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2 John

About this book

1 From the elder, to an elect lady⁠ and her children,⁠ whom I love in truth (and not I alone, but also all those who know the truth), 2 because of the truth that resides in us and will be with us forever. 3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Son of the Father, in truth and love. 4 I rejoiced greatly because I have found some of your children living according to the truth,⁠ just as the Father commanded us.⁠ 5 But now I ask you, lady (not as if I were writing a new commandment to you, but the one we have had from the beginning), that we love one another. 6 (Now this is love: that we walk according to his commandments.) This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning; thus you should walk in it. 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world,⁠ people who do not confess Jesus as Christ coming in the flesh. This person is the deceiver and the antichrist!⁠ 8 Watch out, so that you do not lose the things we have worked for, but receive a full reward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not remain in the teaching of Christ does not have God. The one who remains in this teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not give him any greeting⁠ 11 because the person who gives him a greeting shares in his evil deeds. 12 Though I have many other things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink, but I hope to come visit you and speak face to face so that our joy may be complete. 13 The children of your elect sister greet you.

Texts in conversation

Compare Shepherd of Hermas 8:1 and 2 John 1:1

Early Christian · New Testament

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Summary

Second John opens with the Elder writing to an elect lady and her children. Shepherd of Hermas describes an aged woman who is identified as the Church and addressed throughout as kyria, the same Greek title.

Passages

Shepherd of Hermas 8:1

Early Christian
1 Then, brothers, a revelation was given to me in my sleep by a very handsome young man, who said to me, “Who do you think the elderly woman you received the book from is?” I said, “The Sibyl.” “You are wrong,” he said, “she is not.” “Then who is she?” I said. “The Church,” he said. I said to him, “Then why is she old?” “Because,” he said, “she was created before all things; that is why she is old; and for her sake the world was formed.” 2 And afterwards I saw a vision in my house. The elderly woman came, and asked me if I had already given the book to the elders. I said that I had not given it. “You have done well,” she said, “for I have words to add. When I have finished all the words, you will make it known to all the chosen.
90–140 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Shepherd of Hermas

2 John 1:1

New Testament
1 From the elder, to an elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth (and not I alone, but also all those who know the truth), 2 because of the truth that resides in us and will be with us forever.
90–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 John

References

“... When we turn more specifically to Second John’s kyria, evidence from the third century B.C. is given by BAG 459 (BAGD 458) for the figurative use of kyria he ekklesia, ‘the lady congregation.’ Dolger, ‘Domina,’ points to an early second-century A.D. Jerash inscription dedicated to kyria patridi, ‘the lady hometown.’ In the Shepherd of Hermas the old lady who is identified as the church (Vision 2.4.1) is addressed as kyria (Vision 3.1.3). Tertullian (around 200) supplies in Latin our first example of a particular church (at Carthage) called ‘Lady’: Domina mater ecclesia (‘Lady Mother Church’; Ad martyras 1.1), a usage that is scarcely his creation. Furthermore, there is no difficulty with applying to a local church the other Second John term eklekte, for in the New Testament groups of believers are frequently designated as ‘chosen, elect’ (Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12; 2 Timothy 2:10; Revelation 17:14; also 1 Clement 6:1; Hermas Vision 1.3.4). ...
Raymond E. Brown, The Epistles of John (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1982), 655, 667.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Shepherd of Hermas 8:1 and 2 John 1:1

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