S I M 



S I M 



SIMENA, in Ancient Geography, a town of Afia Minor, 

 in Lycia. Steph. Byz. 



SIMENAU, in Geography, a town of Pruffia, in the 

 province of Oberland ; 8 miles E. of Salfeld. 



SIMEON, in Scripture Biography, a fon of Jacob and 

 Leah, born in the year 1757 B.C. (Gen. xxix. 37.) 

 Simeon and Levi revenged tlie affront, fuftained by the de- 

 filement of their half-fiiter Dinah on the part of Schechem, 

 the Ion of Hamor, by entering the town of Schechem, and 

 killing all the men they found ; after which they brought 

 away Dinah, in the year 1739 B.C. (Gen. xxxiv. 25.) 

 It lias been thought that Simeon was the mod cruel to his 

 brother Jofeph, and that he advifed his brethren to fell him. 

 (Gen. xxxvii. 20.) Th^' conjefture is founded on the cir- 

 cumttance of his being detained prifoner in Egypt (Gen. 

 xlii. 24.), and of his being treated with greater rigour by 

 Jofeph than the reft of his brethren. Jacob, on his death- 

 bed, manilelled peculiar indignation againft Simeon and 



Levi. (See Gen. xlix. 5.) Accordingly the tribes of to have been enlarged, from time to time, by various addi 

 Simeon and Levi were difperfed in Ifrael. Levi had no tions. Gen. Biog 



nifhed obfervers, at the age of 120 years, he was crucified 

 about A.D. 107 ; fo that he had fuperintended the church 

 of Jerufalem about 43 years. The Latins place his fcall 

 February 18, the Gieeics April 27. 



Simeon, in Biography, the fon of Jochai, a very celebrated 

 man among the Jews, was a fcholar of the rabbi Akiba, and 

 flouriihed about the year 120. At the infurreftion excited 

 by Barchocheba, he fled, through fear of the Romans, and 

 retired to a cave, where he concealed himfelf twelve years, 

 in the courfe of which he is faid to have compofed his work, 

 entitled " Sohar," which is an explication of the five books 

 of Mofes. This, from its abftraft manner, and the matter 

 being clothed, according to the Egyptian method, in hiero- 

 glyphical images and very florid language, is not eafily un- 

 derilood. There are feveral editions of it, but its exaft age 

 is not known. It contains things that are very old ; but it 

 is admitted by Chriilians, as well as Jews, who held it in 

 efteem, to be the produftion of more authors than one, and 



compaft lot or portion ; and Simeon received for his portion 

 only a diltnft difmembered from the tribe of Judah (Jofli. 

 xix. I, 2, &c.), and fome other lands which were over-run 

 by thole of this tribe on the mountains of Seir, and in the 

 defart of Gedor. ( i Chron. iv. 24. 39. 42. ) The Tar- 

 gum of Jerufalem, and the rabbins, who have been followed 

 by fome of the fathers, have affirmed, that the greater part 

 of the fcribes and men learned in the law were of this tribe ; 



Simeon-, furnamed Metaphrajles, an ecclefiaftical writer, 

 lived in the tenth century, under Leo the philofopher and 

 his fon Conftantine Porphyrogenitus. He was a native of 

 Conftantinople, and rofe to high employments at court, 

 having been fecretary to the emperors, and the medium of 

 communication between them and foreigners. His writings 

 indicate a man converfant in ecclefiaitical affairs. He de- 

 rived his furname of Metaphraftes, or Tranflator, from his 



and as thefe were difperfed throughout Ifrael, we perceive occupation of writing again, in a different flyle, not tranf 

 the accomplifhment of Jacob's prophecy, which foretold 

 that Simeon and Levi fhould be fcattered among their 

 brethren. It has been fnggefted, however, that the dif- 



lating, the lives of the faints. In this bulinefs he evidently 

 meant to give a panegyric, rather than a true hiftory 



perfion of Simeon and Levi, which Jacob meant to be a 

 degradation, was in the progrefs of events over-ruled fo as 

 to be an occafion of honour ; for Levi had the priefthood, 

 and Si.Tieon had the learning or writing-authority of Ifrael ; 

 in confequence of which both thefe tribes were honourably 

 difperfed throughout Ifrael. According to the teilament 

 of the twelve patriarchs, a book indeed of no authority, 

 Simeon died at the age of 120 years. 



