Theology: Historical Theology: The Didache - “The Teaching,” or, “The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles

Series: Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum, Section 3 - volume 5The Didache, or Doctrine of the Twelve Apostles, is an important source for our knowledge of early Christianity. The Didache demonstrates that we should understand nascent Christianity and early Judaism as sharing to a large extent the same traditions.The volume throws fresh light on the Jewishness of the Two Ways teaching in Didache 1-6. It presents a cautious reconstruction of the Jewish prototype of the Two Ways and traces the Jewish life situation in which the instruction could emerge and flourish. This attempt is important, as it provides us with a Jewish source (and its transmission) underlying Christian and Jewish writings. For example, it is shown how acquaintance with these traditional materials benefits our perception of the antithetical section in Matthew 5:17-48.In the field of liturgical studies, a significant contribution is made to the discussion of Didache 7-10. It improves our understanding of the Jewish provenance and historical development of Baptism and the Eucharist. The book also presents an intriguing look into the redactional stages behind the materials about church discipline. The ministry of itinerant apostles and prophets moving from town to town, and their settling down in the community, is considered in the perspective of the larger environment of Jewish religious and cultural history.This volume will prove indispensable for all those engaged in the study of early Judaism, the New Testament, Patristics, the origins of Christian liturgy, and early Church history in general.The contributors are: Bas ter Haar Romeny Clayton N. Jefford Wim Weren Aaron Milavec Kari Syreeni John S. Kloppenborg Peter J. Tomson Gerard Rouwhorst André Tuilier Huub van de Sandt Joseph Verheyden Jonathan A. Draper

Rediscovered in 1873, the Didache provides a glimpse of early Christian ritual and liturgy. This text, which dates to the late first or early second century, is the very first manual for Christian life. Here Clayton Jefford presents parallel translations of the original-language manuscripts -- from Greek, Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic, and Georgian. His detailed introduction places the Didache in its historical context, and cross references and notes on sources enable in-depth study.

What can we know about the practices of the early church? "The Didache is the most important book you've never read," begins Tony Jones, in this engaging study. The Didache is an early handbook of an anonymous Christian community, likely written before some of the New Testament books were written. It spells out a way of life for Jesus-followers that includes instruction on how to treat one another, how to practice the Eucharist, and how to take in wandering prophets. In The Teaching of the Twelve, Jones unpacks the ancient document, and he traces the life of a small house church in Missouri that is trying to live according to its precepts.  Readers will find The Teaching of the Twelveinspirational and challenging, and they will discover a unique window into the life of the very earliest followers of Jesus the Christ. A new, contemporary English translation of the Didache is included.