And it came to pass,.... Or so it was;
that he tarried many days in Joppa; conversing with the saints, confirming the disciples, and preaching the Gospel, to the conversion of sinners; and his abode
was with one Simon a tanner; it seems as if persons of this trade used to dwell in towns near the sea, as fit for their business; so we read of some at Sidon, a city on the sea coast, as Joppa was;
"it happened at Sidon that a certain בורסי, "tanner", (the same word here used, adopted into the Hebrew language,) died, and he had a brother a tanner, c. (r)''
where the Gemara (s) distinguishes between a great tanner and a little tanner the latter, the gloss says, is one that is poor and has but few skins: which of these Simon was, cannot be said. This business was very contemptible with the Jews; they say (t),
"woe to him whose trade is a tanner:''
and further observe (u) that they never make one a king, nor a high priest: but their doctors many of them were of as mean trades, as shoemakers, skinners, c. [See comments on Mr 6:3] and Simon the Athenian philosopher was σκυτοτομος "a leather cutter" (w) and according to the Ethiopic version, this our Simon was a shoemaker; with him Peter chose to abide, and not with Dorcas.
(r) Misn. Cetubot, c. 7. sect. 10. (s) T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 77. 1. (t) T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 82. 2. & Bava Bathra, fol. 16. 2. (u) Kiddush, fol. 82. 1. (w) Laert. in Vit. Simon
And it came to pass,.... Or so it was;
that he tarried many days in Joppa; conversing with the saints, confirming the disciples, and preaching the Gospel, to the conversion of sinners; and his abode
was with one Simon a tanner; it seems as if persons of this trade used to dwell in towns near the sea, as fit for their business; so we read of some at Sidon, a city on the sea coast, as Joppa was;
"it happened at Sidon that a certain בורסי, "tanner", (the same word here used, adopted into the Hebrew language,) died, and he had a brother a tanner, c. (r)''
where the Gemara (s) distinguishes between a great tanner and a little tanner the latter, the gloss says, is one that is poor and has but few skins: which of these Simon was, cannot be said. This business was very contemptible with the Jews; they say (t),
"woe to him whose trade is a tanner:''
and further observe (u) that they never make one a king, nor a high priest: but their doctors many of them were of as mean trades, as shoemakers, skinners, c. [See comments on Mr 6:3] and Simon the Athenian philosopher was σκυτοτομος "a leather cutter" (w) and according to the Ethiopic version, this our Simon was a shoemaker; with him Peter chose to abide, and not with Dorcas.
(r) Misn. Cetubot, c. 7. sect. 10. (s) T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 77. 1. (t) T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 82. 2. & Bava Bathra, fol. 16. 2. (u) Kiddush, fol. 82. 1. (w) Laert. in Vit. Simon