The Gospel of Barnabas: A Medieval Pseudepigraphon and Its Scholarly Rejection

The Gospel of Barnabas, a text often cited in certain theological debates, is broadly recognized by scholars as a pseudepigraphal work, composed no earlier than the late medieval period. Distinct from the Epistle of Barnabas—an early Christian text with well-documented origins—and other ancient manuscripts, the Gospel of Barnabas survives in only two known versions: an Italian manuscript from the 16th century and a Spanish manuscript from the 17th century. Linguistic and textual evidence suggests that the Italian version is the original, with the Spanish text serving as a subsequent translation. This article examines the text’s literary dependencies, theological inaccuracies, and historical errors, which collectively affirm its status as a late forgery devoid of authentic historical or doctrinal value.
 

Literary and Theological Dependencies
 

Analysis of the Gospel of Barnabas reveals a clear dependence on medieval European sources, most prominently Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy and the Latin Vulgate Bible. The text’s cosmology, for instance, describes heaven as comprising nine layers—a concept resonant with Dante’s nine circles of hell and nine spheres of paradise—rather than the seven heavens delineated in the Quran. This literary borrowing situates the work firmly within a medieval Italian context, undermining claims of its antiquity or eastern provenance.
 

Theologically, the Gospel of Barnabas appears crafted to align with Islamic perspectives, notably by denying the divinity and crucifixion of Jesus Christ and prophesying the arrival of a figure named Ahmad, often interpreted as a reference to the Prophet Mohammed. However, this alignment is superficial and riddled with errors. The Quran explicitly identifies Jesus as the Messiah (e.g., Surah 3:45), whereas the Gospel of Barnabas misattributes this role to Mohammed, betraying a fundamental misunderstanding of Islamic doctrine. Such discrepancies suggest the author possessed only a cursory knowledge of the Quran and foundational Islamic beliefs, further distancing the text from any credible claim to authenticity.
 

Historical and Geographical Anachronisms
 

Beyond its theological shortcomings, the Gospel of Barnabas is replete with historical and geographical inaccuracies concerning 1st-century Judea. It erroneously asserts that Pontius Pilate governed Judea at the time of Jesus’ birth, despite historical records placing Pilate’s tenure as procurator from approximately 26 to 36 A.D., well after Jesus’ nativity. Similarly, the text describes Nazareth—a landlocked hill town—as accessible by boat, a geographical impossibility. Additionally, it casts Barnabas as one of the twelve apostles, a claim refuted by the New Testament, which identifies Barnabas as a later companion of Paul (Acts 13:2–3). These errors collectively indicate an author unfamiliar with both the historical realities of early Christianity and the topography of the region.
 

Scholarly Consensus and Propagandistic Utility
 

Given these manifold flaws, the Gospel of Barnabas is unanimously dismissed by scholars across religious and secular disciplines—Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and otherwise—as a medieval fabrication. Unlike earlier pseudepigrapha from the 2nd century onward, which offer valuable insights into the development of religious thought and its influence on Islamic scripture, the Gospel of Barnabas lacks such scholarly utility. Instead, its primary historical function appears propagandistic. Certain Muslim clerics have leveraged the text to appeal to lay audiences, capitalizing on its denial of Christ’s deity and crucifixion and its prediction of a subsequent prophet. Yet, this usage reflects more on the text’s rhetorical convenience than on any intrinsic merit.
Conclusion
 

In sum, the Gospel of Barnabas stands as a curious artifact of late medieval literature, marked by its reliance on European sources, its theological missteps, and its historical inaccuracies. Its rejection by the academic community underscores the importance of rigorous textual criticism in distinguishing genuine historical documents from later forgeries. While it may retain a niche appeal as a tool of religious polemic, the Gospel of Barnabas offers little to the serious study of early Christianity, Islamic theology, or their historical interplay.

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