Tour of Christian History
Harris, J. Rendel. "Hebraisms of the Teaching." The Teaching of the Apostles, newly edited, with facsimile text and a commentary, for the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, from the MS. of the Holy Sepulchre (Convent of the Greek Church) Jerusalem. Baltimore: Publication Agency of the Johns Hopkins University, 1887, 78-90.
Harris considers the Didache to have a very strong Hebraistic foundation, and to show evidence of that foundation throughout. He considers it to be very much like a Talmud in nature (Harris 1887, 78). The precepts, as well as the tendency toward expression using parallelism, are strongly Hebrew in nature (Harris 1887, 79). Harris also sees that the concepts used, particularly in the Two Ways material, are found in the Old Testament, and are thus Hebraistic (Harris 1887, 80).
Harris further sees significant passages in which parallelism is akin to that typical in Hebrew usage. In Didache chapter five there is a list of sins, then a parallel list of types of sinners. This is a typical pattern in Hebrew literature and prayer (Harris 1887, 82). Interestingly, here as well as in Romans chapter one, there are twenty-two items, corresponding to the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. They are presented without connectives, another Hebraism (Harris 1887, 84). Harris concludes, "there is ground for asuspicion that the Vidui of the Day of Ataonemtn, the Catalogue of vices in the Teaching, and the Catalogue in the first chapter of Romans, are all derived from a lost aphabetical Catalogue of Sins" (Harris 1887, 86).
An important category of Hebraism to Harris is the demand that the prophet be subject to his own prophecies (Harris 1887, 87). This is a common thread in Hebrew thought. Furthermore, it is important that members of the community actually live in accord with the standards of doctrine and practice. This is a common theme in the Didache aid in Talmudic writings (Harris 1887, 88).
Harris further notes that the prayers articulated in the Didache are strongly Hebraic in nature (Harris 1887, 89). This is, for that matter, Harris' explanation of the didache's use of the word κλάσμα rather than ἄρτος. The Hebrew root for breaking is typically used in the Old Testament for a fragment of bread (Harris 1887, 89). Even the prayers relating the eucharist to the Son of David are reminiscent of Passover prayers (Harris 1887, 90).