(Ἑρμᾶς, Romans 16:14)
Hermas is a Greek name, a contracted form of several names such as Hermagoras, Hermeros, Hermodorus, Hermogenes, etc., common among members of the Imperial household (J. B. Lightfoot, Philippians4, 1878, p. 176), It is the last of a group of five names (all Greek) of persons, and ‘the brethren with them,’ saluted by St. Paul. Nothing is known of any member of the group. It is conjectured that together they formed a separate ἐκκλησία or ‘church,’ the locality of which we shall suppose to have been Rome or Ephesus, according to our view of the destination of these salutations. Cf. Romans 16:5; Romans 16:15 and perhaps Romans 16:11, and 1 Corinthians 16:19 and perhaps Acts 20:20. Possibly these five men were heads of five separate household churches, or leaders or office-bearers in the Church.
T. B. Allworthy.