Eusebius (
c. 324) as the
Teachings of the Apostles following the books recognized as
canonical:
[21]
"Let there be placed among the spurious works the
Acts of Paul, the so-called
Shepherd and the
Apocalypse of Peter, and besides these the
Epistle of Barnabas, and what are called the
Teachings of the Apostles, (Didache) and also the
Apocalypse of John, if this be thought proper; for as I wrote before, some reject it, and others place it in the canon."
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Many scholars have dated the text to the late 2nd century CE, a view still held today, other scholars have the Didache might go back to the first century. The document is a composite work, and the discovery of the
Dead Sea Scrolls with its
Manual of Discipline provided
evidence of development over a considerable period of time, beginning as a Jewish
catechetical work which was then developed into a church manual. Additionally, apart from two minuscule fragments, the Greek text of the Didache has only survived in a single manuscript, the Codex Hierosolymitanus. Dating the document is thus made difficult both by the lack of hard evidence and its composite character. The Didache may have been compiled in its present form as late as 150,
Some have imagined that the Didache says that the Lord’s Day is Sunday, or week-day-1… – but in fact – it does not, which is a bit surprising given that it was modified for centuries.
