Shepherd of Hermas

A widely read early Christian work, copied in Codex Sinaiticus after the New Testament.

The Shepherd of Hermas is a widely read early Christian book of visions and commandments from the late first to the mid-second century, at medium confidence. Codex Sinaiticus copies it after Barnabas and the New Testament. Athanasius, in Festal Letter 39, names the Shepherd among books appointed to be read for instruction and not among the canonical books. Some early Christians used it in teaching. Later canon lists generally exclude it from the twenty-seven-book New Testament. The manuscript and the festal letter are the two witnesses this dataset attaches to Hermas, and they do not say the same thing.

Some early Christians used it in instruction. Later canon lists generally exclude it from the 27-book New Testament.

Date

Late 1st–mid 2nd century CE (medium confidence)

Confidence

medium

Languages

Greek

Traditional authorship

Hermas

Authorship note

Hermas of Rome (Muratorian Fragment); honored but not received as Scripture

• א · Codex Sinaiticus

  Mid-4th century CE · Greek · Shepherd after Barnabas

  Codex Sinaiticus is a Greek parchment pandect from the middle of the fourth century, associated with Saint Catherine’s Monastery on Sinai and now shared by the British Library and partner libraries. Its designation is aleph. After the New Testament it copies the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas in full enough form for this dataset to link both writings. That binding is a fact about one great Bible manuscript: early Christian scribes put those books in the same codex as the New Testament. Athanasius, in Festal Letter 39, still treats the Shepherd as a book appointed to be read for instruction and not as part of his canon list. Later twenty-seven-book New Testament lists generally leave both Barnabas and Hermas outside the closed canon. Preservation in Sinaiticus is manuscript evidence. The canonical decision is a separate witness.

• lists noncanonical

  Jewish canon

  The Shepherd of Hermas is not a book of the Tanakh. Josephus, near the end of the first century, describes twenty-two Jewish books his people trust and sets later writings in a lower rank. The later rabbinic Bible, counted as twenty-four books, likewise leaves The Shepherd of Hermas outside Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim. The Shepherd of Hermas is a Christian prophetic book from Rome. Jewish communities did not receive it as Scripture. Jewish copying or quotation, where it exists, is reception. It is not the same fact as a place in the Hebrew canon, and it is not a Christian council’s decision.

• lists noncanonical

  Athanasius of Alexandria

  Athanasius of Alexandria, in Festal Letter 39 for Easter 367, names books he holds as canonical and then names others that are not in that canon and are still appointed to be read by newcomers who want instruction. The Shepherd is in that second group, with the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Esther, Judith, Tobit, and the Teaching of the Apostles. The reception kind on this card is lists noncanonical, because the letter withholds the Shepherd from the canon list even while allowing it to be read. The witness is one bishop’s letter, not a council. Codex Sinaiticus still copies the Shepherd after the New Testament, which shows manuscript preservation in the same century.

• preserves

  Codex Sinaiticus

  Codex Sinaiticus preserves the Shepherd of Hermas after the New Testament, following the Epistle of Barnabas. The reception kind is preserves. The witness type is the manuscript itself, dated to the mid-fourth century. Preservation answers a physical question: scribes copied Hermas in a Greek Bible pandect. Athanasius, in the same century, lists the Shepherd among books to be read for instruction and not among the canonical books of Festal Letter 39. Later New Testament lists generally leave it outside the twenty-seven. The codex and the letter are both evidence. They are different kinds.

• lists noncanonical

  Athanasius and Sinaiticus

  Sinaiticus copies the Shepherd after Barnabas. Athanasius, in the same century, says it may be read for instruction and does not list it as canonical. The Muratorian Fragment also limits it. Early Christian reception is widespread copying plus an explicit second rank.

• ProtestantRelated literature

  the Shepherd of Hermas is not one of the Protestant 27 New Testament books.

• CatholicRelated literature

  the Shepherd of Hermas is not in the Catholic New Testament.

• OrthodoxRelated literature

  the Shepherd of Hermas is not in the 27-book Eastern New Testament.

