Simeon

Son of Jacob, by Leah. (Gen. 29. 33.) It is derived from Shamah, to hear. We meet with this name often in Scripture. Indeed it is a common name, Simeon, or Simon.

son of Jacob and Leah, was born A.M. 2247, Gen 29:33; Gen 34:25. Jacob, on his death bed, showed his indignation against Simeon and Levi for their cruelty to the Shechemites, Gen 49:5: “I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.” And in effect these two tribes were scattered in Israel. As to Levi, he never had any fixed lot or portion; and Simeon received only a canton that was dismembered from the tribe of Judah, Jos 19:1, &c, and some other lands they went to conquer in the mountains of Seir, and the desert of Gedor, 1Ch 4:27; 1Ch 4:39; 1Ch 4:42.

2. SIMEON, a holy man, who was at Jerusalem, full of the Holy Ghost, and expecting the redemption of Israel, Luk 2:25-26, &c. The Holy Ghost had assured him, that he should not die before he had seen the Christ of the Lord; he therefore came into the temple, prompted by inspiration, just at the time when Joseph and Mary presented Jesus Christ there, in obedience to the law. Simeon took the child into his arms, gave thanks to God, and then blessed Joseph and Mary. It is believed, with good reason, that he died soon after he had given his testimony to Jesus Christ. Some have conjectured, that Simeon, who received Jesus Christ into his arms, was the same as Simeon the Just, the son of Hillel, and master of Gamaliel, whose disciple St. Paul was. See SANHEDRIM.

Simeon, 1

Sim´eon (favorable hearing), the second son of Jacob, born of Leah (Gen 29:33), and progenitor of the tribe of the same name. He was the full brother of Levi (Gen 34:25; Gen 35:23), with whom he took part in cruelly avenging upon the men of Shechem the injury which their sister Dinah had received from the son of Hamor (Gen 34:25-30) [DINAH]. The ferocity of character thus indicated probably furnishes the reason why Joseph singled Simeon out to remain behind in Egypt, when his other brethren were the first time dismissed (Gen 42:24); but when they returned he was restored safely to them (Gen 43:23). Nothing more of his personal history is known. The tribe descended from Simeon contained 59,300 able bodied men at the time of the Exode (Num 1:23), but was reduced to 22,000 before entering Palestine (Num 26:14). This immense decrease in the course of one generation was greater than that sustained by all the other tribes together, and reduced Simeon from the third rank to the lowest of all in point of numbers. It cannot well be accounted for but by supposing that the tribe erred most conspicuously, and was punished most severely in those transactions which drew down judgments from God. As it appeared that Judah had received too large a territory in the first distribution of lands, a portion of it was afterwards assigned to Simeon. This portion lay in the southwest, towards the borders of Philistia and the southern desert, and contained seventeen towns (Jos 19:1-9). However, the Judahites must afterwards have re-appropriated some of these towns; at least Beersheba (1Ki 19:3) and Ziklag (1Sa 27:6) appear at a subsequent period as belonging to the kingdom of Judah. The remarkable passage in 1Ch 4:41-43 points to an emigration of or from this tribe, perhaps more extensive than the words would seem to indicate, and suggests that when they ceased to have common interests, this small tribe was obliged to give way before the greater power of Judah and the pressure of its population (comp. Gen 49:7). Nothing more of this tribe is recorded, although its name occurs in unhistorical intimations (Eze 48:24; Rev 7:8).

Simeon, 2

Simeon, the aged person who, when Jesus was presented by His mother at the temple, recognized the infant as the expected Messiah, and took Him in his arms and blessed Him, glorifying God (Luk 2:25-35). The circumstance is interesting, as evincing the expectations which were then entertained of the speedy advent of the Messiah; and important from the attestation which it conveyed in favor of Jesus, from one who was known to have received the divine promise that he should ’not taste of death till he had seen the Lord’s Christ.’ It has been often supposed that this Simeon was the same with Rabban Simeon, the son of the famous Hillel, and father of Gamaliel: but this is merely a conjecture, founded on circumstances too weak to establish such a conclusion.

1. One of the twelve patriarches, the son of Jacob and Leah, Gen 29:33 Exo 6:15 . Some have thought he was more guilty than his brethren in the treatment of Joseph, Gen 37:20 42:24 43:23; but he may have been detained as a hostage because he was one of the eldest sons. The tribes of Simeon and Levi were scattered and dispersed in Israel, in conformity with the prediction of Jacob, on account of their sacrilegious and piratical revenge of the outrage committed against Dinah their sister, Gen 34:1-31 49:5. Levi had no compact lot or portion in the Holy Land; and Simeon received for his portion only a district dismembered from Judah, with some other lands the tribe overran in the mountains of Seir, and in the desert of Gedor, 1Ch 4:24,39,42 . The portion of Simeon was west and south or that of Judah, having the Philistines on the northwest and the desert on the south, Jos 19:1-9 .\par The tribe was reduced in numbers while in the wilderness, from 59,300 to 24,000, Num 1:23 26:14; very probably on account of sharing in the licentious idolatry of Moab, with Zimri their prince, Num 25:1-18, or for other sins. They are little known in subsequent history. We find them faithful to David, 1Ch 12:25, and afterwards to Asa, 2Ch 15:9, and in general absorbed by Judah. Moses omits this tribe in his dying benedictions, Deu 33:1-29 ; but its place in Israel is restored by a covenant-keeping God, Eze 48:24 Jer 7:7 .\par 2. A venerable saint at Jerusalem, full of the Holy Spirit, who was expecting the redemption of Israel, Luk 2:25-35 . It had been revealed to him that he should not die before he had seen the Christ so long promised; and he therefore came into the temple, promoted by inspiration, just at the time when Joseph and Mary presented our Savior there, in obedience to the law. Simeon took the child in his arms, gave thanks to God, and blessed Joseph and Mary. We know nothing further concerning him.\par 3. Surnamed NIGER, or the Black, Mal 13:1, was among the prophets and teachers of the Christian church at Antioch. Some think he was Simon the Cyrenian; but there is no proof of this.\par 4. The apostle Peter is also called Simeon in Mal 15:14, but elsewhere Simon.\par

Sim’eon. (heard).

