The Tribe of Simeon: History, Territory & 4 Lessons We can Learn
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Continuing ourt series on the 12 Tribes of Israel, we turn our focus to the second son of Jacob by Leah, Simeon. (See this post for the Tribe of Reuben in the Bible). “His name come from the Hebrew word shaama, which means “hear”.You can find other tribes here: the Tribe of Reuben, The Tribe of Levi, the Tribe of Judah, the Tribe of Dan, the Tribe of Napthali) .“She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.” – Genesis 29:33
They gradually dwindled in number, and sank into a position of insignificance among the other tribes. They decreased in the wilderness by about two-thirds. Moses pronounces no blessing on this tribe. It is passed by in silence (Deuteronomy 33). Later the Tribe of Simeon was dwindled to just 22,000 at Shittim. At Shittim it had become the smallest, numbering 22,200. The leading cause of the significant drop in tribe members is due to the high mortality rate as a result of the idolatry of Peor. (Numbers 25:9; Numbers 25:14). It was eventually absorbed by Judah, Exodus 15:16 and Numbers 1:23. Like Reuben on the east of Jordan, this tribe had little influence on the history of Israel. It is considered one of the “lost tribes”.“Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.” –
Genesis 49:5-7
Key Bible Verses about the Tribe of Simeon:
“The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon according to its clans. Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah.” – Joshua 19:1
“He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.” – Genesis 42:24“Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.” –
Revelation 7:4-8
“Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.” – 2 Chronicles 15:9
“The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, “Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.” So the Simeonites went with them.” – Judges 1:3
What can we learn from the tribe of Simeon?
Your actions will determine your blessings (or lack of) Each of the twelve sons of Israel received a blessing from their father, Jacob, just before his death. The twelve sons were the originators or “founders” of the twelve tribes of Israel, and each blessing included prophecy about the future of each tribe. In the case of the tribe of Simeon, which was paired in the prophecy with the tribe of Levi, Jacob prophesied about Simeon (and Levi):“Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.” – Genesis 49:5–7
“Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.” –
Proverbs 29:11
When someone is angry, they are not able to give good advice as their anger clouds their perspective. When possible, avoid any angry person – until they are able to confess their anger and are able to deal with it in a godly manner.“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23