Simon II (219–199 BCE) was a
Jewish
High Priest
The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste.
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rever ...
during the
Second Temple period
The Second Temple period in Jewish history lasted approximately 600 years (516 BCE - 70 CE), during which the Second Temple existed. It started with the return to Zion and the construction of the Second Temple, while it ended with the First Jewis ...
. He was the son of
Onias II. Some identify him with
Simeon the Just.
Mentioned extensively by Jesus son of Eleazar, son of Sirach of Jerusalem, also known as
Ben Sira
Ben Sira also known as Shimon ben Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira (שמעון בן יהושע בן אליעזר בן סירא) or Yeshua Ben Sirach (), was a Hellenistic Jewish scribe, sage, and allegorist from Seleucid-controlled Jerusalem of the ...
, in chapter 50 of Ben Sira/Sirach in a hymn of Hebrew parallel verse: "The leader of his brothers and the pride of his people was the high priest, Simon son of Onias, who in his life repaired the house, and in his time fortified the temple. He laid the foundations for the high double walls, the high retaining walls for the temple enclosure. In his days a water cistern was dug, a reservoir like the sea in circumference. He considered how to save his people from ruin, and fortified the city against siege. How glorious he was, surrounded by the people, as he came out of the house of the curtain. Like the morning star upon the clouds, like the full moon at the festal season, like the sun shining on the temple of the Most High, like the rainbow gleaming in splendid clouds..." (
Ben Sira/Sirach 50:1-7, NRSV translation ). The chapter continues to describe a festival led by the High Priest Simon II and the celebrations of the people of Jerusalem.
Ben Sira was a contemporary of Simon II, and this description of him comes after a long versified walk through the traditions and revered ancestors of the Jewish people. He is the last leader or ancestor mentioned, and clearly was highly revered by Ben Sira.
Simon is also mentioned in
3 Maccabees
3 Maccabees, el, Μακκαβαίων Γ´, translit=Makkabaíōn 3 also called the Third Book of Maccabees, is a book written in Koine Greek, likely in the 1st century BC in Roman Egypt. Despite the title, the book has nothing to do with the Ma ...
, chapter 2.
Patrilineal ancestry
References
* Josephus ("Antiquities") (xii. 4, § 10)
3rd-century BCE High Priests of Israel
2nd-century BCE High Priests of Israel
{{Judaism-bio-stub