1. The second of Jacob’s son, by Leah. His birth is recorded in Gen 29:33. The first group of Jacob’s children consists, besides Simeon, of the three other sons of Leah -- Reuben, Levi, Judah. Besides the massacre of Shechem, Gen 34:25, the only personal incident related of Simeon is the fact of his being selected by Joseph, as the hostage for the appearance of Benjamin. Gen 42:19; Gen 42:24; Gen 42:36; Gen 43:23.

The chief families of the tribe of Simeon are mentioned in the lists of Gen 46:10. At the census of Sinai , Simeon numbered 59,300 fighting men. Num 1:23. When the second census was taken, at Shittim, the numbers had fallen to 22,200, and it was the weakest of all the tribes. This was, no doubt, partly due to the recent mortality following the idolatry of Peor, but there must have been other causes, which have escaped mention. To Simeon was allotted a portion of land out of the territory of Judah, on its southern frontier, which contained eighteen or nineteen cities, with their villages, spread round the venerable well of Beersheba. Jos 19:1-8; 1Ch 4:28-33. Of these places, with the help of Judah, the Simeonites possessed themselves, Jdg 1:3; Jdg 1:17, and there they were found, doubtless by Joab, residing in the reign of David. 1Ch 4:31.

What part of the tribe took, at the time of the division of the kingdom, we are not told. The only thing which can be interpreted into a trace of its having taken any part with the northern kingdom are the two casual notices of 2Ch 15:9, and 2Ch 34:6, which appear to imply the presence of Simeonites there in the reigns of Asa and Josiah. On the other hand, the definite statement of 1Ch 4:41-43, proves that, at that time, there were still some of them remaining in the original seat of the tribe, and actuated by all the warlike, lawless spirit of their progenitor.

2. A devout Jew, inspired by the Holy Ghost, who met the parents of our Lord in the Temple, took him in his arms, and gave thanks for what he saw and knew of Jesus. Luk 2:25-35. There was a Simeon, who succeeded his father, Hillel, as president of the Sanhedrin, about A.D. 13, and whose son, Gamaliel, was the Pharisee at whose feet St. Paul was brought up. Act 22:3. It has been conjectured that he may be the Simeon of St. Luke.

SIMON.

1. (See LEVI.) Jacob’s second son by Leah, Gen 29:33. From shaama, "hear"; as the birth of Reuben ("see a son") her firstborn convinced Leah that God saw her, so that of Simeon that God heard her. Levi’s and Simeon’s slaughter of the Shechemites (Gen 34:25; Gen 34:30) incurred Jacob’s reproof (Gen 49:5-7). Judah and Simeon joined together in the conquest of southern Canaan (Jdg 1:3; Jdg 1:17). Joseph’s selection of Simeon as hostage for Benjamin’s appearance was perhaps due to his having been a leader in the brothers’ cruel attack (Genesis 37; Gen 42:24). Simeon’s families are enumerated (Gen 46:10; Num 26:12-14; 1Ch 4:24-43). At the census at Sinai Simeon numbered 59,300 (Num 1:23); it was then the most numerous after Judah and Daniel At Shittim it had become the smallest, numbering 22,200. The mortality consequent on the idolatry of Peor was a leading cause (Num 25:9; Num 25:14).

Zimri, slain in the act, was a prince of Simeon (Num 26:14). Simeon was doomed by Jacob to be "scattered in Israel" (Gen 49:7); its sins caused its reduction to such small numbers as found adequate territory within Judah (Jos 19:2-9). Simeon was the "remnant" with Judah and Benjamin, which constituted Rehoboam’s forces (1Ki 12:23). Still Simeon remained strong enough in Hezekiah’s days to smite the men of Ham with an expedition under 13 Simeonite princes, and to occupy their dwellings "at the entrance of (rather, as Keil, "westward from") Gedor to the E. side of the valley" (1Ch 4:34-43). The Simeonites "found the Meunim" (not as KJV, 1Ch 4:41, "habitations") there besides the Hamites (whether Egyptians, Cushites, or Canaanites). (See MAON.)

The Meunim were connected with Maan, a city near Petra, E. of wady Musa, "nomads". Five hundred Simeonites undertook a second expedition under four chiefs, sons of Shimei, against the remnant of Amalek that had escaped from Saul and David (1Sa 14:48; 1Sa 15:7; 2Sa 8:12) to the mountains of Idumea; they smote them utterly, and dwelt in their place, and were there at the date of the composition of 1 Chronicles, i.e. after the return from Babylon. Simeon is omitted in Moses’ blessing, possibly because of the idolatry of Peor. Simeon in the wilderness marched south of the tabernacle, with Reuben and Gad, sons of Zilpah, maid of Leah, Simeon’s mother. The Canaanitess mother of Shaul (Gen 46:10) and the Horite father of Shaphat the spy from Simeon (Num 13:5) indicate the laxness of Simeon in marriage connections, from whence sprang his paganish degeneracy.

