The Didache

Didache 1:1 There are two ways, one of life and one of death, and there is a great difference between the two ways. Didache 1:2 The way of life is this. First of all, thou shalt love the God that made thee; secondly, Thy neighbor as thyself. And all things whatsoever thou wouldst not have befall thyself, neither do thou unto another. Didache 1:3 Now of these words the doctrine is this. Bless them that curse you, and pray for your enemies and fast for them that persecute you; for what thank is it, if ye love them that love you? Do not even the Gentiles the same? But do ye love them that hate you that hate you, and ye shall not have an enemy. Didache 1:4 Abstain thou from fleshly and bodily lusts. If any man give thee a blow on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also, and thou shalt be perfect; If a man impress thee to go with him one mile, go with him twain; if a man take away thy cloak, give him thy coat also; if a man take away from thee that which is thy own, ask it not back, for neither art thou able. Didache 1:5 To every man that asketh of thee give, and ask not back for the Father desireth that gifts be given to all from His own bounties. Blessed is he that giveth according to the commandment; for he is guiltless. Woe to him that receiveth; for, if a man receiveth having need, he is guiltless; but he that hath no need shall give satisfaction why and wherefore he received and being put in confinement he shall be examined concerning the deeds that he hath done, and he shall not come out thence until he hath given back the last farthing. Didache 1:6 Yea, as touching this also it is said; Let thine alms sweat into thine hands, until thou have learnt to whom to give. Didache 2:1 And this is the second commandment of the teaching. Didache 2:2 Thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not corrupt boys, thou shalt not commit fornication, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not deal in magic, thou shalt do no sorcery, thou shalt not murder a child by abortion nor kill them when born, thou shalt not covet thy neighbors goods, Didache 2:3 thou shalt not perjure thyself, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not speak evil, thou shalt not cherish a grudge, Didache 2:4 thou shalt not be double-minded nor doubletongued; for the double tongue is a snare of death. Didache 2:5 Thy word shall not be false or empty, but fulfilled by action. Didache 2:6 Thou shalt not be avaricious nor a plunderer nor a hypocrite nor ill-tempered nor proud. Thou shalt not entertain an evil design against thy neighbor. Didache 2:7 Thou shalt not hate any man but some thou shalt reprove, and for others thou shalt pray, and others thou shalt love more than thy life. Didache 3:1 My child, flee from every evil and everything that resembleth it. Didache 3:2 Be not angry, for anger leadeth to murder, nor jealous nor contentious nor wrathful; for of all these things murders are engendered. Didache 3:3 My child, be not lustful, for lust leadeth to fornication, neither foul-speaking neither with uplifted eyes; for of all these things adulteries are engendered. Didache 3:4 My child, be no dealer in omens, since it leads to idolatry, nor an enchanter nor an astrologer nor a magician, neither be willing to look at them; for from all these things idolatry is engendered. Didache 3:5 My child, be not a liar, since lying leads to theft, neither avaricious neither vainglorious; for from all these things thefts are engendered. Didache 3:6 My child, be not a murmurer, since it leadeth to blasphemy, neither self-willed neither a thinker of evil thoughts; for from all these things blasphemies are engendered. Didache 3:7 But be meek, since the meek shall inherit the earth. Didache 3:8 Be long-suffering and pitiful and guileless and quiet and kindly and always fearing the words which thou hast heard. Didache 3:9 Thou shalt not exalt thyself, neither shalt thou admit boldness into thy soul. Thy soul shall not cleave together with the lofty, but with the righteous and humble shalt thou walk. Didache 3:10 The accidents that befall thee thou shalt receive as good, knowing that nothing is done without God. Didache 4:1 My child, thou shalt remember him that speaketh unto thee the word of God night and day, and shalt honor him as the Lord; for whencesoever the Lordship speaketh, there is the Lord. Didache 4:2 Moreover thou shalt seek out day by day the persons of the saints, that thou mayest find rest in their words. Didache 4:3 Thou shalt not make a schism, but thou shalt pacify them that contend; thou shalt judge righteously, thou shalt not make a difference in a person to reprove him for transgressions. Didache 4:4 Thou shalt not doubt whether a thing shall be or not be. Didache 4:5 Be not thou found holding out thy hands to receive, but drawing them in as to giving. Didache 4:6 If thou hast ought passing through thy hands, thou shalt give a ransom for thy sins. Didache 4:7 Thou shalt not hesitate to give, neither shalt thou murmur when giving; for thou

