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English translation and notes by John Barach
Chapter 7
Lessons about atonement
7:1 Οὐκοῦν νοεῖτε τέκνα εὐφροσύνης, ὅτι πάντα ὁ καλὸς κύριος προεφανέρωσεν ἡμῖν, ἵνα γνῶμεν, ᾧ κατὰ πάντα εὐχαριστοῦντες ὀφείλομεν αἰνεῖν.
 Understand, therefore, children of joy, that the good Lord revealed all things to us beforehand, so that we might know Him whom we ought to praise, giving thanks according to all things.
7:2 εἰ οὖν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ὢν κύριος καὶ μέλλων κρίνειν ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς, ἔπαθεν, ἵνα ἡ πληγὴ αὐτοῦ ζωοποιήσῃ ἡμᾶς·
πιστεύσωμεν, ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἠδύνατο παθεῖν εἰ μὴ δι' ἡμᾶς.
 If, therefore, the Son of God—being Lord and destined to judge the living and the dead—suffered, so that His wound might give us life, let us believe that the Son of God could not suffer except for our sake.
7:3 Ἀλλὰ καὶ σταυρωθεὶς ἐποτίζετο ὄξει καὶ χολῇ.
ἀκούσατε, πῶς περὶ τούτου πεφανέρωκαν οἱ ἱερεῖς τοῦ ναοῦ.
γεγραμμένης ἐντολῆς·
ὃς ἄν μὴ νηστεύσῃ τὴν νηστείαν, θανάτῳ ἐξολεθρευθήσεται, ἐνετείλατο κύριος, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπὲρ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἁμαρτιῶν ἔμελλεν τὸ σκεῦος τοῦ πνεύματος προσφέρειν θυσίαν, ἵνα καὶ ὁ τύπος ὁ γενόμενος ἐπὶ Ἰσαὰκ τοῦ προσενεχθέντος ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τελεσθῇ.
 Furthermore, when He was crucified He was given vinegar and gall to drink.
Listen to how the priests of the temple made this clear concerning Him.
When the commandment was written: “Whoever does not keep the fast shall be destroyed with death,” the Lord commanded this because He Himself was about to offer the vessel of the Spirit as a sacrifice for our sins, so that the type set forth in Isaac—who was offered upon the altar—might also be fulfilled.
7:4 τί οὖν λέγει ἐν τῷ προφήτῃ;
Καὶ φαγέτωσαν ἐκ τοῦ τράγου τοῦ προσφερομένου τῇ νηστείᾳ ὑπὲρ πασῶν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν.
προσέχετε ἀκριβῶς·
Καὶ φαγέτωσαν οἱ ἱερεῖς μόνοι πάντες τὸ ἔντερον ἄπλυτον μετὰ ὄξους.
 What then does He say in the prophet? “And let them eat from the goat offered at the fast for all sins.” Pay strict attention! “And let all the priests alone eat the intestine unwashed, with vinegar.”
7:5 πρὸς τί;
ἐπειδὴ ἐμὲ ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν μέλλοντα τοῦ λαοῦ μου τοῦ καινοῦ προσφέρειν τὴν σάρκα μου μέλλετε ποτίζειν χολὴν μετὰ ὄξους, φάγετε ὑμεῖς μόνοι, τοῦ λαοῦ νηστεύοντος καὶ κοπτομένου ἐπὶ σάκκου καὶ σποδοῦ.
ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι δεῖ αὐτὸν παθεῖν ὑπ' αὐτῶν.
 To what end? “Since you are going to give Me (when I am about to offer My flesh for the sins of My new people) gall with vinegar to drink, you alone shall eat it, while the people fast and wail in sackcloth and ashes.” This was to show that He must suffer at their hands.
7:6 ἃ ἐνετείλατο, προσέχετε·
Λάβετε δύο τράγους καλοὺς καὶ ὁμοίους καὶ προσενέγκατε, καὶ λαβέτω ὁ ἱερεὺς τὸν ἕνα εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν.
 Pay attention to what He commanded: “Take two goats, fine and alike, and offer them; and let the priest take the one as a burnt offering for sins.”
7:7 τὸν δὲ ἕνα τί ποιήσωσιν;
Ἐπικατάρατος, φησίν, ὁ εἷς.
προσέχετε, πῶς ὁ τύπος τοῦ Ἰησοῦ φανεροῦται·
 But what should they do with the other one? “Accursed,” He says, “is the one.”
Pay attention to how the type of Jesus is revealed:
7:8 Καὶ ἐμπτύσατε πάντες καὶ κατακεντήσατε καὶ περίθετε τὸ ἔριον τὸ κόκκινον περὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὕτως εἰς ἔρημον βληθήτω.
καὶ ὅταν γένηται οὕτως, ἄγει ὁ βαστάζων τὸν τράγον εἰς τὴν ἔρημον καὶ ἀφαιρεῖ τὸ ἔριον καὶ ἐπιτίθησιν αὐτὸ ἐπὶ φρύγανον τὸ λεγόμενον ῥαχή, οὗ καὶ τοὺς βλαστοὺς εἰώθαμεν τρώγειν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ εὑρίσκοντες·
οὕτω μόνης τῆς ῥαχοῦς οἱ καρποὶ γλυκεῖς εἰσιν.
 “And spit upon it, all of you, and pierce it, and tie the scarlet wool around its head, and so let it be cast into the wilderness.”
And when this is done, the one carrying the goat leads it into the wilderness and takes off the wool and puts it upon a briar bush, the one called rachēl, whose shoots we are accustomed to eat when we find them in the countryside—for thus the fruits of the rachos alone are sweet.
7:9 τί οὖν τοῦτό ἐστιν;
προσέχετε·
τὸν μὲν ἕνα ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον, τὸν δὲ ἕνα ἐπικατάρατον, καὶ ὅτι τὸν ἐπικατάρατον ἐστεφανωμένον;
ἐπειδὴ ὄψονται αὐτὸν τότε τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τὸν ποδήρη ἔχοντα τὸν κόκκινον περὶ τὴν σάρκα καὶ ἐροῦσιν·
οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν, ὅν ποτε ἡμεῖς ἐσταυρώσαμεν ἐξουθενήσαντες καὶ κατακεντήσαντες καὶ ἐμπτύσαντες;
ἀληθῶς οὗτος ἦν, ὁ τότε λέγων ἑαυτὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ εἶναι.
 What then is this? Pay attention: “The one goat upon the altar, and the one accursed—and why is the accursed one crowned?”
Because they will see Him on that day wearing the long red robe around His flesh, and they will say: “Is this not He whom we once crucified, despising, piercing, and spitting upon Him? Truly this was He who then said that He Himself was the Son of God.”
7:10 πῶς γὰρ ὅμοιος ἐκείνῳ;
εἰς τοῦτο ὁμοίους τοὺς τράγους, καλούς, ἴσους, ἵνα, ὅταν ἴδωσιν αὐτὸν τότε ἐρχόμενον, ἐκπλαγῶσιν ἐπὶ τῇ ὁμοιότητι τοῦ τράγου.
οὐκοῦν ἴδε τὸν τύπον τοῦ μέλλοντος πάσχειν Ἰησοῦ.
 For how is He like that goat? For this reason the goats were alike—fine and equal—so that when they see Him then coming, they may be amazed at the resemblance to the goat.
See, therefore, the type of Jesus who was about to suffer!
7:11 τί δέ, ὅτι τὸ ἔριον[5] μέσον τῶν ἀκανθῶν τιθέασιν;
τύπος ἐστὶν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ θέμενος, ὅτι ὃς ἐὰν θέλῃ τὸ ἔριον ἆραι τὸ κόκκινον, δεῖ αὐτὸν πολλὰ παθεῖν διὰ τὸ εἶναι φοβερὰν τὴν ἄκανθαν, καὶ θλιβέντα κυριεῦσαι αὐτοῦ.
οὕτω, φησίν, οἱ θέλοντές με ἰδεῖν καὶ ἅψασθαί μου τῆς βασιλείας ὀφείλουσιν θλιβέντες καὶ παθόντες λαβεῖν με.
 And why is it that they place the wool in the midst of the thorns? It is a type of Jesus set forth for the Church: that whoever wishes to take the scarlet wool must suffer many things because the thorn is terrifying, and through affliction obtain it.
“Thus,” He says, “those who wish to see Me and lay hold of My kingdom must receive Me through affliction and suffering.”
[5] Some fragments add εἰς
Summary
In Chapter 7 of the Epistle of Barnabas, the author presents a detailed typological interpretation of Jewish ritual traditions surrounding the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and the sacrifice of Isaac.
He argues that Christ’s crucifixion—and even specific details like being offered vinegar and gall—was foreshadowed by the rituals of the temple priests.
By examining the ritual of the two goats (one sacrificed, one made a scapegoat), the text demonstrates how Jesus fulfills both roles: the offering for sins and the rejected, pierced, and spat-upon victim who will eventually return in glory wearing a scarlet robe (ποδήρη ... τὸν κόκκινον).
Finally, the author extracts a moral lesson from the scarlet wool placed among thorns: believers must endure tribulation and suffering to inherit Christ’s kingdom.
Significant Greek Expressions
τὸ σκεῦος τοῦ πνεύματος (the vessel of the Spirit): A striking Christological phrase referring to the human body/flesh of Jesus as the physical vessel containing the divine Spirit, which was offered as a sacrifice on the cross.

