what do we think of gospel of barnabas?

[Rick]

The so called “Gospel of Barnabas” is a forgery written in the 14th or 15th century.

If this writing was authentic, it would be reasonable to expect that the author would be familiar with the basic facts of Jewish life at this time. However the author of the so called “Gospel of Barnabas” did not understand the language, history or geography of 1st century Israel.

1.) Geography
In the first half of chapter 20 we find “Jesus went to the Sea of Galilee, and having embarked in a ship sailed to his city of Nazareth” and after Jesus calmed the storm “arrived at the city of Nazareth the seamen spread through the city all that Jesus had wrought”.

It would be impossible to embark a ship and sailed to the city of Nazareth. Nazareth is 25 km inland from the Sea of Galilee and more than 500m higher in altitude and situated on a ridge half way between Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea. You cannot sail a ship to city of Nazareth.

2.) Christ / Messiah
The word “Christ” is the Greek translation for the Hebrew word “Messiah”. Both these words when translated into English mean the Anointed One or the Chosen One. This word is not an obscure or rarely used word, on the contrary it is one of the most famous words in the Jewish and Christian religions. There is no doubt that if the author had been a disciple of Jesus, he would have been very familiar with this word.

However in the very opening of the book we find Jesus announced as God’s “prophet Jesus Christ”. And later in chapter 24 “Jesus confessed, and said the truth: 'I am not the Messiah.'” It is clear that the author did not understand the language spoken by Jesus and the 1st century Jews

3.) History
In chapter 3 we are told that Herod and Pilate both ruled in Judea at the time of Jesus' birth: “here reigned at that time in Judaea Herod, by decree of Caesar Augustus, and Pilate was governor.”

This is historically wrong for Herod and Pilate never ruled Judea at the same time. Herod ruled Judea alone from 37-4 B.C., while Pilate ruled thirty years later from 26-36 A.D.[3] The real Barnabas lived during the rule of Pilate, so if he really was the writer of this book, how could he make such a simple mistake?

4.) Ancient Evidence
There is absolutely no ancient evidence for the book. There is nothing to even suggest that this book even existed prior to the 14th century.

5.) Internal Evidence
The internal evidence of the book suggests it was written in the 14th or 15th century, and there are Muslim scholars who agree with this dating. The Gospel of Barnabas contains quotations from Dante Alighieri, references to an edict from Pope Boniface, and descriptions of feudalism and lots of other discrepancies. Therefore, scholars place the date of authorship around the fifteenth century.

For other anachronisms (things that show that this “gospel” was written at a much later time in history) see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_B...achronisms


The so called “Gospel of Barnabas” is not an authentic Gospel of Jesus. The book is a rewrite of the Biblical Gospel most likely by a Muslim around the 14th or 15th century who wanted to portray Jesus as a Muslim who taught Islam and predicted the coming of Muhammad.

(Note: It’s important that we not confuse the Gospel of Barnabas with the Epistle of Barnabas. These are two separate documents with two very different authors - the Epistle of Barnabas was written A.D. 70–90).