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shalt know who is the good paymaster of thy reward. Didache 4:8 Thou shalt not turn away from him that is in want, but shalt make thy brother partaker in all things, and shalt not say that anything is thy own. For if ye are fellow-partakers in that which is imperishable, how much rather in the things which are perishable? Didache 4:9 Thou shalt not withhold thy hand from thy son or from thy daughter, but from their youth thou shalt teach them the fear of God. Didache 4:10 Thou shalt not command thy bondservant or thine handmaid in thy bitterness who trust in the same God as thyself, lest haply they should cease to fear the God who is over both of you; for He cometh, not to call men with respect of persons, but He cometh to those whom the Spirit hath prepared. Didache 4:11 But ye, servants, shall be subject unto your masters, as to a type of God, in shame and fear. Didache 4:12 Thou shalt hate all hypocrisy, and everything that is not pleasing to the Lord. Didache 4:13 Thou shalt never forsake the commandments of the Lord but shalt keep those things which thou hast received, neither adding to them nor taking away from them. Didache 4:14 In church thou shalt confess thy transgressions, and shalt not betake thyself to prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. Didache 5:1 But the way of death is this. First of all, it is evil and full of a curse; murders, adulteries, lusts, fornications, thefts, idolatries, magical arts, witchcrafts, plunderings, false witnessings, hypocrisies, doubleness of heart, treachery, pride, malice, stubbornness, covetousness, foul--speaking, jealousy, boldness, exaltation, boastfulness; Didache 5:2 persecutors of good men, hating truth, loving a lie, not perceiving the reward of righteousness, not cleaving to the good nor to righteous judgment, wakeful not for that which is good but for that which is evil-from whom gentleness and forbearance stand aloof; loving vain things, pursuing a recompense, not pitying the poor man, not toiling for him that is oppressed with toil, not recognizing Him that made them, murderers of children, corrupters of the creatures of God, turning away from him that is in want, oppressing him that is afflicted, advocates of the wealthy, unjust judges of the poor, altogether sinful. May ye be delivered, my children, from all these things. Didache 6:1 See lest any man lead you astray from this way of righteousness, for he teacheth thee apart from God. Didache 6:2 For if thou art able to bear the whole yoke of the Lord, thou shalt be perfect; but if thou art not able, do that which thou art able. Didache 6:3 But concerning eating, bear that which thou art able; yet abstain by all means from meat sacrificed to idols; for it is the worship of dead gods. Didache 7:1 But concerning baptism, thus shall ye baptize. Having first recited all these things, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in living (running) water. Didache 7:2 But if thou hast not living water, then baptize in other water; and if thou art not able in cold, then in warm. Didache 7:3 But if thou hast neither, then pour water on the head thrice in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Didache 7:4 But before the baptism let him that baptizeth and him that is baptized fast, and any others also who are able; and thou shalt order him that is baptized to fast a day or two before. Didache 8:1 And let not your fastings be with the hypocrites, for they fast on the second and the fifth day of the week; but do ye keep your fast on the fourth and on the preparation (the sixth) day. Didache 8:2 Neither pray ye as the hypocrites, but as the Lord commanded in His Gospel, thus pray ye: Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debt, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one; for Thine is the power and the glory for ever and ever. Didache 8:3 Three times in the day pray ye so. Didache 9:1 But as touching the eucharistic thanksgiving give ye thanks thus. Didache 9:2 First, as regards the cup: We give Thee thanks, O our Father, for the holy vine of Thy son David, which Thou madest known unto us through Thy Son Jesus; Thine is the glory for ever and ever. Didache 9:3 Then as regarding the broken bread: We give Thee thanks, O our Father, for the life and knowledge which Thou didst make known unto us through Thy Son Jesus; Thine is the glory for ever and ever. Didache 9:4 As this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and being