Their villages and 18 or 19 cities lay round the well Beersheba in Judah’s extreme south. Simeon stands first of the tribes appointed to bless the people on Mount Gerizim (Deu 27:12). Though cities of Simeon were among those to which David sent presents of the Amalekite spoils, and though Ziklag was David’s own property, received from Achish king of the Philistines who had wrested it from Simeon (1Sa 27:6; 1Sa 30:26, etc.), yet Simeon and Judah were few in numbers at his installation at Hebron (1Ch 12:23-37), and Simeon more than Judah. Some men of Simeon were apparently settled in the northern kingdom of Israel after the disruption (2Ch 15:9; 2Ch 34:6). Simeon is between Issachar and Benjamin, not beside Judah, in Eze 48:25. Simeon is also in Rev 7:7.

2. Luk 3:30.

3. SIMON PETER . The Hebrew form of the Greek Simon used by James; the most Hebraistic of the twelve (Act 15:14). Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus manuscripts read "Symeon" (2Pe 1:1), but Vaticanus "Simon." His mentioning his original name accords with his design in 2 Peter, to warn against coming false teachers (2 Peter 2) by setting forth the true "knowledge" of Christ on the testimony of the original apostolic eye witnesses like himself. This was not required in 1 Peter.

4. Luk 2:25-32. "Just and devout, waiting (like the dying Jacob, Gen 49:18) for the consolation of Israel" (promised in Isaiah 40), and having upon him "the Holy Spirit," who "revealed that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ." When Jesus’ parents brought Him into the temple to redeem Him as the firstborn with five shekels according to the law (Num 18:15), and to present Him to the Lord, Simeon took Him up in his arms, and blessing God said, "Lord, now Thou dost let Thy servant depart in peace (not a prayer, but a thanksgiving; again like Jacob, Gen 46:30); for mine eyes (not another, Job 19:27) have seen (1Jn 1:1) Thy (Isa 28:16; Luk 3:6) salvation: which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people (the universality of the gospel): a light to lighten the Gentiles (Isa 9:2), and (not only light, but also) the glory of Thy people Israel" (Isa 60:1-3).

He is mentioned so vaguely, "a man in Jerusalem," that Lightfoot’s view is hardly correct that he was president of the Sanhedrin and father of Gamaliel (Act 5:34-40) who took so mild a view of Christianity, and that because of his religious opinions Simeon is not mentioned in the Mishna. Rabban Simeon’s grandfather was of the family of David; he succeeded his father Hillel as president, A.D. 13; at the feet of his son Gamaliel Paul was brought up. But the Simeon of Luke 2 would scarcely have trained his son a Pharisee; Simeon was a common name. Christ’s advent brings to view some of His hidden ones, as Simeon and Anna, who, unknown to the world, were known to Him as yearning for Him.

5. Brother, i.e. cousin, of Jesus (Mat 13:55; Mar 6:3). Probably the apostle Simeon Zelotes, "the zealot" (Luk 6:15; Act 1:13) for the honour of the law and the Israelite theocracy. Called "the Canaanite" (not the nation, but Kananaios, in Chaldee equivalent to the Greek Zeelotees; "zealot," Mat 10:4; Mar 3:18). Tenth among the twelve in Luke, but eleventh in Matthew and Mark. Eusebius from Hegesippus makes Simeon son of Clopas to succeed James in the bishopric of the Jerusalem church which was removed to Pella. He was martyred in his 120th year, under Trajan, A.D. 107, as David’s descendant who might claim the throne and give trouble to the Romans.

6. Father of Judas Iscariot (Joh 6:71; Joh 12:4; Joh 13:2; Joh 13:26).

7. "The leper," cleansed probably by Jesus. In his house at Bethany Mary anointed the Lord’s feet (Mat 26:6, etc.; Mar 14:3). He was probably father of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus; perhaps for a time he was away through leprosy, so that he is not named in Luk 10:38 where the house is called Martha’s house, nor John 11, but in Mar 14:3. (See LAZARUS.)

8. "The Pharisee" in whose house the sinful, but forgiven, woman anointed Jesus’ feet. Uncharitableness, ignorance, and pride prompted his thought, "this man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him, for she is a sinner." Christ shinned His own knowledge by answering Simon’s unexpressed thought; His holiness, by not only being undefiled by her touch, but also sanctifying her by His touch; His judicial power, as One more than "a prophet," by justifying her and condemning him (Luk 7:36-50; Luk 18:9-14). By the parable of the debtor forgiven 500 pence loving the creditor more than the one forgiven only 50, Christ showed that her warm and demonstrative love flowed from consciousness of forgiveness, his want of love from his fancy that he needed but little God’s forgiveness. Where little or no love is shown, little or no sense of forgiveness (which answers to her "faith," Luk 7:50) exists to prompt it. Her sins, though many, were forgiven, not on account of her love, but as the moving cause of her love; the "for" in Luk 7:47 is evidential, her much love evidenced her much forgiveness and much sense of it.

9. Of Cyrene; attending the Passover "from the country, father of Alexander and Rufus" (known to Roman Christians, Rom 16:13, for whom Mark wrote); impressed to bear after Christ the cross to Golgotha, when the Lord Himself had sunk under it (Joh 19:17; Mar 15:21; Luk 23:26). An honourable ignominy.

10. SIMON THE TANNER with whom Simon lodged at Joppa (Act 9:43; Act 10:6; Act 10:32). As rigid Jews regarded the business as unclean, Peter’s lodging there shows already a relaxation of Judaism. His house was near the seaside for the convenience of the water. By the Sultan’s order the old walls of Jaffa ("Joppa") have been lately removed. In cutting a gate through a water battery at an angle of the sea wall built by Vespasian, and directly in front of the reputed house of Simon the tanner on the rocky bluff above, the men came on three oval shaped tanner vats hewn out of the natural rock and lined with Roman cement, down near the sea, and similar to those in use 18 centuries ago. Probably no more than one tanner would be living in so small a place as Joppa; so that the tradition is confirmed that here was the house of Simon with whom Peter lodged when he received the call of Cornelius.

