Shepherd of Hermas — Vision 3 · Chapter 8
Vision 3.8.1
Greek
Vision 3.8.1 When I had stopped asking her about all these things, she said to me, “Do you wish to see something else?” Being eager to behold it, I was overjoyed at the prospect of seeing.
Textual & reception notes
Vision 3.8.1 — Textual: Hermas's eagerness turns from asking to seeing. The next revelation is introduced as an additional sight, not a missing part of the preceding sentence. Reception: No section-specific reception verified in the sources checked.
Vision 3.8.2
Greek
Vision 3.8.2 She looked at me, smiled, and said to me, “Do you see seven women around the tower?” “I see them, lady,” I said. “This tower is supported by them at the Lord's command.
Textual & reception notes
Vision 3.8.2 — Textual: Seven women support the tower at the Lord's command. Their symbolic identities are disclosed in the following sections. Reception: No section-specific reception verified in the sources checked.
Vision 3.8.3
Greek
Vision 3.8.3 “Now hear their activities. The first of them, who holds the hands, is called Faith. Through her God's chosen ones are saved.
Textual & reception notes
Vision 3.8.3 — Textual: Faith heads the personified virtues and mediates salvation of the chosen; the feminine pronoun belongs to the allegorical woman. Reception: R03.
Vision 3.8.4
Greek
Vision 3.8.4 “The other, who has girded herself and acts courageously, is called Self-Control. She is Faith's daughter. Whoever follows her becomes blessed in his life, because he will abstain from all evil deeds, believing that if he abstains from every evil desire, he will inherit eternal life.”
Textual & reception notes
Vision 3.8.4 — Textual: Self-Control is Faith's daughter, and her courage is expressed by the same verb used to encourage Hermas. Abstention covers deeds and desires. Reception: R03.
Vision 3.8.5
Greek
Vision 3.8.5 “And who, lady, are the others?” “They are daughters of one another. One is called Simplicity, another Knowledge, another Innocence, another Reverence, and another Love. When you do all the works of their mother, you can live.”
Textual & reception notes
Vision 3.8.5 — Textual: The five names complete the seven virtues. Their list order differs from the explicit genealogy in 3.8.7 and is retained. Reception: R03.
Vision 3.8.6
Greek
Vision 3.8.6 “Lady,” I said, “I wish to know what power each of them has.” “Hear,” she said, “the powers they possess.
Textual & reception notes
Vision 3.8.6 — Textual: Hermas asks for each virtue's power; the answer that follows explains their interdependence rather than isolated definitions. Reception: No section-specific reception verified in the sources checked.
Vision 3.8.7
Greek
Vision 3.8.7 “Their powers are sustained by one another, and they follow one another in the order of their birth. From Faith is born Self-Control, from Self-Control Simplicity, from Simplicity Innocence, from Innocence Reverence, from Reverence Knowledge, and from Knowledge Love. Their works, therefore, are pure, reverent, and divine.
Textual & reception notes
Vision 3.8.7 — Textual: The genealogy culminates in Love after Knowledge. Each preceding virtue generates the next while their powers support one another. Reception: No section-specific reception verified in the sources checked.
Vision 3.8.8
Greek
Vision 3.8.8 “Whoever serves them and succeeds in holding fast to their works will have his dwelling in the tower with God's saints.”
Textual & reception notes
Vision 3.8.8 — Textual: Dwelling in the tower requires service to the virtues expressed in their works, connecting the personifications with practical conduct. Reception: No section-specific reception verified in the sources checked.
Vision 3.8.9
Greek
Vision 3.8.9 I asked her about the times, whether the consummation had already come. She cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Uncomprehending person! Do you not see the tower still being built? When the tower under construction has been completed, there is an end. But it will soon be built. Ask me nothing more. This reminder and the renewal of your spirits are enough for you and for the saints.
Textual & reception notes
Vision 3.8.9 — Textual: The unfinished tower precludes saying the end has already arrived. The promised rapid completion supplies urgency without a dated timetable. Reception: No section-specific reception verified in the sources checked.
Vision 3.8.10
Greek
Vision 3.8.10 “But these things were not revealed to you alone, but so that you might make them clear to everyone,
Textual & reception notes
Vision 3.8.10 — Textual: The purpose clause continues into the next section; disclosure to Hermas is intended for communication to everyone. Reception: No section-specific reception verified in the sources checked.
Vision 3.8.11
Greek
Vision 3.8.11 “after three days, for you must understand them first. But first I command you, Hermas, to speak all these words which I am about to tell you into the ears of the saints, so that, hearing and doing them, they may be cleansed from their wicked deeds, and you with them.
Textual & reception notes
Vision 3.8.11 — Textual: The three-day delay allows understanding before proclamation. Both the hearers and Hermas require cleansing through hearing and doing. Reception: No section-specific reception verified in the sources checked.