Ascalon, Gaza, Negev and Sinai
A large red inscription suggests the tribe of Simeon.
112. Lot of Simeon
SIMEON, the second son of Jacob and Leah (Gen. 29:33) and the eponymous ancestor of the tribe of Simeon. The name is formed from the verb shm (AmS) with the addition of the suffix on (Nv), and was given by Leah to her son because "the Lord heard" that she was unloved (ibid.).
Simeon the individual is mentioned in connection with the journey to Egypt in time of famine, when Joseph imprisoned him as a guarantee that Benjamin, the youngest brother, would be brought before him (42:24, 36; 43:23). In Genesis 34 he is referred to as, together with Levi, attacking the city of Shechem, killing its inhabitants in retaliation for the rape of their sister Dinah by Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, a prince of the land (cf. 49:5-6). However, many scholars see in this story echoes of the sojourn of the tribes of Simeon and Levi in central Palestine and a clash between them and the host population, even before the Israelites conquered the land. Such a supposition might explain why the Book of Joshua lacks any description of the conquest of Shechem and the mountains of Ephraim (but cf. Josh. 12). Shechem, it is presumed, was already in the hands of Simeon and Levi even prior to Joshua's invasion of Canaan. It was to Shechem that Joshua later gathered all the tribes of Israel and where they entered into a covenant to worship the Lord (Josh. 24). Some also find an allusion to Simeon's connection with the district of Shechem in the ceremony described in Deuteronomy 27:12, in which the Simeonites head the group delivering the blessing on Mt. Gerizim. Simeon is also cited together with Ephraim and Manasseh in II Chronicles 15:9. According to Judges 1:3, the Simeonites fought alongside the tribe of Judah at Bezek within Manasseh's district north of Shechem even before they turned southward to conquer the hill country of Judah (cf. Judg. 1:3).
In contrast to this meager evidence showing Simeon to be located in the center of the land, there exists a large body of tradition concerning the settlement of the tribe in the southern region of Canaan. According to the Book of Joshua, Simeon settled in the Negev (cf. I Chron. 4:28-33) "in the midst of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah" (Josh. 19:1). The passage does not trace the boundaries of Simeon's settlement, but lists its towns, including the principal town of Beer-Sheba. Simeon's settlement is also included in the description of Judah's territory in Joshua 15. It lay in the Negev district, since the Simeonites inherited part of Judah's allotment (Josh. 19:8). Moreover, the listings of the levitical towns include Simeon's along with Judah's (Josh. 21:9ff.; I Chron. 6:40-44). For these reasons Simeon's territory is also called the "Negev of Judah," to distinguish it from other parts of the Negev which were named after different ethnic groups (I Sam. 27:10; 30:14; II Sam. 24:7). There is no unanimity about the dating of the lists of Simeonite cities (Josh. 19:1ñ8; I Chron. 4:28-33; cf. Josh. 15:20-32), some regarding them as early as the period of conquest of the land and the time of the Judges, others assigning them to the time of David and Solomon, or even as late as Josiah.
Many of the names of locations within Simeon's area are composed of the element "hazar," denoting small settlements lacking walls (Lev. 25:31; Neh. 12:29). These served groups of shepherds and semi-nomads who had not attained the level of urban culture (cf. Gen. 25:16; Isa. 42:11; Jer. 49:33). This fits the situation of the tribe of Simeon, which continued its pastoral life, ranging through the wide spaces of the Negev to pasture its livestock. Although Simeon's area of settlement is included in the Judahite region, which perhaps explains the omission of Simeon in Moses' blessing (Deut. 33), the Simeonites managed to preserve their tribal unity and traditions. This is proved by the existence of genealogies of Simeonite families from as late as the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah (I Chron. 4:24-43).
The grazing of livestock in the southern part of the land, throughout the Negev, involved constant struggles between the Simeonites and the desert and border tribes, an echo of which may appear in Jacob's blessing (Gen. 49:5-7) and in the report about families from the tribe of Simeon who in Hezekiah's time fought against the Meunites and Amalekites in the area of Gerar, spreading with their livestock over the Negev of Judah as far as Mt. Seir (I Chron. 4:38-43).
The genealogies of the Simeonites testify to familial ties between them and other Israelite tribes as well as non-Israelite elements. Shaul son of Simeon is the "son of a Canaanite woman" (Gen. 46:10; Ex. 6:15); Mibsam and Mishma, sons of Simeon (I Chron. 4:25), also appear among the sons of Ishmael (Gen. 25:13-14; I Chron. 1:29-30); Jamin (Gen. 46:10; Ex. 6:15; I Chron. 4:24) is also listed as a descendant of Ram, the firstborn of Jerahmeel (I Chron. 2:27); Zerah as Simeon's son (I Chron. 4:24) suggests familial ties between the tribe and the family of Zerah, son of Judah (Gen. 38:30), or possibly with an Edomite family descended from Esau (Gen. 36:17; I Chron. 1:37). It is also possible to find traces of familial ties between the tribe of Simeon and the Midianites in the association of Zimri son of Salu, a chieftain of the Simeonites, with Cozbi, daughter of Zur, the Midianite (Num. 25:6-19).
Although Simeon is considered Jacob's second son, the Simeonites enjoyed no outstanding position in the tribal organization of Israel either before or after the conquest and occupation of Canaan. There were no judges appointed from that tribe, and Deborah does not mention Simeon at all. During the period of the monarchy, the Simeonites and their territory formed an inextricable part of the Kingdom of Judah, the fate of its population being tied to that of the kingdom generally.
Bustanay Oded, Encyclopaedia Judaica, ad v. "Simeon"
Map Section 9 Place Sources