HERMAS . A Christian at Rome, saluted in Romans 16:14 . The name is a common one, especially among slaves. Origen identifies this Hermas with the celebrated author of The Shepherd , a book considered by many in the 2nd cent. to be on a level with Scripture. For the disputed date of the book, which professes to record visions seen in the episcopate of Clement ( c [Note: circa, about.] . a.d. 90 100), but which is said in the Muratorian Fragment ( c [Note: circa, about.] . 180 200?) to have been written in the episcopate of Pius (not before a.d. 139), see Salmon’s Introd. to the NT , Lect. xxvi. But Origen’s identification is very improbable, the dates being scarcely compatible, and the name so common.
A. J. Maclean.
Complete and trustworthy, Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible is a thorough reference (5,915 entries) for all readers of the Bible. For nearly a century, lay people and scholars alike have valued the authoritative contents and the convenient format of this one-volume work.Wikipedia
Read More