Simon Psellus

Simon Psellus[1] (Greek: Σίμων ὁ Ψελλός, his epithet Ψελλός was his nickname[1] meaning in Greek: the stutter,[2] flourished 2nd century BC) was an ethnic Jew living in Jerusalem.

Simon's ancestors were contemporary to the rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty and Seleucid dynasty over Judea. He was a wealthy man who served as a priest[2] in the Temple in Jerusalem. Simon belonged to the priestly order of the Jehoiarib, the first of the twenty-four orders of Priests in the Temple in Jerusalem.[2] Simon lived when the Hasmonean rulers Simon Thassi (reigned 142–135 BC) and his son John Hyrcanus I (reigned 134–104 BC) ruled over Judea.[2][1]

Simon had nine children; among them was his son Matthias Ephlias.[2] Through his son, Simon was an ancestor of the Roman Jewish Historian of the 1st century, Flavius Josephus.[1] Josephus in his writings calls Simon the Patriarch of his family.[1]

References
  1. Josephus, Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary pp.7–8
  2. Fergus, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C. – A.D. 135) pp.45–46

Sources
  • M. Fergus, S. Emil & V. Geza, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 BC. – AD. 135), Continuum International Publishing Group, 1973
  • F. Josephus & S. Mason, Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary, BRILL, 2001
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