The Apostolic Fathers, Vol. 2: Epistle of Barnabas/Papias & Quadratus/Epistle to Diognetus/The Shepherd of Hermas

Greek Fathers #10

by Bart D. Ehrman (Editor, Translator), Barnabas, Papias of Hierapolis

The writings of the Apostolic Fathers give a rich and diverse picture of Christian life and thought in the period immediately after New Testament times. Some of them were accorded almost Scriptural authority in the early Church. This new Loeb edition of these essential texts reflects current idiom and the latest scholarship.

Here are the Letters of Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, among the most famous documents of early Christianity; these letters, addressing core theological questions, were written to a half dozen different congregations while Ignatius was en route to Rome as a prisoner, condemned to die in the wild-beast arena.
Also in this collection is a letter to the Philippian church by Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna and friend of Ignatius, as well as an account of Polycarp's martyrdom. There are several kinds of texts in the Apostolic Fathers collection, representing different religious outlooks. The manual called the "Didache" sets forth precepts for religious instruction, worship, and ministry.

The Epistle of Barnabas searches the Old Testament, the Jewish Bible, for testimony in support of Christianity and against Judaism. Probably the most widely read in the early Christian centuries was "The Shepherd" of Hermas, a book of revelations that develops a doctrine of repentance.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Christianity, Christian, History, Philosophy, Nonfiction

496 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 150

About the author

Bart Denton Ehrman is an American New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the origins and development of early Christianity. He has written and edited 30 books, including three college textbooks. He has also authored six New York Times bestsellers. He is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Reviews

[Jacob]

Reading The Shepherd of Hermas rn. The apostolic fathers collection of apocryphal works are contemporary with some of the early works in the New Testament and some, including Shepherd of Hermas, were read as much or more than the canonical new testament books by the way Christian community. Reading through Hermas' visions today, I'm surprised at the appearance of a female angel (rare in new/old testament). Also, there's a tower being built by six angel dudes in the vision. It strikes me that these early works were 1. very strict about sin (at the beginning Hermas sees a woman and says to himself, I'd be happy to have a wife so wise and beautiful, which kicks off a series of experiences where he is repeatedly trying to repent of this and other sins; and 2. very focused on the church as an institution - so far there are no references to Jesus yet, but a lot of talk about people being "double-minded" and a whole vision/parable about the different types of people building up the church as an institution. Very interesting so far.
Jan 8, 2017

[Drkshadow03 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Epistle of Barnabas is one of our first sources to put forth the idea that Jesus ended or superseded many of the rules of the Old Testament. Tension existed between Christians who thought you had to also become Jewish and follow Jewish law to be authentically Christian and Christians who believed Christianity had replaced Judaism and didn’t require its adherents to become Jewish. This conflict between the two positions began all the way back in Paul’s day and continued during the time of the Apostolic Fathers. Nevertheless, the Apostolic fathers did often quote the Old Testament in support of their arguments and radically reinterpret its passages in Christian light. To justify his radical reinterpretations, Barnabas claims Christians are guided by the Holy Spirit, which gives them a deeper and unique understanding of scripture.

One supposed proof that Barnabas offers that the Covenant was ended between God and Jews is the episode in the Bible when Moses destroys the tablets of the covenant after discovering the Israelites had turned to idolatry. This is a strange piece of evidence since essentially that would mean God’s covenant with the Jewish people ended the moment it was supposed to begin and all the prophets and historical episodes that come after and make reference to the covenant that is supposed to still be in force between God and the Jewish people are pointless. In other words, this argument doesn’t make much sense in the context of the rest of the Old Testament that references a covenant that is supposedly still in force hundreds of years after Moses. For example, 2 Samuel 7 in which God establishes a personal Covenant with King David and continually refers to Israel as His people, suggesting that the covenant between them and God still remains in force.
As if recognizing this problem, Barnabas also suggests Christians have replaced Jews in a New Covenant because Jews disobeyed the prophets and demonstrated themselves to be unworthy. He tries to create a contrast between Christianity and Judaism. We also see Barnabas cross into anti-Semitic territory and accuse Jews of killing Jesus.

at the moment it began. The covenant spring from having hope and faith in Jesus—the belief that Jesus will bring about a future eternal life. Christians should fear if they become lax in following God they can be abandoned like Israel or the Jews. Blames Jews for killing Jesus and suggests Jesus appearance was a judgement against Jews for killing or disobeying the prophets. Doesn’t always state he is talking about Jews, but it is implied.

