Bible Dictionary
Hermas
Hermas was a Christian in Rome whom Paul greeted in his letter to the Romans. Later tradition identified him with the author of The Shepherd, but that identification is uncertain.
Definition
Hermas was a Christian resident of Rome. Paul greeted him in his letter to the Romans. The name is an abbreviated form of several Greek names. Hermas has traditionally been identified with the author of The Shepherd, but that identification is uncertain and considered conjectural.
Biblical Usage
Hermas appears in Scripture only as the Roman Christian whom Paul greeted in Romans 16:14. The biblical record supplies no further details about his life or ministry.
Historical Background
The Shepherd of Hermas was never received into the canon, though it was cited with considerable respect. Some later writers attributed it to this Hermas, while another account places its composition when his brother Pius was bishop of Rome, about A.D. 140–155.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Mercury, a Roman Christian to whom Paul sends greetings (Rom. 16: 14). Some suppose him to have been the author of the celebrated religious romance called The Shepherd, but it is very probable that that work is the production of a later generation.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(Mercury), the name of a Christian resident at Rome to whom St. Paul sends greetings in his Epistle to the Romans. (Romans 16:14) (A.D. 55.) Irenaeus, Tertullian and Origen agree in attributing to him the work called The shepherd . It was never received into the canon, but yet was generally cited with respect only second to that which was paid to the authoritative books of the New Testament.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>hur'-mas (Hermas): An abbreviated form of several names, e.g. Hermagoras, Hermeros, Hermodorus, Hermogenes, etc.; the name of a Roman Christian to whom Paul sent greetings (Ro 16:14). Origen and some later writers have identified him with the author of The Pastor of Hermas, but without sufficient reason. According to the Canon of Muratori, the author of The Pastor wrote when his brother Pius was bishop of Rome (140-55 AD). He speaks of himself, however, as a contemporary of Clement of Rome (chapter 4) (circa 100 AD). The name Hermas is very common, and Origen's identification is purely conjectural.</p><p>S. F. Hunter</p>