Simeon

Hearing. (1.) The second son of Jacob by Leah (Gen. 29:33). He was associated with Levi in the terrible act of vengeance against Hamor and the Shechemites (34:25, 26). He was detained by Joseph in Egypt as a hostage (42:24). His father, when dying, pronounced a malediction against him (49:5-7). The words in the Authorized Version (49:6), “they digged down a wall,” ought to be, as correctly rendered in the Revised Version, “they houghed an ox.”

(2.) An aged saint who visited the temple when Jesus was being presented before the Lord, and uttered lofty words of thankgiving and of prophecy (Luke 2:29-35).

(3.) One of the ancestors of Joseph (Luke 3:30).

(4.) Surnamed Niger, i.e., “black,” perhaps from his dark complexion, a teacher of some distinction in the church of Antioch (Acts 13:1-3). It has been supposed that this was the Simon of Cyrene who bore Christ’s cross. Note the number of nationalities represented in the church at Antioch.

(5.) James (Acts 15:14) thus designates the apostle Peter (q.v.).

(heard).

1. The second of Jacob’s son by Leah. His birth is recorded in (Genesis 29:33) The first group of Jacob’s children consists, besides Simeon, of the three other sons of Leah --Reuben, Levi, Judah. Besides the massacre of Shechem, (Genesis 34:25) the only personal incident related of Simeon is the fact of his being selected by Joseph as the hostage for the appearance of Benjamin. (Genesis 42:19,24,36; 43:23) The chief families of the tribe of Simeon are mentioned int he lists of (Genesis 46:10) At the census of Sinai Simeon numbered 59,300 fighting men. (Numbers 1:23) When the second census was taken, at Shittim, the numbers had fallen to 22,200, and it was the weakest of all the tribes. This was no doubt partly due to the recent mortality following the idolatry of Peor, but there must have been other causes which have escaped mention. To Simeon was allotted a portion of land out of the territory of Judah, on its southern frontier, which contained eighteen or nineteen cities, with their villages, spread round the venerable well of Beersheba. (Joshua 19:1-8; 1 Chronicles 4:28-33) Of these places, with the help of Judah, the Simeonites possessed themselves, (Judges 1:3,17) and there they were found, doubtless by Joab, residing in the reign of David. (1 Chronicles 4:31) What part of the tribe took at the time of the division of the kingdom we are not told. The only thing which can be interpreted into a trace of its having taken any part with the northern kingdom are the two casual notices of (2 Chronicles 15:9) and 2Chr 34:6 Which appear to imply the presence of Simeonites there in the reigns of Asa and Josiah. On the other hand the definite statement of (1 Chronicles 4:41-43) proves that at that time there were still some of them remaining in the original seat of the tribe, and actuated by all the warlike, lawless spirit of their progenitor.

2. A devout Jew, inspired by the Holy Ghost, who met the parents of our Lord in the temple, took him in his arms, and gave thanks for what he saw and knew of Jesus. (Luke 2:25-35) There was a Simeon who succeeded his father Hillel as president of the Sanhedrin about A.D. 13, and whose son Gamaliel was the Pharisee at whose feet St. Paul was brought up. (Acts 22:3) It has been conjectured that he may be the Simeon of St. Luke.

Simeon (1)

sim'-e-on (shim`on; Sumeon; the Hebrew root is from shama`, "to hear" (Ge 29:33); some modern scholars (Hitzig, W. R. Smith, Stade, etc.) derive it from Arabic sima`, "the offspring of the hyena and female wolf"): In Ge 29:33; 30:18-21; 35:23, Simeon is given as full brother to Reuben, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun, the son of Leah; and in Ge 34:25; 49:5 as the brother of Levi and Dinah. He was left as a hostage in Egypt by orders of Joseph (Ge 42:24; 43:23).

1. The Patriarch: Biblical Data:

In the "blessing" of the dying Jacob, Simeon and Levi are linked together:

"Simeon and Levi are brethren;

Weapons of violence are their swords.

O my soul, come not thou into their council;

Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united;

For in their anger they slew a man,

And in their self-will they hocked an ox.

Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce;

And their wrath, for it was cruel:

I will divide them in Jacob,

And scatter them in Israel" (Ge 49:5-7).

Whatever view may be taken of the events of Ge 34:25 (and some would see in it "a tradition of the settlement of Jacob which belongs to a cycle quite independent of the descent into Egypt and the Exodus" (see S. A. Cook, Encyclopedia Brit, article "Simeon")), it is clear that we have here a reference to it and the suggestion that the subsequent history of the tribe, and its eventual absorption in Judah, was the result of violence. In the same way the priestly Levites became distributed throughout the other tribes without any tribal inheritance of their own (De 18:1; Jos 13:14). From the mention (Ge 46:10; Ex 6:15) of Shaul as being the son of a Canaanite woman, it may be supposed that the tribe was a mixed one.

In the "blessing of Moses" (De 33) Simeon is not mentioned at all in the Hebrew text, although in some manuscripts of the Septuagint the latter half of De 33:6 is made to apply to him: "Let Simeon be a small company." The history of the tribe is scanty and raises many problems. Of the many theories advanced to meet them it cannot be said that any one answers all difficulties.

