NOTES ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE TEXT
©Copyright, R. Blackhirst, 2015
The basic structure of the Gospel of Barnabas follows that of the synoptic gospels of the New Testament, and the gospels of Matthew and Luke in particular. The text can be divided into three narratives: an infancy and childhood narrative which describes the birth and childhood of Jesus, a ministry narrative that describes the several years of Jesus' public ministry, and a passion narrative describing the events leading up to the crucifixion and then its aftermath. As in the canonical gospels there are signs that the three sections are semi-independent of each other and may at one time have been separate compositions. The infancy narrative, for instance, has been adapted directly from the canonical models and includes no apocryphral episodes or material; it is purely a reworking of the story told in the New Testament gospels. There is not, as one might expect, any signs of dependence upon even the more common apocryphal stories of Jesus' childhood current in the Middle Ages nor upon stories common in Arabic sources. The author has made whatever changes were necessary to bring the story into line with his particular version events, but otherwise he has not drawn on sources other than the canonical stories. This adherence to the canonical sources is peculiar to the infancy section: elsewhere in the work we find the canonical stories interwoven with non-canonical material. Moreover, the chapters in the infancy section are consistently shorter than elsewhere in the document and the whole section reads as a self-contained unit. This all suggests that it may not have been part of the original text but was added in order to make the work more fully a "gospel" after the canonical models. The real 'Gospel of Barnabas' begins in chapter 10 with the ministry narrative. Reading through the infancy stories we may be struck by a few of the changes the author has made - such as collapsing together the characters of Jesus and John the Baptist - but on the whole we are in familiar territory. There is an abrupt change in the document, however, at the beginning of chapter 10. Suddenly, with the announcement that Jesus is now thirty years of age and went up to the Mount of Olives with his mother where he received a divine book that "descended into [his] heart", we enter the ministry narrative and depart from all canonical models. We are suddenly among the stories unique to Barnabas' life of Jesus.
The Ministry narrative forms by far the bulk of the work. The Infancy narrative consists of a mere 9 chapters and the Passion narrative a mere 22 out of 222. The Ministry narrative, therefore, sprawls over 191 chapters. It includes a skeleton of canonical episodes, but onto this has been added a large amount of non-canonical material, mainly in the form of speeches and stories told by Jesus. In particular, there are several long sections set in the "wilderness beyond Jordan" in which Jesus gives lengthy accounts of the fall of man, modes of prayer, the nature of paradise, and such topics. This body of material could easily be removed from the text; it is only loosely grafted to the main structure. Typically, the author will take some cue from the canonical texts and add "slabs" of non-canonical material which in most places express clearly medieval, monkish sympathies. To be more specific, there is, as Bowman noted, a strong element of Carmelite influence in the non-canonical material. There are several sections in which the author displays an unmistakeable partisanship for the ideals of the primitive Carmelite monks who are portrayed as the "True Pharisees" in opposition to the hypoctrical "false Pharisees" familiar from the canonical accounts.
The Passion narrative, like the Infancy narrative, reads more as a reworking of the canonical stories. Judas is substituted for Jesus, and so it is Judas who suffers the trials and crucifixion, but Barnabas' version otherwise differs little to the familiar story of the canonical models. Chapter 217, which deals with the trials and crucifixion of Judas/Jesus is extraordinarily long. The average length of chapters is about 450 words in English translation. Chapter 217, however, is nearly 1800 words in length, over three times the average length. It is hard to explain why the author (or editor) did not divide 217 into further chapters.
There are many other places where the chapter breaks indicated in the Italian manuscript fall in places that are textually puzzling. In most cases the chapter breaks fall at natural turning points in the narrative, such as a change of geographical location. In other places the breaks cut into the text disrupting the flow of the narrative. Yet the chapter breaks do not coincide with pages or other physical divisions in the Italian manuscript. Some examples of curious chapter divisions:
Example One
In chapter 81 there is an unaccountable break in Jesus' speech on the universal mercy of God instead of at an apparently more natural place to make a break, the beginning of the story of the Woman of Samaria. One must ask why the author/editor has chosen to place a break at the words "Tell me..." rather than wait a paragraph for the complete change of scene and time signalled by the words "Early on the morning of a certain day..."