11. Simeon Magus. The Samaritan who practiced magic, "bewitching the people of Samaria, giving out that he himself was some great one," so that all said "this is the power of God which is called great" (so the Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, and Alexandrinus manuscripts). Born at the Samaritan village (Gittim, according to Justin Martyr), Simeon was converted nominally and baptized through Philip at Sichem or Sychar, where Christ’s ministry (John 4) had already prepared the way. Josephus (Ant. 20:7, section 2) records that Simeon was Felix’ tool to seduce Drusilla away from her husband Azizus, king of Emesa. The Pseudo Clemens represents him as disciple, then successor, of Dositheus the gnostic heresiarch.

The Recognitiones and Clementina report fabulous controversies between Simeon and Peter. His followers report his saying "I am the word of God, the paraclete, omnipotent," in fact the incarnation of the word (the Logos, Philo and Joh 1:1). Simeon, viewing baptism as the initiation into communion with some powerful spirit through whom he could do greater wonders than before, was baptized. His case shows that the apostles could not always infallibly read motives, and that the grace symbolized in baptism is not indifferently conferred on all as Romanists teach giving sacraments a magic power as if they could profit without faith. Simeon, subsequently seeing extraordinary powers of the Holy Spirit conferred through laying on of Peter’s and John’s hands on those already baptized, and supposing that their bestowal was by the outward act independently of the inward disposition, desired to buy the power of conferring such gifts (from whence comes our term "simony"); evidently Simeon himself had not received the gifts, not having yet presented himself.

Peter said "thy money perish with thee" (1Co 6:13; Col 2:22), undesignedly in coincidence with Peter’s language in the independent epistle (1Pe 1:7); so "thou hast neither part, nor lot," etc.; compare 1Pe 1:4 "inheritance," literally, lot (kleeros); "thy heart is not right (in motives and ends) in the sight of God; repent ... if perhaps the thought ... may be forgiven," implying his sin verged toward the unpardonable one (Mat 12:31). God, not the apostles, in Peter’s view could absolve; compare Joh 20:23. "For I perceive thou art in the gall," etc. (Heb 12:15). Simeon in his prayer, "pray that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me," shows that fear of punishment, not hatred of sin, influenced him as Pharaoh (Exo 8:8).

Simeon (sĭm’e-on), a hearkening. 1. The second son of Jacob, born of Leah. Gen 29:33. He participated in the revenge of Levi against the Shechemites for the outrage upon Dinah. Gen 34:25; Gen 34:30; Gen 49:5-7. Before entering Canaan, the tribe of Simeon had become the lowest of the tribes in point of number. Num 1:23; Num 26:14. To the Simeonites was assigned the territory in the southwest, with a number of towns, which had been allotted to Judah. Jos 19:1-9. An emigration from this tribe took place, at an early period, towards Gedor, and afterwards to Mount Seir. 1Ch 4:24-43; Eze 48:24; Rev 7:7. 2. One of the ancestors of Mary, Luk 3:30, A. V., but R. V. reads "Symeon." 3. An aged godly Jew residing at Jerusalem, who had been favored with a divine intimation that he should live to see the Lord’s Christ. And being led by the Spirit, at the time when Jesus was presented by his mother at the temple, he recognized the infant as the expected Messiah, and took him in his arms and blessed him, glorifying God. Luk 2:25-35. 4. A Christian teacher at Antioch, surnamed Niger (black).evidently from his dark complexion. Act 13:1, R. V. "Symeon."

[Sim’eon]

1. The second son of Jacob and Leah, and head of the tribe bearing his name. Except the attack that he, with Levi, made on Shechem, and his being kept by Joseph as a hostage, nothing personally is recorded of Simeon. He entered Egypt with Jacob, taking his six sons with him. On leaving Egypt, those numbered of the tribe were 59,300, but on entering the land after the forty years’ wanderings, there were only 22,200.

When Jacob blessed his sons he said, "Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations . . . . in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel." Gen 49:5-7. This scattering seems also intimated by the circumstance that when Moses blessed the tribes, Simeon is not mentioned.

The lot of Simeon was in the extreme south, having the Philistines on their west and the desert of Paran on their east. On the division of the kingdom they nominally belonged to the ten tribes, but were completely isolated from the other nine, so that they would have had either to coalesce with the two tribes (and of this we read nothing), or, according to the prophecy of Jacob, be ’scattered in Israel.’ They were, in a sense, lost in the land. In the future day of which Ezekiel prophesies, when the twelve tribes will be restored and the land be re-divided, the tribe of Simeon has its portion. Eze 48:24-35. They are also mentioned in Rev 7:7, when a remnant of them will be sealed for blessing.

2. A ’just and devout’ man at Jerusalem, to whom it was revealed that he should not die until he had seen ’the Lord’s Christ.’ When the ’child Jesus’ was presented in the temple Simeon took Him up in his arms, blessed God and asked that he might depart in peace, for he had seen God’s salvation. Luk 2:25; Luk 2:34. He was one of those that looked for redemption in Israel.