2. The Tribe in Scripture:

In the wilderness of Sinai the Simeonites camped beside the Reubenites (Nu 2:12; 10:19); it was Zimri, a member of one of the leading families of this tribe, who was slain by Phinehas in the affair of Baal-peor (Nu 25:14). The statistics in Nu 1:22 f, where the Simeonites are given as 59,300, compared with the 2nd census (Nu 26:14), where the numbers are 22,200, indicate a diminishing tribe. Some have connected this with the sin of Zimri.

At the recital of the law at Mt. Gerizim, Simeon is mentioned first among those that were to respond to the blessings (De 27:12). In the conquest of Canaan "Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him" (Jud 1:3; compare Jud 1:17). (Many scholars find in Ge 34 a tribal attempt on the part of the Simeonites to gain possession of Shechem; if this is so, Judah did not assist, and the utter failure may have been a cause of Simeon's subsequent dependence upon, and final absorption in, Judah.) In Jud 4 and 5 Simeon is never mentioned. In the settlement of the land there is no account of how Simeon established himself in his territory (except the scanty reference in Jud 1:3), but "their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Judah" (Jos 19:1); this is accounted for (Jos 19:9), "for the portion of the children of Judah was too much for them." Nevertheless we find there the very cities which are apportioned to Simeon, allotted to Judah (Jos 15:21-32; compare Ne 11:26-29). It is suggested (in 1Ch 4:31) that the independent possession of these cities ceased in the time of David. David sent spoil to several Simeonite towns (1Sa 30:26 f), and in 1Ch 12:25 it is recorded that 7,100 Simeonite warriors came to David in Hebron. In 1Ch 27:16 we have mention of a ruler of the Simeonites, Shephatiah, son of Maacah.

In 1Ch 4:39 f mention is made of certain isolated exploits of Simeonites at GEDOR (which see), against the MEUNIM (which see), and at Mt. SEIR (which see). Later references associate certain Simeonites with the Northern Kingdom (2Ch 15:9; 34:6), and tradition has come to view them as one of the ten tribes (compare Eze 48:24,25,33; Re 7:7), although all the history of them we have is bound up with Judah and the Southern Kingdom. There is no mention of the return of any Simeonites after the captivity; their cities fall to Judah (Ne 11:26 f).

3. References in Egyptian and Assyrian Inscriptions:

It has been supposed by many authorities that the name Shim`an occurs in the list of places plundered by Thothmes III (see Petrie, Hist, II, 104; also Hommel, Ancient Hebrew Tradition, 268; Sayce, Early Hebrew Traditions, 392). In the 7th century we have a doubtful reference in an inscription of Esar-haddon relating his Egyptian campaign when a city Ap-ku is mentioned as in the country of Sa-me-n(a), which may possibly be a reference to Simeon. The survival of the name so late, if true, is strange, in the light of what we gather from the Bible about the tribe. (For discussion of both of these inscriptions, with references to the lit., see EB, coll. 4528-30.)

4. The Territory of Simeon:

The cities of Simeon as given in Jos 19:2-6 and 1Ch 4:28,31 are (the names in parentheses are variations in the latter reference): Beer-sheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, Balah (Bilhah), Azem (the King James Version) (Ezem), Eltolad (Tolad), Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah (Hazar Susim), Beth-lebaoth (Beth-biri), Sharuhen (Shaaraim) (Etam), Ain Rimmon, Ether (Tochen), Ashan--in all, 16 cities in Joshua and 17 cities in 1 Chronicles. Ashan (1Ch 6:59) is the only one assigned to the priests. It is written wrongly as "Ain" in Jos 21:16. All the above cities, with certain variations in form, and with the exception of Etam in 1Ch 4:32, which is probably a mistake, occur in the list of the cities of Judah (Jos 15:26-32,42). Ziklag is mentioned (1Sa 27:6) as being the private property of the kings of Judah from the days of David, who received it from Achish, king of Gath.

For the situation of these cities, so far as is known, see separate articles under their names. It is clear that they were all situated in the southwestern part of Palestine, and that Simeon had no definite territorial boundaries, but isolated cities, with their villages, among those of the people of Judah.

E. W. G. Masterman

Simeon (2)

(shim`on; Sumeon):

(1) The 2nd son of Jacob by Leah (see separate article).

(2) Great-grandfather of Judas Maccabeus (1 Macc 2:1).

(3) A man in Jerusalem described as "righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel." When the infant Jesus was brought into the Temple, he took Him into his arms and blessed God in words which are famous as the Nunc dimittis. Simeon bestowed his blessing on the wondering father and mother (Lu 2:25,34). Legend has made him the son of Hillel and father of Gamaliel I, but this has no historical basis.

(4) An ancestor of Jesus (Lu 3:30); the Revised Version (British and American) "Symeon."

(5) The Revised Version (British and American) "Symeon": one of the prophets and teachers in the Christian community at Antioch. He is also called Niger, which was the Gentile name he had assumed, Symeon being Hebrew. He was among those who set apart Paul and Barnabas for their missionary work (Ac 13:1,2). Nothing more is known of him.

(6) The Revised Version (British and American) "Symeon": the Hebrew name of Simon Peter (Ac 15:14).

S. F. Hunter