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gathered together became one, so may Thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom; for Thine is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ for ever and ever. Didache 9:5 But let no one eat or drink of this eucharistic thanksgiving, but they that have been baptized into the name of the Lord; for concerning this also the Lord hath said: Give not that which is holy to the dogs. Didache 10:1 And after ye are satisfied thus give ye thanks: Didache 10:2 We give Thee thanks, Holy Father, for Thy holy name, which Thou hast made to tabernacle in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality, which Thou hast made known unto us through Thy Son Jesus; Thine is the glory for ever and ever. Didache 10:3 Thou, Almighty Master, didst create all things for Thy name's sake, and didst give food and drink unto men for enjoyment, that they might render thanks to Thee; but didst bestow upon us spiritual food and drink and eternal life through Thy Son. Didache 10:4 Before all things we give Thee thanks that Thou art powerful; Thine is the glory for ever and ever. Didache 10:5 Remember, Lord, Thy Church to deliver it from all evil and to perfect it in Thy love; and gather it together from the four winds-- even the Church which has been sanctified-- into Thy kingdom which Thou hast prepared for it; for Thine is the power and the glory for ever and ever. Didache 10:6 May grace come and may this world pass away. Hosanna to the God of David. If any man is holy, let him come; if any man is not, let him repent. Maran Atha. Amen. Didache 10:7 But permit the prophets to offer thanksgiving as much as they desire. Didache 11:1 Whosoever therefore shall come and teach you all these things that have been said before, receive him; Didache 11:2 but if the teacher himself be perverted and teach a different doctrine to the destruction thereof, hear him not; but if to the increase of righteousness and the knowledge of the Lord, receive him as the Lord. Didache 11:3 But concerning the apostles and prophets, so do ye according to the ordinance of the Gospel. Didache 11:4 Let every apostle, when he cometh to you, be received as the Lord; Didache 11:5 but he shall not abide more than a single day, or if there be need, a second likewise; but if he abide three days, he is a false prophet. Didache 11:6 And when he departeth let the apostle receive nothing save bread, until he findeth shelter; but if he ask money, he is a false prophet. Didache 11:7 And any prophet speaking in the Spirit ye shall not try neither discern; for every sin shall be forgiven, but this sin shall not be forgiven. Didache 11:8 Yet not every one that speaketh in the Spirit is a prophet, but only if he have the ways of the Lord. From his ways therefore the false prophet and the prophet shall be recognized. Didache 11:9 And no prophet when he ordereth a table in the Spirit shall eat of it; otherwise he is a false prophet. Didache 11:10 And every prophet teaching the truth, if he doeth not what he teacheth, is a false prophet. Didache 11:11 And every prophet approved and found true, if he doeth ought as an outward mystery typical of the Church, and yet teacheth you not to do all that he himself doeth, shall not be judged before you; he hath his judgment in the presence of God; for in like manner also did the prophets of old time. Didache 11:12 And whosoever shall say in the Spirit, Give me silver or anything else, ye shall not listen to him; but if he tell you to give on behalf of others that are in want, let no man judge him. Didache 12:1 But let every one that cometh in the name of the Lord be received; and then when ye have tested him ye shall know him, for ye shall have understanding on the right hand and on the left. Didache 12:2 If the comer is a traveler, assist him, so far as ye are able; but he shall not stay with you more than two or three days, if it be necessary. Didache 12:3 But if he wishes to settle with you, being a craftsman, let him work for and eat his bread. Didache 12:4 But if he has no craft, according to your wisdom provide how he shall live as a Christian among you, but not in idleness. Didache 12:5 If he will not do this, he is trafficking upon Christ. Beware of such men. Didache 13:1 But every time prophet desiring to settle among you is worthy of his food. Didache 13:2 In like manner a true teacher is also worthy, like the workman, of his food. Didache 13:3 Every firstfruit then of the produce of the wine-vat and of the threshing-floor, of thy oxen and of thy sheep, thou shalt take and give as the firstfruit to the prophets; for they are your chief-priests. Didache 13:4 But if ye have not a prophet, give them to the poor. Didache 13:5 If thou makest bread, take the firstfruit and give according to the commandment. Didache 13:6 In like manner, when thou openest a jar of wine or of oil, take the firstfruit and give to the prophets; Didache 13:7

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yea and of money and raiment and every possession take the firstfruit, as shall seem good to thee, and give according to the commandment. Didache 14:1 And on the Lord's own day gather yourselves together and break bread and give thanks, first confessing your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. Didache 14:2 And let no man, having his dispute with his fellow, join your assembly until they have been reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be defiled; Didache 14:3 for this sacrifice it is that was spoken of by the Lord; In every place and at every time offer me a pure sacrifice; for I ama a great king, saith the Lord, and My name is wonderful among the nations. Didache 15:1 Appoint for yourselves therefore bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord, men who are meek and not lovers of money, and true and approved; for unto you they also perform the service of the prophets and teachers. Didache 15:2 Therefore despise them not; for they are your honorable men along with the prophets and teachers. Didache 15:3 And reprove one another, not in anger but in peace, as ye find in the Gospel; and let no one speak to any that has gone wrong towards his neighbor, neither let him hear a word from you, until he repent. Didache 15:4 But your prayers and your almsgiving and all your deeds so do ye as ye find it in the Gospel of our Lord. Didache 16:1 Be watchful for your life; let your lamps not be quenched and your loins not ungirdled, but be ye ready; for ye know not the hour the hour in which our Lord cometh. Didache 16:2 And ye shall gather yourselves together frequently, seeking what is fitting for your souls; for the whole time of your faith shall not profit you, if ye be not perfected at the last season. Didache 16:3 For in the last days the false prophets and corrupters shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate. Didache 16:4 For as lawlessness increaseth, they shall hate one another and shall persecute and betray. And then the worlddeceiver shall appear as a son of God; and shall work signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands; and he shall do unholy things, which have never been since the world began. Didache 16:5 Then all created mankind shall come to the fire of testing, and many shall be offended and perish; but they that endure in their faith shall be saved by the Curse Himself. Didache 16:6 And then shall the signs of the truth appear; first a sign of a rift in the heaven, then a sign of a voice of a trumpet, and thirdly a resurrection of the dead; Didache 16:7 yet not of all, but as it was said The Lord shall come and all His saints with Him. Didache 16:8 Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven.

