The connection between Simeon and Levi implied in the blessing of .Jacob ((Jen. xlix, 5-7) lias already been atlverted to. Tlie passage relating to them may be thus rendered :
Simeon and Levi are [uterine] brethren, lustrumcnts of violence are their swords.
Into ilieir [secret] council come not my soul !
Unto their assembly join not my honor I For ill their wrath ihey slew mini, And in their self-will they hon-'hed ox.
Cursed he tlieir wr.ith, for it [wns] tierce,
And ilii'ir iiiiL'er, r(»r il [wa^] cruel! I will divide tliem in .Iiioob, And scatter tliein in Israel.
The terras of this denunciation seem to imply a close bond of union between Simeon and Levi, and violent and continued exijloits performed under that bond, such as the one that now remains on record. The expres- sions of the closing lines evidenth' refer to the more advanced condition of the nation of Israel after the time of the death of the father of the individual patriarchs. Taking it, therefore, to be what it purports — an actual jirediction by the individual Jacob — it has often been pointed out how differently the same sentence was ac- coni|ilished in the cases of the two tribes. Both were "divided" and "scattered." But the dispersion of the Levites arose from their holding the post of honor in the nation, and being spread, for the purposes of educa- tion and worship, broadcast over the face of the coun- try. In the case of Simeon the doom refers primarily to the fact that originally this trilie had no separate al- lotment of territory, but oidy a series of cities selected from the region at first assigned to Judah (Josh, xv, 21 sq. ; comp. with xix, 1 sq.). ■ See .South Countky. The eventual disjiersion seems to have arisen from some corrupting element in the tribe itself, which first re- duced its numbers, and at last drove it from its allotted seat in the country — not, as Dan, because it could not, but because it would not, stay — and thus in the end caused it to dwindle and disappear entirely. The non- appearance of Simeon's name in the blessing of Moses (Dent, xxxiii, C) may be explained from the circum- stance that the tribe is, in accordance with the above peculiarities, not regarded as having an independent existence.
During the journey through the wilderness Simeon was a member of the camp which marched on the south side of the sacred tent. His associates were Reuben and (iad — nothis whole- brothers, but the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maid. The head of the tribe at the time of the Exode was Shelumiel, son of Znrishaddai (Numb, i, (5), ancestor of its one heroine, the intrepid Judith. Among the spies Simeon was represented by Shaphat, son of Hori, i. e. Horite, a name which, perhaps, like the " Ca- naanitess" of the earlier list, reveals a trace of the lax tendencies which made the Simeonites an easy prey to the licentious rites of I'eor, and ultimately destroyed the ]iermanence of the tribe. At the division of the land his representative was Shemuel, son of Ammihud.
The connection between Judah and Simeon already mentioned seems to have begun with the conquest. Ju- dah and the two Joseph-brethren were first served with the lion's share of tlie land; and then, the Canaanitcs having been sufliciently subdued to allow the sacred tent to be established without risk in tlie heart of the country, the work of dividing the remainder among the seven inferior tribes was jiroceeded with (Josh, viii, 1-6). Benjamin had the first turn, then Simeon (xix, 1). By this time Judah had discovered that the tract allotted to him was too large (ver. 0), and also too much exposed on the west and south for even his grent ])0w- ers. To Simeon accordingly was allotted a ilistrict out of the territory of his kinsman, on its southern frontier, which contained eighteen or nineteen cities, with their villages, spread round the venerable well of Beersheba (ver. 1-8; 1 Chron. iv, 28-33). Of these places, with the help of .Judah, the Simeonites jxissessed themselves (.Judg. i, 3, 17) ; and here they were found, doubtless bj' .loab, residing in the reign of David (1 Chron. iv, 31). During his wandering life David must have been much among the Simeonites. In fact, three of their cities are named in the list of those to which he sent presents of the spoil of the Amalekites, and one (Ziklag) was his own private property. It is therefore remarkable that the numbers of Simeon and Judah who attendcil his installation as king of Hebron should have been so much below those of the other tribes (xii, 23-37). Pos- sibly it is due to the fact that the event was taking place in the heart of their own territory', at Hebron. 'I'his, however, will not account for the curious fact that the warriors of Simeon (7100) were more numerous than
SIMEON
^49
SIMEON
Map of the Tribe of Simeon.
those of Judah (6800). After David's removal to Jeru- salem, the head of the tribe was Shephatiah, son of Maaehah (xxvii, 16).
The following list contains all the names of places in this tribe, with the probable modern names. (On the possible identifications, see the Qua?: Statement of the "Pal. Explor. Fund," Jan. 1875, p. 23 sq.). See Tribe.