.
The origin of the Didache is also up for debate. Both Egypt and Syria have been named as possibilities because of the popular use of this text in fourth century sources. From Egypt, Clement of Alexandria and Athanasius" are known to make reference to the writings. In Syria the association is made due to the parallels to ministry and apostolic decree found in the Didache. It is believed that the text was written for a predominantly rural community which may lend itself to the argument for the origin of Syria which was considered more rural than Egypt (Early Christian Writings, page 189). In Early Christian Fathers, Richardson states that the origin of the Didache is probably Alexandria due to the fact that the "Two Ways" was in circulation in that area, and that the Letter of Barnabas and Apostolic Church Order, believed to be heavily influenced by the Didache, also originated from this area (page 163).
The first section of the Didache known as "Two Ways" that is teaching about the way to life in contrast to the way to death. The section opens with the command to love God and love your neighbor as yourself as the way to life (1:3-4). The text goes on to give images from the Sermon on the Mount, and ends the section on the way of life with a modified version of the Ten Commandments. This section closely parallels Matthew 5-7 and Romans 12-21. The piece known as the way to death is full of examples of wicked moral vices. These values had to be recited before baptism, and were considered essential learning for the catechumen. "Two Ways" is considered to have Jewish roots of discipline. " Enough features appear in the document known as the rule (or the manual of discipline to show that the "Two Ways" derives from Jewish proselyte-instruction. This document comes from the Jewish baptizing sect which had a monastery at Qumran, whose library partly survives in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church, page16).