Person · one of several with this name
Simon
Mentioned in 3 verses across 3 books, first in Matthew 27:32. The verses below are the ones linked to this person (the Theographic dataset, with our sourced corrections).
In these stories
In the Bible
All 3 verses, in Bible order. Text from the Berean Standard Bible; verse numbers follow the KJV.
Matthew
- Matthew 27:32
Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.
Mark
- Mark 15:21
Now Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.
Luke
- Luke 23:26
As the soldiers led Him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him to carry behind Jesus.
Events
Events the dataset lists Simon as taking part in. Dates follow its Ussher–Jones reckoning (one of several traditional counts), not established history.
- no dateBearing Cross to Golgotha
Dictionary
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), as attached to this record by Theographic. The entry is for the name and can describe more than one person who bore it. Easton wrote in 1897, and some of his views are now debated.
Read Easton’s entry
A Jew of Cyrene, in North Africa, then a province of Libya. A hundred thousand Jews from Palestine had been settled in this province by Ptolemy Soter (B.C. 323-285), where by this time they had greatly increased in number. They had a synagogue in Jerusalem for such of their number as went thither to the annual feasts. Simon was seized by the soldiers as the procession wended its way to the place of crucifixion as he was passing by, and the heavy cross which Christ from failing strength could no longer bear was laid on his shoulders. Perhaps they seized him because he showed sympathy with Jesus. He was the “father of Alexander and Rufus” (Matt. 27:32). Possibly this Simon may have been one of the “men of Cyrene” who preached the word to the Greeks (Acts 11:20).