The Didache

I touched very briefly last week on the issue of abortion and presented a verse from the Didache (aka Hora’ ah, or Lessons of the Master For all the Tribes by the Twelve, or The Teaching of the Twelve for the Nations, etc. This is a vital text to any who wish to present the clear cut, unequivocal, prohibition against abortion by YHWH. However, if you are like most folks, you have never even heard of the Didache. I find this very sad although I am not surprised. I have never heard a preacher or priest speak of the Didache. I have watched numerous TV programs such as The Lost Books of the Bible, Banned from the Bible, etc., on the History and Discovery Channels - the Didache was never mentioned. I have also watched many programs on both secular and religious channels that discuss how the Bible came to be in its present form - the Didache was never mentioned. Until a few years ago I had never seen or heard anyone ever even mention the Didache. The author of the website JesusWordsOnly.com is the only person I have ever communicated with that is familiar enough with the Didache to discuss its history and importance.

          Many scholars believe the Didache, though “lost” to the “West” for centuries, may have been written long before any other book in the modern New Testament. (Just as Deuteronomy - and possibly more - was lost for 300 years [read from 2 Kings 22:8 onward or 2 Chronicles 34:14 onward] so too was the Didache lost to us for a time.) The Didache is cited by many of the “apostolic fathers” and is a part of the Bible in some parts of the world. There are many translations available on the web as well as in the Free Downloads section of this website - browse a few since some contain the background and historical data about the Didache itself too.

Briefly, the Didache has no specified author - it is believed to have been written by one or all of the Twelve Apostles as a means of communicating the teachings they had learned from Jesus. This is the only “book” outside of the Original Scriptures believed to have been used by the earliest followers of Jesus; and, it is more concerned with real life application and how we should act rather than with how we should think - sort of a how-to manual.

          If you are sincere in wanting to develop and grow your relationship with YHWH then I highly recommend that you read the Didache. I have yet to have a person that followed this recommendation that did not deepen their relationship with YHWH as well as gain a deeper insight and appreciation for the writings in the modern accepted version of the Bible. Please take the time to at least glance it over - you will be glad you did. This truth is so pervasive that I am currently working with another (more well-known) author on a study Bible that includes the Didache and excludes the writings of the false apostle Paul.

                    There are two paths; one belongs to life and one to death, but there is much difference

between the two paths. The path of life is surely this: first love your God who created you. Next, your neighbor as yourself. And all things that you would not want to happen to you, likewise do not do to others.

                    (Didache 1:1/2)