81. Tell me, would it have been a great sin of the priests if when they were carrying the ark of the testimony of God they had let it fall to the ground? The disciples trembled hearing this, for they knew that God slew Uzzah for having wrongly touched the ark of God. And they said: "Most grievous would be such a sin." Then Jesus said: "As God lives, it is a greater sin to forget the word of God, wherewith he made all things, whereby he offers you eternal life." And having said this Jesus made prayer; and after the prayer he said: "Tomorrow we needs must pass into Samaria;, for so has said to me the holy angel of God."
Early on the morning of a certain day, Jesus arrived near the well which Jacob made and gave to Joseph his son. Whereupon Jesus being wearied with the journey, sent his disciples to the city to buy food. And so he sat himself down by the well, upon the stone of the well. And, lo, a woman of Samaria comes to the well to draw water. Jesus says to the woman: "Give me to drink." The woman answered: "Now, are you not ashamed that you, being an Hebrew, ask drink of me which am a Samaritan woman?" Jesus answered: "O woman, if you knew who he is that asks you for drink, perhaps you would have asked of him for drink." The woman answered: "Now how should you give me to drink, seeing you have no vessel to draw the water, nor rope, and the well is deep?"
The story of the woman at the well continues for several more chapters and constitutes, in fact, a whole section of the text that continues up to chapter 91. Why is the beginning of this section not marked by the chapter break which appears, incongruously, a paragraph earlier? Are not the words "Early on the morning of a certain day..." the natural and obvious place to make the break?
Example Two
In chapter 188, in the context of the good scribe's stories of Haggai and Hosea there is a sudden discontinuity as a new story, concerning the ransom of the widow's son, is introduced.
188. There was a disciple of Haggai near to Hosea; and he, wishing to see if his own book was well written, went to visit Hosea, and said to him: "Brother, take your book and let us see if it is even as mine. " 'Hosea answered: "It has been taken away from me." " Who has taken it from you?" said the disciple. 'Hosea answered: "The Book of Moses," Hearing which, the other went to Haggai ;and said to him: "Hosea has gone mad, for he says that the Book of Moses has taken away from him the Book of Moses." Haggai answered: "Would to God, O brother, that I were mad in like manner, and that all mad folk were like to Hosea!"
Now the Syrian robbers, having raided the land of Judea, seized the son of a poor widow, who dwelt hard by Mount Carmel, where the prophets and Pharisees abode. It chanced, accordingly, that Hosea having gone to cut wood met the woman, who was weeping. Thereupon he straightway began to weep; for whenever he saw any one laugh he laughed, and whenever he saw any one weep he wept. Hosea then asked the woman touching the reason of her weeping, and she told him all.
The Syrian robbers appear without warning leaving the reader asking "What Syrian robbers?" The words "Now the Syrian robbers..." seem to mark the place where the author turned to a new source. But, as in the case of the Woman at Jacob's Well described above, we must ask 'Why is the chapter break where it is rather than a bit later where there is a natural break in the narrative?' If the story of the Syrian robbers and the widow's son has been cut into the text at this point, why have the chapter breaks not been adjusted to help conceal the seam?
Example Three
Another case like the previous two is found in chapter 143. Why has the author/editor chosen to place a break so as to interupt the end of the Damascus episode rather than at the beginning the Zaccheus episode:
143. Then all the disciples came to Damascus, by the will of God. And on that day Judas the traitor, more than any other, made show of having suffered grief at Jesus' absence, at which Jesus said: "Let every one beware of him who without occasion labours to give you tokens of love." And God took away our understanding, that we might not know to what end he said this. After the coming of all the disciples, Jesus said: "Let us return into Galilee, for the angel of God has said to me that I must go there."
So one sabbath morning, Jesus came to Nazareth. When the citizens recognized Jesus, everyone desired to see him. A publican named Zacchaeus, who was of small stature, not being able to see Jesus because of the great multitude, climbed to the top of a sycamore, and there waited for Jesus to pass that place when he went to the synagogue. Jesus then, having come to that place, lifted up his eyes and said: "Come down, Zacchaeus, for today I will abide in your house." The man came down and received him with gladness, making a splendid feast.
