Niger is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Niger is mentioned by name only once in the King James Bible, in Acts 13:1. The passage introduces him as “Simeon that was called Niger,” one of several “prophets and teachers” serving the church at Antioch. He is listed alongside Barnabas, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul. This brief list is the whole of what Scripture records about him.
The setting is significant. Antioch was a major city in the Roman province of Syria and had become a thriving center of early Christian faith, where disciples were first called Christians. The church there was diverse in background and gifted with prophets and teachers, and Niger is named among its recognized leaders. His double name—Simeon, a Hebrew name, with the Latin or Greek nickname Niger—suggests he moved between Jewish and Greco-Roman worlds, a fitting profile for a leader in a mixed congregation.
What Scripture says of him is limited but meaningful: he was a prophet and teacher in a church that worshiped, fasted, and sought the Lord’s direction. In the very next verses, while these men ministered and fasted, the Holy Spirit set apart Barnabas and Saul for missionary work, and the church sent them out. Niger was part of that praying, fasting, teaching community—one of the leaders through whom the church discerned and launched the first great missionary journey.
The Name
The name Niger is Latin, meaning “black” or “dark-complexioned,” and in the New Testament it functions as a surname or nickname distinguishing this Simeon from others who bore the same Hebrew name. The meaning of the Latin word itself is well established. What cannot be recovered with certainty is why the nickname was given—whether it referred to his complexion, his hair, or some other personal trait. The text does not say, and we should not guess beyond it.
A Closing Thought
Niger appears in a single verse and then disappears from the record, yet he stood among the prophets and teachers of a church that changed the world. He prayed, fasted, taught, and helped send out Barnabas and Saul. Most of us will never be widely known, and that is all right. Faithfulness in a local congregation—worshiping, seeking God, supporting those who go—is real kingdom work. Like Niger, we may be remembered by few, but we are known by God and joined to a story far larger than our own names.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: New
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Acts 13:1 — Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.