ThenamesSimon (GreekΣίμων) andSimeon (GreekΣυμεών) appear 71 times and 8 times in theNew Testament, respectively.[2] Simon (or its variant Simeon) was a very common given namein the historical period and region ofJesus, butsurnames were still very rare.[3] It is therefore not always clear which person these names refer to, and whether some refer to the same person or distinct characters, which has led to confusion. Therefore, Christian authors and modern scholars have given these men nicknames based on their known attributes.[1][4]
F.P. Dutripon's LatinBible concordance (Paris 1838) identified 14 people named Simon and 5 named Simeon in the Bible, 10 and 3 of whom featured in the New Testament, respectively.[note 1][4] DutchFranciscan Martialis Vreeswijk (1925) argued that Dutripon should have equatedSimon, brother of Jesus andSimon the Zealot, as well asSimon the Pharisee andSimon the Leper, resulting in 8 unique New Testament Simons.[4][6] InEerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000, 2019) Edwin C. Hostetter identified four Simeons and W. Edward Glenny found nine Simons in the New Testament books, countingSim(e)on Peter twice.[7][8]John F. MacArthur (2004) stated: '[Besides Simon Peter], there are eight other Simons mentioned in the New Testament (...)', excluding the Simeons.[9] Jennifer Smith (2014) listed 10 possibly unique Sim(e)ons in total.[1]
The following Simons and Simeons can be found in the New Testament:[note 1]
Simon Peter, better known asSaint Peter, also known as Peter the Apostle, Cephas, and Simon bar Jonah (Simon son of Jonah), foremostdisciple of Jesus (Matthew 4:18ff).[1][8][9] The author of2 Peter also calls himself 'Simon' or 'Simeon Peter',[7] although thetrue authorship is disputed. Some scholars think 'Simeon' in Acts 15:14 also refers to Simon Peter,[7] connecting the verse to Acts 13:46–47.[10]
Simon the Zealot, disciple of Jesus (Luke 6:15, Acts 1:13) or Simon the Canaanite (Matthew 10:4, Mark 3:18),[1][9] also called 'Simon the Patriot' in some translations. Scholars universally accept that Mark and Matthew mistranslated the Aramaic word for "enthusiast" to 'Canaanite', and that Luke's translation 'Zealot' is more likely to be correct.[3][8]
Simon the Pharisee, host of a meal for Jesus somewhere in Galilee (Luke 7:36, seeAnointing of Jesus).[1][8][9] Though some identify him as the same person as Simon the Leper, others stress that they are distinct.[1][3]
Simeon Niger ('the Black'), teacher in theChurch of Antioch (Acts 13:1).[3][7] Some have claimed he is the same as Simon of Cyrene on the assumption that 'Niger' means he had a black skin colour and was thus probably an African, and the fact thatCyrene, Libya was also located in Africa, but this argument is largely dismissed by other scholars.[3][7]
