Daily Old Testament and Early Christian Writings: Exodus 23 and The Didache 11

Exodus 23 – The listing of wrongs continues: Do not spread false rumors; do not side with the majority to the perversion of justice; do NOT favor the poor in a lawsuit when the facts do not support their cause [this is an interesting one]; do not mistreat foreigners; do not accept bribes.  What to do if you find lost property; caring for animals—even if they belong to people who hate you and your help will indirectly help your enemy; do not deny the needy their rights; avoiding dishonesty of every kind; not condemning the innocent man to death; not sparing the guilty man.

Then readers are reminded about not tilling the soil each 7^th year so “that the poor among you may eat of it and the beast of the field may eat what the poor leave” (23:11); the Sabbath rest; celebration of the pilgrim feasts—Passover, Pentecost  (Shavu’ot or Weeks—wheat harvest and first fruits in early June) and booths (final grape harvest in late September or early October—called Sukkot or Huts); offerings; not boiling a kid in its mother’s milk.

“See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you” (23:20-22).

The Lord promises his blessings on those who are faithful—fertility, health, fullness of life (23:25). The victory over those in the land will not be quick but little by little. “I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land” (23:30). God promises to hand over the people of the region to drive them out. They “must make no treaties with them or their gods. They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods, you will be caught in the trap of idolatry” (23:32-33).

The Didache

Of Apostles and Prophets

11 – If visitors come and introduce the community to teachings that differ from those presented here, people should pay no attention to them; but then the writer adds an addendum – if the teaching promotes “righteousness and knowledge of the Lord” (195), you should welcome him as you would the Lord.

There are “apostles” and “prophets” in the church. Apostles who come to visit should not stay longer than a day, “two if it is really necessary” (195). Anyone who stays longer than this is a “false prophet” (196). Apostles also should accept only provisions for another day’s travel and no money at all.

Prophetic inspiration was given great latitude. The possible relationship between this treatise and the 2nd c. Monatist movement seems very possible. Scholars are not certain about it.  Prophets speaking “in the spirit” are not to be subject to “tests or verifications” – to do this would be to violate the authority of the Holy Spirit, an unforgivable sin (196). But it isn’t enough to just “speak” in the Spirit; you must also “exhibit the manners and conduct of the Lord. It is by their behavior that you can tell the impostor from the true” (196). If a prophet, seemingly “in the Spirit” calls out for food and eats, or calls out for money that is not meant for the poor, he is a phony.

A prophet, “thoroughly accredited and genuine, living the mystery of the Church in the world, may yet fail to teach others to copy his example. In that case, you are not to judge the man yourselves; his judgment lies with God. The prophets of old used to do things of a similar kind” (196).

Daily Old Testament and Early Christian Writings: Exodus 21 and The Didache 9

Exodus 21 – Now we get into some of the details of the Mosaic Law, details that my Jerusalem Bible call the “Book of the Covenant” and notes that come from the “Elohistic” tradition.

This division of Old Testament texts into Jahwist, Elohist, Priestly and Deuteronomist traditions was very well established in the 20^th century, but more recent biblical study seems to have left it a bit undermined. Modern scholars seem to think the process of bringing these traditions together was more gradual and redacted than previously thought.

The chapter goes into much greater detail on a variety of things modern people will likely find disturbing: There are intricate rules concerning slaves, women who are sold into marriage and the treatment of those who break the commandment on killing.

Like most modern “states,” the “community” [the political institution of the community] here does not see the Mosaic commandment against killing as applicable to it. The death penalty is freely exercised in a multitude of cases: intentional murders, cases against those who strike at their father or mother or even curse their father or mother. The author goes through a whole array of case types that seem very “common law” -- based on specific cases that must have come before the judges of the community. The approach seems very similar to the Code of Hammurabi, which dates back to the 18^th c. BCE. The famous principle “eye for eye” appears in 21:23-25:

“. . .if harm should occur, then you are to give life in place of life—eye in place of eye, tooth in place of tooth, hand in place of hand, foot in place of foot, burnt-scar in place of burnt-scar, wound in place of wound, bruise in place of bruise.”

If the eye put out belongs to a serf, however, the penalty imposed on the master will be his slave’s freedom.  The law also deals with mischief done by animals - mischief done by animals not properly contained. Irresponsibility to the community is punishable, and many misdeeds are to be penalized by money fines. 

The Didache

Of the Eucharist

The Introduction had the following to say about the section on the Eucharist: “The Eucharistic prayers (chs.9 and 10) are very closely modeled on Jewish forms of grace at table and give a vivid picture of the Church meeting to break bread and bless wine as an anticipation of the messianic banquet of the coming Kingdom of God. There is no mention of the Last Supper or the Cross of Christ, which has led some scholars to distinguish two different primitive types of the Eucharist: one is a ‘breaking of bread’, a fellowship meal in which the disciples continued the meals they had had with Jesus in anticipation of his return (witness Acts and The Didache), and the other is a recalling of the Last Supper and the death of Jesus, the bread and wine representing the body and blood of Christ . . .

The two different types quickly converged, making it difficult to see whether this is any more than a prematurely conceived ‘theory’ “ (188). This, “together with the renewed eschatological emphasis of ch. 16, points to a very early date for The Didache . . . and many scholars now would assign [it] to a point somewhere in the latter half of the first century, earlier, that is, than much of the New Testament itself—unless all this ‘primitiveness’ is contrived, a theory that has been popular with English and American scholars from the very beginning. They would assign it to the end of the second century (or later) and see it as perhaps intended to vindicate the Montanist ‘prophets’ against the by then well-established ministry of bishops, priests and deacons” (189).

Elements that make the date look like it must have been pretty early (70-90 AD):

·      Close similarities with Jewish practices

o   Simple rituals of baptism, breaking bread and eucharist

o   Fasting and prayer 3X/day

o   View of the prophets as replacements of High Priesthood

o   Sense of immanence of the 2^nd coming of Christ

o   No references to persecution or heresy

9 – “At the Eucharist, offer the Eucharistic prayer in this way. Begin with the chalice: ‘We give thanks to thee, our Father, for the holy Vine of thy servant David, which thou has made known to us through thy servant Jesus.’

         ‘Glory be to thee, world without end.’

Then over the broken bread: ‘We give thanks to thee, our Father, for the life and knowledge thou has made known to us through thy servant Jesus.’

         ‘Glory be to thee, world without end.’

As this broken bread, once dispersed over the hills, was brought together and became one loaf, so may thy Church be brought together from the ends of the earth into thy kingdom.’

         ‘Thine is the glory and the power, through Jesus Christ, for ever and ever.’

No one is to drink of your Eucharist but those who have been baptized in the Name of the Lord; for the Lord’s own saying applies here, ‘Give not that which is holy unto dogs.’”

I have quoted the entire section here. The Didache is not something most Christians have ever read, and I think people will find it interesting to see how “established” the sacrament of the Eucharist had become at such an early period in the life of the church. It is also so formal, it doesn't seem appropriate to paraphrase it.