Simeon the Just
Encyclopedia
Simeon the Just (or Shimon HaTzaddik or Shimon the Pious or Simeon the Righteous) was a Jewish High Priest
during the time of the Second Temple
. He is also known for some of his views which are recorded in the Mishnah
, (making him a Tanna
in Rabbinic terminology).
(310-291 or 300-273 BCE), son of Onias I, and grandson of Jaddua
, or Simon II
(219-199 BCE), son of Onias II. Many statements concerning him are variously ascribed by scholars, ancient and modern, to four different persons who bore the same surname; e.g., to Simeon I by Fränkel and Grätz
; to Simeon II by Krochmal
in the 18th century, Brüll
in the 19th, and Moore
and Zeitlin
in the 20th; to Simon Maccabeus by Löw; and to Simeon the son of Gamaliel
by Weiss. The scholarly consensus of the late twentieth century has fallen on Simon II.
The Talmud
, Josephus
(who, incidentally identifies him as Simon I), Sirach and the Second Book of Maccabees
all containing accounts of him. He was termed "the Just" either because of the piety of his life and his benevolence toward his compatriots (Josephus, Antiquities
, 12:2, § 5), or because he took thought for his people (Sirach 50. 4). He was deeply interested both in the spiritual and in the material development of the nation. Thus, according to Sirach 50. 1-14, he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, which had been torn down by Ptolemy Soter
, and repaired the damage done to the Temple
, raising the foundation-walls of its court and enlarging the cistern
therein so that it was like a pool (that these statements can apply only to Simeon I is shown by Grätz, and they agree, moreover, with the Talmudic accounts of Simeon's undertakings).
According to the Talmud and Josephus, when Alexander the Great marched through Land of Israel
in the year 333 BCE, Simeon the Just, dressed in his eight priestly robes went to Antipatris
to meet him (Yoma 69a), although Josephus (l.c. xi.8, § 4) states that Alexander himself came to Jerusalem. The legend further declares that as soon as Alexander saw him, he descended from his chariot and bowed respectfully before him. When Alexander's courtiers criticized his act, he replied that it had been intentional, since he had had a vision in which he had seen the high priest, who had predicted his victory. Alexander demanded that a statue of himself be placed in the Temple; but the high priest explained to him that this was impossible, promising him instead that all the sons born of priests in that year should be named Alexander and that the Seleucidan
era should be introduced (Lev. R. xiii, end; Pesikta Rabbati
section "Parah"). This story appears to be identical with 2 Maccabees
ii, where Seleucus (Kasgalgas) is mentioned (Soṭah 33a; Jerusalem Talmud. Soṭah 4:3; Cant. R. 38c; Tosef., Soṭah, xiii).
The Mishnah (Parah 3:5) records that during the priesthood of Simeon the Just there were two Red Heifers burnt at the sacrificial place built in the days of Ezra on the Mount of Olives.
s and the Hellenists
, while, as he himself boasted, he was an opponent of the Nazirite
s and ate of the sacrifice
offered by one of that sect only on a single occasion. Once a youth with flowing hair came to him and wished to have his head shorn. When asked his motive, the youth replied that he had seen his own face reflected in a spring and it had pleased him so that he feared lest his beauty might become an idol to him. He therefore wished to offer up his hair to God, and Simeon then partook of the sin-offering
which he brought (Naz. 4b; Ned. 9b; Yer. Ned. 36d; Tosef., Naz. iv; Yer. Naz. i.7).
, (2) on the two sacrificial loaves, and (3) on the loaves of showbread
, in that, although each priest received a portion no larger than an olive, he ate and was satiated without even consuming the whole of it; (4) the lot cast for God (see Lev. xvi.8) always came into the right hand; (5) the red thread around the neck of the goat or ram invariably became white on the Day of Atonement
; (6) the light in the Temple never failed; and (7) the fire on the altar required but little wood to keep it burning (Yoma 39b; Men. 109b; Yer. Yoma vi.3). Simeon is said to have held office for forty years (Yoma 9a; Yer. Yoma i.1, v.2; Lev. R. xxi). On a certain Day of Atonement he came from the Holy of Holies
in a melancholy mood, and when asked the reason, he replied that on every Day of Atonement a figure clothed in white had ushered him into the Holy of Holies and then had escorted him out. This time, however, the apparition had been clothed in black and had conducted him in, but had not led him out—a sign that that year was to be his last. He is said to have died seven days later (Yoma 39b; Tosef., Soṭah, xv; Yer. Yoma v.1).
Simeon the Just is called one of the last members of the Great Assembly
, but it is no longer possible to determine which of the four who bore this name was really the last.
1:2), and the high esteem in which he was held, are shown by a poem in Ecclus. (Sirach) 50., which compares him, at the moment of his exit from the Holy of Holies, to the sun, moon, and stars, and to the most magnificent plants. This poem appeared with certain changes in the ritual of the evening service for the Day of Atonement; a translation of it is given in Grätz, Gesch. ii.239, and in Hamburger, R.B.T. ii.111. After Simeon's death men ceased to utter the Tetragrammaton
aloud (Yoma 30b; Tosef. Soṭah, xiii).