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The Didache: Its Origin And Significance

Title This Church manual of primitive Christianity, or some section of it, also bears a longer title. "The Teaching of the Lord, through the Twelve Apostles, to the Gentiles", which gives us a clue to its nature. It may be a work conceived against the background of Mt. 28:18-20, professing to give the content of that which the twelve apostles taught to the 'Gentiles' or 'Nations' by the command of the Lord Jesus. It may therefore stand in a tradition somewhat different from the one that sees Paul as the Apostle to the Gentiles and the Twelve as missionaries to the Jews (cf. Gal. 2:9); instead the Twelve, representing the whole Church, are sent to the whole world, and especially to the Gentiles.
Shorter variations of this title (e.g. Teaching [or Teachings] of the Apostles are cited by several patristic writers (e.g. Eusebius HE.iii,25.4.; Athanasius, Festal Letter 39; the ninth-century Stichometry of Nicephorus), but there is no way to be sure that they are identical to the work known by this name.1

History This work became known for the first time in the Constantinople Manuscripts discovered by Archbishop Bryennios in 1875 and published 1883. It has been dated at 1056 CE. and is kept in Jerusalem. It was then possible to go back and see that the Didache in Greek was actually to be found (in a somewhat revised form) in Book VII of the 4th century Egyptian Constitutions. In addition there are fragments in Greek (Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 1782), Coptic, and Ethiopic, and a complete Gregorian version. For the 'Two Ways' section there is (besides the witness of Barnabas 18-20) a Latin version (the Doctrina) the 4th century Apostolic Church Order, and three other manuals of the 4th century or later. We cannot be sure that the 1056 MS represents the 'original' Didache or even what 'original' means in this context. As with the NT we are dealing with textual variants, but "with a developing tradition, and our various witnesses to the Didache merely afford us glimpses of this tradition at various stages."2 Sitz Im Leben Scholars suggest that the Didache reflects a backward church in a remote situation, Syria and Palestine being the most favoured with Egypt also as a possible source. It reflects a situation in which an undisclosed number of scattered rural Christian communities are given advice on a wide variety of practical subjects by an unknown author who uses the pseudonyms of the Twelve Apostles. This may suggest that no Christian leader had sufficient authority to issue these directives under his own name. The 'author' and communities were familiar with itinerant apostles, prophets and teachers, some of which had even taken advantage of them (Did.11-13). It seems that the bishops and