3. Son of Juda, in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus. Luk 3:30.

4. A disciple and prophet at Antioch, designated NIGER. Act 13:1.

5. Name by which Simon Peter is called by James in Act 15:14. In 2Pe 1:1 also the name is Simeon in the Greek.

SIMEON (Συμεών) is a transliteration into Greek of the common Heb. name שִׁמְעוֹן, which is first met with as that of the second son of Jacob and Leah in Gen 29:33, where a derivation from שִׁמַע, ‘hear,’ is suggested.

1. An aged saint (Luk 2:25 ff.), who took the infant Jesus in his arms at the Presentation in the Temple on the completion of the mother’s period of purification, and broke out into an exultant song of praise. Afterwards he foretold to Mary the varied results that would attend the mission of her son.

He has been identified with a Rabbi of the same name, who is described as the son of Hillel and father of Gamaliel i.; but the original author (Shabbath, 15a) merely mentions him as intermediate between Hillel and Gamaliel as Nasi of the Sanhedrin. Beyond that statement, which is not in the Mishna, nothing is known of him; and the Lukan phrase, ‘a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon,’ is too modest to allow of identification with one who was at once the son of Hillel and the leading authority on jurisprudence in the nation. Another legend is preserved in the Gospel of Nicodemus, to the effect that Charinus and Leucius, two sons of Simeon, had been raised from the dead, and had been summoned to describe before the Sanhedrin the occurrences they had witnessed in the underworld at the death of Jesus. Their narrative is said to have been afterwards reported to Pilate, who ordered its Incorporation in the official Acts of his procuratorship. This Apocryphal Gospel is not only of a late date (4th or even 5th cent.), but was evidently composed in the interest of apologetics, with a view particularly to represent the resurrection of Jesus as attested by evidence which even His enemies regarded as irrefutable. Until the period of uncritical search for legends in the 13th cent., little historical value was ascribed to the story, which may be confidently regarded as destitute of any.

Of the lineage or descendants of Simeon no contemporary evidence has survived; and for the man himself St. Luke is our only authority.

Simeon is described as (1) ‘righteous and devout,’ or conscientious in regard to God and His law (cf. Act 22:12); (2) as looking for the Messiah; and (3) as moved by the Holy Spirit (not merely the spirit of prophecy) to believe that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah. Guided by the Spirit to the courts of the Temple, he no sooner saw Jesus there than the words of the famous Nunc Dimittis (wh. see) rose to his lips. Whilst Mary was wondering at the meaning of such words, Simeon turned to her and foretold the diverse results of the mission of Jesus. A stumbling-block and an offence to some, it would be the inspiration of a new life to others; and with her own blessedness would mingle anguish unspeakable. In the issue the deepest needs of many souls would be excited and met, and men’s hearts would be probed, enriched, and satisfied. After this brief appearance in history, Simeon passes again into obscurity, leaving only a few imperishable words behind him.

2. An ancestor, otherwise unknown, of Joseph, the husband of Mary (Luk 3:30). In this case, with some inconsistency, Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 turns the name into ‘Symeon’ (as in Act 13:1; Act 15:14), which is the more normal vocalization of the Greek, though not of the Hebrew.

R. W. Moss.

By: Wilhelm Bacher, Jacob Zallel Lauterbach

Tanna of the first generation; brother of Azariah and uncle of Eleazar ben Azariah. He is mentioned only once in the Mishnah, in Zeb. i. 2, where a saying of his has been preserved. He is named after his brother Azariah, who was a merchant, and who paid Simeon's living expenses in order that he might pursue undisturbed the study of the Law.

Bibliography:

Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot, ii. 362.

SIMEON (Luk 3:30, Act 13:1; Act 15:14 Symeon).—1. The second son of Jacob and Leah (Gen 29:33 [J [Note: Jahwist.] ]). By R [Note: Redactor.] he, together with Levi, is closely related to Dinah, she being a full sister (Gen 29:34). From Gen 30:20 (E [Note: Elohist.] ) we learn that he had five full brothers, but we are not told how many other sisters or half-sisters he had. J [Note: Jahwist.] (Gen 37:35) speaks of ‘all’ Jacob’s ‘daughters,’ but their names are nowhere recorded (cf. Gen 46:7 [P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ]). J [Note: Jahwist.] , who is specially inclined to etymologizing (see RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] of Gen 3:20; Gen 4:1; Gen 4:25; Gen 5:29; Gen 11:9; Gen 16:11; Gen 16:14 etc.), connects the name, as in the case of Reuben, with Jacob’s ‘hatred’ of Leah: ‘Because Jahweh hath heard (shâma‘) that I am hated, etc., and she called his name Shim ‘ôn’ (Gen 29:33). The meaning of the name is unknown, but it has been connected by many scholars with the Arabic sim‘, the hybrid offspring of the hyæna and the female wolf. This word sim‘ appears as a tribal name among the Arabs, and it is well known that numerous tribal names are those of animals; Leah and Rachel probably belong to this class. In such cases the names probably point to the totem worship of the ancestors. If the name appears, as is supposed by some scholars, in the inscriptions of Esarhaddon, it may be of importance in connexion with the history of the tribe, but no light is derived from the form as to its meaning.

