Does the Didache say αφες ημιν την οφειλην ημων (Forgive us Our Debts) or is the phrase missing?
Posted: June 9th, 2019, 8:49 pm
I have found versions of the Didache that include the phrase αφες ημιν την οφειλην ημων ("Forgive us our debts") in the Lord's Prayer and I have found versions of the Didache that do not include it. Yet the Textual Criticism website says: "The only known complete Didache in Greek is the Codex Hierosolymitanus, which was first published by Bryennios in 1883." It says that other fragments have been found, but doesn't list the section in question (Chapter VIII) as being part of those fragments. (http://textualcriticism.scienceontheweb ... dache.html)
Someone wrote on the Christianity Stack Exchange page:
The Pulpit commentary on Matthew 6:12 comments: "The 'Didache,' 8, gives the singular, ὀφειλήν (cf. infra, Matthew 18:32), which Dr. Taylor ('Lectures,' p. 62) thinks is preferable. The singular, especially with "debtors" following, would very naturally be corrupted to the plural."
However , the Textual Criticism website has a copy of the Greek without "Forgive us our debts" and says:
I am not looking to solve a translation issue or to interpret the meaning of the text, but rather to see what Greek words the Greek hard copy has.
Someone wrote on the Christianity Stack Exchange page:
https://christianity.stackexchange.com/ ... respassersThe version that appears in The Didache uses the word for "debts" (οφειληματα) rather than trespasses (παραπτωματα). (It seems that there are two variants - one that contains the phrase "as we forgive our debtors" (https://www.psalm11918.org/References/A ... dache.html), and another that does not).(https://www.ccel.org/l/lake/fathers/didache.htm) The Liturgy of St. James, which is the oldest eastern Liturgy still used also uses the term for "debt" rather than "trespass".
The Pulpit commentary on Matthew 6:12 comments: "The 'Didache,' 8, gives the singular, ὀφειλήν (cf. infra, Matthew 18:32), which Dr. Taylor ('Lectures,' p. 62) thinks is preferable. The singular, especially with "debtors" following, would very naturally be corrupted to the plural."
However , the Textual Criticism website has a copy of the Greek without "Forgive us our debts" and says:
Loeb's Classics Library is generally very good quality, so it would be unusual for them to make a mistake about this.Greek Text : - Taken from Loeb's Edition of The Apostolic Fathers
...ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου, γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς· τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸ ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφίεμεν τοῖς οφειλέταις ἡμῶν...
I am not looking to solve a translation issue or to interpret the meaning of the text, but rather to see what Greek words the Greek hard copy has.