Hermas
Summary
Hermas was a Christian at Rome to whom the apostle Paul sent greetings in his epistle to the Romans, traditionally identified by some early church fathers as the author of "The Shepherd of Hermas."
☩Biblical Reference
Hermas is mentioned only once in Scripture, as one of five persons with Greek names to whom Paul sends greetings in Romans 16:14, along with "the brethren which are with them." Nothing else is known of him from the New Testament. The name Hermas is a Greek name, a contracted form of several names such as Hermagoras, Hermeros, Hermodorus, or Hermogenes, and was common among members of the Imperial household. It is conjectured that these five men, together with the brethren mentioned with them, may have formed a separate house church.
☩Identification with the Author of 'The Shepherd'
Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen agree in attributing to this Hermas the authorship of a work called "The Shepherd," which was highly esteemed in the early church. However, this identification is greatly disputed by modern scholars. The Muratorian fragment explicitly states that "The Shepherd" was written in the time of Pius I (around 140 AD) by his brother, which would make it too late for the Hermas of Romans 16. The book appears to have been written by a married man with children, a lay mystic. It was attached to the Codex Sinaiticus and cited with respect second only to the authoritative books of the New Testament.
☩The Shepherd of Hermas
"The Shepherd" is a sort of allegory that has been compared to Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. According to the received division, the work includes five Visions, twelve Mandates, and ten Similitudes, all intended to call Hermas, and through him the Church, to repentance. Irenaeus cites it as Scripture, and Clement of Alexandria makes considerable use of it. The complete work is not extant in the original Greek, though portions remain in the Codex Sinaiticus, and a complete Latin translation exists. Hermas is celebrated as a saint in the Roman calendar on May 9.
Related Verses1 mention
Romans· 1 verse
References
- 1.James Hastings (ed.), "Hermas," in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1915–1918).
- 2.Philip Schaff and Johann Herzog (ed.), "HERMAS," in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. V (Funk and Wagnalls, 1908–1914).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Hermas," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Hermas," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 5.George Morrish, "Hermas," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).