The Shepherd of Hermas — Commandments
Interlinear version (Beta)
- Mandate 1
- Mandate 2
- Mandate 3
- Mandate 4
- Mandate 5
- Mandate 6
- Mandate 7
- Mandate 8
- Mandate 9
- Mandate 10
- Mandate 11
- Mandate 12
About
The Commandments (or Mandates) section of The Shepherd of Hermas consists of twelve practical directives for Christian living, delivered by the shepherd-angel.
Unlike the symbolic Visions and allegorical Parables, this section provides direct moral instruction addressing specific ethical challenges faced by early Christians.
The Mandates cover fundamental topics such as faith in one God, truthfulness, chastity, patience, and the discernment of good and evil spirits. Particularly notable is the text's teaching on post-baptismal repentance, suggesting that Christians have one opportunity for repentance after baptism — a position that sparked theological debate in the early church.
The Mandates' straightforward style and practical focus reflect early Christian instruction literature, though they maintain the work's overall apocalyptic framework through the shepherd-angel's authority as divine messenger. This section reveals much about the moral challenges faced by second-century Roman Christians and the church's developing approach to sin, repentance, and spiritual formation.