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English translation and notes by John Barach
Chapter 9
Lessons about circumcision
9:1 Λέγει γὰρ πάλιν περὶ τῶν ὠτίων, πῶς περιέτεμεν ἡμῶν τὴν καρδίαν.
λέγει κύριος ἐν τῷ προφήτῃ·
Εἰς ἀκοὴν ὠτίου ὑπήκουσάν μου.
καὶ πάλιν λέγει·
Ἀκοῇ ἀκούσονται οἱ πόρρωθεν, ἃ ἐποίησα γνώσονται.
καί·
Περιτμήθητε, λέγει κύριος, τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν.
 For He speaks again concerning the ears, how He circumcised our heart.
The Lord says in the prophet: “At the hearing of the ear they obeyed Me.” And again He says: “By hearing those who are far off shall hear; what I have done they shall know.” And: “Be circumcised in your hearts,” says the Lord.
9:2 καὶ πάλιν λέγει·
Ἄκουε Ἰσραήλ, ὅτι τάδε λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου.
καὶ πάλιν τὸ πνεῦμα κυρίου προφητεύει·
Τίς ἐστιν ὁ θέλων ζῆσαι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα;
ἀκοῇ ἀκουσάτω τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ παιδός μου.
 And again He says: “Hear, O Israel, for thus says the Lord your God.” And again the Spirit of the Lord prophesies: “Who is he that desires to live forever? By hearing let him hear the voice of My servant.”
9:3 καὶ πάλιν λέγει·
Ἄκουε οὐρανέ, καὶ ἐνωτίζου γῆ, ὅτι κύριος ἐλάλησεν ταῦτα εἰς μαρτύριον.
καὶ πάλιν λέγει·
Ἀκούσατε λόγον κυρίου, ἄρχοντες τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου.
καὶ πάλιν λέγει·
Ἀκούσατε, τέκνα, φωνῆς βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.
οὐκοῦν[9] περιέτεμεν ἡμῶν τὰς ἀκοάς, ἵνα ἀκούσαντες λόγον πιστεύσωμεν ἡμεῖς.
 And again He says: “Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken these things for a testimony.” And again He says: “Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of this people.” And again He says: “Hear, O children, the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” Therefore He circumcised our hearing, so that by hearing the word we might believe.
[9] Some editions begin verse 4 with the sentence: οὐκοῦν ... ἡμεῖς.
9:4 Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ περιτομή, ἐφ' ᾗ πεποίθασιν, κατήργηται.
περιτομὴν γὰρ εἴρηκεν οὐ σαρκὸς γενηθῆναι·
ἀλλὰ παρέβησαν, ὅτι ἄγγελος πονηρὸς ἐσόφιζεν αὐτούς.
 Furthermore, the circumcision upon which they have relied has been abolished, for He declared that circumcision was not a matter of the flesh; but they transgressed because an evil angel deceived them.
9:5 λέγει πρὸς αὐτούς·
Τάδε λέγει κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν (ὧδε εὑρίσκω ἐντολήν)· μὴ σπείρητε ἐπ' ἀκάνθαις, περιτμήθητε τῷ κυρίῳ ὑμῶν.
καὶ τί λέγει;
Περιτμήθητε τὴν σκληροκαρδίαν ὑμῶν, καὶ τὸν τράχηλον ὑμῶν οὐ σκληρυνεῖτε.
λάβε πάλιν·
ἰδού, λέγει κύριος, πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ἀπερίτμητα ἀκροβυστίαν, ὁ δὲ λαὸς οὗτος ἀπερίτμητος καρδίας.
 He says to them: “Thus says the Lord your God”—here I find a commandment—“Do not sow among thorns; be circumcised to your Lord.” And what does He say? “Circumcise the hardness of your heart, and do not harden your neck.” Take note again: “Look,” says the Lord, “all the nations are uncircumcised in foreskin, but this people is uncircumcised in heart.”
9:6 Ἀλλ' ἐρεῖς·
Καὶ μὴν περιτέτμηται ὁ λαὸς εἰς σφραγῖδα.
ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶς Σύρος καὶ Ἄραψ καὶ πάντες οἱ ἱερεῖς τῶν εἰδώλων.
ἄρα οὖν κἀκεῖνοι ἐκ τῆς διαθήκης αὐτῶν εἰσίν;
ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι ἐν περιτομῇ εἰσίν.
 But you will say: “And yet the people were circumcised as a seal.” But every Syrian and Arab and all the priests of idols are also circumcised! Are they, then, also of their covenant? Even the Egyptians are in circumcision!
9:7 Μάθετε οὖν, τέκνα ἀγάπης, περὶ πάντων πλουσίως, ὅτι Ἀβραάμ, πρῶτος περιτομὴν δούς, ἐν πνεύματι προβλέψας εἰς τὸν Ἰησοῦν περιέτεμεν, λαβὼν τριῶν γραμμάτων δόγματα.
 Learn, therefore, children of love, abundantly concerning all things, that Abraham, who first provided circumcision, circumcised while looking forward in the spirit unto Jesus, having received the doctrines of three letters.
9:8 λέγει γάρ·
Καὶ περιέτεμεν Ἀβραὰμ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ ἄνδρας δεκαοκτὼ καὶ τριακοσίους.
τίς οὖν ἡ δοθεῖσα αὐτῷ γνῶσις;
μάθετε, ὅτι τοὺς δεκαοκτὼ πρώτους, καὶ διάστημα ποιήσας λέγει τριακοσίους.
τὸ δεκαοκτὼ Ι δέκα, Η ὀκτώ·
ἔχεις Ἰησοῦν.
ὅτι δὲ ὁ σταυρὸς ἐν τῷ Τ ἤμελλεν ἔχειν τὴν χάριν, λέγει καὶ τριακοσίους.
δηλοῖ οὖν τὸν μὲν Ἰησοῦν ἐν τοῖς δυσὶν γράμμασιν, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἑνὶ τὸν σταυρόν.
 For he says: “And Abraham circumcised from his household three hundred and eighteen men.”
What, then, was the knowledge (gnōsis) given to him? Learn that he says the eighteen first, and making an interval, he says three hundred.
The eighteen: I (Iota) is ten, Η (Eta) is eight—you have Jesus [ΙΗ].
And because the cross in the Τ (Tau) was destined to have grace, he also says three hundred [Τ = 300].
He reveals, therefore, Jesus in the two letters, and in the one letter the cross.
9:9 οἶδεν ὁ τὴν ἔμφυτον δωρεὰν τῆς διαθήκης[10] αὐτοῦ θέμενος ἐν ἡμῖν.
οὐδεὶς γνησιώτερον ἔμαθεν ἀπ' ἐμοῦ λόγον·
ἀλλὰ οἶδα, ὅτι ἄξιοί ἐστε ὑμεῖς.
 He knows this who placed the inborn gift of His teaching within us! No one has learned a more genuine word from me; but I know that you are worthy.
Summary
In Chapter 9 of the Epistle of Barnabas, the author presents a radical reinterpretation of circumcision, rejecting physical circumcision of the flesh in favor of spiritual hearing and heart-transformation.
Citing numerous Old Testament texts (from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Psalms), he argues that physical circumcision was never God’s true intention, but rather the result of Israel being deceived by an "evil angel" (ἄγγελος πονηρός).
True circumcision is spiritual—the hearing of God’s word and the softening of the heart.

