Greek word · G4826

Συμεών

symeōn

Simeon

Simeon, Jacob's second son by Leah (Gen 29:33). The name was linked with Hebrew šāmaʿ, 'to hear'. It is also the name of the tribe descended from him.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

Συμεών, ὁ indecl., (Heb. שִׁמְעוֹן),

Simeon (so always AV; RV in Luke 2:25, 34 only), Symeon, a Heb. name for which the Gk. Σίμων, which see, was also used;

1. the son of Jacob (Genesis 29:33): Revelation 7:7.

2. An ancestor of our Lord: Luke 3:30

3. An aged worshipper in the Temple: Luke 2:25, 34.

4. One surnamed Niger: Acts 13:1.

5. The apostle Peter: Acts 15:14, 2 Peter 1:1 (R, txt., WH, txt., Σίμων).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Revelation 7:7

Range of meaning

Simeon, Jacob's second son by Leah (Gen 29:33). The name was linked with Hebrew šāmaʿ, 'to hear'. It is also the name of the tribe descended from him.

Against the English

There is no issue with the English. What matters is the history behind the name.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 34 tells how Simeon and Levi massacred Shechem. Gen 49:5–7: Jacob says of Simeon and Levi, 'I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.' Josh 19:1–9 places Simeon's inheritance inside Judah's territory, and Simeon is missing from Moses' blessing in Deut 33. In later history it effectively merged with Judah.

Where it appears

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 2:25 Συμεὼν Simeon

    Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

    Here: The Hebrew name Shimon, the name of one of Jacob's twelve sons, in its more Hebraic Greek spelling (compare the more Greek 'Simon'). It was one of the most common Jewish names of the time, so it does not identify him with any famous person.

  2. Luke 2:34 Συμεὼν Simeon

    Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,

    Here: The 'righteous and devout' man waiting for the 'consolation of Israel' (2:25), led by the Holy Spirit; his name echoes the Hebrew Shimʿon, 'hearing'.

  3. Luke 3:30 Συμεὼν of Simeon

    the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 13:1 Συμεὼν Simeon

    Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.

    Here: The Hebrew-style form of 'Simon' (Shim'on). It marks him as Jewish.

  2. Acts 15:14 Συμεὼν Simeon

    Simon has told us how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people to be His own.

    Here: The Hebrew-sounding form of the name Simon (Shimʿon), used here for Peter, who has just spoken (15:7–11). James uses the old Jewish form instead of the Greek 'Simon' or the nickname 'Peter', which gives his speech a Jerusalem, Hebrew flavour.

2 Peter · 1

  1. 2 Peter 1:1 Συμεὼν Simon

    Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

    Here: The Greek spelling of the Hebrew name Shim'on, closer to how it sounded in Aramaic-speaking Judea than the Greek-style 'Simon'. Elsewhere Peter is called this only in Acts 15:14, on the lips of James in Jerusalem, so it gives the opening a distinctly Jewish, old-Jerusalem sound.

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 7:7 Συμεὼν of Simeon

    from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,

    Here: Jacob's second son by Leah. His tribe had long since been absorbed into Judah's territory. Here it stands again as a full tribe with its own 12,000.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.