Scholarly Reflections
Pardee, Nancy. "Chapter Four: Summary and Conclusion." The Genre and Development of the Didache. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012, 189-191.
Pardee concludes that rather than being a church order, the Didache is a document representing a foundational generic development of a teaching tool (Pardee 2012, 189). It specifically moves beyond ethical paraenesis to teaching of the ethical basis of an ordered community, exhibiting ritual actions including baptism and eucharist. She sees the text as a developmental one, going through revision as needs of the community were identified and the teaching refined to meet those needs. Of significance, rather than a Mishna which claims Torah as authority, the Didache claims "the gospel" as its authority (Pardee 2012, 190).