Texts in Conversation

In Galatians, Paul argues that Gentiles should not be circumcised, referring to the Torah as a "yoke" of slavery to them. In the Didache, an early church manual, carrying this yoke instead makes a person perfect.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE

Galatians 5:1

New Testament
1 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery. 2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all! 3 And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
Date: 54-55 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)

Didache 6:2

Early Christian
1 Be careful that no one leads you astray from this Way of teaching, for those who do so are teaching you without God. 2 If you can bear the full burden of the Lord's requirements, you will be perfect; but if you cannot, do what you can. 3 Regarding food, eat what you can tolerate, but always avoid food that has been offered to idols, as it represents the worship of lifeless gods.
Date: 70-80 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References

#7704
“... The position of Did 6:2-3 clashes with the Pauline position. Paul uses the word "yoke" [...], which is found in Did 6:2, only once. In a polemical response to Jewish Christians or Judaizers, who attempted to persuade gentiles in Paul's communities to keep the Tora, he warns his readers in Gal 5:1 to stand fast "and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" [...]. Our passage, in fact, discusses the observance of the Law from the non-Pauline side. We do not know whether the composer of Did 6:2-3 had any knowledge of the Pauline position, but he may well make a stand against people who teach that one can be perfect without the full observation of the Tora. ...”
Sandt, Hubertus W., and David Flusser The Didache: Its Jewish Sources and Its Place in Early Judaism and Christianity (pp. 269-270) Royal Van Gorcum, 2002

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