Simeon the Yemenite (he|שמעון התֵּימָנִי, translit: Shimon HaTeimani) or the variant Simeon of Timnah (he|שמעון התִּימְנִי|translit=Shimon HaTimni) (fl. c. 80 - 120 CE)[1] was a third-generation Tanna of possible Yemenite origin who was active in Judaea.[2]
He was one of the three Simeons who were considered among the great "students" of the generation before the Bar Kokhba Revolt, the other two being Ben Azzai and Ben Zoma.[3] His teachers were Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon.[4] He had a daily study session with Judah ben Baba.[5] His teachings recorded in the Mishnah and Baraitot generally refer to matters of Halakhah, only a few being of an Aggadic nature. Renowned for his ability to solve complex issues,[6] he was one of the most important sages of the Sanhedrin in Jabneh and was among the few who were proficient in seventy languages.[7] He reportedly died at a young age before gaining ordination and is therefore never referred to as "Rabbi".[6]
He is noted for saying: "A bastard is anyone who is born from an [illegal] union for which his parents are liable to kareth",[8] and which teaching comes to exclude a single parent who gave birth to a child outside of wedlock, and whose child is often wrongly called "bastard" under common law.
There is a dispute regarding Rabbi Simeon's origin, whether he was from Yemen or from the Judean town of Timnah. This is due to a variant reading of the Hebrew word "" which can either be pronounced as "Teimani" or "Timni". A reference in tractate Ketubot is identified by Adin Steinsaltz as being "Shimon HaTimni", named so after his native town of Timnah.[7] This is a position taken by earlier commentators, such as Rashi (Ta'anit 19a), Bartenura (Mishnah Ta'anit 3, 7) and Machzor Vitri.[9] Steinsaltz suggest's he was active in his hometown, though he seems to have spent much of his time in the academy at Jabneh.[7] Other commentators believe this tanna was from Yemen, a view taken by Jacob Emden.[10] One attempt to reconcile the issue based on a list of tannaim prepared by Maimonides suggests that there were in fact two rabbis, one from Yemen and one from Timnah.[11] Another view suggests that he was from Teman, an important city of ancient Edom,[12] a view ratified by the Jewish Encyclopedia which calls him "Simeon of Teman".[13]