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English translation and notes by John Barach
Chapter 8
Lessons about the red heifer
8:1 Τίνα δὲ δοκεῖτε τύπον εἶναι, ὅτι ἐντέταλται τῷ Ἰσραὴλ προσφέρειν δάμαλιν τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐν οἷς εἰσὶν ἁμαρτίαι τέλειαι, καὶ σφάξαντας κατακαίειν, καὶ αἴρειν τότε τὰ παιδία σποδὸν[6] καὶ βάλλειν εἰς ἄγγη, καὶ περιτιθέναι τὸ ἔριον τὸ κόκκινον ἐπὶ ξύλον (ἴδε πάλιν ὁ τύπος ὁ τοῦ σταυροῦ καὶ τὸ ἔριον τὸ κόκκινον) καὶ τὸ ὕσσωπον, καὶ οὕτως ῥαντίζειν τὰ παιδία καθ' ἕνα τὸν λαόν, ἵνα ἁγνίζωνται ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν;
 And what type do you think it is, that it was commanded to Israel that those men in whom sins are complete should offer a heifer, and having slaughtered it, burn it, and that young boys should then take the ashes and put them into vessels and tie the scarlet wool around a piece of wood—look again at the type of the cross and the scarlet wool!—and the hyssop, and so the young boys should sprinkle the people one by one, so that they might be purified from their sins?
[6] Alt. text: τὴν in place of Codex Sinaiticus: τὰ παιδία σποδὸν
8:2 νοεῖτε πῶς ἐν ἁπλότητι λέγεται[7] ὑμῖν.
ὁ μόσχος ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐστίν, οἱ προσφέροντες ἄνδρες ἁμαρτωλοὶ οἱ προσενέγκαντες αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν σφαγήν.
εἶτα οὐκέτι ἄνδρες, οὐκέτι ἁμαρτωλῶν ἡ δόξα.[8] 		Understand how in simplicity He speaks to you!
The calf is Jesus; the men offering it are the sinful men who brought Him to the slaughter.
Then there are no longer men, no longer is there glory for sinners.
[7] Alt. text: λέγει.
[8] The last 7 words εἶτα … δόξα are obscure and possibly corrupt.
8:3 οἱ ῥαντίζοντες παῖδες οἱ εὐαγγελισάμενοι ἡμῖν τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν καὶ τὸν ἁγνισμὸν τῆς καρδίας, οἷς ἔδωκεν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τὴν ἐξουσίαν (οὖσιν δεκαδύο εἰς μαρτύριον τῶν φυλῶν ὅτι δεκαδύο φυλαὶ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ), εἰς τὸ κηρύσσειν.
 The boys who sprinkle are those who preached to us the good news of the forgiveness of sins and the purification of the heart, to whom He gave the authority of the gospel to preach—being twelve as a testimony to the tribes, because there are twelve tribes of Israel.
8:4 διὰ τί δὲ τρεῖς παῖδες οἱ ῥαντίζοντες;
εἰς μαρτύριον Ἀβραάμ, Ἰσαάκ, Ἰακώβ, ὅτι οὗτοι μεγάλοι τῷ θεῷ.
 And why are there three boys who sprinkle? As a testimony to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because these are great before God.
8:5 ὅτι δὲ τὸ ἔριον ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον;
ὅτι ἡ βασιλεία Ἰησοῦ ἐπὶ ξύλου, καὶ ὅτι οἱ ἐλπίζοντες ἐπ' αὐτὸν ζήσονται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.
 And why is the wool put upon the wood? Because the kingdom of Jesus is upon the wood, and because those who hope upon Him shall live forever.
8:6 διὰ τί δὲ ἅμα τὸ ἔριον καὶ τὸ ὕσσωπον;
ὅτι ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ ἡμέραι ἔσονται πονηραὶ καὶ ῥυπαραί, ἐν αἷς ἡμεῖς σωθησόμεθα·
ὅτι καὶ ὁ ἀλγῶν σάρκα διὰ τοῦ ῥύπου τοῦ ὑσσώπου ἰᾶται.
 And why are the wool and the hyssop together? Because in His kingdom there will be evil and filthy days, in which we shall be saved; for even the one who suffers in flesh is healed through the cleansing juice of the hyssop.
8:7 καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὕτως γενόμενα ἡμῖν μέν ἐστιν φανερά, ἐκείνοις δὲ σκοτεινά, ὅτι οὐκ ἤκουσαν φωνῆς κυρίου.
 And for this reason, these things having happened thus are clear to us, but dark to them, because they did not hear the voice of the Lord.
Summary
In Chapter 8 of the Epistle of Barnabas, the author presents a detailed typological and allegorical reading of the Old Testament ritual of the Red Heifer (Numbers 19).
He maps each element of the ancient purification rite directly onto Christ and the gospel dispensation:
 1) The heifer/calf represents Jesus offered for sin.
 2) The sinful men conducting the offering represent those who led Jesus to His death.
 3) The boys who sprinkle the ashes represent the apostles (twelve signifying the tribes of Israel, and three signifying the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).
 4) The scarlet wool bound to wood prefigures the cross and Christ’s reign upon it.
 5) The hyssop symbolizes the healing power of Christ’s salvation amidst dark and filthy days.

The author concludes that these hidden spiritual meanings (gnōsis) are transparent to Christians who possess the Spirit, but remain obscure ("dark") to those who rejected the Lord’s voice.
Significant Greek Expressions
ὁ μόσχος ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐστίν (the calf is Jesus): A direct typological identification linking the sacrificed heifer of Numbers 19 with Christ’s atonement.

ὁ τύπος ὁ τοῦ σταυροῦ (the type of the cross): Explicitly identifies the wood (ξύλον) used in the Old Testament rite as a symbolic foreshadowing of the instrument of Jesus’s execution.

ἡ βασιλεία Ἰησοῦ ἐπὶ ξύλου (the kingdom of Jesus is upon wood/a tree): A famous early Christian theological motif (echoing early variants of Psalm 95:10/96:10 LXX, "the Lord reigns from the tree") framing Christ’s crucifixion as His royal enthronement.

τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τὴν ἐξουσίαν (the authority of the gospel): Highlights the divine commission and authoritative mission entrusted to the twelve apostles to proclaim forgiveness and heart purification.

διὰ τοῦ ῥύπου τοῦ ὑσσύπου ἰᾶται (healed through the cleansing/juice of the hyssop): Employs the medicinal property of hyssop as a metaphor for spiritual healing and salvation during times of distress or corruption (ἡμέραι πονηραὶ καὶ ῥυπαραί).

ἡμῖν μέν ἐστιν φανερά, ἐκείνοις δὲ σκοτεινά (to us they are clear, but to them dark): Reflects the author’s core hermeneutical premise throughout the epistle—that the true spiritual meaning of the Old Testament scriptures is illuminated only for believers in Christ, remaining hidden in obscurity to non-believers.
Epistle of Barnabas