In the Blessing of Jacob (Gen 49:1-33) Simeon is coupled with Levi (wh. see) as sharing in the curse of Jacob and in the consequent dispersion of the tribe among the other tribes of Israel. This is an indication that at the time the ‘Blessing’ was composed, the tribe was practically dissolved. P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ’s census of the tribes ascribes 59,300 fighting men to Simeon at Sinai (Num 1:23). At Moab there were only 22,200 (Num 26:14)—another indication of the future fortune of the tribe. Jdg 1:3; Jdg 1:17 makes Simeon join with Judah, at the latter’s request, in making the first attack upon the Canaanites, over whom they won a decisive victory at Bezek. Judah in return was to aid Simeon in gaining his possession. Together they attacked and defeated the inhabitants of Zephath-hormah. Hormah is connected with Arad (Num 21:1-6) about 17 miles to the S.E. of Hebron. Hormah in Jos 15:30 is assigned to the tribe of Judah, but re-appears in Jos 19:4 as a city of Simeon. We are not told in Judges of the settlement of Simeon, but it is implied in the Dinah story (Gen 34:1-31) that both he and Levi secured a temporary foothold about Shechem. On account of their treachery, however, they were dispossessed and well-nigh annihilated by the revenge taken upon them by the Canaanites. Levi was permanently shattered; Simeon, however, managed to recover sufficiently to establish itself on the southern border of Judah. There, however; they came into contact with nomad tribes of Edomites and Arabs—a circumstance which doubtless contributed to their failure to rehabilitate themselves and win a permanent abode among the original occupants of the land. They are not mentioned in the Song of Deborah (Jdg 5:1-31), but this may be accounted for by their position. Judah also had no part in that important struggle, and is passed over in silence. In historical times nothing is heard of them, and the conclusion is justified that they eventually became merged with the neighbouring tribes, and were later, with them, absorbed by Judah, as Reuben was afterwards by Gad. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the cities which are assigned to Simeon in the list given in Jos 19:1-9 re-appear elsewhere as cities of Judah (cf. Jos 15:26-32; Jos 15:42, 1Ki 19:3, Neh 11:26-29, 1Sa 27:6; 1Sa 30:30). In connexion with David’s ventures to win over the Edomites and other tribes to the south, the name of Simeon does not appear, as might have been expected if the tribe had preserved its solidarity. According to 1Ch 4:39 ff., Simeonites advanced against Gedor and Mt. Seir, in the time of Hezekiah apparently, and there secured permanent possessions. Instead of Gedor, the LXX [Note: Septuagint.] reads Gerar, the name of the Philistine city of Abimelech. It must be admitted that our sources are too uncertain and, too indefinite to enable us to speak decisively on almost any point of interest in connexion with this tribe. On the one hand, too much credence is given to statements of late writers, as though they furnished indubitable evidence; on the other hand, far-reaching conclusions are often drawn from fragmentary and isolated expressions, both Biblical and extra-Biblical, which are little warranted. See also Tribes of Israel.

2. The great-grandfather of Judas Maccabæus (1Ma 2:1). 3. The ‘righteous and devout’ (dikaios kai eulabçs) man who took the infant Jesus in his arms and blessed Him, on the occasion of the presentation in the Temple (Luk 2:25 ff.). The notion that this Simeon is to be Identified with a Rabbi who was the son of Hillel and the father of Gamaliel i. is very precarious.

James A. Craig.

Simeon (1), 2nd bp. of Jerusalem, succeeding James, the Lord’s brother. According to the statement of Hegesippus preserved by Eusebius, Simeon was the son of Clopas "mentioned in Holy Scripture" (Joh 19:25), the brother of Joseph, and therefore, legally, the uncle of our Lord, while Simeon himself—ὁ ἐκ τοῦ θείου τοῦ Κυρίου—was, legally, his cousin, ὄντα ἀνεψιὸν τοῦ Κυρίου, and of the royal line of David (Eus. H. E. iii. ii, 32 ; iv. 22). The language of Hegesippus (H. E. iv. 82) evidently distinguishes between the relationship of James and Simeon to our Lord. Dr. Mill, however, follows Burton (H. E. i. 290) in regarding Simeon as a brother of James and also of Jude, though perhaps by another mother (Mill, Pantheistic Principles, pp. 234, 253). Such an interpretation of Hegesippus’s language is very unnatural and at variance with the statement of Epiphanius that Simeon was the cousin—ἀνεψιός—of James the Just (Epiph. Haer. lxxvii. c. 14, p. 1046; cf. Lightfoot, Galatians, p. 262). Bp. Lightfoot regards his age as "an exaggeration," and suggests that his being "a son of Cleopas mentioned in the Evangelical records "requires us to place his death earlier than the generally received date. According to Hegesippus, Simeon was unanimously chosen to fill the vacant see of Jerusalem on the violent death of James the Just, the date usually assigned for which being 62 or 63 (see Josephus, Ant. xx. 9. 1). Whether the appointment of Simeon immediately succeeded or was not made till the retirement of the Christian Jews to Pella cannot be determined. The former seems rather more probable. His retreat at Pella would save him from the inquisition after descendants of the royal line of David, made by Vespasian, according to Eusebius (H. E. iii. 12), as well as the later inquiry instituted by Domitian (ib. 19, 20). He must have returned with the Christians to Jerusalem when allowed to do so by the Roman authorities. Of his episcopate we know nothing. He was martyred in the reign of Trajan (ἐπὶ Τραϊανοῦ; Eus. H. E. iii. 32), but the exact date is uncertain. By a misinterpretation of the Chronicon of Eusebius, which seemed to assign his martyrdom with that of Ignatius to the 9th or 10th year of Trajan, Simeon’s death has been assigned to 107 or 108. Bp. Lightfoot has shewn good reason for placing it earlier in Trajan’s reign (Lightfoot, Ignatius, i. 21, 58–60, ii. 442–450). Hegesippus says that in his 121st year Simeon was accused before Atticus, then proconsul, by certain Jewish sectaries, first, that being of the line of David, he was a possible claimant of the throne of his royal ancestor, and secondly that he was a Christian. He was tortured for many days in succession, and bore his sufferings with a firmness which astonished all the beholders, especially Atticus himself, who marvelled at such endurance in one so advanced in age. Finally he was ordered to be crucified (Eus. H. E. iii. 32).

