The
names Simon (Greek Σίμων) and Simeon (Greek Συμεών) appear 71 times and 8 times in the
New Testament, respectively.[2] Simon (or its variant Simeon) was a very common given name
in the historical period and region ofJesus, but
surnames 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 Latin
Bible 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] Dutch
Franciscan Martialis Vreeswijk (1925) argued that Dutripon should have equated
Simon, brother of Jesus and
Simon the Zealot, as well as
Simon the Pharisee and
Simon the Leper, resulting in 8 unique New Testament Simons.[4][6] In Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000, 2019) Edwin C. Hostetter identified four Simeons and W. Edward Glenny found nine Simons in the New Testament books, counting
Sim(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 as
Saint Peter, also known as Peter the Apostle, Cephas, and Simon bar Jonah (Simon son of Jonah), foremost
disciple of Jesus (Matthew 4:18ff).[1][8][9] The author of
2 Peter also calls himself 'Simon' or 'Simeon Peter',[7] although the
true 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, see
Anointing 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]
Simon the Tanner, a tanner living in
Jaffa (Joppa) at whose house Simon Peter stayed as a guest (Acts 9 and 10)[3][8][9]
Simeon Niger ('the Black'), teacher in the
Church 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 that
Cyrene, Libya was also located in Africa, but this argument is largely dismissed by other scholars.[3][7]