Texts in Conversation
Ezekiel sees a cosmic river flowing from the temple with fruit trees on both banks whose leaves heal. Barnabas allegorizes this imagery, identifying the river with baptism and the trees with believers who eat and live forever.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Ezekiel 47:9
Hebrew Bible
8 He said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and flow down into the rift valley; when they enter the Dead Sea, where the sea is stagnant, the waters become fresh. 9 Every living creature that swarms where the river flows will live; there will be many fish, for these waters flow there. It will become fresh, and everything will live where the river flows. 10 Fishermen will stand beside it; from En Gedi to En Eglaim they will spread nets. They will catch many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea.
Barnabas 11:10
Epistle of Barnabas
Early Christian
9 And again another prophet says: ‘And the land of Jacob was praised above the whole earth.’ He means He glorifies the vessel of His Spirit. 10 What does He say next? ‘There was a river flowing from the right side, and beautiful trees were rising from it, and whoever eats from them will live forever.’ 11 This He says because those who descend into the water, carrying sins and defilement, come up with fruit in their hearts, trusting in Jesus through the Spirit. And whoever eats of these will live forever. He means: whoever hears and believes these messages will live forever.
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Notes and References
“... Barnabas continues to draw together hope and fruit in an interpretation of language that is reminiscent of Ezekiel 47:1-12 or an Ezekiel apocryphon. These comments likewise bring the text to bear on his audience. The praise of the land of Jacob represents God’s glorification of the vessel in which his Spirit dwells (11.9). Barnabas highlights the image of a river with trees growing out of it from which people can eat and live forever (11.10; see Ezekiel 47:9). In addition to being similar to what was found in Psalm 1, Barnabas adds that the river represents baptism. Believers descend into the water filthy and sinful, but they emerge bearing the fruit of fear and hope in Jesus. ...”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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