It may be worth mentioning what the earliest sources say about Simon the magician.
A clue to the interpretation of this in Acts is provided by Luke 1:17 and Luke 1:35:
And this is in Justin:
Who is insistent that Simon was made out to be a god, going further and relating this alleged divinity (in a possibly humorous way) to Platonist concepts, where Simon is the first god (τὸν πρῶτον θεὸν) and Helena was his first idea (αὐτοῦ ἔννοιαν πρώτην).
So we do find the language of 'great' (Μεγάλη), 'power' (δύναμις'), and 'god' (θεὸν) applied to Simon in these sources. We do not find the language of "Christos"/"Chrestos" applied as a way of identifying Simon. These early sources do not call him "Simon the Christ." While it is possible to speculate on some kind of connection between the language we find about Simon and the concept of "Christos" / "Chrestos" / Messiah, the evidence is quite insufficient to support the idea that a reader in the second century would read "Chrestus" and think of Simon. This is therefore unlikely to be a reference intended by Suetonius.
Whether there was any historical connection between activity by Simon, allegedly in Rome under Claudius according to Justin (who misreads a statue in Rome as referring to him), and the expulsion, would be a separate question. It's possible that some particular person, maybe Simon, was involved in controversy in Rome at the time, while Suetonius (for whatever reason) may not have been referring by name to the actual individual historically responsible for these disturbances.
Acts 8:9-11 A man named Simon used to practice magic in the city and astounded the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great [λέγων εἶναί τινα ἑαυτὸν μέγαν]. All of them, from the least to the greatest, paid attention to him, saying, “This man is the ‘Power of God’ that is called ‘Great.’” [ἡ δύναμις τοῦ θεοῦ, ἡ Μεγάλη] They paid attention to him because he had astounded them by his magic for a long time,
A clue to the interpretation of this in Acts is provided by Luke 1:17 and Luke 1:35:
Luke 1:17
And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah [πνεύματι καὶ δυνάμει Ἠλίου], to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Luke 1:35
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit [Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον] will come on you, and the power of the Most High [δύναμις Ὑψίστου] will overshadow you."
And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah [πνεύματι καὶ δυνάμει Ἠλίου], to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Luke 1:35
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit [Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον] will come on you, and the power of the Most High [δύναμις Ὑψίστου] will overshadow you."
And this is in Justin:
And, thirdly, because after Christ's ascension into heaven the devils put forward certain men who said that they themselves were gods; and they were not only not persecuted by you, but even deemed worthy of honours. There was a Samaritan, Simon, a native of the village called Gitto, who in the reign of Claudius Caesar, and in your royal city of Rome, did mighty acts of magic, by virtue of the art of the devils operating in him. He was considered a god, and as a god was honoured by you with a statue, which statue was erected on the river Tiber, between the two bridges, and bore this inscription, in the language of Rome:--
"Simoni Deo Sancto," [Justin misinterpreted the inscription, which is not to Simon]
"To Simon the holy God." And almost all the Samaritans, and a few even of other nations, worship him, and acknowledge him as the first god [τὸν πρῶτον θεὸν]; and a woman, Helena, who went about with him at that time, and had formerly been a prostitute, they say is the first idea [αὐτοῦ ἔννοιαν πρώτην γενομένην] generated by him.
"Simoni Deo Sancto," [Justin misinterpreted the inscription, which is not to Simon]
"To Simon the holy God." And almost all the Samaritans, and a few even of other nations, worship him, and acknowledge him as the first god [τὸν πρῶτον θεὸν]; and a woman, Helena, who went about with him at that time, and had formerly been a prostitute, they say is the first idea [αὐτοῦ ἔννοιαν πρώτην γενομένην] generated by him.
Who is insistent that Simon was made out to be a god, going further and relating this alleged divinity (in a possibly humorous way) to Platonist concepts, where Simon is the first god (τὸν πρῶτον θεὸν) and Helena was his first idea (αὐτοῦ ἔννοιαν πρώτην).
So we do find the language of 'great' (Μεγάλη), 'power' (δύναμις'), and 'god' (θεὸν) applied to Simon in these sources. We do not find the language of "Christos"/"Chrestos" applied as a way of identifying Simon. These early sources do not call him "Simon the Christ." While it is possible to speculate on some kind of connection between the language we find about Simon and the concept of "Christos" / "Chrestos" / Messiah, the evidence is quite insufficient to support the idea that a reader in the second century would read "Chrestus" and think of Simon. This is therefore unlikely to be a reference intended by Suetonius.
Whether there was any historical connection between activity by Simon, allegedly in Rome under Claudius according to Justin (who misreads a statue in Rome as referring to him), and the expulsion, would be a separate question. It's possible that some particular person, maybe Simon, was involved in controversy in Rome at the time, while Suetonius (for whatever reason) may not have been referring by name to the actual individual historically responsible for these disturbances.
Statistics: Posted by Peter Kirby — Sat Nov 23, 2024 3:53 pm