Shim'on – Simeon (שמעון) This name, for Leah's second son and Israel's second tribe, is derived from the Hebrew verb שמע shama, "to hear attentively and intelligently." In Genesis 29:33 Leah, Ya'acov's wife says, "Because Yahweh has heard (shama) that I was hated, he gave me this one [son] also" – hence the name שמעון Shim'on, "heard." From here we get the Anglicized names Simon and Simeon.