Texts in conversation

Compare Galatians 5:1 and Didache 6:2

New Testament · Early Christian

Summary

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.

Passages

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.

48–55 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Galatians

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 whole yoke of the Lord, 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.

90–120 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Didache

References

“... 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. ...”

Huub van de Sandt and David Flusser, The Didache: Its Jewish Sources and Its Place in Early Judaism and Christianity, Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum, Section 3: Jewish Traditions in Early Christian Literature 5 (Assen: Royal Van Gorcum, 2002), 269–270.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Closing Advice on the Two Ways

Didache16 chapters

Compare Galatians 5:1 and Didache 6:2

Summary

Passages

Galatians 5:1

Didache 6:2

References

Tags

Your feedback

Leave a comment

Glossary

Search the Library