• EthiopianRelated literature

  the Shepherd of Hermas is not identified as a separate EOTC 81 New Testament unit in the list used here.

• TanakhNot applicable

  Christian writing, not Tanakh.

• LXXNot applicable

  Not an Old Testament book.

• Early ChristianEdifying, noncanonical

  the Shepherd of Hermas was read or copied by some early Christians and generally classed as useful rather than among the later 27.

• Second TempleNot applicable

  Early Christian writing.

• 367 CE · Canon list · Alexandria

  Athanasius, Festal Letter 39

  Athanasius lists 22 Old Testament books and the 27-book New Testament, and names some other writings as useful to read but not canonical.

  Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, wrote Festal Letter 39 for Easter 367. The public-domain text in the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers preserves his reminder of which books the church accepts as divine Scripture, written because some readers were mixing other books in with them.

  He counts twenty-two Old Testament books, the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet as he had heard it handed down. In that count, several familiar writings share one entry: the two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings are two books of Kings, the two books of Chronicles are one, Ezra and Nehemiah are one, the twelve prophets are one, and Jeremiah is counted with Baruch, Lamentations, and the epistle. He then names the New Testament as the four Gospels, Acts, seven Catholic epistles, fourteen Pauline epistles including Hebrews, and the Revelation of John.

  He also names books that are outside that canon and still appointed to be read by newcomers who want instruction in godliness: the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Sirach, Esther, Judith, Tobit, the Teaching of the Apostles, and the Shepherd. He calls the first list the books in which the doctrine of godliness is proclaimed, and the second list books that are read.

  Read the letter as one bishop’s Easter list from Alexandria. It belongs on Councils & Lists because it names books and draws a line around them. It is an influential episcopal list, especially for the twenty-seven-book New Testament, and it is a single letter rather than a council minute that bound every church on that date.

  Why it matters. An influential episcopal list, not a claim that every church already agreed or that earlier Jewish collections were identical.

  Follow-up questions

  Where does Athanasius place Esther, Judith, and Tobit?

  In this letter they stand with the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Sirach, the Teaching of the Apostles, and the Shepherd: appointed to be read for instruction, and outside the twenty-two-book Old Testament list. That is his classification in 367. Later Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant lists do not all copy it.

  How does he reach twenty-two Old Testament books?

  He pairs some English Bible books into one entry. Samuel and Kings become two books of Kings, Chronicles are one book, Ezra and Nehemiah are one book, the twelve prophets are one book, and Jeremiah is one book together with Baruch, Lamentations, and the epistle.

  Is Festal Letter 39 a church council?

  It is an Easter letter from the bishop of Alexandria. Corpus Witness files it as a canon-list on this tab because it names books. A council minute and a bishop’s letter are different kinds of evidence, and both can still be read side by side.

  Source: Athanasius, Festal Letter 39 (367), lists 22 Old Testament and 27 New Testament books and names some other writings as useful but not canonical.

No direct quotation or literary dependence on another writing in this dataset is recorded for Shepherd of Hermas.

1. 367 CE — Athanasius, Festal Letter 39

• Westminster Confession I.2–3 names the 66-book Protestant canon and says the books commonly called Apocrypha are not of divine inspiration and are not part of the canon of Scripture.
• Council of Trent, Session IV (8 April 1546), lists the Catholic canonical books including the deuterocanonical writings received in the Vulgate.
• Athanasius, Festal Letter 39 (367), lists 22 Old Testament and 27 New Testament books and names some other writings as useful but not canonical.
• The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church publishes an 81-book list that includes 1 Enoch, Jubilees, and the Meqabyan books.
• Josephus, Against Apion 1.8, speaks of 22 Jewish books and distinguishes later writings as not equally trusted.
• Brenton’s public-domain Septuagint translation includes Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, the Additions, and Maccabees as part of the Greek Old Testament corpus.
• Codex Sinaiticus preserves a fourth-century Greek Bible and, after the New Testament, includes the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas.