Monday, December 28, 2020

Leah and Jacob's Second Son, Simeon

 Nadene Goldfoot                                            

Out of zeal for the good name of his sister, Dinah, Simeon and his  younger brother, Levi, tricked the citizens of Shechem, captured the town, slaughtered its male inhabitants, and took captive the women and children as told in Gen. 34.  They were aggressors and were the sheepherders.  

Jacob didn't know of their intentions and was highly against this and in his final benediction, prophecied the dispersion of the descendants of Simeon and Levi among the other tribes.

  Showing Negev Desert in Yellow  of which  the northern part is a prairie and the southern is mountainous.              

                Jerusalem is on the threshold of the Judaean Desert. 

         From Jerusalem to Beersheba is 86 sq km or 54 miles.

                From Beersheba to Eilat is 233 sq km or 146 miles.   

On the Exodus, the 1st census showed that Simeon had 59,300.men, but in the 2nd and last census had only 22,200.  In the 40 years they had a loss of 37,100 men, the most of any of the 12 tribes.                     

         The tribe of Simeon received territory in Eretz Yisrael  within the lot of Judah in 2 distinct localities of the Negev  but was of minor importance.   A large part of Israel today is the Negev which is mostly desert.  Israel lives on the edge of this desert.                

 The Negev is a large desert region in southern Israel. Its main city is Be’er Sheva. Here, the Old City is home to the Negev Museum of Art, with contemporary Israeli and international exhibitions. Nearby is Abraham’s Well, a cultural center with interactive exhibits about the story of Abraham. East of the city, Tel Be’er Sheva is a prehistoric settlement mound with ruins, plus a lookout tower with desert views.                              

During  the reign of Israel's king Hezekiah (720-692 BCE) , they took possession of the  areas of Seir (1 Chron. 4:24-43).  Some of them apparently settled in the Mountains of Ephraim (Ebal) (II Chron. 15:9).  This  means that part of the mountain which fell to Ephraim (Joshua 19:50, etc.). The natives speak today of Jebel Nablus, Jebel Cafed, etc., meaning that section of the central range which is subject to each city. "The lottery came out for the families of the Kohathite (Cohens-who were from the tribe of Levi) and they were from the tribes of Judah, Simeonite and Benjamin, the 3 closest to each other in the South-13 cities".                                      

   Simeon the shepherd, good with sheep, perhaps, but not so with people.  

Jacob's prophecy for Simeon:  Having already explained to his sons why Reuben forfeited the prerogatives of the birthright, Jacob then explained why Simeon and Levi, the next oldest, were also unworthy to succeed him as rulers.  "Simeon and Levi are comrades.  Their weaponry is a stolen craft.  Into their conspiracy, may my soul not enter! With their congregation, do not join. O my honor!  for in their rage they murdered people and at their whim they hamstrung an ox.  Accursed is their rage for it is intense, and their wrath for it is harsh.  I will separate them within Jacob, and I will disperse them in Israel".   

 II Chronicles 15:9, when it says Asa (915-875 BCE) , King of Judah, "HE REMOVED ALL THE DETESTABLE THINGS FROM ALL OF THE LAND OF JUDAH AND BENJAMIN AND FROM THE CITIES WHICH HE HAD CONQUERED FROM MOUNT EPHRAIM,....HE GATHERED TOGETHER ALL OF JUDAH AND BENJAMIN, AND THOSE FROM EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH AND SIMEON WHO DWELLED AMONG THEM...THEY WERE GATHERED IN JERUSALEM IN THE 3RD MONTH OF THE 15TH YEAR OF ASA'S REIGN". for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.”   This implies that the people of Simeon probably relocated to the north when the 12 tribes split into 2 kingdoms.  Some of those people came back when they realized they were on the wrong side.  Asa had abolished heathen cults in his kingdom.  

Also,  according to I Chron. iv. 38-40, certain Simeonites pushed down to the district of Gedor in search of pasture for their sheep. (A town in the mountains of Judah, named with Halhul and Beth-zur (Joshua 15:58). It seems to be referred to by Eusebius as Gadeira (Onomasticon, under the word), which he identifies with Gaidora (Jerome calls it Gadora), a village in the borders of Jerusalem, near the terebinth. It is probably represented today by Khirbet Jedur, about 7 miles North of Hebron (PEF, III, 313, Sh XXI).According to verse 41 of the same chapter (R. V.), these men "came in the days of Hezekiah" and "smote their tents, and the Meunim that were found there, and destroyed them utterly . . ., and dwelt in their stead." According to verses 42 and 43, some of them (500 men with four leaders) went to Mount Seir, smote those who were left of the fugitive Amalekites, and settled there.)  Amalekites were always hostile to Israelites.  They were nomads and not friendly to Israelites from the Exodus onwards but had attacked them when they traversed in passing on their way.    

Tanakh, Genesis 49

The New Standard Jewish Encycloopedia 

https://bostonbiblegeeks.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/whatever-happened-to-the-tribe-of-simeon/

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13677-simeon-tribe-of

https://www.chabad.org/blogs/blog_cdo/aid/3598397/jewish/12-Tribes-Of-Israel-Simeon-The-Aggressor.htm?gclid=Cj0KCQiAoab_BRCxARIsANMx4S6iioBsXpyhyNso-LnbMxDhA-6dvtLUngcqs1uy5KDQrUCwZ16KJu8aArhUEALw_wcB


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