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F.P. Cotterell, “The Gospel of Barnabas,” Vox Evangelica 10 (1977): 43-47.
In his account of the Gospel of Barnabas we have noted Sale’s comment on the PericlyteParaclete substitution which he had apparently found, or been informed of, in the Spanish
version. According to Lonsdale Ragg the Italian version does not contain any parallel to the
Johannine Paraclete passages, but he traces Sale’s comment to an Arabic marginal gloss
connecting Ahmed, the Latin Consolator and the Greek Paracletus.
8
The Qur’an’s denial of the cruxifixion of Jesus is well known. Since this position is a scarcely
tenable one there have been other interpretations of the passage in question in recent years.
Rodwell’s translation of the relevant lines in Sura 4 is as follows:
‘...and for their saying, “Verily we have slain the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, an
Apostle of God.” Yet they slew him not, and they crucified
[p.46]
him not, but they had only his likeness... and they did not really slay him, but God took
him up to himself.’
This enigmatic saying is expanded in the Gospel of Barnabas, so as to make clear both how
Jesus was ‘taken up to God’ and in what sense they ‘had only his likeness’
‘Judas came near to the people with whom Jesus was; and when he heard the noise, he
entered into the house where the disciples slept. And God, seeing the fear and danger of
his servant, ordered Gabriel and Michael and Rafael and Azrael to carry him out of the
world. And they came in all haste, and bare him out of the window which looks towards
the south. And they placed him in the third heaven, where he will remain, blessing God,
in the company of angels, till near the end of the world.’ (chapter 216)
The story proceeds at once with an account of the changing of Judas into the likeness of Jesus,
his arrest and crucifixion:
‘And Judas the traitor entered before the rest into the place from which Jesus had just
been taken up. And the disciples were sleeping. And the wonderful God acted
wonderfully, changing Judas into the same figure and speech with Jesus. We, believing
that it was he, said to him, “Master, whom seekest thou?” And he said to them, smiling,
“Ye have forgotten yourselves, since ye do not know Judas Iscariot.” At this time the
soldiery entered; and seeing Judas so like in every respect to Jesus, laid hands upon
him….’
(Chapter 217)
‘...They carried him to Mount Calvary, where they executed criminals, and crucified him,
stripping him naked for the greater ignominy. Then he did nothing but cry out: “O my
God, why hast thou forsaken me that I should die unjustly, when the real malefactor hath
escaped?”’
(chapter 219)
Commenting on the related passage in Sura 3, Sale says:
‘It is supposed by several that this story was an original invention of Mohammed’s; but
they are certainly mistaken, for several sectaries held the same opinion long before his

8
 L. Ragg, ‘The Mohammedan “Gospel of Barnabas” ’, JTS 6 (1904-5), note on p. 425.