Chapter 14
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14:1 Ναί. ἀλλὰ ἴδωμεν, εἰ ἡ διαθήκη, ἣν ὤμοσεν τοῖς πατράσιν δοῦναι τῷ λαῷ, εἰ δέδωκεν. δέδωκεν· αὐτοὶ δὲ οὐκ ἐγένοντο ἄξιοι λαβεῖν διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν. |
Yes. But let us see if He has given the covenant which He swore to the fathers to give to the people. He has given it; but they themselves were not worthy to receive it because of their sins. |
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14:2 λέγει
γὰρ
ὁ
προφήτης· Καὶ ἦν Μωϋσῆς νηστεύων ἐν ὄρει Σινᾶ, τοῦ λαβεῖν τὴν διαθήκην κυρίου πρὸς τὸν λαόν, ἡμέρας τεσσεράκοντα καὶ νύκτας τεσσεράκοντα. καὶ ἔλαβεν Μωϋσῆς παρὰ κυρίου τὰς δύο πλάκας τὰς γεγραμμένας τῷ δακτύλῳ τῆς χειρὸς κυρίου ἐν πνεύματι· καὶ λαβὼν Μωϋσῆς κατέφερεν πρὸς τὸν λαὸν δοῦναι. |
For the prophet says: “And Moses was fasting on Mount Sinai forty days and forty nights, to receive the covenant of the Lord for the people. And Moses received from the Lord the two tablets written with the finger of the hand of the Lord in the Spirit. And Moses, having received them, was carrying them down to give to the people. |
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14:3 καὶ
εἶπεν
κύριος
πρὸς
Μωϋσῆν· Μωϋσῆ Μωϋσῆ, κατάβηθι τὸ τάχος, ὅτι ὁ λαός σου, ὃν ἐξήγαγες ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, ἠνόμησεν. καὶ συνῆκεν Μωϋσῆς, ὅτι ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς πάλιν χωνεύματα, καὶ ἔρριψεν ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν, καὶ συνετρίβησαν αἱ πλάκες τῆς διαθήκης κυρίου. | And the Lord said to Moses: ‘Moses, Moses, go down quickly, because your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have acted lawlessly.’ And Moses understood that they had made for themselves cast metal images again, and he threw [them] from his hands, and the tablets of the covenant of the Lord were broken in pieces.” |
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14:4 Μωϋσῆς
μὲν
ἔλαβεν,
αὐτοὶ
δὲ
οὐκ
ἐγένοντο
ἄξιοι. | Moses indeed received it, but they were not worthy. |
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Πῶς
δὲ
ἡμεῖς
ἐλάβομεν,
μάθετε. Μωϋσῆς θεράπων ὢν ἔλαβεν, αὐτὸς δὲ κύριος ἡμῖν ἔδωκεν εἰς λαὸν κληρονομίας, δι' ἡμᾶς ὑπομείνας. | How, then, did we receive it? Learn! Moses, being a servant, received it; but the Lord Himself gave it to us as the people of inheritance, having endured suffering for our sake. |
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14:5 ἐφανερώθη
δέ,
ἵνα
κἀκεῖνοι
τελειωθῶσιν
τοῖς
ἁμαρτήμασιν,
καὶ
ἡμεῖς
διὰ
τοῦ
κληρονομοῦντος
διαθήκην
κυρίου
Ἰησοῦ
λάβωμεν,
ὃς
εἰς
τοῦτο
ἡτοιμάσθη,
ἵνα
αὐτὸς
φανείς,
τὰς
ἤδη
δεδαπανημένας
ἡμῶν
καρδίας
τῷ
θανάτῳ
καὶ
παραδεδομένας
τῇ
τῆς
πλάνης
ἀνομίᾳ
λυτρωσάμενος
ἐκ
τοῦ
σκότους,
διάθηται
ἐν
ἡμῖν
διαθήκην
λόγῳ. | And He was manifested so that they might fill up the measure of their sins, and that we, through the One who inherits, might receive the covenant of the Lord Jesus—who was prepared for this purpose: that by appearing Himself, He might redeem from darkness our hearts already consumed by death and handed over to the lawlessness of error, and establish a covenant in us by His word. |
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14:6 γέγραπται
γάρ,
πῶς
αὐτῷ
ὁ
πατὴρ
ἐντέλλεται,
λυτρωσάμενον
ἡμᾶς
ἐκ
τοῦ
σκότους
ἑτοιμάσαι
ἑαυτῷ
λαὸν
ἅγιον. | For it is written how the Father commands Him, having redeemed us from darkness, to prepare for Himself a holy people. |
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14:7 λέγει
οὖν
ὁ
προφήτης· ἐγὼ κύριος, ὁ θεός σου, ἐκάλεσά σὲ ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ κρατήσω τῆς χειρός σου καὶ ἐνισχύσω σε, καὶ ἔδωκά σὲ εἰς διαθήκην γένους, εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν ἀνοῖξαι ὀφθαλμοὺς τυφλῶν καὶ ἐξαγαγεῖν ἐκ δεσμῶν πεπεδημένους καὶ ἐξ οἴκου φυλακῆς καθημένους ἐν σκότει. γινώσκομεν οὖν, πόθεν ἐλυτρώθημεν. |
The prophet therefore says: “I, the Lord your God, called you in righteousness, and I will hold your hand and strengthen you, and I have given you as a covenant of a race, as a light of the nations, to open the eyes of the blind and to lead out from bonds those who are bound, and those sitting in darkness out of the prison house.”