“Forasmuch then as He renewed us in the remission of sins, He made us
to be a new type, so that we should have the soul of children, as if
He were recreating us.”

Imagery of rebirth, replacing corrupted Adam with new children. To be Christian is to be Created anew.Old Testament preamble to new, a foreshadowing of Jesus. Early form of typology in which lines of Old Testament are symbolic for Jesus or events that happen characters foreshadow events in Jesus’s life. For example, Jesus’s sacrifice allows believers to replace corrupted line of Adam with new children and it is like each Christian is created anew. The text also provides evidence that early Christians thought scripture requires interpretation and not everything is meant to be read literally.

To address circumcision, he follows Paul in suggesting that true Circumcision is a spiritual one and he denies the need for actual circumcision. He notes that Syrians, Arabians, and Egyptians are circumcised and don’t belong to the Covenant, this is proof that physical circumcision is not a sign of a covenant with God.

Often these interpretations are dubious and stretching incredulity. The words of the prophets become foreshadowings of Jesus. Narrative episodes of the patriarchs are typological precursors to Jesus or stories in which the younger sons receive God’s blessing over the older sons are symbolic for Christians being chosen and replacing Jews. The dietary restrictions of Judaism are reinterpreted as spiritual restrictions in which rich men who can afford to eat pork and other exotic animals cannot know God because of their extreme wealth.

“Concerning meats then Moses received three decrees to this effect and uttered them in a spiritual sense; but they accepted them according to the lust of the flesh, as though they referred to eating.” - Barnabas 10:9

When dealing with the passage that we shouldn’t eat hyenas, he interprets it symbolically about forbidden sexual practices:

“Again, neither shalt thou eat the hyena; thou shalt not, saith He, become an adulterer or a fornicator, neither shalt thou resemble such
persons. Why so? Because this animal changeth its nature year by year, and becometh at one time male and at another female.” Barnabas 10:7

These interpretations supposedly under the influence of the Holy Spirit are far-fetched.


The Epistle to Diognetus is an early form of apologetics that explains Christianity to an outsider. The writers urges his friend to become a Christian. He contrasts Christian beliefs with Greek worship and Judaism. In his view, Greeks worship rocks, stone, and metal given the form of beings, but which in reality remain inanimate objects. He argues we know this because you could metal down or reuse the material of these statues to make other tools with no consequences. He has a slightly more positive view of Judaism than the other Apostolic Fathers in so far as he acknowledges it is good that they practice monotheism, but also criticizes them for their superstitions such as animal sacrifice that makes them no better than polytheist worship who do the same, pointing out that God who is the creator of the universe requires and needs nothing, especially not sacrifices of animals. He considers Jewish dietary customs, circumcision, and strict keeping of sabbath not only as superstitious, but impious actions in regards to God because it shows a lack of respect for things God created for humanity to use. He accuses Jews of being full of pride and fussy.

In his defense of Christianity he describes Jesus as loving, gentle, and meek. He suggests the mysteries of Christianity were planned out since the beginning of time. In terms of individual Christians themselves, he notes that they have no special features on the surface other than its adherents cross cultural and national lines, adopting the habits and daily routines of their localities. A primary defining feature of Christianity is that they live not for the material world or comfort, but for the spiritual world and heaven. He compares Christian existence in the world to being like the soul in the body. He argues that the willingness of Christians to die for their faith by lions and torture is proof of the sincerity and truthfulness of their beliefs.

The Fragments of Papias are fragmentary and difficult to interpret. The fragments suggest the writer was interested in hearing the authentic sayings of the various apostles.