Example Four
A further case of the same thing is found in chapter 151. The natural break in the narrative is "Jesus then embarked on a ship..." but instead the author/editor has placed the break at the very last setence of Jesus' long discourse on the 'True Pharisee'. We have no difficulty in seeing the continuity of subject matter as the text turns then to the canonical 'Leaven of the Pharisees', but why has the author not chosen that change and its change of location to a "ship" as the obvious place to make the break?
151. 'This man was a true Pharisee,' said Jesus to his disciples; and may it please God that we be able on the day of judgment to have him for our friend.'
*Jesus then embarked on a ship, and the disciples were sorry that they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus rebuked them, saying: "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees of our day, for a little leaven mars a mass of meal." Then said the disciples one to another: 'Now what leaven have we, if we have not even any bread?'
Example Five
The most spectacularly incongruous chapter break is found at the beginning of the Passion narrative. There seems no good reason why an editor would make a break at "Jesus then turned to Lazarus..." - the very last paragraph of the Lazarus story - in preference to the beginning of the Entry into Jersalem:
200. Jesus then turned to Lazarus, and said: 'Brother, I must needs for a short time abide in the world, wherefore when I shall be near to your house I will not ever go elsewhere, because you will minister to me, not for love of me, but for love of God.'
It was near to the Passover of the Jews, [so] Jesus said to his disciples: "Let us go to Jerusalem to eat the paschal lamb." And he sent Peter and John to the city, saying: "You shall find an ass near the gate of the city with a colt: loose her and bring her here; for I must ride [on her] into Jerusalem. And if any one ask you saying, "Why [do] you loose her?" say to them: "The Master has need [of her]," and they will permit you to bring her."
Example Six
As well as these cases where a break occurs immediately before the place where it seems it should naturally go, it is also worth pointing out again the peculiarity of chapter 217 which is some three or four times longer than all other chapters and which leaves the reader asking 'Why are there no chapter breaks here?' Chapter 217 deals with the arrest and trial of Judas/Jesus, but as the trial before the High Priest is followed by the trial before the High Priest and then the trial before Herod and then the mocking and scourging and then the crucifixion, there are at least four or five places where the author/editor could have placed a chapter break and has done so in similar places everywhere else in the document. Does the importance of the subject matter account for the abscence of breaks? Is this a way by which the author/editor has sought to draw attention to this particular episode? Is he here using the chapter breaks - or their omission - as a device to underline an episode, to mark its importance? If so, can we then assume that other chapter breaks may indicate episodes of importance to the author/editor, that the chapter breaks reveal editorial interpretation and emphasis?
Example Seven
One further instance of a peculiarity in the chapterization should be noted and raised as yet another question to be answered. Why has the author/editor devoted a whole chapter to a short quote by Isaiah in chapter 175:
175. God says this in Isaiah the prophet, pouring contempt on the reprobate: My servants shall sit at my table in my house and shall feast joyfully, with gladness and with the sound of harps and organs, and I will not suffer them to have need of anything. But you that are my enemies shall be cast away from me, where you shall die in misery, while every servant of mine despises you..
This is the longest quote from the scriptures in the whole work, but it is still far shorter than the average chapter. Working from the Ragg's English translation for the purposes of establishing a rough guide, the average length of chapters is about 450 words. The shorter chapters tend to be about 200-230 words in length while there are others that exceed 600 words. But chapter 175 is only 72 words long. As chapter 217 is the longest chapter, chapter 175 is by far the shortest chapter in the work. Why has the author framed this quote from Isaiah in a chapter of its own? Can we take it that this is a way of signalling its importance? Why could it not have been part of chapter 174 or 176? As it is, chapter 174 seems slightly short (168 words in the Ragg translation). Perhaps the Isaiah quotation was once part of chapter 174 but a further editor, making alterations to the chapter breaks, chose to highlight it by adding at extra break and thereby giving it its own chapter?