Boys · Hebrew · Both Testaments · classic · Across biblical eras
Simon
/SY-mun/
שִׁמְעוֹן (Hebrew) / Σίμων (Greek)
"Hearing; listening; he has heard"
Matthew 4:18
RoleMultiple figures — most notably the birth name of Peter
Etymology
From the Hebrew 'Shimon' (שִׁמְעוֹן), from 'shama' (to hear). Leah named her second son Simeon/Simon saying, 'Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.' The name is a testimony that God listens.
Who they were
Simon is one of the most frequently occurring names in the New Testament — at least nine Simons are mentioned. The most important is Simon Peter, the fisherman Jesus renamed Rock. But the others reveal the breadth of the early Christian world: Simon the Zealot (an apostle from the anti-Roman resistance), Simon of Cyrene (compelled to carry Jesus' cross — Mark adds that he was the father of Alexander and Rufus, suggesting his family became known in the church), Simon the leper (in whose house Jesus was anointed at Bethany), Simon the Pharisee (who hosted Jesus and was taught about forgiveness through the woman who anointed Jesus' feet), and Simon the tanner (in whose house Peter received the vision about clean and unclean animals). The name's ubiquity tells us something important: these were ordinary people with ordinary names, living ordinary lives, drawn into the extraordinary story of Jesus. The name means 'he has heard' — and in every case, something was heard that changed everything.
Character qualities
- Attentiveness to God's call
- Ordinary people in extraordinary stories
Key verse
Matthew 16:17
Where they appear
Themes
Variants & related forms
Simeon · Shimon · Simón · Szymon
Read their story
Simon's story begins in Matthew.
The full passage is at Matthew 4:18. Any modern translation will do — the NLT and NIV are the most readable; the ESV and NKJV stay close to the wording the church has used for centuries.
Find a Bible to read it in →