Simon was a

Pharisee The Pharisees (; ) were a Jews, Jewish social movement and school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. Following the Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70), destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic beliefs became ...

mentioned in the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke is the third of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It tells of the origins, Nativity of Jesus, birth, Ministry of Jesus, ministry, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection, and Ascension of ...

(Luke 7:36-50) as the host of a meal, who invited

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

to eat in his house but failed to show him the usual marks of

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship of a host towards a guest, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill and welcome. This includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, ...

offered to visitors - a greeting kiss (v. 45), water to wash his feet (v. 44), or oil for his head (v. 46). During the meal, a tearful woman identified as a sinner anointed Jesus' feet. He contrasted her faith and care with Simon's failure to show common decency, and accused him of being forgiven little and (in consequence) loving little (v. 47). The preceding sections of Luke's gospel took place in

Capernaum Capernaum ( ; ; ) was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had a population of about 1,500 in the 1st century AD. Archaeological excavations have revealed tw ...

and in Nain, both in

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

, suggesting Simon also lived in Galilee. Simon the Pharisee is not mentioned in the other

canonical gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sen ...

, but there are similarities between this Simon and

Simon the leper Simon the Leper ( Greek: Σίμων ὁ λεπρός, ''Símōn ho leprós'') is a biblical figure who lived in Bethany, a village in Judaea on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives. He is mentioned in the Gospels according to Matthew ...

mentioned in

Matthew's Gospel The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah ( Christ), Jesus, his resurrection, and his mission to the ...

(Matt 26:6-13) and Mark's Gospel (Mk 14:3-9), not least the same name occurring. Because of these similarities, efforts have been made to reconcile the events and characters, but some scholars have pointed out differences between the two events. However, it is unlikely that Simon the Pharisee is the same person as Simon the Leper, the name Simon was the most common given name in first century Judea. There are differences in the location and timing of these events and the earliest harmonisation of the Gospels, the

Diatessaron The ''Diatessaron'' (; c. 160–175 AD) is the most prominent early gospel harmony. It was created in the Syriac language by Tatian, an Assyrian early Christian apologist and ascetic. Tatian sought to combine all the textual material he fou ...

Tatian Tatian of Adiabene, or Tatian the Syrian or Tatian the Assyrian, (; ; ; ; – ) was an Assyrian Christian writer and theologian of the 2nd century. Tatian's most influential work is the Diatessaron, a Biblical paraphrase, or "harmony", of the ...

, treats both events separately. An alternative explanation for the similarities is that the Luke 7 anointing and the anointing at

Bethany Bethany (,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac language, Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā''), locally called in Palestinian Arabic, Arabic Al-Eizariya or al-Aizariya (, "Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba,

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

of Lazarus (name), L ...

(Matthew 26:6, Mark 14:3, John 12:1) happened with some of the same participants, but several years apart.Whittaker H.A. ''Studies in the Gospels,'' Cannock 1996

References

Gospel of Luke People in the canonical gospels 1st-century Jews 1st-century people Pharisees {{New Testament people

See also

References