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שִׁמְעוֹן

𐤔𐤌𐤏𐤅𐤍

Shimeon

H8095 noun

SILEX Entry

Root שׁמע to hear, listen, obey, attend

Definition

A personal name, 'Shim'on', signifying 'he who hears/listens' or 'one who is heard'; used primarily as the name of one of Jacob/Israel's sons, and by extension, the tribe descended from him. In various contexts, refers to: (1) an individual ancestor; (2) the collective tribe of his descendants; or (3) later, the territory or region associated with that tribe.

Semantic Range

personal name (of an Israelite patriarch); tribal designation (collective descendants of Shim'on); territory or region allotted to the tribe of Shim'on; later, as a common Israelite name; in postbiblical contexts, sometimes synonymous with Hellenistic or Judean personal names

Root / Etymology

From the verb שָׁמַע ('to hear, listen, attend, obey'); the name שִׁמְעוֹן is a derived personal name, likely indicating 'hearing' or 'being heard.' The construction may carry the sense of 'one who is heard (by God)' in the context of naming conventions, reflecting parental experience or hope, but at the lexical level, it remains a theophoric personal name based on the root.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, 'Shim'on' is first introduced as the second son of Jacob (also called Israel) and Leah (Genesis 29:33; 35:23). The name reflects the circumstances of his birth, as stated by Leah, 'Because YHWH has heard (שָׁמַע) that I am unloved, He has given me this one also.' The personal name thus commemorates divine attentiveness. As biblical tradition develops, שִׁמְעוֹן designates both the patriarchal ancestor and the Israelite tribe descended from him, as well as the territorial allotment associated with the tribe (Joshua 19). In later periods, especially by the Second Temple era and in Greek renditions of the Bible (Septuagint; e.g. Συμεών, Symeon), the name continues as a common Israelite personal name. English translations often render the patriarch's name as 'Simeon,' reflecting Septuagintal and later Christian traditions, but 'Shim'on' is the transliterated Hebrew. Distinguish from שִׁמְעִי (Shimei), a different personal name from the same root. The standard lexicographical sense remains a personal or tribal name rather than an abstract noun for 'hearing.'

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from שָׁמַע; hearing; Shimon, one of Jacob's sons, also the tribe descended from him; Simeon.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

שׁמע (š-m-ʿ) — to hear, listen, obey, attend

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1953 הוֹשָׁמָע Yahweh-has-heard
H3460 יִשְׁמַעְיָה Yahweh hears
H4926 מִשְׁמָע to report-of
H4928 מִשְׁמַעַת their obedience
H8037 שַׁמָּא he heard

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H8095-02 שִׁמְעֽוֹן shimeon HNp Simeon Hearer 36
H8095-04 וְ/שִׁמְעוֹן֙ veshimeon HC/Np and Simeon and Shim'on (Hearer) 4
H8095-01 לְ/שִׁמְע֕וֹן leshimeon HR/Np for Simeon to He-who-hears 3
H8095-03 וּ/מִ/שִּׁמְע֑וֹן umishimeon HC/R/Np and from Simeon and from Hearing-one 1

Occurrences in Scripture

44 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H8095-02 Genesis 29:33 שִׁמְעֽוֹן shimeon HNp Simeon Hearer
H8095-02 Genesis 34:25 שִׁמְע֨וֹן shimeon HNp Simeon Hearer
H8095-02 Genesis 34:30 שִׁמְע֣וֹן shimeon HNp Simeon Hearer
H8095-04 Genesis 35:23 וְ/שִׁמְעוֹן֙ veshimeon HC/Np and Simeon and Shim'on (Hearer)
H8095-02 Genesis 42:24 שִׁמְע֔וֹן shimeon HNp Simeon Hearer
H8095-04 Genesis 42:36 וְ/שִׁמְע֣וֹן veshimeon HC/Np and Simeon and Shim'on (Hearer)
H8095-02 Genesis 43:23 שִׁמְעֽוֹן shimeon HNp Simeon Hearer
H8095-02 Genesis 46:10 שִׁמְע֗וֹן shimeon HNp of Simeon Hearer
H8095-04 Genesis 48:5 וְ/שִׁמְע֖וֹן veshimeon HC/Np and Simeon and Shim'on (Hearer)
H8095-02 Genesis 49:5 שִׁמְע֥וֹן shimeon HNp Simeon Hearer
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