deacons, mentioned only once, appear in a context clearly suggesting that they are appointed by the community and are regarded as performing the functions of prophets and teachers (Did. 15:1-2). The travelling missionaries and prophets had the right to be supported by the churches (Did. 13:1) which was all too easily abused (11:5-6;12). The NT picture of the apostles and prophets coexisting with the local ministry of bishop is reflected in the Didache. Note, though, that the two-tiered ministry of bishops and deacons in the Didache differs from the Jerusalem church that had from the start a single figure at the head of the body of elders. The regular Sunday worship of the Christians was primarily thanksgiving as attested by the earliest 2nd century texts (e.g. Ignatius and Justin Martyr). Justin's presiding bishop was entirely free in wording the great prayer of thanksgiving, but evidently in other churches (as the Didache displays) a more liturgical format was expected. Well before the end of the 1st century it was customary to 'baptise' simply by pouring water on the head three times. The Didache refers to this, but recommends immersion in a fast running river or in a lake. Sprinkling was only permitted in the absence of a body of water. The use of the 'Two Ways' Jewish tract, reference to the high priest, 'firstfruits' and 'Vine of David' suggest that it is a remote Jewish-Christian community. This leads logically to the question "At what point in Church History was this text first written?" Date Scholars argue dates as late as the 4th century, but the consensus places it c.100 CE. Some scholars have argued more recently for a date as early as 50 CE. that gives the Didache the widest range of dating estimates of any Christian book. The Didache does not fir clearly into any period of liturgy or ministry for which we have documentation. Does it therefore belong to a period before such documentation? "This is the thesis advanced in the massive recent commentary by J.-P. Audst who concludes it was composed almost certainly in Antioch between 50 and 70."3 The case must rest on the many indications of genuine primitiveness in the Didache which point to a stage in the life of the church that is still that of the NT period itself. Aune points out that the apostles mentioned several times in the Didache (11:3,4,6) are not associated with specific factions, a fact that suggests they belonged to an early period4. The prayers and thanksgiving are full of archaic terminology, echoing not only the servant (pais) Christology of the early speeches of Acts (Did.9:2f; 10:2f; Acts 3:13,26; 4:27,30) which Robinson calls "the earliest Christian liturgical sequence (Did.10:6; cf. 1 Corinthians 16:2224)"5. In Did. 9:1-3 the cup precedes the bread, as in 1 Corinthians 10:16 and Luke 22:17-19. The regulations about food (Did. 6:3) presupposed a period and milieu where the dietary question is still genuinely posed. We are in the age of itinerant apostles, prophets and teachers (11-13), and at a "point of transition from the ministry of prophets and teachers to that of bishops and deacons"6 where the former are not available for regular ministry in the local church (15:1f).

This transition is touched upon by Phil.1:1 and the Pastoral Epistles. C.H. Turner recognised that a "date between 80 and 100 is as early as we are prepared to admit" but "it does not follow that so early a date (i.e. 60) is inevitable."7 Like the epistle of James, it is content to leave doctrinal issues on one side. There is no polemic - as in the Pastorals - against heterodox or Gnostic tendencies within the church, merely a concern to maintain a practical distinction between Christians and Jews. The final chapter on eschatology aims much the same apocalyptic atmosphere as 1 & 2 Thessalonians (with which it has many parallels). "It displays dominical and traditional OT materials which seem to have been produced by the early church between 40 and 70"8. Yet in the Synoptics there is apparently no attempt to fuse this material with predictions of the destruction of the temple or the fall of Jerusalem. This, it is argued, suggests that it is composed either well before or well after these events. There is little sign of the persecution or 'falling away' and with it the concern for consolidation in doctrine and structure, something Robinson sees as characteristic of the 60's. He is inclined to date the Didache between 40 and 60 assuming that all the NT canon had been written before c.80. Summing up, J.A. Kliest is honest: "If we admit an early date of composition, all the evidence is in favour of it; if we insist on a late date, we have to face a mass of conjectures and hypotheses."9 It appears that the pivotal point is 70 CE. The presuppositions of the scholar will determine which side he opts for: the majority cautiously hover around 100 CE. Origin F.E. Vokes, one of the late-date camp, in his work The Riddle of the Didache10, regards it as a fictitious reconstruction, but thinks that its object is to present and defend the 'New Prophecy' of the Montanist movement as 'apostolic'. He places it at the end of the 2nd century/beginning of the 3rd. Others argue for its dependence on the Epistle of Barnabas 1820. He notes the similarity in the 'Two-Ways' section (Did. 1:1-6:2) the first half of the text having the closest parallels with Barnabas. The discovery of the Qumran Manual of Discipline has tilted the balance in favour of the view that both go back to common Jewish sources. The same applies to the much weaker case for the Didache is dependent on Hermas' Shepherd. The Didache, like the gospels, must be seen as the product of a 'long' period in which there are at least three stages: first draft, final writing and re-writing. The Epistles, however, were written in a short period of time for specific occasions. For example see 1 Corinthians 1:1416 for Paul's memory recall while writing. Its milieu is clearly Palestinian or Syrian and many have seen the most probable locations both for the Didache and of the Gospel of Matthew to be Antioch. "It is most likely to have represented the first formulated statement of 'the gospel' used by the apostles, teachers and prophets to whom the Didache refers (10:7-15:2), and whom Acts also mentions in connection with Antioch and its missionary work (Acts 13:1-3; 14:14)."11 I see in the Gospels a type of the possible author. The Lord rebuked the disciples for hindering a man who, in faith and in the name of Jesus, was performing signs and wonders. He was not of the apostolic party, but knew enough of their mission to share in their authority. I view the author of the Didache as someone outside the Apostles but having enough

