Simon the Tanner

Biblical Account

Simon the tanner appears only in Acts. A tanner is a person who processes the raw hides of animals into leather. Scripture does not directly record any of Simon's words or actions; it presents him only as the owner of the house where the apostle Peter stayed.

• Acts 9:43: After raising Tabitha in Joppa, Peter stayed for many days in the house of Simon the tanner.
• Acts 10:6, 10:32: Cornelius, a centurion of Caesarea, receives instructions in a vision. He is told that Peter is lodging in the house of Simon the tanner by the sea and that he should send men to summon him.
• Acts 10:9-17: Peter goes up on the housetop of this house to pray and sees a vision of a vessel like a great sheet descending from heaven. Immediately afterward, the men sent by Cornelius find Simon's house and stand before the gate.

Significance Within Scripture

Simon's house is the setting for the scene in which the gospel begins to reach the Gentiles. It was in this house that Peter saw the vision in which he was told, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common" (Acts 10:15). It was also here that he received the men sent by Cornelius and then departed for Caesarea. The text, however, says nothing about Simon's own faith or role. Even the view that he was a Christian is an inference drawn from the circumstances.

Interpretations and Issues

• Significance of his occupation: Working with hides required handling dead animals. The Law regarded anyone who touched the carcass of a dead animal as unclean (Leviticus 11:39-40). Later Jewish literature also reportedly treats tanning as a despised trade. Many commentators therefore interpret Peter's stay in such a man's house as inward preparation for the mission to the Gentiles. Others hold that, since Luke merely notes Simon's occupation without adding any evaluation, one should not read too much into it.
• House by the sea: The location of Simon's house by the shore is often explained by noting that tanning required water and produced a strong odor, so that tanners worked outside town or by the sea. This is a conjecture based on the customs of the time, not something the text states.
• Traditional site: In present-day Jaffa (ancient Joppa), Israel, there is a site traditionally identified as the "House of Simon the Tanner." Whether it is actually the house mentioned in Scripture cannot be confirmed.
• Distinction from other Simons: Several figures in the New Testament bear the same name, including Simon Peter, Simon the Sorcerer, Simon of Cyrene, and Simon the Canaanite.

In the Korean Church

Simon the tanner is mentioned chiefly in sermons on Acts 10, alongside Peter's vision and the account of Cornelius. The fact that Peter stayed with a man whose occupation people shunned is frequently cited as an example of overcoming prejudice or of serving others through hospitality. On Holy Land pilgrimages to Israel, the traditional site in Jaffa is sometimes included as a stop.