He recalls some episodes that are not in the Gospels and seem to be part of Christian oral traditions—stories that circulated, but didn’t get officially written down—such as the swollen body of Judas being crushed by a chariot after getting stuck. He also tells a parable of a tree that in the future that will give endless amount of fruit, wine, and grain, which represents a future state of abundance and harmony with the coming of God and alludes to the words of Isaiah 11 that talks about tree branch coming from the line of Jesse and a future state of peace. He also tells another tradition that mentions different Christians of different statuses depending on their piety will have different appointed places in the future world; some will go to heaven, others to paradise, and others to the city. Other tales involve a person raised from the dead and a man named Justus who is unharmed by a poisoning because of God’s Grace. He also mentions different apostles, claiming he heard the sayings of the lord directly from Aristion, while noting that Mark created his Gospel by recording Peter’s memories of the events and sayings of Jesus, while Matthew wrote his Gospel originally in Hebrew.

The apocalyptic work, The Shepherd of Hermas, is a series of allegories and visions.

[Frank Grobbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Membaca tulisan-tulisan ini seharusnya tidak kalah penting dari membaca Perjanjian Baru, karena jelas banget pengaruhnya ke Kekristenan hingga kini, apalagi Shepherd of Hermas. Menarik banget baca kumpulan karya non-kanon seperti ini, apalagi yg sebelum konflik Arianisme.

[Fred Kohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I finally finished reading the corpus of the Apostolic Fathers in Greek! I put off reading the fragments of Papias for some time. Perhaps I was overly influenced by Eusebius's judgement that Papias wasn’t the sharpest crayon in the box? When I finally tackled it, it wasn’t bad at all, except for the lengthy excerpt from Ecclesiastical History 3.39. Ehrman doesn’t even quote it in full, leaving out Eusebius's famous evaluation of Papias's mental acumen. I suppose this is an indication that each editor picks and chooses which Papias fragments they wish to include in their collection. Stephen C. Carlson includes 98 fragments and testimonia in his book on Papias!

Barnabas and Hermas are two of my favorite works in the Apostolic Fathers. "For man is earth suffering; for from the face of the earth came the creation of Adam" (Barnabas 6.9, trans. Lightfoot) is one of my favorite passages. Ehrman's translations, as always, are modern and fresh, especially compared to the older translation. The only translation I found a little weird was that of περίψημα at Barnabas 4.9 and 6.5 as [your] "lowly scapegoat." I don’t think Barnabas intends to debase himself that much and I much prefer Jonathon Lookadoo's translation of "humble servant."

The Shepherd of Hermas is one work that gets pegged a lot as a slog. This may be my favorite work in the entire corpus. Am I weird? Perhaps I enjoy it because I am a big fan of apocalypses. I have read about two dozen commentaries on John's Revelation and I’m also a huge fan of Daniel, 1 Enoch, and 4 Ezra.

[Big Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

NOTE: I only read Bart Ehrman's Translation of The Shepherd of Hermas

I had been wanting to read the Shepherd of Hermas since I first learned about its existence in my Intro to the New Testament course back in 2007. On the one hand I feel like I could kick myself for not reading it sooner, while on the other, I am partly glad I did wait, as now I have a much better appreciation for asceticism than I did in my younger years. The text itself is an apocalypse, that is the revelation of hidden things. In it a man named Hermas has been put in the spiritual care of the angel of repentance, who takes the form of a shepherd, hence the name. The central theme of the text is repentance, in particular if repentance after baptism is possible and the need to seek forgiveness and to live sin free lives before the imminent day of Judgment arrives. This can be done, according to the text by following the commandments that the Shepherd gives Hermas. These commandments entail living an ethical, sexually moral, simple life, caring for the disenfranchised and shunning luxury. The text is divided into three parts, Visions, Commandments, and Parables. With that being said, these division titles, while describing their main content, should not give one the idea that that is the only content they contain, as there is a lot of overlap, especially in the last two sections. What makes this apocalypse rather interesting is that instead of the reader being left to guess at the interpretation of the visions and parables, the angel explains to Hermas (who I assume is a stand in for the reader), with sometimes quite a bit of derision at his denseness, the meaning and symbolism, and what Hermas should do with such knowledge. One striking aspect of it is the coming apocalypse, that is symbolized in the building of a tower. Based on my knowledge of ancient Christianity, the early Christians expected Jesus to return at any moment, and this was an issue of great concern in the various Christian communities of the first century of Christianity. By the time the Shepherd of Hermas was written this the communities were likely wondering why Jesus had yet to return. The answer put forward by the Shepherd of Hermas is that God has postponed it so people can repent. I found that aspect to be fascinating.

