The nameSimon occurs in all of theSynoptic Gospels and theBook of Acts each time there is a list of apostles, without further details:
Simon, (whom he also named Peter), and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.[5]
To distinguish him fromSimon Peter, he is given a surname in all three of theSynoptic Gospels where he is mentioned. Simon is called "Zelotes" in Luke and Acts (Luke 6:15Acts 1:13). For this reason, it is generally assumed that Simon was a former member of the political party, the Zealots. In Matthew and Mark, however, he is called "Kananites" in the Byzantine majority and "Kananaios" in the Alexandrian manuscripts and theTextus Receptus (Matthew 10:4Mark 3:18). BothKananaios andKananites derive from theHebrew wordקנאיqanai, meaningzealous, so most scholars today generally translate the two words to mean "Zealot". However,Jerome and others, such asBede, suggested that the word "Kananaios" or "Kananite" should be translated as "Canaanean" or "Canaanite", meaning that Simon was from the town of קנהCana inGalilee.[6] If this is the case, hisepithet would have been "Kanaios".
Robert Eisenman has argued that contemporarytalmudic references to Zealots refer to them askanna'im "but not really as a group—rather as avenging priests in the Temple".[7] Eisenman's broader conclusions, that the zealot element in the original apostle group was disguised and overwritten to make it support the assimilativePauline Christianity of theGentiles, are more controversial.John P. Meier argues that the term "Zealot" is a mistranslation and in the context of the Gospels means "zealous" or "religious" (in this case, for keeping theLaw of Moses), as the Zealot movement apparently did not exist until 30 to 40 years after the events of the Gospels.[8] However, neitherBrandon[9] norHengel[10] support this view.
The apocryphal second-centuryEpistle of the Apostles (Epistula Apostolorum),[14] a polemic againstgnostics, lists him among the apostles purported to be writing the letter (who include Thomas) as "Judas Zelotes". CertainOld Latin translations of theGospel of Matthew substitute "Judas the Zealot" for Thaddeus/Lebbaeus in Matthew 10:3. To some readers, this suggests that he may be identical with the "Judas not Iscariot" mentioned inJohn 14:22: "Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Our Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" As it has been suggested that Jude is identical with theApostle Thomas (seeJude Thomas), an identification of "Simon Zelotes" with Thomas is also possible.Barbara Thiering identified Simon Zelotes withSimon Magus; however, this view has received no serious acceptance. TheNew Testament records nothing more of Simon, aside from this multitude of possible but unlikely pseudonyms.
In the apocryphalArabic Infancy Gospel a fact related to this apostle is mentioned. A boy named Simon is bitten by a snake in his hand; he is healed by Jesus, who told the child "you shall be my disciple". The mention ends with the phrase "this is Simon the Cananite, of whom mention is made in the Gospel."[15]
Isidore of Seville drew together the accumulated anecdotes of Simon inDe Vita et Morte.
In later tradition, Simon is often associated withJude the Apostle as an evangelizing team; in Western Christianity, they share theirfeast day on 28 October. The most widespread tradition is that after evangelizing inEgypt, Simon joined Jude inPersia andArmenia orBeirut in today'sLebanon, where both were martyred in 65. This version is the one found in theGolden Legend. He may have suffered crucifixion as the Bishop of Jerusalem. According to an Eastern tradition, Simon travelled to Georgia on a missionary trip, died inAbkhazia and was buried inNicopsia, a not yet identified site on theBlack Sea coast. His remains were later transferred toAnakopia in today's Abkhazia.[18]
Saint Simon the Zealot's (Simon Kananaios) cave inAbkhazia,Georgia
Simon born in Cana of Galilee who for his fervent affection for his Master and great zeal that he showed by all means to the Gospel, was surnamed Zelotes, having received the Holy Ghost from above, travelled through Egypt, and Africa, then through Mauretania and all Libya, preaching the Gospel. And the same doctrine he taught to the Occidental Sea, and the Isles called Britanniae.[21][22]
In Islam, Muslim exegesis and Quran commentary name the twelve apostles and include Simon amongst the disciples. Muslim tradition says that Simon was sent to preach the faith ofGod to the Berbers, outsideNorth Africa.[24]
^Booth, A.D. (1981). "The Chronology of Jerome's Early Years".Phoenix.35 (3). Classical Association of Canada: 241.doi:10.2307/1087656.JSTOR1087656.This work [De viris illustribus], as he reveals at its start and finish, it was completed in the fourteenth year of Theodosius, that is, between 19 January 392 and 18 January 393.
^Meier, John (2001).A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus Volume 3: Companions and Competitors. Yale University. pp. 132–135.ISBN978-0-300-14032-3.
^McDowell, Sean (2016).The Fate of the Apostles: Examining the Martyrdom Accounts of the Closest Followers of Jesus. Routledge. p. 247.ISBN9781317031895.
^Noegel, Scott B.; Wheeler, Brandon M. (2003).Historical Dictionary of Prophets in Islam and Judaism. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press (Rowman & Littlefield). p. 86.ISBN978-0810843059.Muslim exegesis identifies the disciples of Jesus as Peter, Andrew, Matthew, Thomas, Philip, John, James, Bartholomew, and Simon
![Simon Zelotes, 16th-century fresco, eastern wall of the Evangelical church [de] of Leihgestern](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSimon_Zelotes_evangelische_Kirche_Leihgestern.JPG)
