Simon II

Simon II was a High Priest of Israel during the Second Temple period. He was the son of Onias II, and was probably succeeded by Onias III. There are two main sources that discuss Simon II: the Book of Sirach and possibly 3 Maccabees. Based on the Book of Sirach, Simon II was active at some point in the 190s BCE. If the reference to a High Priest Simon in 3 Maccabees is to the same person, then he was also active as High Priest in the 210s BCE as well. John J. Collins estimates his reign as 219–196 BCE for example, while Elias Bickerman suggests only that he served c. 190 BCE. He was possibly the same person as Simon the Just, although the historian Josephus thought this referred to Simon I instead.