Once a youth with flowing hair came to him and wished to have his head shorn. He was an opponent of the Nazirites and ate of the sacrifice offered by that sect only on a single occasion. In his views, Simeon was midway between the Hasmoneans and the Hellenists. This account is almost certainly legendary. This story appears to be identical with 3 Maccabees 2, where Seleucus (Kasgalgas) is mentioned. Josephus relates the same story, but identifies the high priest in the story as Jaddua rather than Simon. He promised instead that all the sons born of priests in that year would be named Alexander. Alexander demanded that a statue of himself be placed in the Temple, but the high priest explained that this was impossible. When Alexander's courtiers criticized this 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. As soon as Alexander saw him, he descended from his chariot and bowed respectfully before him. ĭaniel Bomberg's printed Babylonian Talmud (1520-23), open to the extract covering Simeon's meeting with Alexander the GreatĪccording to the Talmud, when Alexander the Great marched through the Land of Israel in the year 332 BCE, Simeon the Just, dressed in his priestly garments went to Antipatris to meet him although Josephus states that Alexander himself came to Jerusalem. According to Sirach, he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, which had been torn down by Ptolemy Soter, and repaired the damage done to the Temple in Jerusalem, raising the foundation-walls of its court and enlarging the cistern into a pool. He was deeply interested in the spiritual and material development of the nation. He was termed "the Righteous" because of the piety of his life and his benevolence toward his compatriots. The Talmud, Josephus (who identifies him as Simon I), and Sirach all contain accounts of him. The scholarly consensus of the late 20th century has fallen on Simon II. Many statements concerning him are variously ascribed by scholars, ancient and modern, to four different persons who bore the same name: Simeon I (by Fränkel and Grätz) Simeon II (by Krochmal in the 18th century, Brüll in the 19th, and Moore and Zeitlin in the 20th) Simon Maccabeus (by Löw) or Simeon the son of Gamaliel (by Weiss). According to Josephus, Simeon the Righteous is Simon I (310–291 or 300–273 BCE), son of Onias I, and grandson of Jaddua.
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