Tribe of Simeon
The
Tribe of Simeon or
Bnei Shim'on (
Hebrew "Hearkening; listening",
Standard Hebrew ,
Tiberian Hebrew ) is one of the
Hebrew tribes, founded by
Simeon son of
Jacob.
It was "divided and scattered" according to the prediction in . They gradually dwindled in number, sinking into a position of insignificance among the other tribes. They decreased in the wilderness by about two-thirds (compare , ).
Moses pronounces no blessing on this tribe; it is passed over in silence in . Contemporary scholars believe that the tribe had been absorbed by Judah by the time that Moses' blessings were written.
This tribe received as their portion a part of the territory already allotted to the
Tribe of Judah (). It lay in the southwest of the land, with Judah on the east and the
Tribe of Dan on the north; but it is unlikely that it was a compact territory. In Jacob's blessings, Simeon is compared to his brother
Levi, and the two were cursed for their massacre of the inhabitants of
Shechem. Rather than being allotted a separate territory, Levi was given scattered cities in the territories of other tribes. It is therefore assumed that Simeon was also given scattered cities in the southern half of the Tribe of Judah's territory.
Subsequent notices of this tribe are but few (). Like the
Tribe of Reuben on the east of
Jordan, this tribe had little influence on the
history of Israel, and seem to have become assimilated into Judah quite early.
Some
Christian Identity followers believe themselves to be descendants of the Tribe of Simeon.
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Simeon*
