The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70
Simon the Tanner
fl. c. 36 (death unrecorded) · Host of Peter at Joppa · Joppa
The Apostolic Age
Who Simon the Tanner was
A tanner of Joppa whose house by the sea sheltered Peter “many days.” Tanning was an unclean trade in the rabbinic reckoning; that the apostle lodged there at all was already a loosening of scruple — and it was on this tanner’s rooftop that Peter saw the vision of the sheet let down from heaven, immediately before the summons of Cornelius. The tradition of his house beside the harbor of Jaffa is still shown.
Common questions
When was Simon active?
Simon the Tanner is dated fl. c. 36 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Simon in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Simon?
Simon the Tanner is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Luke and John Chrysostom. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Simon from?
The archive associates Simon the Tanner with Joppa.
Who were Simon’s contemporaries?
The archive links Simon the Tanner to 3 other figures, including Simon Peter, Cornelius the Centurion and Tabitha (Dorcas). Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Acts 10:6
c. AD 85He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.Luke · read ↗
Homilies on Acts XXII
c. AD 400“And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.” Mark the unassuming conduct, mark the moderation of Peter, how he does not make his abode with this lady, or some other person of distinction, but with a tanner: by all his acts leading men to humility, neither suffering the mean to be ashamed, nor the great to be elated! [Cited here to Homily XXI, where Chrysostom comments on Simon, rather than to Homily XXII, which the archive gave: XXII opens at Acts 10:1 and names him only in passing at 10:6. Acts 9:43 and the comment on it are both in XXI.]John Chrysostom · Homilies on Acts XXI · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Simon.