Simeon Series

Simeon

Who was Simeon in the Bible?

There are four different men named Simeon mentioned in the Bible: Simeon, a son of Jacob (Genesis 29:33); Simeon, a man who met the baby Jesus in the temple of Jerusalem (Luke 2:25); Simeon, a church member in Antioch (Acts 13:1); and Simeon who was listed in the lineage of Jesus (Luke 3:30). We will focus on the first two Simeons listed above because there is no detailed information given in the Bible about the other two.

Simeon: the man in the temple

The Simeon of the New Testament had an opposite reputation to that of the Simeon of the Old Testament. This Simeon was a Jerusalem resident known for being "righteous and devout" (Luke 2:25). He lived when Jesus was born. For generations, the Israelites had hoped that a Messiah who would free them from oppression would arrive and save them, as was done for the Israelites in Egypt (Luke 23:50–51; Exodus 3—14). Like the rest of the nation of Israel, Simeon was "waiting for the consolation of Israel." However, he was unique in that "the Holy Spirit was upon him" (Luke 2:25). It is this fact that enabled Simeon to have confidence that he would see the Messiah during his lifetime; for "it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ" (Luke 2:26).

As was customary, Joseph and Mary brought the infant Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to present Him to God (Luke 2:22; cf. Exodus 13:1–2). On this occasion, Simeon saw Jesus and recognized Him as the Messiah. When Simeon saw the baby Jesus, he picked Him up in his arms and said, "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel" (Luke 2:29–32).

Simeon's words reveal that salvation and truth would be available for the entire world, not just the Jews, through Jesus and that He would bring glory to Israel. Mary and Joseph marveled at Simeon's words (Luke 2:33).

He continued with a warning of the difficulties to come: "And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, 'Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:34–35). These words disclose that Jesus would reveal the truth and that He would be accepted as the "consolation of Israel" by some of the Jews but not by others. Simeon's words also revealed that there would be opposition to Jesus in the future and that Jesus' suffering would cause personal pain to Mary. Simeon spent his life anticipating Christ's arrival. Similarly, we should live our lives anticipating Christ's return (see Acts 1:11 and Titus 2:13). Jesus is a comfort to all who place their faith in His salvation. Just as Simeon was an example of staying faithful to what God had told him in a world that had lost hope, we must stay faithful to Christ, who has reconciled us to God and given us hope for a future with Him (Romans 5:1–11).

Not to be confused with Simeon (Gospel of Luke).

Simeon

Pronunciation Šim'on

Born 1568 BCE or 1567 BCE Harran, Paddan Aram

Died aged 120 or 127

Children Jemuel (son)

Jamin (son)

Ohad (son)

Jachin (son)

Zohar (son)

Shaul (son)

Parents • Jacob (father)

• Leah (mother)

Relatives Reuben (brother)

Levi (brother)

Judah (brother)

Dan (half brother)

Naphtali (half brother)

Gad (half brother)

Asher (half brother)

Issachar (brother)

Zebulun (brother)

Dinah (sister)

Joseph (half brother)

Benjamin (half brother)

Rachel (aunt/stepmother)

Simeon was the second of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's second son) and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Simeon, according to the Book of Genesis. However, some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an etiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation. With Leah as a matriarch, Biblical scholars regard the tribe as having been believed by the text's authors to have been part of the original Israelite confederation. However, the tribe is absent from the parts of the Bible that textual scholars regard as the oldest (for example, the ancient Song of Deborah). Some scholars think that Simeon was not initially regarded as a distinct tribe.

Simeon's name

The text of the Torah says that the name of Simeon refers to Leah's belief that God had heard that Jacob preferred her sister, Rachel, implying a derivation from the Hebrew term shama oni (?????? ??????? šama? ?oni) meaning "he has heard of my suffering"; this is a similar etymology as the Torah gives for the theophoric name Ishmael ("El has heard"), implying that the names are cognate. The name is sometimes interpreted as meaning "he who listens to the words of God," and at other times, thought to derive from sham 'avon (???? ?????? šam ?avon), meaning "there is sin," which is argued to be a prophetic reference to Zimri's sexual miscegenation with a Midianite woman, a type of relationship which rabbinical sources regard as sinful.