Barnabas

Barnabas was an early Christian mentioned in the New Testament. His original name was Joses, and he was surnamed by the apostles (in Aramaic) Barnebhuah, which is explained by the Greek huios parakleseos ("son of exhortation," not "of consolation," see Acts 11:23) and denotes a prophet in the primitive Christian sense of the word (cf. Acts 13:1; 15:32). His feast day is June 11.

Table of contents
1 His Life

His Life

He is one of the first prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch (Acts 13:1). Luke speaks of him as a "good man" (11:24). He was born of Jewish parents of the tribe of Levi. His aunt was the mother of John Mark (Colossians 4:10). He was a native of Cyprus, where he had a possession of land (Acts 4:36, 37), which he sold, and gave the proceeds to the church in Jerusalem. When Paul returned to Jerusalem after his conversion, Barnabas took him and introduced him to the apostles (9:27); it is possible that they had been fellow students in the school of Gamaliel.

The prosperity of the church at Antioch led the apostles and brethren at Jerusalem to send Barnabas there to superintend the movement. He found the work so extensive and weighty that he went to Tarsus in search of Paul to assist him. Paul returned with him to Antioch and labored with him for a whole year (Acts 11:25, 26). At the end of this period, the two were sent up to Jerusalem (AD 44) with the contributions the church at Antioch had made for the poorer brethren there (11:28-30).

Shortly after they returned, bringing John Mark with them, they were appointed as missionaries to Asia Minor, and in this capacity visited Cyprus and some of the principal cities of Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia (Acts 13:14). In the narrative of this journey, Paul begins to gain prominence over Barnabas from the point where the name "Paul" is substituted for "Saul" (13:9); instead of "Barnabas and Saul" as heretofore (11:30; 12:25; 13:2, 7) we now read "Paul and Barnabas" (13:43, 46, 50; 14:20; 15:2, 22, 35); only in 14:14 and 15:12, 25 does Barnabas again occupy the first place, in the first passage with recollection of 14:12, in the last two, because Barnabas stood in closer relation to the Jerusalem church than Paul. Paul appears as the preaching missionary (13:16; 14:8-9, 19-20), whence the Lystrans regarded him as Hermes, Barnabas as Zeus (14:12). Returning from this first missionary journey to Antioch, they were again sent up to Jerusalem to consult with the church there regarding the relation of Gentiles to the church (Acts 15:2: Galatians 2:1). According to Gal. 2:9-10, Barnabas was included with Paul in the agreement made between them, on the one hand, and James, Peter, and John, on the other, that the two former should in the future preach to the pagans, not forgetting the poor at Jerusalem. This matter having been settled, they returned again to Antioch, bringing the agreement of the council that Gentiles were to be admitted into the church.

Having returned to Antioch and spent some time there (15:35), Paul asked Barnabas to accompany him on another journey (15:36). Barnabas wished to take John Mark along, but Paul did not, as he had left them on the former journey (15:37-38). The dispute ended by Paul and Barnabas taking separate routes. Paul took Silas as his companion, and journeyed through Syria and Cilicia; while Barnabas took his nephew John Mark to visit Cyprus (15:36-41).

Barnabas is not again mentioned by Luke in the Acts. However, in Gal. 2:13 a little more is learned about him, and his weakness under the taunts of the Jewish Christians is evident; and from 1 Corinthians 9:6 it may be gathered that he continued to labor as missionary.

Other Historical Records

According to other sources, Barnabas later visited Rome and Alexandria. In the "Clementine Recognitions" (i, 7) he is depicted as preaching in Rome during Christ's lifetime, and Clement of Alexandria (Stromata, ii, 20) makes him one of the seventy disciples. Not older than the third century is the tradition of the later activity and martyrdom of Barnabas in Cyprus, where his remains are said to have been discovered under the emperor Zeno. The Cypriot church claimed Barnabas as its founder in order to rid itself of the supremacy of the Antiochian bishop, just as did the Milan church afterward, to become more independent of Rome. In this connection, the question whether Barnabas was an apostle became important, and was often discussed during the Middle Ages (cf. C. J. Hefele, Das Sendschreiben des Apostels Barnabas, Tubingen, 1840; O. Braunsberger, Der Apostel Barnabas, Mainz, 1876). The statements as to the year of Barnabas's death are discrepant and untrustworthy.

