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 abodewas 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 yorwb, "tanner", (the same word here used, adopted into the Hebrew language,) died, and he had a brother a tanner, &c.
''where the Gemara 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 ,"woe to him whose trade is a tanner:''and further observe 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 Gill on "Mr 6:3" and Simon the Athenian philosopher was skutotomov "a leather cutter" ; and according to the Ethiopic version, this our Simon was a shoemaker; with him Peter chose to abide, and not with Dorcas.
Misn. Cetubot, c. 7. sect. 10. T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 77. 1. T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 82. 2. & Bava Bathra, fol. 16. 2. Kiddush, fol. 82. 1. Laert. in Vit.