knowledge of their message () and teaching (didache - Acts 2:42) to speak with similar authority in their name. The recipients were Jewish Christians who most probably retained a certain Jewish flavour on resettling after fleeing to remote areas from persecution in Palestine and still displayed a level of primitive Christianity, not progressing as quickly with the wider Church. They were comparable to the 'time-warp' disciples in Ephesus (Acts 19). Content The Didache begins a moral exhortation for converts taken from an extant Jewish tract 'The Two Ways'. The idea of 'walking' in the light or darkness is transposed into an allegory (so Did. 1-6; Barn. 18-20; cf. 1QS. 3:20-21)12. This section comes at the beginning (1:1-6:2) rather than at the end as in Barnabas. The 'Way of Life' is found in 1:2 - 4:14 and the 'Way of Death' in 5:1f, with a brief summary in 6:1-3. A traditional list of prohibitions based on the Ten Commandments is found in 2:1-7. Did. 3:1-6 is another interpretation of the 'Two Ways'. "In good rabbinic fashion the author or compiler is 'building a fence around the law' (cf. Mish. Pirke Aboth i.1) by avoiding that which might even lead to sin."13 In Did.7:1-4 the theme is baptism, with a clear indication that the 'Two Ways' material has functioned in the Didache as instruction designed for baptismal candidates. The Trinitarian formula of Mt. 28:19f is closely paralleled in 7:1. Chapter 8 deals with fasting and prayer, centring on a version of the Lord's prayer similar to that found in Matthew. A doxology is attached to the prayer, repeated later in chapter 9f, and is used with the eucharistic meal prayers. The prayers before and after the meal (9:1-5; 10:1-7 respectively) are traditional and very ancient, exhibiting a similarity with Jewish table prayers. The rest of the Didache addressed itself to the testing of travelling teachers, prophets and apostles (or missionaries) (11:1-12:5); the responsibility of the congregation to those found to be worthy (13:1-7); the Sunday gatherings for worship (14:1-3, possible eucharistic), the qualifications for resident teachers (bishops and deacons) with an appeal to have respect for them and to be at peace with one another (15:1-4). Finally there is a chapter of eschatological instruction, including a small apocalypse (cf. Mt.24) which sets forth the events leading up to the end of the age and the return of Christ (16:1-8). Canon Within the history of the NT canon the great Alexandrian, Origen (d.253/254), is of vital significance. "The most important thing was that for the first time, he determined which Scriptures had general ecclesiastical authority, and on this basis it could be inferred from the different classes of ecclesiastical writings were to be differentiated."14 He cites Hermas's Shepherd and Didache as , but he does not seem to have included them within the canon (although he does list Barnabas as part of the NT). Eusebius of Caesarea in his Church History (c.303) classes the Didache as one of the (spurious) of his antilegomena class of Scriptures. Methodius of Olympus, who was an opponent of Origen in Asia Minor, quotes all 27 books or our NT as canonical, but also the

Apocalypse of Peter, and perhaps Barnabas, Didache and the document 'Concerning Virginity' (falsely attributed to Athanasius), written in Egypt in the 4th century as also. The uncertainty concerning the limits of the NT canon was brought to an end for the Church in the East by the 39th Easter Festal Letter of Athanasius in 367 CE. He, for the first time presented a firmly circumscribed canon of both the OT and NT. His NT canon is ours today. Along with the canonical writings he mentions two other classes, the second class being those scriptures rejected by the Church. The third class contained books to be read aloud, which may be used by the Church as baptismal instruction. The Didache (because of the 'Two Ways') fell into this class. The New Testament Dr. J.A.T. Robinson believes that the needs of teaching in the early Church would have led to a collection of sayings (e.g. Acts 10:37-41) which we call 'Q', 'M' and 'L'.
Out of these stories and sayings (under the influence of a variety of motives...) one may see emerging for the first time documents which could in a proper sense be described, not indeed as 'gospels' in the plural, a use not to be found until the last quarter of the second century, but as 'the gospel' in writing. This is the usage that appears to be reflected in the Didache.15

