Apocalyptic and metanoia in the Shepherd of Hermas

Abstract

The very inclusion of the Shepherd of Hermas in the literary genre of apocalyptic has been disputed many times over, due in part to the prominence in its text of non-apocalyptic, largely moral material. This paper offers a survey of the apocalyptic features of this writing and then approaches the less apocalyptic material in the Shepherd, usually omitted from such enquiries. The proposal will be put forward that, even beyond its apocalyptic frame, further apocalyptic features are embedded in the moral material in Hermas, including a so-called “interiorized apocalyptic” sui generis. On the whole, the Shepherd offers an instructive example of how the purpose of an early Christian work can modify its genre.