We know, therefore, from what we have been redeemed! |
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14:8 πάλιν
ὁ
προφήτης
λέγει· ἰδού, τέθεικά σὲ εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν, τοῦ εἶναί σὲ εἰς σωτηρίαν ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς, οὕτως λέγει κύριος ὁ λυτρωσάμενός σὲ θεός. | Again the prophet says: “Look, I have set you as a light of the nations, that you should be for salvation unto the end of the earth; thus says the Lord, the God who redeemed you.” |
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14:9 καὶ
πάλιν
ὁ
προφήτης
λέγει· πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐπ' ἐμέ, οὗ εἵνεκεν ἔχρισέν με εὐαγγελίσασθαι ταπεινοῖς χάριν, ἀπέσταλκέν με ἰάσασθαι τοὺς συντετριμμένους τὴν καρδίαν, κηρύξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν καὶ τυφλοῖς ἀνάβλεψιν, καλέσαι ἐνιαυτὸν κυρίου δεκτὸν καὶ ἡμέραν ἀνταποδόσεως, παρακαλέσαι πάντας τοὺς πενθοῦντας. |
Again the prophet says: “Look, I have set you as a light of the nations, that you should be for salvation unto the end of the earth; thus says the Lord, the God who redeemed you.”
And again the prophet says: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, on account of which He anointed me to preach good news of grace to the humble; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to call an acceptable year of the Lord and a day of recompense, to comfort all who mourn.” |
Summary
In Chapter 14 of the Epistle of Barnabas, the author directly resolves the question of who possesses God’s covenant.He explains that although God gave the covenant through Moses on Sinai, Israel forfeited it immediately through idolatry (the golden calf), causing Moses to shatter the stone tablets.
Thus, Israel was never worthy to receive it.
In contrast, Christians received the true, enduring covenant directly through the Lord Jesus Christ, who came in the flesh, suffered, and redeemed believers from spiritual darkness and death.
Citing messianic passages from Isaiah (Isaiah 42, 49, and 61), the author establishes that Christ was prepared by the Father to be a "light to the nations," forming a newly redeemed, holy people through the new covenant.
Significant Greek Expressions
οὐκ ἐγένοντο ἄξιοι λαβεῖν (they were not worthy to receive [it]): A central theological premise in Barnabas, contending that Israel never actually came into possession of the covenant because their immediate apostasy broke it before it could be delivered.
Μωϋσῆς θεράπων ὤν ... αὐτὸς δὲ κύριος ἡμῖν ἔδωκεν (Moses being a servant ... but the Lord Himself gave [it] to us): Draws a contrast (echoing Hebrews 3:5–6) between Moses as a mere intermediate servant (θεράπων) who could not bestow the covenant, and Christ as the Lord (κύριος) who directly gives it to His heirs.
λαὸν κληρονομίας (people of inheritance): A biblical title for God’s chosen community (cf. Deuteronomy 4:20), here applied exclusively to the Church as the true heir of the divine promises.
διὰ τοῦ κληρονομοῦντος ... Ἰησοῦ (through the One who inherits ... Jesus): Identifies Jesus as the primary Heir of the Father’s covenant, through whom believers derivatively share in the covenantal inheritance.
τὰς ἤδη δεδαπανημένας ἡμῶν καρδίας τῷ θανάτῳ (our hearts already consumed by death): A vivid depiction of the human spiritual state prior to Christ’s redemption—hearts wasted or consumed by spiritual death and error (πλάνη).
εἰς διαθήκην γένους, εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν (as a covenant of a race, as a light of the nations): Quotes Isaiah 42:6 (LXX), framing Christ Himself as the embodiment of the covenant and the universal light reaching beyond national boundaries to Gentiles.