PhilosopherJay

Hi Earl,

I totally agree. Seeing God in a human form was not uncommon in the Roman province of Judea in the 1st century. Gods in human form were everywhere. Hardly a day passed for most people when they didn't see a god in a human form (statues on streets, in temples and in homes) or hear a story about a God in a human form. Even in the Hebrew Scriptures, God is portrayed anthropomorphically (e.g. Deut. Deuteronomy 31:17: "I will hide my face from them"), getting angry, jealous, using eyes, ears, mouth, nostrils, arms and legs; walking, talking, modelling clay, wrestling, etc.

Consider, Exodus 33


Here is a picture of Zeus visiting a woman from a 4th Century B.C.E. comedy.

The synagogue at Dura Europos (244) in Syria features a mosaic of the sacrifice of Issac by Abraham with the hand of God clearly visible at the top. (click enlarge picture and go to 200% to see it better



The Hand of God is at the top of the picture, just above Isaac.

Here is another image from the 6th Century Bet Aleph Synagogue of the Akeidah (sacrifice of Isaac).
The Hand of God is above the branches in the center of the picture.

For people living in 1st Century Judea, being visited by a God or the Lord was about as unexpected as a visit from the in-laws are today.

Warmly,

Jay Raskin

andrewcriddle

I personally think the Galatians quote is a good parallel. One possible problem is that there isn't much evidence that the Didache was influenced by the Pauline tradition.

Andrew Criddle

Solo

You don't think so ? False teachers, food offered to idols, working for a living, not living off the gospel, partaking of the things that are immortal....these sound to me very Pauline motifs. But I have a strong feeling that this document parallels the 'pastoralization' of Paul and testifies to the judaization of the faith cca 90 which lies at the root of Paulines founding/defecting to gnostic schools. 'Don't give things holy to the dogs' I believe attests to this as the parody on this saying in Mark (7:26-29) precedes the Matthean sermon.

Best,
Jiri

DCHindley

I've read the appendix you mention. As usual, you have obviously taken the time to look closely at the Didache. BibleWorks 8 has the Didache in both English and Greek, so I have been flipping through it verse by verse.

I can see various use of the definite article ("the") with Greek KURIOS (lord), some obviously referencing God and some that could be references to Jesus or even to a worldly lord. Unfortunately, you cannot tell when the Greek definite article is and is not used from the English translation. FWIW, the word "lord" appears about 21 times in the Didache:

APF Didache 1:1 Διδαχὴ κυρίου διὰ τῶν δώδεκα ἀποστόλων τοῖς ἔθνεσιν [teaching of lord (no definite article) through twelve apostles to the nations]

APE Didache 4:1 My child, him that speaketh to thee the word of God remember night and day; and thou shalt honor him as the Lord (no definite article); for in the place whence lordly rule [ἡ κυριότης = ruling power, lordship, dominion] is uttered, there is the Lord (no definite article).

APE Didache 4:12 Thou shalt hate all hypocrisy and everything which is not pleasing to the Lord (with definite article).

APE Didache 4:13 Do thou in no wise forsake the commandments of the Lord (no definite article); but thou shalt keep what thou hast received, neither adding thereto nor taking away therefrom.

APE Didache 6:2 For if thou art able to bear all the yoke of the Lord (with definite article), thou wilt be perfect; but if thou art not able, what thou art able that do.

APE Didache 8:2 Neither pray as the hypocrites; but as the Lord (with definite article) commanded in His Gospel, thus pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us today our daily (needful) bread, and forgive us our debt as we also forgive our debtors. And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (or, evil); for Thine is the power and the glory for ever.

APE Didache 9:5 But let no one eat or drink of your Thanksgiving (Eucharist), but they who have been baptized into the name of the Lord (no definite article); for concerning this also the Lord (with definite article) hath said, Give not that which is holy to the dogs.

APE Didache 10:5 Remember, Lord (no definite article), Thy Church, to deliver it from all evil and to make it perfect in Thy love, and gather it from the four winds, sanctified for Thy kingdom which Thou hast prepared for it; for Thine is the power and the glory for ever.

APE Didache 11:2 But if the teacher himself turn and teach another doctrine to the destruction of this, hear him not; but if he teach so as to increase righteousness and the knowledge of the Lord (no definite article), receive him as the Lord (no definite article).

APE Didache 11:4 Let every apostle that cometh to you be received as the Lord (no definite article).

APE Didache 11:8 But not every one that speaketh in the Spirit is a prophet; but only if he hold the ways of the Lord (no definite article). Therefore from their ways shall the false prophet and the prophet be known.