The fons of Simeon were fix, and are enumerated Exod. 

 vi. 15. Their defcendaiits amounted to 59,300 men, at the 

 Exodus (Numb. i. 22.); but the number of thofe that en- 

 tered the Land of Promife amounted only to 22,200, the 

 reft having died in the defart. (Numb. xxvi. 14.) The 

 portion of Simeon was weft and fonth of that of Judah ; 

 having the tribe of Dan and the Philiftines north, the Medi- 

 terranean weft, and Arabia Petrxa fouth. Jofti. xix. i — 9. 

 Calmet. 



Simeon is alfo the name of that aged and pious perfon, 

 mentioned Luke, ii. 25, 26, to whom Jefus Chrift was pre- 

 fented by his parents in the temple, and who pronounced 

 upon them his bleliing. It is believed, with good reafon, 

 that he died foon after he had borne his teftimony to Chrift. 

 Some, indeed, have pretended, that this Simeon was the 

 fame as Simeon the juft, the fon of Hillel, and matter of 

 Gamaliel, whofe difciple St. Paul was. 



Si.vfEON, or Simon, was alio the name of our Lord's 

 coufin-german, fon of Cleophas and of Mary, the fifter of 

 Chrilt's mother, probably the fame with him who is named 

 Simon by St. Mark (ch. vi. 3.) He was probably one of 

 eur Lord's firit difciples. According to Eufebius, he was 



whence he has made additions and alterations at pleafure, 

 fo that the fubjects are reprefented not as they were, but as 

 he imagined they ought to be. His " Lives of the Saints" 

 have feveral times been tranflated into the Latin language. 

 Simeon likewife compofed fermons, hynms, and prayers, 

 with various pieces of the religious kind, of which fome 

 have been printed, and others remain in manufcript. 



Simeon, named Stylites, a dillinguifhed perfon in the 

 annals of fanaticifm, was bom about the year 392 at Sifon, 

 a town on the borders between Syria and Cilicia. He was 

 the fon of a (hepherd, and followed the fame occupation to 

 the age of thirteen, when he entered into a monaftery. 

 After fome time he left it, in order to devote himfelf to a 

 life of greater fohtude and aufterity, and he took up his 

 abode on the tops of mountains, or in caverns of rocks, 

 falling fometimes, it is faid, for weeks together, till he had 

 worked himfelf up to a due degree of extravagance. He 

 then, to avoid the concourfe of devotees, but probably to 

 excite ftill greater admiration, adopted the ftrange fancy of 

 fixing his habitation on the tops of pillars, whence the 

 Greek appellation ; and with the notion of chmbing higher 

 and higher towards heaven, he fucceffively migrated from a 

 pillar of 6 cubits to one of 12, 20, 36, and 40. This feat 

 was confidered as a proof of extraordinary anxiety, and mul- 

 titudes flocked from all parts to pay their veneration to the 

 holy man, as he was denominated. Simeon pafled 47 years 

 upon his pillars, expofed to all the inclemency of the fea- 

 fons. At length a horrible ulcer put an end to his hfe, at 

 the age of 69. His body was taken down from his kft 

 pillar by the hands of bifhops, and conveyed to Antioch, 

 with an efcort of 6000 foldiers ; and he was interred with a 



unanimoufly elefted biftiop of Jerufalem, after the death of pomp equal to any thing that had been difplayed for the 



St. James, A.D. 62. When the emperor Trajan made 

 ftricl inquiry for all who were of the race of David, Simon 

 was accufed before Atticus, the governor of Paleftine ; and 

 havinjj endured many fufferings with a fortitude which afto- 



moft potent monarchs. He has been enrolled among the 

 faints, either in the Greek or Latin churches. Thefe 

 honours produced imitators, whofe performances furpaffed 

 the original. One of them inhabited his pillar 68 years. 

 8 The 