Kohen Gadol
The High Priest was the chief religious official of Israelite religion and of classical Judaism from the rise of the Israelite nation until the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem...
during the time of the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
. He is also known for some of his views which are recorded in the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
, (making him a Tanna
Tannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
in Rabbinic terminology).
Identity
Simeon the Just is either Simon ISimon I (High Priest)
Simon I son of Onias I, was High Priest in the Temple in Jerusalem. Some identify him as Simeon the Just.-References:...
(310-291 or 300-273 BCE), son of Onias I, and grandson of Jaddua
Jaddua
Jaddua was a the son of Jonathan and a high priest during the postexilic period. However, according to Nehemiah12:22 it is possible that a transcribing error has occurred in the rendering of Juddah's father's name. A more likely translation is that Juddah's father was Johanan. . Reference to Jaddua...
, or Simon II
Simon II (High Priest)
Simon II was a Jewish High Priest during the time of the Second Temple. He was the son of Onias II. Some identify him with Simeon the Just....
(219-199 BCE), son of Onias II. Many statements concerning him are variously ascribed by scholars, ancient and modern, to four different persons who bore the same surname; e.g., to Simeon I by Fränkel and Grätz
Heinrich Graetz
Heinrich Graetz was amongst the first historians to write a comprehensive history of the Jewish people from a Jewish perspective....
; to Simeon II by Krochmal
Nachman Krochmal
Nachman Kohen Krochmal was a Jewish Galician philosopher, theologian, and historian.-Biography:...
in the 18th century, Brüll
Nehemiah Brüll
Nehemiah Brüll was a rabbi and versatile scholar.- Life :Brüll received his rabbinic-Talmudic education from his father, Jakob Brüll , who combined wide Talmudic knowledge with acute historical perception...
in the 19th, and Moore
George Foot Moore
George Foot Moore He graduated from Yale University in 1872, where he was a member of Skull and Bones. He was awarded the highest theological qualifiction – the D.D....
and Zeitlin
Solomon Zeitlin
Solomon Zeitlin, שְׁלֹמֹה צײטלין, Шломо Цейтлин Shlomo Cejtlin was a Jewish historian...
in the 20th; to Simon Maccabeus by Löw; and to Simeon the son of Gamaliel
Shimon ben Gamliel
Simeon ben Gamliel was a Tanna sage and leader of the Jewish people. He succeeded his father Gamliel I as the nasi of the Sanhedrin after his father's death in 50 CE and just before the destruction of the Second Temple...
by Weiss. The scholarly consensus of the late twentieth century has fallen on Simon II.
The Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
(who, incidentally identifies him as Simon I), Sirach and the Second Book of Maccabees
2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book of the Bible, which focuses on the Jews' revolt against Antiochus IV Epiphanes and concludes with the defeat of the Syrian general Nicanor in 161 BC by Judas Maccabeus, the hero of the work....
all containing accounts of him. He was termed "the Just" either because of the piety of his life and his benevolence toward his compatriots (Josephus, Antiquities
Antiquities of the Jews
Antiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...
, 12:2, § 5), or because he took thought for his people (Sirach 50. 4). He was deeply interested both in the spiritual and in the material development of the nation. Thus, according to Sirach 50. 1-14, he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, which had been torn down by Ptolemy Soter
Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter I , also known as Ptolemy Lagides, c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC, was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who became ruler of Egypt and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty...
, and repaired the damage done to the Temple
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
, raising the foundation-walls of its court and enlarging the cistern
Cistern
A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings...
therein so that it was like a pool (that these statements can apply only to Simeon I is shown by Grätz, and they agree, moreover, with the Talmudic accounts of Simeon's undertakings).
According to the Talmud and Josephus, when Alexander the Great marched through Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
in the year 333 BCE, Simeon the Just, dressed in his eight priestly robes went to Antipatris
Antipatris
Antipatris, one of two places known as Tel Afek , was a city built by Herod the Great, and named in honour of his father, Antipater II of Judea...
to meet him (Yoma 69a), although Josephus (l.c. xi.8, § 4) states that Alexander himself came to Jerusalem. The legend further declares that as soon as Alexander saw him, he descended from his chariot and bowed respectfully before him. When Alexander's courtiers criticized his act, he replied that it had been intentional, since he had had a vision in which he had seen the high priest, who had predicted his victory. Alexander demanded that a statue of himself be placed in the Temple; but the high priest explained to him that this was impossible, promising him instead that all the sons born of priests in that year should be named Alexander and that the Seleucidan
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
era should be introduced (Lev. R. xiii, end; Pesikta Rabbati
Pesikta Rabbati
Pesikta Rabbati or P'sqita Rabbita is a collection of Aggadic Midrash on the Pentateuchal and prophetic lessons, the special Sabbaths, etc. It was composed around 845 CE and probably called "rabbati" to distinguish it from the earlier Pesiḳta.In common with the latter it has five entire...
section "Parah"). This story appears to be identical with 2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book of the Bible, which focuses on the Jews' revolt against Antiochus IV Epiphanes and concludes with the defeat of the Syrian general Nicanor in 161 BC by Judas Maccabeus, the hero of the work....
ii, where Seleucus (Kasgalgas) is mentioned (Soṭah 33a; Jerusalem Talmud. Soṭah 4:3; Cant. R. 38c; Tosef., Soṭah, xiii).