APE Didache 12:1 But let every one that cometh in the name of the Lord (no definite article) be received, and afterward ye shall prove and know him; for ye shall have understanding right and left.

APE Didache 14:3 For this is that which was spoken by the Lord (no definite article): In every place and time offer to me a pure sacrifice; for I am a great King, saith the Lord (no definite article), and my name is wonderful among the nations.

APE Didache 15:1 Appoint, therefore, for yourselves, bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord (with definite article), men meek, and not lovers of money, and truthful and proved; for they also render to you the service of prophets and teachers.

APE Didache 15:4 But your prayers and alms and all your deeds so do, as ye have it in the Gospel of the Lord of us (with definite article, English slightly modified).

APE Didache 16:1 Watch for your life's sake. Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ye ready, for ye know not the hour in which the Lord of us (with definite article, English slightly modified) cometh.

APE Didache 16:7 yet not of all, but as it is said: The Lord (with definite article) shall come and all His saints with Him.

APE Didache 16:8 Then shall the world see the Lord (with definite article) coming upon the clouds of heaven.

"Jesus" appears 4 times in chapter 9 & 10, including once as "Jesus Christ." Some of the admonitions to masters and slaves appears to be based on Paul, as also are particulars in the author's description of what is to happen in the end times in Ch 16 (plus the prophet Joel and one or more of the gospels). I also noticed that "Thine is the power and the glory for ever" (Did 8:2 & 10:5) is a variant ending for the Lord's prayer (Matt 6:13) based on 1 Chronicles 29:11-13 found in Coptic (Sahadic & Fayyumic) and is similar to a variant that finds itself expressed in the Byzantine text family. The phrase "true prophet" (13:1) is reminiscent of the Clementine literature. The baptism in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit (7:1) is related to the longer ending of Mark. And the phrase "the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if ye be not made perfect in the last time" (Did 16:2) seems to reflect the controversies of the 2nd century relating to the salvation status of lapsed Christians.

Let me collect my thoughts as well as look at a couple books I have (Didache in Modern Research and The Didache in Context) and I'll address your points shortly.

DCH

DCHindley

Earl,

Sorry to keep delaying.

I'm more or less in a position to comment, but need time enough to think out and word my response(s) to your Appendix 8 "The Absence of an Historical Jesus in the Didache." So probably this Saturday. You have put a lot of effort into your work and I feel I should do the same in reply.

Skimming through The Didache in Context (or via: amazon.co.uk) (1995) and The Didache in Modern Research (or via: amazon.co.uk) (1996) makes it clear to me that there is no clear consensus about its origin, sources, influence, or significance.

There is the complete Greek copy from the Library at Jerusalem, a near complete Ethiopic translation, another fragment of the Greek, and a fragment of a Coptic translation, each with significat variants.

There are also significant parallels to certain parts of it, primarily the Two Ways section, in the Epistle of Barnabas, the Testament of the 12 Patriarchs, the Manual of Discipline from the DSS, the Shepherd of Hermas, the Doctrina apostolorum, and the Apostolic Constitutions. What may have directly influenced what is a difficult question to answer definitively.

I'll probably concentrate on your contention that "Lord" always refers to God, and I think I discovered a link between some of the Lord references to the Lot story in Genesis 18-19 (which, as far as I can tell from the two volumes above, had not been noted by scholarship). But of course I did ...

Your statements about whether Jesus can be construed as a historical person in the Didache will also be discussed.

Fun awaits ...

DCH

Solo

I don't think the use of the anarthrous 'kyrios' is an indication that the referent is God. I had long discussions with spin on this. Paul evidently used his own nomenclature, shifting some / most of the references to (the) Lord from God to Jesus. This is actually spelled out by Paul in 1 Cor 8:6:

ἀλλ’ ἡμῖν εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς αὐτόν καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός δι’ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς δι’ αὐτοῦ

yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

The semantics of Jesus as Lord then propagated across to the Jewish proto-Christian locutions after the Nazoreans were driven out of Jerusalem and changed their proselytizing tactics in accepting that Jesus was Messiah (a Davidic one), and the cross was his messianic mission. They lured the Paulines to their form of the faith, by affecting Pauline lingo as the pastorals, the other epistles and the Didache itself amply illustrate.

Jiri

DCHindley

Well, I called off sick today (stomach is doing flip flops for some reason), so here I go ...