Assuming an early date (pre-70 CE.) for the Didache, Audst argues that the Didache is completely independent of our written Gospels. There is an increasing tendency to recognise that apparent quotations in this period are far more likely to reflect oral tradition. Even Did.1:3b-5 which many take as a conflation of Matthew and Luke, Audst sees as representing common oral tradition. Is the Didache, therefore, valuable evidence for the prehistory of the synoptic problem? All this can be no more than educated guessing. Features of the NT that demand a date in the latter half of the 1st century are: Tripartite formulae (Mt. 28:19; cf. Did. 7:1,3); doxology to the Lord's prayer (Did. 8:2) later incorporated in Matthew (6:13 marg.); the qualifications of bishops and deacons in the Pastorals (1 Timothy 3:2-13; Titus 1:5-9; Did. 15:1); the instructions about hospitality in the Johannine epistles (2 John 10f.; 2 John 8-10; cf. Did. 14:1); and maybe the phrase the 'apostles and prophets' in Ephesians and Revelation (Eph. 2:20; 3:5; Revelation 18:20; cf. Did. 11:3). Matthew Some scholars (e.g. Grant)16 have determined that the Didachist probably knew Matthew, but Grant qualifies this, arguing that "his [the Didachist's] primary authority must be tradition whether oral or written rather than documents". The authority of Christ in Did.9:5; 15:3 passing on to the 'literarily fixed gospel tradition' is seen as highly questionable by W.G. Kummel.17 Although they are closest to the Matthean tradition the quotations cannot be demonstrated to depend on the canonical gospel of Matthew. Audet argues that they still reflect a period before our Gospels were completed and throw valuable light on their prehistory. Robinson, for the sake of argument, calls it proto-Matthew.18

John Traditionally the Gospel of John has been viewed as the last of the canonical Gospels, and this view is still generally held today. One of the reasons for such late dating is the lack of clear knowledge of the fourth Gospel by early Christian writers. "Scholars differ as to whether traces can be found in I Clement, Barnabas, the Didache, Ignatius, the Shepherd of Hermas or even the Odes of Solomon. Most are inclined to a negative verdict."19 Dodd20, on the other hand, sees points of contact between the prayers of the Didache and the Fourth Gospel. Moffatt21 suggests that if the Didache represents the sacramental prayers of the Palestinian and Syrian Church, they may have been known to the author of the Fourth Gospel (i.e. chapters 6 & 17). Acts Schille22 suggests that itineracy in Acts is more in line with the missionary policy reflected in the Didache than that of the Apostolic Age. The advice to stay only a day or so does not deal with the problem of the longer time needed for established churches. Schille, however, has not taken into account the possibility of a pre-70 CE. Didache and is too sweeping in his remarks on the nature of itineracy in Acts.23 James "The atmosphere and situation resemble the moralism of the Didache, the distinctively religious tenets are assumed rather than proclaimed."24 The early compromise of Did.6:325 (perhaps reflecting the situation in mixed Antioch?) is not found in James. In contrasting James with the Didache there are no instructions about worship or the sacraments; James' 'Manual of Discipline' (Reickes' designation of James 5:12-20) contents itself with simple injunctions on swearing, ministry to the sick. There is no reference to orders of Christian ministry, whereas Did. 13:2; 15:1 has a hierarchy of ministry. (All comparisons are limited and depend on the exegetes own limited understanding and ability to handle the evidence, although the comparison in this case seems valid.) Jude Almost the only document that presents any resemblance to Jude is the Didache where Did. 2:7 recalls the similar triple sentence of Jude 22-23 (cf. also Did. 3:6 & Jude 8-10). R. J. Bauckham points out that although the Didache shows the influence of Jude, there is no really convincing case of dependence.26 He argues concerning Did. 2:7 & Jude 22,23 that "It is... possible that the Did. preserves a piece of traditional Christian teaching that distinguished two classes of sinners (some to be reproved and reclaimed; others, more hardened, for whom it is only possible to pray), and that Jude rephrased this tradition in his own words..."27 Revelation

There are indications that early Christianity very quickly employed, and developed in an independent way apocalyptic concepts. Still later a Christian apocalyptic literature was formed in which Jewish apocalypses were edited from a Christian standpoint and new apocalypses were written. Did.16 is one of these, along with the Apocalypse of Peter and Shepherd of Hermas (pre-middle 2nd century).28 Pseudonymity There is much debate over the presuppositions for pseudepigraphic writing in the NT, but
even if the Sitz im Leben of religious pseudepigraphic writings has not yet been adequately explained, there still exists in any event no ground for declaring that pseudepigraphic writings is impossible for the N.T. epistles, or that it precludes truthfulness. The Didache is an example of later primitive Christianity.29