The Mishnah (Parah 3:5) records that during the priesthood of Simeon the Just there were two Red Heifers burnt at the sacrificial place built in the days of Ezra on the Mount of Olives.
Position
Simeon occupied a position intermediate between the HasmoneanHasmonean
The Hasmonean dynasty , was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE, the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea...
s and the Hellenists
Hellenistic civilization
Hellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE...
, while, as he himself boasted, he was an opponent of the Nazirite
Nazirite
In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or nazarite, , refers to one who voluntarily took a vow described in . The term "nazirite" comes from the Hebrew word nazir meaning "consecrated" or "separated"...
s and ate of the sacrifice
Korban
The term offering as found in the Hebrew Bible in relation to the worship of Ancient Israel is mainly represented by the Hebrew noun korban whether for an animal or other offering...
offered by one of that sect only on a single occasion. Once a youth with flowing hair came to him and wished to have his head shorn. When asked his motive, the youth replied that he had seen his own face reflected in a spring and it had pleased him so that he feared lest his beauty might become an idol to him. He therefore wished to offer up his hair to God, and Simeon then partook of the sin-offering
Sin-offering
A sin offering is a biblical sacrifice offered to achieve atonement for the committing of an unintentional sin.-Etymology:The Hebrew noun hatta'at "sin" comes from the verb hata' "to sin." The first use is in the sentence "sin lies at your door" to Cain in Genesis 4. The noun hata'at can mean...
which he brought (Naz. 4b; Ned. 9b; Yer. Ned. 36d; Tosef., Naz. iv; Yer. Naz. i.7).
Tenure
During Simeon's administration seven miracles are said to have taken place. A blessing rested (1) on the offering of the first fruitsFirst Fruits
First Fruits are a religious offering of the first agricultural produce of the harvest. In classical Greek, Roman, Hebrew and Christian religions, the first fruits were offered to the temple or church. First Fruits were often a primary source of income to maintain the religious leaders and the...
, (2) on the two sacrificial loaves, and (3) on the loaves of showbread
Showbread
Showbread , in the King James Version: shewbread, in a biblical or Jewish context, refers to the cakes or loaves of bread which were always present on a specially dedicated table, in the Temple in Jerusalem as an offering to God...
, in that, although each priest received a portion no larger than an olive, he ate and was satiated without even consuming the whole of it; (4) the lot cast for God (see Lev. xvi.8) always came into the right hand; (5) the red thread around the neck of the goat or ram invariably became white on the Day of Atonement
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
; (6) the light in the Temple never failed; and (7) the fire on the altar required but little wood to keep it burning (Yoma 39b; Men. 109b; Yer. Yoma vi.3). Simeon is said to have held office for forty years (Yoma 9a; Yer. Yoma i.1, v.2; Lev. R. xxi). On a certain Day of Atonement he came from the Holy of Holies
Holy of Holies
The Holy of Holies is a term in the Hebrew Bible which refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem where the Ark of the Covenant was kept during the First Temple, which could be entered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur...
in a melancholy mood, and when asked the reason, he replied that on every Day of Atonement a figure clothed in white had ushered him into the Holy of Holies and then had escorted him out. This time, however, the apparition had been clothed in black and had conducted him in, but had not led him out—a sign that that year was to be his last. He is said to have died seven days later (Yoma 39b; Tosef., Soṭah, xv; Yer. Yoma v.1).
Simeon the Just is called one of the last members of the Great Assembly
Great Assembly
The Great Assembly or Anshei Knesset HaGedolah , also known as the Great Synagogue, was, according to Jewish tradition, an assembly of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, in the period from the end of the Biblical prophets to the time of the development of Rabbinic Judaism, marking a transition from...
, but it is no longer possible to determine which of the four who bore this name was really the last.
Elegy
The personality of Simeon the Just, whose chief maxim was "The world exists through three things: the Law, worship, and beneficence" (Pirkei AvothPirkei Avoth
Pirkei Avot , which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims of the Rabbis of the Mishnaic period. Because of its contents, it is also called Ethics of the Fathers. The teachings of Pirkei Avot appear in the Mishnaic tractate of Avot,...
1:2), and the high esteem in which he was held, are shown by a poem in Ecclus. (Sirach) 50., which compares him, at the moment of his exit from the Holy of Holies, to the sun, moon, and stars, and to the most magnificent plants. This poem appeared with certain changes in the ritual of the evening service for the Day of Atonement; a translation of it is given in Grätz, Gesch. ii.239, and in Hamburger, R.B.T. ii.111. After Simeon's death men ceased to utter the Tetragrammaton
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
aloud (Yoma 30b; Tosef. Soṭah, xiii).