After reading this text, one cannot help but wonder how different would the Bible read and how different would both Christianity and Western Civilization be, if instead of The Revelations/Apocalypse of John, the Christian Cannon concluded with The Shepherd of Hermas as its apocalypse? The Shepherd of Hermas has a very different feel to it than the canonical apocalypse. Some have even called it the “gentle” apocalypse. Unlike some of my favorite para-biblical books such as The Gospel of Thomas, 4th Maccabees, and Joseph and Aseaneth, The Shepherd of Hermas actually was considered cannon by some, being cited as if it was authoritative scripture by some of the early church fathers and even being included in some of the oldest complete Bibles, such as Codex Sinaiticus, while The Revelations/Apocalypse of John, was initially rejected or disputed by some at least, as being too esoteric. However, it was not to be and eventually, The Shepherd of Hermas was ultimately rejected. But even upon being rejected for being too recent, Pope Pius I said of it:
“it ought indeed to be read; but it cannot be read publicly to the people in church.”
It is also worth noting that, to the best of my knowledge, The Shepherd of Hermas, is the only text counted among the New Testament Apocrypha, that is commonly grouped with the Early Church Fathers. This is going to be one of those texts I am definitely going to come back to for various reasons, both spiritual and academic. If you are looking for a window into the diverse beliefs of the world of early Christianity (or Christianities) The Shepherd of Hermas is a great read.

Now in regards to this translation in particular. Ehrman includes a thorough and well written introduction that touches on the history behind the text, its significance, and its manuscript witnesses. So far it is the best I have encountered, it is rendered in modern, clear English with the critical text (Mostly Greek, but Latin towards the end) on the page opposite of its translation. He also follows the modern verse numbering (when dealing with The Church Fathers and New Testament Apocrypha, the verse numbering schemes tend to differ between older and modern translations) The only complaint I have is that while the translation does include footnotes, they are all related to the manuscripts and variant readings. Some explanatory footnotes would help make this text more accessible. Still if you are looking to check out The Shepherd of Hermas, Ehrman’s translation is a great way to become introduced to it.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barnabas, Papias/Quadratus & Diognetus did nothing to prepare me for the slog that was reading The Shepherd of Hermas. It does give one pause to consider what else must have been written during the late 1st/early 2nd century as additional or opposing viewpoints that we lost to bookworms, water damage and fire. Ehrman does a great job introducing, explaining and helping the reader prepare (to the degree one can ever prepare) to read each of the sections. Spoiler alert, unless you're Mother Teresa you're not likely destined for the good place. This is about as Old Testament as I've read in my exploration of the NT. Don't much care for it but it did help me understand where we started to veer from a Christian world of peace and mindfulness to one where women became second class citizens and the Inquisition became justifiable.

[Mick Maurer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it primarily because Archbishop Chaput, OFM Cap cites this work in his 'Strangers in a Strange Land'. The author of the 'Epistle to Diognetus' is unknown. It is an example of Christian apologetics, writings defending Christianity against the charges of its critics.

[Michael Kenan Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review of Volume 1.
His introduction to the Shepherd of Hermas was particularly outstanding.

[James Violand · Rating 4 out of 5]

The early church had numerous authorities who protected orthodoxy, prosecuted heresy and spread the word of Jesus. The Churches followed their teachings. Some writings that had at the time near canonical status (the Canon had yet to be decided) fell into disfavor and eventually faded from memory. These two volumes capture some of the writings of the early church. Fascinating reading from a simpler time when theology had yet to become an argumentative system of religious thought.

[Joseph Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well edited; it's just the content that's not exciting as the first volume. I kept stalling in the Shepherd of Hermas, which is interesting but awfully long and rather tedious. Good for theology and history; not good for light bedtime reading.