And he became very hungry,.... It being in the middle of the day, when it was usual to eat; and perhaps he had ate nothing that day, for those were reckoned the most religious persons, who eat nothing before the Minchah:and would have eaten; though the Jews say , a man ought not to eat near the Minchah, not even the least, lest he should continue at it, and so neglect his prayers:but while they made ready, while Simon's family were getting dinner ready, preparing the food for it:he fell into a trance; or an ecstasy, or an ecstasy fell upon him; it was what was supernatural, and came from above, and did not arise from any natural cause in him; he was as it were out of the body, and entirely in the spirit; all the bodily organs and senses were shut up, and all sensible objects removed from him; and he was wholly intent on what was proposed to him in the vision, which filled him with wonder and astonishment.
Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Sabbat.