Alleged Writings

Tertullian and other Western writers regard Barnabas as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. This may have been the Roman tradition -- which Tertullian usually follows -- and in Rome the epistle may have had its first readers. But the tradition has weighty considerations against it. According to Photius (Quaest. in Amphil., 123), Barnabas wrote the Book of Acts, and a gospel is ascribed to him (cf. T. Zahn, Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons, ii, 292, Leipsig, 1890).

He is also traditionally assocatiated with the Epistle of Barnabas, although modern scholars think it more likely that that epistle was written in Alexandria in the 130s.

This article uses text from Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897, and the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religion.



In the News

Drivers On Cell Phones Clog Traffic
Motorists who talk on cell phones drive slower on the freeway, pass sluggish vehicles less often and take longer to complete their trips, according to a new study that suggests drivers on cell phones congest traffic. "At the end of the day, the average person's commute is longer because of that person who is on the cell phone right in front of them,"says the leader of the research team.

Butterfly Back From The Brink Of Extinction
The rare El Segundo blue butterfly is back. Once relegated to a few small and fragile reserves, the nearly extinct butterfly with electric blue wings has expanded its territory to take up residence along the bluffs of a popular beach south of the Los Angeles International Airport, say scientists. A few hundred are now living and breeding in the four-acre area where tourists, surfers and beachcombers can get a close look at the rare species.

Photon-transistors For The Supercomputers Of The Future
Scientist have worked out a new theory which describe how the necessary transistors for the quantum computers of the future may be created. Researchers dream of quantum computers. Incredibly fast super computers which can solve such extremely complicated tasks that it will revolutionise the application possibilities. But there are some serious difficulties. One of them is the transistors, which are the systems that process the signals. Today the signal is an electrical current. For a quantum computer the signal can be an optical one, and it works using a single photon which is the smallest component of light.

Geologists Find A New Active Fault In Nepal, Potentially Links Climate
A Dartmouth researcher is part of a team that has discovered a new active "thrust fault"at the base of the Himalaya in Nepal. This new fault likely accommodates some of the subterranean pressure caused by the continuing collision of the Indian subcontinent with Asia.

Climate Pollution From Aviation Increasing
EU environment ministers have failed to seize a key opportunity to curbemissions from the aviation sector through the European Emissions Trading Scheme, WWF said at the conclusion of the EU Environment Council in Brussels. Scientists estimate that the effect of aviation emissions on the climate is up to five times the impact of emissions occurring on the ground.

Statins Reduce Loss Of Function, Keeping Old Lungs Young -- Even In Sm
Statins are known to be good for lowering cholesterol and maybe even fighting dementia, and now they have another reported benefit: they appear to slow decline in lung function in the elderly -- even in those who smoke.

Sniffing out our sense of smell
Our sense of smell is much better than we give it credit for. A report in Nature Neuroscience puts paid to the notion that the human reputation for having a poor sense of smell compared to other animals.Noam Sobel and colleagues laid down scent trails in a grassy field, and asked human subjects to find [...]

Nicotine Rush Hinges On Sugar In Neurons
When nicotine binds to a neuron, how does the cell know to send the signal that announces a smoker's high? As with other questions involving good sensations, the answer appears to be sugar. A new study proposes a role for sugar as the hinge that opens a gate in the cell membrane and brings news of nicotine's arrival. This finding could lead to improved treatments for substance addiction, depression, epilepsy and other disorders.

[Funny] A referee has sent himself off in an English amateur league ma
Andy Wain had to abandon the Sunday league match between Peterborough North End and a Royal Mail side in the 63rd minute after throwing down his whistle and marching up to confront North End's keeper.

One In 25 Online Youth Asked To Send Sexual Pictures Of Themselves
One in 25 youth who use the Internet got a request to transmit a sexual picture of themselves during the course of the year, according to a new study. This development represents a new peril for young people created by the fusion of digital photography and the Internet, say the authors of the study. According to the study, very few of those surveyed actually complied with the requests, but given the millions of youth online, thousands of children may potentially be sending such pictures.


MP3 Music Downloads

Preview songs, Download Free Music,Burn CDs at ITunes.com
iTunes_RGB_9mm

 

Google




InformationQuickFind.com - Find Information Fast

Links