Other types of pseudonymity exist in Judaism. In agreement is W. Telfer30 who thinks that it is a pseudigraph that is "supposed to be the work of the apostolic council of Jerusalem narrated in Acts 15".31 Aland appeals to the Didache as the key to the transition from anonymity to pseudonymity, because it claims to be the teaching through the twelve apostles32. Guthrie points out that the Didache's vague reference to the Apostles differs from that you would expect from an author who writes in another's name. If the Didache is the best example available, then we have to ask why the movement towards personal authorship went any further. "Why are the Pastorals attributed to Paul? Was this because it was seen to be more effective method than the vaguer Didache"?33 Whatever the initial presuppositions in the debate about pseudonymity in the NT, the Didache can be used either way with much depending on the assumed date of composition. Chris Thomas

Bibliography
K. Aland, 'The Problem of Anonymity and Pseudonymity in Christian Literature of the First Two Centuries', Journal of Theological Studies, 12 (1961): 39ff. J.-P. Audst, La Didache: Instructions des Apotres. (Paris: Etudes Bibliques, 1958 D.E. Aune, Prophecy in Early Christianity and the Ancient Mediterranean World. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983. Richard J. Bauckham, 'Jude, 2 Peter', Word Biblical Commentary, Vol.50. Texas: Word, 1983. G.R. Beasley-Murray, 'John', Word Biblical Commentary, Vol.36. Texas: Word, 1987. C.H. Dodd, Historical Tradition And The Fourth Gospel. Cambridge: CUP, 1963. Grant, Cambridge History of the Bible, Vol. 1. Cambridge: CUP, 1970. Donald Guthrie, New Testament Introduction, Rev. Leicester: Apollos, 1990.

W.G. Kmmel, Introduction To The New Testament. London: SCM, 1978. J.R. Michaels, 'Apostolic Fathers', G.W. Bromiley, Gen.Ed., International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol.1. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1979: 207. J. Moffatt, Introduction To The Literature of the New Testament, 3rd. Edn. Edinburgh: T.&T. Clark, 1933. J.A.T. Robinson, Redating The New Testament. London: SCM, 1984. G. Schille, Theologische Literurzeitung, 84 (1959): cols.165-174. S.S. Smalley, 'I,II, III John', Word Biblical Commentary, Vol.51. Texas: Word, 1984. W. Telfer, 'The Plot of the Didache,' Journal of Theological Studies, 45 (1944): 141-151.

J.R. Michaels, 'Apostolic Fathers', G.W. Bromiley gen.ed., International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 1. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), 207. 2 Michaels, 207. 3 J.A.T. Robinson, Redating The New Testament. (London: SCM, 1984) 323. 4 D.E. Aune, Prophecy in Early Christianity and the Ancient Mediterranean World. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983), 208. 5 Robinson, 325. 6 Robinson, 325. 7 C.H. Turner, cited in Robinson, 326. 8 Robinson, 326. 9 J.A. Kleist, cited in Robinson, 327. 10 F.E. Vokes, The Riddle of the Didache. (1938). 11 J.-P. Andst, La Didache: Instructions des Apotres. (Paris: Etudes Bibliques, 1958) cited in Robinson, 97. 12 S.S. Smalley, 'I,II, III John', Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 51. (Texas: Word, 1984), 23. 13 Michaels, 207. 14 W.G. Kmmel, Introduction To The New Testament. (London: SCM, 1978), 495. 15 Robinson, 96. 16 Grant. Cambridge History of the Bible, Vol. 1. (Cambridge: CUP, 1970), 291. 17 Kmmel, 480. 18 Robinson, 97. 19 G.R. Beasley-Murray, 'John', Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 36. (Texas: Word, 1987), LXXV. 20 C.H. Dodd, Historical Tradition And The Fourth Gospel. (Cambridge: CUP, 1963) 204. 21 Moffatt, J. Introduction To The Literature of the New Testament, 3rd. edn. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1933), 596. 22 G. Schille, Theologische Literurzeitung, 84 (1959) cols.165-174. 23 Donald Guthrie, New Testament Introduction, Rev. (Leicester:Apollos, 1990), 396. 24 Moffatt, 471. 25 cf. Acts 15:20. 26 Richard J. Bauckham, 'Jude, 2 Peter', Word Biblical Commentary, Vol.50. (Texas:Word, 1983), 16. 27 Bauckham, 111. 28 Kmmel, 455. 29 Kmmel, 363. 30 W. Telfer, 'The Plot of the Didache', Journal of Theological Studies 45 (1944): 141-151.

Telfer, 142. K. Aland, 'The Problem of Anonymity and Pseudonymity in Christian Literature of the First Two Centuries', Journal of Theological Studies 12 (1961): 39ff. 33 Guthrie, 1025.
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