According to Jonathan Draper's essay "The Didache in Modern Research" in the book of the same name, he outlines the opinions of the various researchers who studied this document. The scholars variously proposed an early date in the late 1st century, others to the mid 2nd century, and still others to the late 3rd century.

Archbishop Philotheos Byrennios (the original discoverer of the Jerusalem mss) thought it a genuine product of the early Jewish Christian church, and proposed a date between 120 & 160 CE.

Adolf von Harnack proposed sometime between 135 or 140 CE (if dependent on Barnabas or the Shepherd of Hermas) to 165 CE (to allow time for it to be in circulation before used by Clement of Alexandria as "scripture"). Because he felt its apparent primitiveness argued against such a date, he proposed that it must have originated in a rural backwater in Egypt. He could nopt imagine such a backwater in Syria or Asia Minor. The creators were Gentiles who had broken completely from their Jewish roots.

It was P. Sabatier who proposed that it's primitive, unpolished form more than likely originated in the mid 1st century CE in Syria. He agreed with Byrennios that the authors must have been Jewish Christians.

By 1920 a consensus arose that saw the majority of Chapters 1-6 (sans 1:3-2:1) plus most of chapter 16 as not derived from Barnabas or Hermas but from a common source, a Jewish proselyte catechism with an eschatological conclusion. Of these, Rudolf Knopf dated it to between 90 and 150 CE, and if the later end the place of origin would have to be in a backwater in Syria-Palestine. Egypt is ruled out due to a mention of mountains at 9:4.

The year 1920 also saw J A Robinson publish his lectures on the relationship Between the Didache, Barnabas and Hermas. He "argued that the author of the Didache was merely imaginatively reconstructing what he considered to have been 'the teaching of the Lord through the Twelve Apostles to the Gentiles,' derived from Matthew 28:20." Drawing on Barnabas and Matthew, and Mandate 2 of the Shepherd of Hermas, "the Didachist is held to have garbled. misunderstood, obscured or grossly distorted the material he borrowed." Clement of Alexandria and Didache both rely on a common authoritative source (a source which Clement of Alex. considers as good as scripture). It served as an "apostolic monument" dating to the 3rd century CE. (Draper, pg.11)

With the exception of B H Streeter, who in reaction to Robinson proposed an origin around 100 CE in Syria, probably Antioch, and some others, the doubts raised by Robonson and those who expanded on him caused the Didache to largely drop out of scholarly discussion until discovery of the DSS.

The discovery of the Manual of Discipline among the DSS caused a resurgence of interest in the possibility that the Didache could be an early Jewish Christian document. Yes, many of the post DSS scholars are dating it to the 1st century CE now that a wholly Jewish two ways tradition can be dated well before the 1st century CE.

More to come ...

DCH

DCHindley

Continuing on to other issues:

In an earlier post I listed all the cases where "KURIOS" occurs in the Didache, and whether or not the word takes a definite article ("the"). In my personal opinion, all cases where there was no definite article the Didache is likely referring to God, as Earl supposes.

APE Didache 4:1 My child, him that speaketh to thee the word of God remember night and day; and thou shalt honor him as the Lord (no definite article); for in the place whence lordly rule [ἡ κυριότης = properly ruling power, lordship, dominion, and what Earl cites from Bauer is actually a reference to the Didache] is uttered, there is the Lord (no definite article).

APE Didache 4:13 Do thou in no wise forsake the commandments of the Lord (no definite article); but thou shalt keep what thou hast received, neither adding thereto nor taking away therefrom.

APE Didache 10:5 Remember, Lord (no definite article), Thy Church, to deliver it from all evil and to make it perfect in Thy love, and gather it from the four winds, sanctified for Thy kingdom which Thou hast prepared for it; for Thine is the power and the glory for ever.

APE Didache 11:4 Let every apostle that cometh to you be received as the Lord (no definite article).

APE Didache 12:1 But let every one that cometh in the name of the Lord (no definite article) be received, and afterward ye shall prove and know him; for ye shall have understanding right and left.