ὁ τύπος ὁ γενόμενος ἐπὶ Ἰσαὰκ (the type set forth in Isaac): References the Aqedah (the Binding of Isaac in Genesis 22) as an OT archetype/prefiguration (τύπος) of Christ’s sacrificial death.

δύο τράγους καλοὺς καὶ ὁμοίους (two goats, fine and alike): Refers to the Yom Kippur ritual (Leviticus 16).
The twin-like equality of the goats is interpreted as typifying Christ’s two states—His humiliating first coming/suffering as the scapegoat and His glorious second coming as King.

τὸν ποδήρη ἔχοντα τὸν κόκκινον (wearing the long red robe): Alludes to Christ’s royal/priestly apparel at the Parousia (cf. Revelation 1:13, 19:13) while echoing the mock scarlet robe put on Him at His trial (Matthew 27:28).

ἐκπλαγῶσιν ἐπὶ τῇ ὁμοιότητι τοῦ τράγου (they may be amazed at the resemblance to the goat): Highlights the dramatic moment at the end of age when those who crucified Jesus recognize Him in glory by matching the prophetic prototype.

διὰ θλίψεως καὶ παθόντες λαβεῖν με (through affliction and suffering to receive Me): Expresses an essential early Christian theology of discipleship (cf. Acts 14:22): participation in Christ’s kingdom requires enduring earthly tribulation and cross-bearing.
Epistle of Barnabas