The Shepherd of Hermas : A Literary, Historical, and Theological Handbook

The completion of a book allows one to acknowledge the many people who have contributed throughout the writing process. I have received aid from others in a host of different forms. Although many scholarly debts can be acknowledged in footnotes, others are incurred in forms that are better expressed in prose at the beginning of the book. I would like to begin by thanking Dominic Mattos, Sarah Blake, and everyone at Bloomsbury T&T Clark. I am grateful to the anonymous reviewers, whose perceptive comments enabled me to improve the manuscript. It has been an honor to work with everyone to bring this manuscript through the publication process. University relationships have also played a vital role in bringing this book into being at every stage in the process. I am especially grateful to Allen Ross for his willingness to assume the time-consuming task of supervising a masters-level thesis while I was studying at Beeson Divinity School. His guidance, encouragement, criticism, and willingness to give up hours of his mornings to meet with me provided the seed from which this book grew. In the middle of the research for this project, I had the pleasure of presenting some of the results at the University of Otago as part of a conference entitled "Trajectories in the Interpretation of Scripture: Models, Issues, and Prospects. " I am grateful to Jonathan Robinson for his work in organizing the sessions and to the other presenters and participants for their stimulating reflections. Traces of the conference paper and the forthcoming article in Revue Biblique are scattered across Chapters 6, 7, and 8. The Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary has provided a stimulating and supportive environment in which to teach and research. I am grateful to the library staff for maintaining a strong collection in the stacks and their quick turnaround time in obtaining hard-to-find sources through Interlibrary Loans. Shalom Cho generously gave of her time to help with bibliographic formatting prior to submitting publication proposals. Finally, I am especially grateful to members of the Herd, who joined with me during the summer of 2020 in seeking to understand Hermas's apocalyptic revelations. My thanks are due to « Jonathon Lookadoo guides readers through the early Christian apocalypse known as the Shepherd of Hermas, providing a clear overview of the numerous literary, historical, and theological insights that this text contains for those researching early Christianity.Dividing his exploration into two sections, Lookadoo first introduces the Shepherd by providing an overview of the text to those with limited familiarity, while also focusing on critical issues such as authorship, date, and the Shepherd's complex manuscript tradition and reception history. He then moves to examine the interpretation of particular passages in detail, and by close exploration of theological and literary features he is able to contextualize the Shepherd alongside contemporary contexts. This volume covers the important thematic issues in the Shepherd, and also provides a fresh perspective that arises from a thoroughly textual focus; in so doing, Lookadoo enables readers to engage both with the Shepherd itself and the scholarship that surrounds the text. »--Site de l'éditeur Jonathon Lookadoo guides readers through the early Christian apocalypse known as the Shepherd of Hermas, providing a clear overview of the numerous literary, historical, and theological insights that this text contains for those researching early Christianity. Dividing his exploration into two sections, Lookadoo first introduces the Shepherd by providing an overview of the text to those with limited familiarity, while also focusing on critical issues such as authorship, date, and the Shepherd's complex manuscript tradition and reception history. He then moves to examine the interpretation of particular passages in detail, and by close exploration of theological and literary features he is able to contextualize the Shepherd alongside contemporary contexts. This volume covers the important thematic issues in the Shepherd , and also provides a fresh perspective that arises from a thoroughly textual focus; in so doing, Lookadoo enables readers to engage both with the Shepherd itself and the scholarship that surrounds the text. Jonathon Lookadoo guides readers through the early Christian apocalypse known as the Shepherd of Hermas, providing a clear overview of the numerous literary, historical, and theological insights that this text contains for those researching early Christianity. Dividing his exploration into two sections, Lookadoo first introduces the Shepherd by providing an overview of the text to those with limited familiarity, while also focusing on critical issues such as authorship, date, and the complex manuscript tradition and reception history. He then moves to examine the interpretation of particular passages in detail, and by close exploration of theological and literary features he is able to contextualize the work alongside contemporary contexts. This volume covers the important thematic issues in the Shepherd, and also provides a fresh perspective that arises from a thoroughly textual focus; in so doing, Lookadoo enables readers to engage both with the Shepherd itself and the scholarship that surrounds the text. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction Part I Introducing the Shepherd of Hermas Chapter 1 An Overview of the Shepherd Chapter 2 How Was the Shepherd Preserved? Chapter 3 Who Read the Shepherd? Chapter 4 Critical Questions for the Shepherd: What, to Whom, Where, When, and Who? Part II Studying the Shepherd of Hermas Chapter 5 Fasting and the Vineyard: Exegeting Similitude 5 Chapter 6 The Characters in the Shepherd Chapter 7 The Shepherd in Its Greco-Roman and Early Jewish Settings Chapter 8 The Shepherd and Early Christian Literature in the First Two Centuries Chapter 9 God in the Shepherd Chapter 10 Sin and Repentance Chapter 11 Metaphors and Imagery in the Shepherd: The Tower and the House Chapter 12 Spirit Language in Mandates 5–11: From Ancient Philosophy to Contemporary Theology Bibliography Index of Authors Index of References Index of Subjects "Jonathon Lookadoo guides researchers through the early Christian apocalypse known as the Shepherd of Hermas, providing a clear overview of the numerous literary, historical, and theological insights the text has for those researching early Christianity"-- Provided by publisher