# Epistle of Barnabas 14.3

- Author: Anonymous
- Work: [Epistle of Barnabas](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/barnabas/) (*Epistula Barnabae*)
- Date: ca. 70–135 (often ca. 130) (disputed)
- Source: Lake, LCL 24:390; Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1, LCL 24 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1912), 340–407 (Greek text: K. Lake, The Apostolic Fathers (LCL, 1912), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26
- Canonical URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/barnabas/14/3/

Summary: Israel's idolatry broke the tablets of the covenant.

## Greek text

καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς Μωϋσῆν· Μωϋσῆ Μωϋσῆ, κατάβηθι τὸ τάχος, ὅτι ὁ λαός σου, ὃν ἐξήγαγες ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, ἠνόμησεν. καὶ συνῆκεν Μωϋσῆς, ὅτι ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς πάλιν χωνεύματα, καὶ ἔρριψεν ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν, καὶ συνετρίβησαν αἱ πλάκες τῆς διαθήκης κυρίου.

## English translation (Claude)

And the Lord said to Moses, “Moses, Moses, go down quickly, for your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt has acted lawlessly.” And Moses understood that they had again made themselves molten images, and he threw them out of his hands, and the tablets of the covenant of the Lord were broken.

## Scripture references

- Exod 32:7: allusion, high confidence
- Exod 32:19: allusion, high confidence
- Deut 9:12: allusion, high confidence
- Deut 9:17: allusion, medium confidence

## Citation (SBL)

Barn. 14.3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/barnabas/14/3/).