The Shepherd of Hermas was a "bestseller" among early Christians (late Second Century), and was nearly designated a book of scripture. It's not clear whether it's supposed to be instructive fiction or an actual account of visions by Hermas, a freed slave turned shady businessman, worried by his sharp-tongued wife and troubled kids. The book provides much food for thought and much to disagree with.
The Shepherd of Hermas (Greek: Ποιμὴν τοῦ Ἑρμᾶ, Poimēn tou Herma; sometimes just called The Shepherd) is a Christian literary work of the late 1st or mid-2nd century, considered a valuable book by many Christians, and considered canonical scripture by some of the early Church fathers such as Irenaeus.[1][2] The Shepherd was very popular amongst Christians in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.[3] It was bound as part of the New Testament in the Codex Sinaiticus,[1][4] and it was listed between the Acts of the Apostles and the Acts of Paul in the stichometrical list of the Codex Claromontanus.
The work comprises five visions, twelve mandates, and ten parables. It relies on allegory and pays special attention to the Church, calling the faithful to repent of the sins that have harmed it.
The book was originally written in Rome,[5] in the Greek language, but a first Latin translation, the Vulgata,[6] was made very shortly afterwards. A second Latin translation, the Palatina, was made at the beginning of the fifth century. Of the Greek version the last fifth or so is missing.
The shepherd is one of the meanings that was probably attached to some figurines of the Good Shepherd as well as a symbol for Christ, or a traditional pagan kriophoros.