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Simeon ben Shetach or
Shimon ben Shetach (ca. 120-40 BCE) was a Pharisee
scholar and Nasi of the Sanhedrin during the reigns of
Alexander Jannĉus (r. 103-76 bce) and his successor,
Queen Alexandra Salome (r. 76-67 bce), who was
Simeon's sister.[1] He was therefore closely connected
with the court, enjoying, at least initially, the
favor of Alexander.
Under Alexander Jannaeus
During the reign of
Alexander the Sanhedrin consisted almost entirely of
Sadducees; nevertheless he succeeded in ousting the
Sadducean members and in replacing them with
Pharisees.[2] Having accomplished this, Simeon
recalled from Alexandria, Egypt the Pharisees who had
been compelled to seek refuge there during the reign
of John Hyrcanus, among these fugitives being Joshua
ben Perachya, the former Nasi.[3] Joshua was elected
president anew, and Simeon assumed the office of
vice-president.[4] Upon the death of Joshua, Simeon
became president and Judah ben Tabbai vice-president.
The attitude of Alexander Jannĉus toward the
Pharisees, however, soon underwent a change; and they
were again compelled to flee, even Simeon himself
being obliged to go into hiding.[5] About this time
certain Parthian envoys came to Alexander's court and
were invited to the king's table, where they noticed
the absence of Simeon, by whose wisdom they had
profited at previous visits. Upon the king's assurance
that he would do the fugitive no harm, the queen
caused her brother to return to the court. Upon his
reappearance Simeon took his place between the royal
couple with a show of self-consciousness which
surprised the king; whereupon Simeon remarked, "The
wisdom which I serve grants me equal rank with
kings."[6]
Activity Under Alexandra
After his return Simeon
enjoyed the king's favor, and when, upon the latter's
death, Queen Alexandra succeeded to the rulership,
Simeon and his party, the Pharisees, obtained great
influence. Together with his colleague, Judah ben
Tabbai, Simeon began to supersede the Sadducean
teachings and to re-establish the authority of the
Pharisaic interpretation of the Torah. He is therefore
called "the restorer of the Law," who "has given back
to the crown of learning its former brightness". [7]
Simeon discarded the penal code which the Sadducees
had introduced as a supplement to the Biblical
code[8]; and almost all the teachings and principles
introduced by him are aimed against the Sadducean
interpretation of the Law. Of Simeon's enactments two
were of especial importance. One consisted in the
restriction of divorces, which were then of frequent
occurrence. Simeon arranged that the husband might use
the prescribed marriage gift ("ketubah") in his
business, but that his entire fortune should be held
liable for it.[9] Inasmuch as a husband of small means
could ill afford to withdraw a sum of money from his
business, Simeon's ruling tended to check hasty
divorces. The other important act referred to the
instruction of the young. |
