Simeon, that was called Niger (Acts 13:1)
Simeon is an alternate spelling of the name Simon (Acts 15:14 spells Simon Peter’s name Simeon). The name Niger means “black.” Some have suggested that this means that Simeon was a black man. If this is the case, then it would imply that Simeon was a Gentile, and would therefore be the first recorded Gentile prophet in the New Testament. If the fact that he was called “black” means that he was indeed of African descent, then that makes the Antioch church look even better, because they didn’t care about skin color.
Others state that in the Roman Empire, the surname “Niger” or “Black” was just as common as the name “Black” is today in the United States.
A third suggestion which is made is that this Simeon/Simon was one of the people mentioned in 11:20, and that the phrase “of Cyrene” applies in 13:1 to both Simeon/Simon and Lucius. If this is the case, then it would identify this man with Simon of Cyrene who was compelled to carry the cross of Jesus Christ to Golgotha.1 According to Mark 15:21, he is also the father of two men whose name pop up elsewhere in the biblical record: Rufus2 and Alexander.3
Luke has a habit of rarely mentioning people by name unless they show up elsewhere, are well-known to his readers, or are a main character in the narrative. For example, there are two disciples on the road to Emmaus who meet the resurrected Christ. One of them (Cloepas) is named, the other is not. According to John 19:25, Cleopas (also spelled “Cleophas”) was the husband of one of the women who stood at the cross of Christ. Though this isn’t definitive proof, it points to Simeon being someone who appears elsewhere in the biblical record. For that reason, it seems as though identifying him with the man who carried the cross of Jesus would make the most sense.
But look at the beauty of this: A man who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time was grabbed and forced to carry Jesus’ cross. There’s no indication that this man was a disciple of Jesus at this point. But then comes Pentecost, and Simon of Cyrene hears the gospel, and obeys it. He returns home and teaches them. He hears about the household of Cornelius, and he knows the importance of that event. He rushes to Antioch and starts preaching Jesus to the Gentiles there, and watches the church grow and flourish. While he’s there, he meets Saul of Tarsus, the former persecutor-turned-prophet, and gets to know him. And it’s also about this time that his name becomes immortalized, because Matthew—one of Jesus twelve apostles—has published the first official gospel account,4 and it is making its rounds among the Jews and Jewish Christians. And there, near the end of it, Simeon sees the words, “And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled him to carry (Jesus’) cross.”
Is it any wonder that Simeon is mentioned in this list?
-Bradley S. Cobb
1Â Luke 23:26
2Â Romans 16:13
3Â Acts 19:33
4Â Some scholars date Matthew as early as AD 38. It is not within the scope of this work to debate/prove the order in which the gospels were written. However, we would submit that every collection of the gospels in Greek and Latin have Matthew first. We would also submit that it was the universal assertion of early Christian writers (at least, of those who spoke to the order of writing) that Matthew and Luke were written first, then Mark, then John. J.W. McGarvey suggests a date between AD 42-58, while seeming to lean towards the earlier end of the spectrum.
Chapter 2 of Exodus Moses was mistaken for an Egyptian he was from the tribe of Levi just like Barnabas from the tribe of Levi the book of Acts chapter 4 Apostle Paul was mistaken for an Egyptian in the book of Acts chapter 21 The Book of Romans he is from The Tribe of Benjamin stop teaching people lies for you end up in a place that’s meant for liars it’s easy to find out what the true original Egyptians look like in those days
You’re quite imaginative
What does Barnabas have to do with anything?
There are no lies in the article, my friend.
They cant help it. They will make up every excuse in the book to justify there fear, or will full ignorance. As if a new gentile convert would just start teaching. Side note why did the Ethiopian Eunach have access to the scrolls of Isiah? For Israelites did not keep company with other nations. And hebrew scrolls were not just available to anyone.
Apparently you know nothing about the mass exodus of Israelites to Egypt during the time of Jeremiah (read the book and see for yourself). Or perhaps read history that is very clear about Jews living in Alexandria, Egypt, and translating the Old Testament into Greek (look up the history of the Septuagint). Josephus even tells of their attempt to build a new temple in Egypt after the one in Jerusalem was destroyed.
I would imagine that a high-ranking official like the Eunuch would be able to have access to Isaiah (and it wasn’t in Hebrew–check the differences between the Hebrew version of Isaiah 53 and the Septuagint version, and then see which one is quoted in Acts 8).
Research. You might try it sometime.
Bradley, how do you do an comment on this and not know Moses was mistaken for an Egyptian, by his own future wife for that matter? I know you will fear posting this response and that’s alright at least you know now.
He was called an Egyptian because. . .he was from Egypt. Does that really need to be pointed out to you?
The Israelites lived in Egypt for 400 years, so someone calling them an Egyptian wouldn’t be hard to figure out.
Seriously. That’s like getting really upset if someone called you an “American.” There’s only been “Americans” for 249 years, so why aren’t you making a big deal about that?
Also, given that the groups both were from the Middle East, it is obvious they looked similar. After all, Joseph’s brothers assumed he was an Egyptian.
So no, Moses was not “mistaken” for an Egyptian. He was from Egypt. His people had lived there for 400 years. Oh, and he was also in the Egyptian royal family.
It is obvious that you’re trying to push an agenda that connects modern day Africans (more specifically African-Americans) to the Israelites, as though you are Hebrews. It is a baseless view that twists Scripture, but even if had merit (which it doesn’t), you still are no better off, because the Israelites were told they could not be saved outside of Christ, just like Gentiles.
And finally, you need a proofreader–badly.