Texts in Conversation
In Deuteronomy, Moses tells Israel that after eating its fill in the good land it will praise God. The Didache, an early church manual, begins its prayer after the meal with the same language of eating one's fill, the basis of the Jewish grace.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Deuteronomy 8:10
Hebrew Bible
7 For the Lord your God is bringing you to a good land, a land of brooks, springs, and fountains flowing forth in valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates, of olive trees and honey, 9 a land where you may eat food in plenty and find no lack of anything, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you can mine copper. 10 You will eat your fill and then praise the Lord your God because of the good land he has given you.
Didache 10:1
Early Christian
1 After you have eaten your fill, give thanks in this way: 2 'We thank You, Holy Father, for Your Holy Name that You have allowed to dwell in our hearts, and for the knowledge, faith, and immortality that You revealed to us through Jesus Your Child. May You be glorified forever.' 3 'You, Lord Almighty, created all things for the sake of Your Name and provided food and drink for people to enjoy, so they might thank You. But You have blessed us with spiritual food and drink and eternal light through Your Child.' 4 'Above all, we thank You because You are mighty. May You be glorified forever.'
Notes and References
“... This might also be inferred from the terminology in Did 10:1: "When you have had your fill" (μετὰ δὲ τὸ ἐμπλησθῆναι). Besides indicating that a material satiation from a meal is involved here, the verb ἐμπλησθῆναι also recalls the presciption in Deut 8:10 (LXX): "And you shall eat and be filled (καὶ φάγῃ καὶ ἐμπλησθήσῃ) and shall bless the Lord your God .... " The combination of φαγεῖν with ἐμπλησθῆναι ("to eat one's fill") appears to be a technical formula in the Bible aiming at the prosperous situation in the promised land (cf. also Deut 6:11; 8:12; Neh 9:25). In rabbinic sources, the Hebrew version of Deut 8:10 underlies the obligation to recite the Birkat Ha-Mazon and this verse is considered so important that it is also at the basis of the second strophe of the Birkat Ha-Mazon. The use of the term ἐμπλησθῆναι at the end of the meal may indicate that now the duty of reciting the prayer, enjoined in Deut 8:10, is performed. ...”
Sandt, Hubertus W., and David Flusser
The Didache: Its Jewish Sources and Its Place in Early Judaism and Christianity
(p. 312) Royal Van Gorcum, 2002
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,