The chapter culminates in one of the most famous examples of early Christian gematria (numerical allegory).
The author interprets the 318 men circumcised by Abraham (Genesis 14:14 / 17:23) as a secret prophecy (gnōsis) of Christ and the cross:
 18 represented by Greek letters Ι (10) and Η (8), the first two letters of Jesus’s name (ΙΗΣΟΥΣ).
 300 represented by the letter Τ (300), whose shape resembles the cross.
Significant Greek Expressions
περιέτεμεν ἡμῶν τὰς ἀκοάς (He circumcised our hearing): Reinterprets the rite of circumcision non-literally, viewing the opening of human ears to receive the divine message as the true act of covenantal cleansing.

ἄγγελος πονηρὸς ἐσόφιζεν αὐτούς (an evil angel deceived/beguiled them): A provocative theological claim by the author asserting that a fallen or malicious angelic power misled Israel into understanding God’s commands as literal physical cutting rather than spiritual metaphors.

εἰς σφραγῖδα (as a seal): Refers to the Jewish understanding of circumcision as an outward sign or seal of the covenant (cf. Romans 4:11), which the author counters by noting that pagan neighbors (Syrians, Arabs, Egyptians, idolaters) also practice circumcision.

τριῶν γραμμάτων δόγματα (doctrines of three letters): Refers to the secret spiritual meaning embedded within the three Greek numeral letters: Ι, Η, and Τ.

ΙΗ (Iota-Eta = 18): The initial two letters of the name Jesus in Greek (ΙΗΣΟΥΣ), functioning here as a messianic monogram.

Τ (Tau = 300): The Greek numeral for 300, valued symbolically because the visual shape of the capital letter Tau (Τ) was seen as an early visual archetype (τύπος) of the cross.

ἔμφυτον δωρεὰν (inborn/engrafted gift): Re-emphasizes the innate spiritual discernment given to believers by God, allowing them to unlock the hidden mysteries (gnōsis) of the Scriptures.
Epistle of Barnabas