[E.V.]

The second son of Jacob by Lia and patronymic ancestor of the Jewish tribe bearing that name. The original signification of the name is unknown, but the writer of Gen., xxix, 33-35, according to his wont, offers an explanation, deriving the word from shama, "to hear". He quotes Lia as saying: "Because the Lord heard that I was despised, he hath given this also to me; and she called his name Simeon" (Genesis 29:33). Similar etymologies referring to Levi and Juda are found in the two following verses. In Gen., xxxiv, Simeon appears with his full brother Levi as the avenger of their sister Dina who had been humiliated by Hemor a prince of the Sichemites. By a strange subterfuge all the men of the latter tribe are rendered helpless and are slaughtered by the two irate brothers who then, together with the other sons of the patriarch, plunder the city. This act of violence was blamed by Jacob (Genesis 34:30) though for a rather selfish reason; his disapproval on more ethical grounds appears in the prophetical blessing of his twelve sons in Gen., xlix, 5 7. Regarding Simeon and Levi Jacob says: "Cursed be their fury because it was stubborn; and their wrath because it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and will scatter them in Israel."There is a striking contrast between this earlier appreciation of the treacherous and bloody deed and that of the writers of post-Exilic Judaism, who have only words of praise for the action of the two brothers, and even consider them as incited to it by Divine inspiration (see Judith 9:2-3). The same change of ethical sense may be gathered more fully from the un-canonical Book of the Jubilees (xxx) and from a poem in commemoration of the massacre of the Sichemites by Theodotus, a Jewish or Samaritan writer, who lived about 200 B.C. Simeon figures in only one other incident recorded in Genesis. It is in connection with the visit of the sons of Jacob to Egypt to buy corn. Here he is detained by Joseph as a hostage while the others return to Chanaan promising to bring back their younger brother Benjamin (Genesis 42:25). According to some commentators he was selected for this purpose because he had been a principal factor in the betrayal of Joseph into the hands of the Madianite merchants. The narrative, however, makes no mention of this, and it is but a conjectural inference from what is otherwise known of Simeon’s violent and treacherous character. (See SIMEON, TRIBE OF.)-----------------------------------VON HUMMELAUER, Comment. in Genesim (Commentary on chapters xxix, xxxlv, xlii and xlix); VIGOUROUX, Dict. de la Bible, s.v.JAMES F. DRISCOLL Transcribed by Joseph E. O’Connor The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIIICopyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

sim´ḗ-on (שׁמעון, shim‛ōn; Συμεών, Sumeṓn; the Hebrew root is from שׁמע, shāma‛, “to hear” (Gen 29:33); some modern scholars (Hitzig, W. R. Smith, Stade, etc.) derive it from Arabic sima‛, “the offspring of the hyena and female wolf”): In Gen 29:33; Gen 30:18-21; Gen 35:23, Simeon is given as full brother to Reuben, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun, the son of Leah; and in Gen 34:25; Gen 49:5 as the brother of Levi and Dinah. He was left as a hostage in Egypt by orders of Joseph (Gen 42:24; Gen 43:23).

1. The Patriarch: Biblical Data:

In the “blessing” of the dying Jacob, Simeon and Levi are linked together: “Simeon and Levi are brethren; Weapons of violence are their swords. O my soul, come not thou into their council; Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hocked an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; And their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel” (Gen 49:5-7).

Whatever view may be taken of the events of Gen 34:25 (and some would see in it “a tradition of the settlement of Jacob which belongs to a cycle quite independent of the descent into Egypt and the Exodus” (see S. A. Cook, Encyclopedia Brit, article “Simeon”)), it is clear that we have here a reference to it and the suggestion that the subsequent history of the tribe, and its eventual absorption in Judah, was the result of violence. In the same way the priestly Levites became distributed throughout the other tribes without any tribal inheritance of their own (Deu 18:1; Jos 13:14). From the mention (Gen 46:10; Exo 6:15) of Shaul as being the son of a Canaanite woman, it may be supposed that the tribe was a mixed one.

In the “blessing of Moses” (Dt 33) Simeon is not mentioned at all in the Hebrew text, although in some manuscripts of the Septuagint the latter half of Deu 33:6 is made to apply to him: “Let Simeon be a small company.” The history of the tribe is scanty and raises many problems. Of the many theories advanced to meet them it cannot be said that any one answers all difficulties.

2. The Tribe in Scripture:

In the wilderness of Sinai the Simeonites camped beside the Reubenites (Num 2:12; Num 10:19); it was Zimri, a member of one of the leading families of this tribe, who was slain by Phinehas in the affair of Baal-peor (Num 25:14). The statistics in Num 1:22 f, where the Simeonites are given as 59,300, compared with the 2nd census (Num 26:14), where the numbers are 22,200, indicate a diminishing tribe. Some have connected this with the sin of Zimri.

At the recital of the law at Mt. Gerizim, Simeon is mentioned first among those that were to respond to the blessings (Deu 27:12). In the conquest of Canaan “Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him” (Jdg 1:3; compare Jdg 1:17). (Many scholars find in Gen 34 a tribal attempt on the part of the Simeonites to gain possession of Shechem; if this is so, Judah did not assist, and the utter failure may have been a cause of Simeon’s subsequent dependence upon, and final absorption in, Judah.) In Jdg 4 and 5 Simeon is never mentioned. In the settlement of the land there is no account of how Simeon established himself in his territory (except the scanty reference in Jdg 1:3), but “their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Judah” (Jos 19:1); this is accounted for (Jos 19:9), “for the portion of the children of Judah was too much for them.” Nevertheless we find there the very cities which are apportioned to Simeon, allotted to Judah (Jos 15:21-32; compare Neh 11:26-29). It is suggested (in 1Ch 4:31) that the independent possession of these cities ceased in the time of David. David sent spoil to several Simeonite towns (1Sa 30:26 f), and in 1Ch 12:25 it is recorded that 7,100 Simeonite warriors came to David in Hebron. In 1Ch 27:16 we have mention of a ruler of the Simeonites, Shephatiah, son of Maacah.

