Didaché! Hora’ah!
English / Greek / Hebrew
Teaching of the Twelve for All the Tribes, a New, True Names, Hebraic-English Version Interpaginated with the Received Greek Text. The "Teaching" originated as a practical manual for leaders in the Nazorean (Netzari, Nazarene) movement of the first century, composed and redacted in the middle decades, perhaps by an overseer of the Jerusalem Assembly, to be used in establishing new assemblies. Dating the work to as early as the 40s or 50s is confirmed by trusted witnesses, doctrines in common with dated sources, and internal evidence.
The Apostles relay the teachings of the Master on ritualistic life in the assembly, including the Two Roads doctrine, eating, baptizing, fasting, praying, the Todah Rabbah (Communion), teachers, apostles, prophets, overseers and deacons, self-examination among equals, and the Last Days.
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By Jackson Snyder
Feb 28, 2010
This review is by Rabbi Barry Albin, Nasorean Orthodox Qahal, 2010 The Didache Ton Dodeka Apostolon or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles is a constitution written by the second bishop of Jerusalem, Shimon, the half-brother and cousin of Y’shua ha Meshiach. Ya’akov ruled the church until 62 C.E. The Didache therefore must have been written between 63 C.E. and the death of Shimon in the early second century. The book was considered scripture until the Nicene Council, yet remains part of the greater canon in the Ethiopic Church. The official position of the Romans on Didache is expressed in the Catholic Encyclopedia in which it includes the work among the Apostolic Fathers. Many of those fathers considered the Didache second only to the Hebrew Scriptures. While most scholars today agree that the book was written in the first century, no one is willing to make the dogmatic statement that I have made. I make it for a variety of reasons; first and foremost, the Voice tells me so and my... More > charism of wisdom asserts the truth of the matter. However, being the lawyer and rabbi that I am, I require substantial evidence for anything that the Voice says to me before I pass it on. The book is not attributed to any particular apostle. By claiming that it comes from all of them, including the one appointed after Yehudah died, it claims to speak for all of them. Only one person had authority under Essene Law to speak for the Yahad, viz. the High Priest and Mebakker. That person from 63 C.E. until 105 C.E. was Shimon. The book acts as an encyclical letter and therefore can only originate with the High Priest and Mebakker with the full support of the Chief Rabbi, Petros, and the Prophet Yochannan. The book makes no mention of the destruction of the Temple. The Nasoreans would definitely have supported the temple from 66 C.E. until 69 C.E., for a Nasorean carpenter was the High Priest. Therefore it can be argued that the latest date for the writing is 70 C.E., the year that the Temple was destroyed. The reason for the book is to bring order to the greater Qahal after the execution of the Mebakker and brother of the Master, Ya’akov ha Tzadik. Remembering that the Qahal was a Jewish organization, it was much more concerned about right actions than about right beliefs (orthopractic more than orthodox). There are no doctrinal statements in the book, but there is much about the proper way to do things; to whit, proper morals, how to baptize, how to choose bishops and deacons, how to deal with itinerant apostles, prophets, and evangelists, how to know when the end was near, how to raise money for the church, what to do with tithes, etc. The fact that these ideas were central shows us that this is a statement from the orthopractic community in Jerusalem. The interpretations given to the Ten Commandments in the Didache sound much like the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew, a book written to the Jews. As Matthew was written after the destruction of the Temple, Matthew is restating Didache, not the other way around. Many of the issues that are raised by Paul in Galatians and Romans are addressed in the book. They issues must have been considered before the Didache; and they are generally said to have been written a few years before the death of Ya’akov. Clearly, the emphasis on works that the book presents is anti-Pauline. All in all, I am convinced of the early origin of the book and of its author. The book is terribly important for those of us who want to know what was said in the beginning. Dr. Snyder does a good job of recovering the original names used in the Aramaic text, which is no longer extant. This book should be central to any congregation that wishes to remain true to the teachings of the Meshiach Y’shua because they have the approval of the family of Y’shua – those who knew him best – and of the Apostles, who after all were close friends and family of the Meshiach. While recognizing that the Christian faith has fallen seriously away from doing what the Anointed One taught, this book can provide a simple return to his original teaching and Dr. Snyder does a good job of making it available for us again.< Less
