318 BARNABAS BARNABITES "American Presbyterian Review," January and July, 1864. A commentary on the epistle, by J. G. Miiller, has been published as an ap- pendix to De Wette's Exegetuchea Ifandbuch zum Neuen Testament (Leipsic, 1869). Many eminent critics, as Voss, Pearson, Wake, Lard- ner, Gieseler, Black, and others, hold that this epistle was written by Barnabas, the compan- ion of Paul ; but the current of recent opinion is against its authenticity. Among the ob- jections urged against it are: 1. It speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem, and must there- fore have been written after A. D. 70 ; where- as there is reason to believe that Barnabas was not living in 64, the earliest date assignable for the martyrdom of Paul. 2. The work bears internal evidence of having been written by a gentile, with no sympathy for the Hebrews. 3. Barnabas was a Levite, and presumably well acquainted with the Hebrew ritual, which the writer of the epistle in many places mis- represents. 4. His mode of interpretation is puerile and absurd. 5. He shows himself wholly unacquainted with the Hebrew Scriptures, and commits the blunder of representing Abraham as familiar with the Greek alphabet, which did not exist until centuries after his death. The most probable opinion is that it existed in the Alexandrian church at a very early period, and was written by some one who had studied Philo and adopted his allegorical mode of inter- preting the Old Testament. Some critics put the probable time of its composition just after the destruction of Jerusalem ; none judge it to be later than A. D. 120. BARNABAS, Saint, a Christian teacher, noted for his early connection with the apostle Paul. His original name was Joses or Joseph. The surname Barnabas (Gr. 1iapv&/)af, from Ohald. JBar-nebwK), signifies " son of prophecy," or "son of exhortation" (vl&f irapaK^aeuf, Acts iv. 36). He was born in Cyprus of Jewish parents, and possessed of property, which he sold, giving the proceeds to the common Christian fund. As this occurred soon after the day of Pentecost, he must have been one of the earliest converts. When the tidings reached Jerusalem of the conversion of Saul, Barnabas was sent to Antioch, where a gentile church had been organized, to investigate the matter. He labored there with Paul for a year, and when a contribution was raised for the poor brethren of Jerusalem, it was sent up by Barnabas and Paul. They were soon de- spatched on a mission to Cyprus and Asia Minor. A controversy having arisen at Antioch re- specting the obligation of gentiles to receive the rite of circumcision, they were deputed to lay the matter before the elders of Jerusalem. Their representations induced the elders to de- cide, notwithstanding the opposition of Peter, that the rite was not essential. Barnabas and Paul then proposed another missionary jour- ney. Barnabas wished to take with them his nephew Mark. Paul objected to this, for some reason not assigned ; but as Mark is afterward spoken of as the special companion of Peter, it may he that he had sided with him in the con- troversy about circumcision. The dispute be- came so sharp that a separation took place, Barnabas and Mark going to Cyprus, while Paul, taking with him Silas, went through Syria and Cilicia. Beyond this, with the exception of three incidental allusions in the epistles of Paul, nothing is certainly known respecting Barnabas. From these it appears that he was unmarried, and supported himself, like Paul, by some manual occupation ; and that he so far went over to the Judaizing party as for a time to keep aloof from communion with the gentile converts. From the fact that the heathen of Lystra called him Jupiter, while they styled Paul Mercury on account of his eloquence, it has been inferred that Barnabas was a man of imposing aspect and demeanor. There are numerous legends respecting him, none of which can be traced beyond the 6th century. According to one, he attempted to I preach in the synagogue at Salamis, was drag- ged out and stoned to death, and an ineffectual attempt was made to burn his body. Mark rescued the body and buried it in a cave ; but a persecution arising, the Christians were dis- persed, and the knowledge of the place of interment was lost. Four centuries later a heretical attempt was made to set aside the orthodox bishop of Salamis. Barnabas three times appeared to the bishop in a vision, and told him where his body might be found, with a copy of Matthew's Gospel' lying upon it. Search was made, and the body and book were found. A tradition wholly unsupported makes Barnabas the first bishop of Milan ; but Am- brose does not mention him among the bishops who had preceded him in that see. The Roman Catholic church celebrates the festival of St. Barnabas on June 11. The church at Tou- louse claims to possess bis body, and there are eight or nine other churches which claim to possess his head. A spurious gospel attributed to Barnabas exists in Arabic, which has been translated into English, Spanish, and Italian. It appears to be a forgery by some heretical sect, with .interpolations by Mohammedans. It was placed among the apocryphal books by Cotelerius in his edition of the "Apostolic Canon," and was formally condemned by Pope ! Gelasius II. in 1118. BARNABITES, or Regular Clerks of si. Paul, a religious order, so called from the church of St. Barnabas in Milan, which was granted them in 1545. The order consists of two branches, formerly distinct, but united into one during the time of St. Charles Borromeo. The origin of the older branch, who were properly called Ambrosians, is uncertain, but is supposed to date from the pontificate of Gregory XI. (1370- '78). The younger branch was founded in 1532 by three priests, Zaccaria of Cremona, and Ferrari and Morigia of Milan, for the purpose of preaching and administering the sacraments among the populace of Milan, who had become
