Simeon or Symeon, in the Bible. 1 Second son of Jacob and Leah and ancestor of the southernmost tribe of Israel. He and his tribe are seldom mentioned individually. 2 Devout man who blessed Jesus when He was presented in the Temple. He uttered Nunc dimittis. 3 Simeon Niger, early Christian, prominent in Antioch. In chapter 15 of the Acts of the Apostles, Simeon appears for the usual Simon, referring to St. Peter.

Sakskoburggotski, Simeon: see Simeon II.

or Simeon the Elder

(born circa 390, Sisan, Cilicia—died 459, Telanissus, Syria) Syrian ascetic. A shepherd, he entered a monastic community but was expelled for excessive austerity and became a hermit. His reputed miracle working drew such crowds that he took to living atop a 6-ft (2-m) pillar (Greek stylos) circa 420, becoming the first of the stylites (pillar hermits). He remained atop a second, 50-ft (15-m) pillar until his death; a railing prevented his falling, and food was brought by disciples. He inspired other ascetics and is called Simeon the Elder to distinguish him from a 6th-century stylite of the same name. Stylites were documented as late as the 19th century in Russia.

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known as Simeon the Great

(born 864/865—died May 27, 927) Tsar of the first Bulgarian empire (925–927). The son of Boris I, he succeeded his father in 893 after the short intervening reign (889–893) of his dissolute elder brother, Vladimir. Hoping to gain the imperial throne, he fought five wars with the Byzantine Empire between 894 and 923. He adopted the h1 “Tsar of All the Bulgarians” in 925. He extended his power over southern Macedonia, southern Albania, and Serbia but probably lost Bulgaria's dominion north of the Danube.

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or Simeon the Elder

(born circa 390, Sisan, Cilicia—died 459, Telanissus, Syria) Syrian ascetic. A shepherd, he entered a monastic community but was expelled for excessive austerity and became a hermit. His reputed miracle working drew such crowds that he took to living atop a 6-ft (2-m) pillar (Greek stylos) circa 420, becoming the first of the stylites (pillar hermits). He remained atop a second, 50-ft (15-m) pillar until his death; a railing prevented his falling, and food was brought by disciples. He inspired other ascetics and is called Simeon the Elder to distinguish him from a 6th-century stylite of the same name. Stylites were documented as late as the 19th century in Russia.

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See also: Simon

Simeon, or Shimon is a given name, from the Hebrew שִׁמְעוֹן (Biblical Šimʿon, Tiberian Šimʿôn). In Greek, it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon.

Meaning

The name is derived from Simeon, son of Jacob and Leah, patriarch of the Tribe of Simeon. The text of Genesis (29:33) argues that the name of Simeon refers to Leah's belief that God had heard that she was hated by Jacob, in the sense of not being as favoured as Rachel.

כִּי־שָׁמַע יְהוָה כִּי־שְׂנוּאָה אָנֹכִי וַיִּתֶּן־לִי גַּם־אֶת־זֶה וַתִּקְרָא שְׁמֹו שִׁמְעֹון׃

"Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon."

implying a derivation from the Hebrew term shama on, meaning "he has heard"; this is a similar etymology as the Torah gives for the theophoric name Ishmael ("God has heard"; Genesis 16:11), on the basis of which it has been argued that the tribe of Simeon may originally have been an Ishmaelite group (Cheyne and Black, Encyclopedia Biblica). In classical rabbinical sources, the name is sometimes interpreted as meaning "he who listens [to the words of God]" (Genesis Rabbah 61:4), and at other times thought to derive from sham 'in, 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 (Jewish Encyclopedia).

People called Simeon

Before Christ

• Simeon (Hebrew Bible), one of Jacob's sons
• Tribe of Simeon, one of the twelve tribes of Israel
• Simeon I (ca 300 BCE), Jewish High Priest, possibly identical with Simeon the Just
• Simon II (219–199 BCE), Jewish High Priest, possibly identical with Simeon the Just
• Simeon the Just (3rd century BCE?) a Jewish High Priest, also called "Simeon the Righteous" (not the same as the New Testament figure, below)

Through 700 AD

• Simeon the Righteous, figure in the New Testament who blessed Jesus and his parents in the Jerusalem temple
• Simeon/Symeon of Jerusalem, 2nd Bishop of Jerusalem, perhaps one of the Seventy Apostles sent out by Jesus
• Shimon ben Gamliel, Nasi of the Sanhedrin in 50 CE
• Shimon ben Gamliel II, Nasi of the Sanhedrin in c. 118 CE
• Shimon bar Yohai, a rabbi of the Tannaim period, possibly the author of the Zohar
• Simeon Stylites (ca 388–459), a Christian pillar-hermit from Sisan, Syria
• Simeon Stylites the Younger (521–597), a hermit and pillar-hermit from Antioch
• Simeon Stylites III, a 5th century (?) pillar-hermit
• Simeon was the name of one priest and one deacon martyred with Abda and Abdjesus
• Simeon the Holy Fool, Christian saint and hermit of the VI-th century

From 701 AD to 1800 AD

• Simeon I of Bulgaria (866–927), a Bulgarian tsar
• Symeon Metaphrastes (10th century?) was the most renowned of the Byzantine hagiographers
• Symeon the New Theologian: (949–1022) Eastern Orthodox saint
• Simeon (abbot) (994–1094), Abbot of Ely Cathedral
• Simeon Seth (fl. 1070), Jewish Byzantine physician, writer, and grand chamberlain from Antioch
• Saint Simeon, born Stefan Nemanja (1109–1199), Serbian ruler and saint of the Serb Orthodox Church
• Symeon of Durham (d. after 1129), English chronicler and monk at Jarrow.
• Simeon the Proud, a 14th century Grand Prince of Moscow
• Simon of Trent, a 15th century boy supposedly killed by Jews, and formerly a martyr of the Catholic church

Since 1800 AD

• Simeon II of Bulgaria, the last Bulgarian tsar before the Communist government
• Simeon Coxe (usually known only as Simeon), musician with the group Silver Apples
• Simeon S. Willis, a U.S. lawyer, judge and politician; he was governor of Kentucky from 1943–1947.
* Simeon was also the name of a commercial email client from the late 90's

See also

• Simon
• Simone