This is the place where I think there is a link to the story of the Lord visiting Abram under the Oak of Mambre:

LXA Genesis 18:1 And God appeared to him by the oak of Mambre, as he sat by the door of his tent at noon. 2 And he lifted up his eyes and beheld, and lo! three men stood before him; and having seen them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and did obeisance to the ground. 3 And he said, Lord [κύριε], if indeed I have found grace in thy sight, pass not by thy servant [τὸν παῖδά σου]. ... 16 And the men having risen up from thence looked towards Sodom and Gomorrha. And Abraam went with them, attending them on their journey. ... 17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraam my servant what things I intend to do? ... 18 But Abraam shall become a great and populous nation, and in him shall all the nations of the earth be blest. ... 22 And the men having departed thence, came to Sodom; and Abraam was still standing before the Lord. 33 And the Lord departed, when he left off speaking to Abraam, and Abraam returned to his place. 19:1 And the two angels came to Sodom at evening. And Lot sat by the gate of Sodom, and Lot having seen them, rose up to meet them, and he worshipped with his face to the ground, and said, 2 Lo! my lords [ἰδού κύριοι - which is the essence of the original Hebrew], turn aside to the house of your servant [ἐκκλίνατε εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ παιδὸς ὑμῶν].

From the moment Abram, and later Lot, laid eyes on the 'men' he just knew, presumably by the way they conducted themselves, that they were special, and addressed the leader as honorific "Lord" (master). Now it turned out he was the Lord god himself, and his two companions were angels. Lot later sees the two angels, appearing as men, and calls them "lords" as well. In both cases, they call themselves "your servant boy", much as Jesus is called the "Fathers" servant boy:

APE Didache 9:2 First, concerning the cup: We thank thee, our Father, for the holy vine of David Thy servant, which Thou madest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever.

APE Didache 9:3 And concerning the broken bread: We thank Thee, our Father, for the life and knowledge which Thou modest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever.

APE Didache 9:4 Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let 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.

APE Didache 10:2 We thank Thee, holy Father, for Thy holy name which Thou didst cause to tabernacle in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality, which Thou madest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever.

What was the message brought by the Lord God and his angels (who are essentially "sent ones" i.e., apostles)? Good news that Abram will be the father of many children and a blessing to the gentile nations. This is kingdom talk. This is the good news.

Of a more ritual nature:

APE Didache 9:5a But let no one eat or drink of your Thanksgiving (Eucharist), but they who have been baptized into the name of the Lord (no definite article);

Concerning proving the validity of a kingdom message:

APE Didache 11:2 But if the teacher himself turn and teach another doctrine to the destruction of this, hear him not; but if he teach so as to increase righteousness and the knowledge of the Lord (no definite article), receive him as the Lord (no definite article).

APE Didache 11:8 But not every one that speaketh in the Spirit is a prophet; but only if he hold the ways of the Lord (no definite article). Therefore from their ways shall the false prophet and the prophet be known.

And a citation from one of the Prophets:

APE Didache 14:3 For this is that which was spoken by the Lord (no definite article): In every place and time offer to me a pure sacrifice; for I am a great King, saith the Lord (no definite article), and my name is wonderful among the nations. [Malachi 1:14]

On the other hand, in the cases where the definite article is included I think all but one of them can be tied to passages about Jesus found in the gospels, and that exception is 1 Timothy 3 speaking of worthy bishops and deacons, so as to leave a good impression on outsiders regarding faith in Jesus Christ (vs 13).

APE Didache 4:12 Thou shalt hate all hypocrisy and everything which is not pleasing to the Lord (with definite article). [Mt 12:28; Mk 12:15; Lk 12:1]

APE Didache 6:2 For if thou art able to bear all the yoke of the Lord (with definite article), thou wilt be perfect; but if thou art not able, what thou art able that do. [Mt 11:29]

APE Didache 8:2 Neither pray as the hypocrites; but as the Lord (with definite article) commanded in His Gospel, thus pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us today our daily (needful) bread, and forgive us our debt as we also forgive our debtors. And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (or, evil) [Mt 6:9]; for Thine is the power and the glory for ever [variant reading at end of Mt 6:9].

APE Didache 9:5b for concerning this also the Lord (with definite article) hath said, Give not that which is holy to the dogs. [Mt 7:6]

APE Didache 15:1 Appoint, therefore, for yourselves, bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord (with definite article), men meek, and not lovers of money, and truthful and proved; for they also render to you the service of prophets and teachers. [1 Tim 3]

APE Didache 15:4 But your prayers and alms and all your deeds so do, as ye have it in the Gospel of the Lord of us (with definite article, English slightly modified). [Mt 6:2-4; Lk 11:41, 12:33]

APE Didache 16:1 Watch for your life's sake [Mt 24:39, 42; Lk 21:36]. Let not your lamps be quenched [Mt 25:8], nor your loins unloosed [Lk 12:25]; but be ye ready, for ye know not the hour in which the Lord of us (with definite article, English slightly modified) cometh [Mt 24:42].