In 1Ch 4:39 f mention is made of certain isolated exploits of Simeonites at GEDOR (which see), against the MEUNIM (which see), and at MT. SEIR (which see). Later references associate certain Simeonites with the Northern Kingdom (2Ch 15:9; 2Ch 34:6), and tradition has come to view them as one of the ten tribes (compare Eze 48:24, Eze 48:25, Eze 48:33; Rev 7:7), although all the history of them we have is bound up with Judah and the Southern Kingdom. There is no mention of the return of any Simeonites after the captivity; their cities fall to Judah (Neh 11:26 f).

3. References in Egyptian and Assyrian Inscriptions:

It has been supposed by many authorities that the name Shim‛an occurs in the list of places plundered by Thothmes III (see Petrie, Hist, II, 104; also Hommel, Ancient Hebrew Tradition, 268; Sayce, Early Hebrew Traditions, 392). In the 7th century we have a doubtful reference in an inscription of Esar-haddon relating his Egyptian campaign when a city Ap-ku is mentioned as in the country of Sa-me-n(a), which may possibly be a reference to Simeon. The survival of the name so late, if true, is strange, in the light of what we gather from the Bible about the tribe. (For discussion of both of these inscriptions, with references to the lit., see EB, coll. 4528-30.)

4. The Territory of Simeon:

The cities of Simeon as given in Jos 19:2-6 and 1Ch 4:28, 1Ch 4:31 are (the names in parentheses are variations in the latter reference): Beer-sheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, Balah (Bilhah), Azem (the King James Version) (Ezem), Eltolad (Tolad), Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah (Hazar Susim), Beth-lebaoth (Beth-biri), Sharuhen (Shaaraim) (Etam), Ain Rimmon, Ether (Tochen), Ashan - in all, 16 cities in Joshua and 17 cities in 1 Chronicles. Ashan (1Ch 6:59) is the only one assigned to the priests. It is written wrongly as “Ain” in Jos 21:16. All the above cities, with certain variations in form, and with the exception of Etam in 1Ch 4:32, which is probably a mistake, occur in the list of the cities of Judah (Jos 15:26-32, Jos 15:42). Ziklag is mentioned (1Sa 27:6) as being the private property of the kings of Judah from the days of David, who received it from Achish, king of Gath.

For the situation of these cities, so far as is known, see separate articles under their names. It is clear that they were all situated in the southwestern part of Palestine, and that Simeon had no definite territorial boundaries, but isolated cities, with their villages, among those of the people of Judah.

See Peter, Tribes.

- Three Simeons appear in the New Testament:

(1) Simeon (Luke 2) who blesses the infant Jesus;

(2) The apostle Simon Peter is sometimes called Simeon; and

(3) Simeon surnamed Niger, a leader of the church in Syrian Antioch 50 years later, when the apostle Paul sets out on his First Missionary Journey. Nothing more is heard of this Simeon after his mention in Acts 13

1) Son of Jacob (Israel). Ancestor of one of the tribes of Israel; 2) The tribe that bears his name.

Several people named Simeon feature in the biblical record. Historically, the most important was Simeon the son of Jacob, for he was father of the tribe of Simeon. Two New Testament men named Simeon are also significant.

In the Old Testament

Simeon was the second eldest of Jacob’s twelve sons (Gen 35:22-23). He and the next son, Levi, were the cause of the ruthless massacre of the men of Shechem, an incident that Jacob deeply regretted (Gen 34:25; Gen 34:30). When Jacob blessed his sons before his death, he recalled the violence of Simeon and Levi, and prophesied that their descendants would be scattered in Israel (Gen 49:5-7).

When Canaan was divided among the twelve tribes, Simeon did not receive an independent tribal area of its own. It received part of the area of Judah (since Judah’s area was too large for it) in the south of Canaan. The result was that Simeon soon lost its separate tribal identity and became part of the more powerful Judah (Jos 19:1; Jos 19:9; Jdg 1:3; Jdg 1:17). Towns belonging to Simeon were counted as belonging to Judah (Jos 19:1-5; cf. Jos 15:21-31). Though absorbed by Judah, the Simeonites continued to maintain their own genealogical records (1Ch 4:24; 1Ch 4:33; 1Ch 12:24-25).

In the New Testament

At the time of Jesus’ birth, only a few Jews had a true understanding of the sort of Saviour that the Messiah would be. One of these was an old man named Simeon. When he saw Mary presenting her baby to God in the temple, he praised God that the great Saviour had come (Luk 2:22-32). He saw that as people accepted or rejected Jesus, they would show the true condition of their hearts and so find either salvation or condemnation. He also warned Mary that sorrow lay ahead for her because of what people would do to her son (Luk 2:33-35).

The other Simeon mentioned in the New Testament was a prophet and teacher in the church at Antioch in Syria (Act 13:1). His nickname ‘Niger’ (meaning ‘black’) suggests that he was dark skinned. Some have thought he might have been the man elsewhere called Simon of Cyrene, a place in North Africa (Mar 15:21). (See also SIMON.)