αὐτὸν κύριον, καὶ υἱὸν οὐ λέγει (David calls Him Lord, and does not call Him son): Reflects early Christian exegetical debates (cf. Matthew 22:41–45) asserting that Christ’s title as "Lord" supersedes a purely earthly lineage as a literal "son of David."
Epistle of Barnabas