APE Didache 16:7 [A resurrection] yet not of all, but as it is said: The Lord (with definite article) shall come and all His saints with Him. [Mt 24:31]

APE Didache 16:8 Then shall the world see the Lord (with definite article) coming upon the clouds of heaven. [Mt 24:30, 26:64; Mk 14:62]

It properly means "pertaining to lordship," and may or may not refer to God. In fact, the word is used in the NT for all ruling authorities [Eph 1:21; Col 1:16; 2 Pet 2:10; Jud 1:8]. Refer back to the story of the Lord meeting Abram at the Oak of Mambre and predicting that Abraham will be the father of a whole nation and that this nation will bless the other nations. This is the "lordship" these people are to be speaking of, the coming of Abraham's children to the blessings God spoke to him about during that long walk to Sodom.

DCH

Solo

Sounds like a dogma to me. I do not agree with this blanket statement.

Right here you have an example of what can be called the "transference of non-titular lordship". Properly speaking since the "child" is asked to honor someone who evidently is not God himself, it becomes semantically unclear what the Lord, anarthrous or not, refers to in the context. I don't give a hoot who Earl quotes.

Now, do the commandments of the Lord include the material from the Mount, e.g. "love your enemies" ? Is this a commandment of God, adding to Moses tablets ?
You see how tricky this can be ? Evidently this "rule" was formulated to make sure that the oracular culture of the wandering charismatics did not come into conflict with the scriptural norms already in place. To say this does not refer to "Jesus Christ" misses out on the purpose of the rule.

Ok, God here...no issue that I can see.


Already discussed this: Gal 4:14, 1 Cor 8:6 illustrate my point.


What is the name of the Lord ? Would that be the one in Phl 2:9 ?

This evidently recalls the Ebionite view of Jesus - there still exists a distinctions between Jesus the man, and Jesus the oracular source, which for Paul was the holy of holies in his body. (not so for Thomas)

Quote:

APE Didache 9:3 And concerning the broken bread: We thank Thee, our Father, for the life and knowledge which Thou madest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever.

This is still "breaking bread", not the Pauline eucharist.

Quote:

APE Didache 9:4 Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let 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.

But that here Jesus becomes Jesus Christ and invokes the Pauline image of the "body of Christ"

Quote:

APE Didache 10:2 We thank Thee, holy Father, for Thy holy name which Thou didst cause to tabernacle in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality, which Thou madest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever.

Again, this has Pauline origin: 1 Cr 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? But the saying obviously tries to make Jesus the Servant the originator of the idea.

The temple/tabernacle of the body/heart obviously became something of a rallying cry after the loss of the Second Temple.

This has to be in reference to Rom 6:3. AFAIK, There is no other baptism into "Lord" known anywhere.


quasi-Pauline teaching of false apostleship: again on the model of Gal 4:14


This however is echoed by Lk 24:47...so I would say again there some transitioning of the Lord semantics

No argument but an observation that the "day of the Lord"
of the OT prophets which refered to God, no question, was abducted by Paul's usage of Lord as a moniker for the visionary/oracular phenomena (1 Th 5:2) - in Mt and Lk this usage propagates.

Not sure how that relates to the Didache. The Jewish proto-Christians in exile wanted to keep the law, as it afforded them control over the breakaway faith. At the same time, through the brilliant coup of Matthew which quickly became the dominant gospel, they had to assure the compliance of Paul's Gentile churches which surely outnumbered them massively. The emerging theopathic addresses and titles could not simply reflect the traditional Judaic conventions.


Best,
Jiri

DCHindley

Jiri,

Part of the problem is that we in the west tend to think within the Christian box. This or that must refer to Jesus, etc.

There is a key difference between the Eucharist of Romans and the Eucharist of the Didache. The one in Romans is about a memorial meal for someone who had died, while the Didache meal is anticipatory of the bountiful future age.

Earl is making things easy for himself here, explaining away a difficulty.

The "Lord's Prayer" is in fact the Lord's prayer to "our Father." "His (Jesus') gospel" is the gospel of Matthew, if you ask me. This is quite different than the good news of the coming bountiful age. This suggests either the document has a complicated redactional history, or that Robinson was right, that this is a pious but relatively late reconstruction of what early Christianity should have been like.

I tend to agree, and see the Dicache as a kind of "Ebionite" propaganda similar to what the Clementine literature is supposed to be, although the Didache is likely by real 3rd century "Ebionites" (i.e., gentile Judaizers). The Clementine literature, IMHO, was not written by real Ebionites, but by gentiles who wanted to push their peculiar view of scripture as partly true and partly false.

DCH