Didache

Shawn J. Wilhite is Assistant Professor of Christian Studies at California Baptist University (OPS). He is director of the Center for Ancient Christian Studies.

Wilhite's introduction is thoughtfully balanced - elucidating the beliefs, practices, and authoritative texts of the Didachean community as seen synchronically through the window of the Jerusalem manuscript, while still acknowledging the questions concerning, and engaging the critical scholarship on the 'journey' of the text and the communities along the way. Most refreshingly, he is not afraid to think outside the box, and I found myself forced to reconsider points I thought long settled.

• Series PrefaceForeword by Clayton N. JeffordPrefaceList of AbbreviationsList of TablesTranslation of the DidachePart I: Introductory Articles1. An Introduction to the DidacheMS Tradition of the DidacheUse of Didache in Antiquity: Canon Lists and Possible QuotationsDate and Provenance of the DidacheStructural Overview of the Didache2. The Reception of Sacred Scripture in the DidacheReception History, Intertextuality, and Literary IdentityReception History of Biblical Tradition in the DidacheConcluding Remarks: The Reception of Sacred Scripture in the Didache3. The Theology of the DidacheTheology and TrinitarianismCommunal Liturgies: Baptismal, Fasting, Prayer, and Eucharist LiturgiesCommunal Preservation and SoteriologyCorporate Gathering and Ecclesial StructuresThe “Last Days” and the Didache’s Eschatological OrientationPart II: Commentary on the DidacheDidache 1.1-6.2: Ethical Instruction of the Two-Ways EthicDidache 6.3-10.7: Liturgical RitualsAdditional Commentary: [Coptic Addition] Concerning the Ointment (Didache 10.8)Didache 11.1-15.4: Ecclesial and Communal OrderDidache 16.1-8: Eschatological Ethics and TeachingAdditional Commentary: Lost Ending (Didache 16.9-12)BibliographyCommentary Index