Simeon part 2

by John Thomas Lowe
(Woodruff, S.C.)

part 2
Tomb
A Samaritan tradition recorded in the late 19th century considered Neby Shem'on, a maqam near Kfar Saba, to be the burial place of Simeon.
Children
• Jemuel
• Jamin
• Ohad
• Jachin
• Zohar (also called Zerah)21
• Shaul

Simeon and Levi
Simeon is best known for his violence towards the people of Shechem in Genesis. Dinah, Simeon's younger sister, traveled to visit women in the Canaanite city of Shechem. While there, the son of Prince Hamor, whose name was also Shechem, saw Dinah and raped her. However, after his violent action, he falls in love with Dinah and wants to marry her. Jacob's sons told Shechem he could marry Dinah, though they had plans to seek revenge. To keep with Jewish customs, they required all the men of the city of Shechem to be circumcised. While the men were weak after their procedure, Simeon and his brother Levi went to the city and killed all the men, including Prince Hamor and his son Shechem, and looted the city.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the symbol for the tribe of Simeon?
The Tribe of Simeon is symbolized by both the sword and the gate. The sword is the most famous symbol since Simeon slaughtered the men of Shechem with the sword, which Jacob called ''weapons of violence.'' However, the gate is sometimes used as a symbol since it is located on the road between Shechem and Jerusalem.
What does Simeon mean in the Bible?
Simeon comes from the Hebrew word Shema, meaning ''to hear.'' Simeon's mother, Leah, felt hated by her husband because Jacob loved his second wife and Leah's sister, Rachel, more than he loved Leah. Therefore, Leah named her son Simeon to mean God had heard her suffering.
What happened to Simeon in the Bible?
Simeon was the second oldest son of Jacob, the Israelite patriarch. Simeon is best known for his slaughter of the men of Shechem after the prince's son raped Dinah, Simeon's sister. Because of this violent act, Simeon received no blessing or inheritance from his father.
What was the tribe of Simeon known for?
The Tribe of Simeon was a reasonably small tribe known for its strength. Because of its ancestor's violent actions in slaughtering the men of Shechem, the tribe did not receive a large land inheritance and eventually assimilated into the Tribe of Judah.
Simeon was one of the 12 tribes of Israel that, in biblical times, comprised the people of Israel who later became the Jewish people. The tribe was named after the second son born to Jacob, and his first wife, Leah.
Following the Exodus out of Egypt and the death of Moses, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land and divided the new territory among the 12 tribes. Though sources do not indicate where the tribe of Simeon settled, it seems to have been in the south of Palestine beyond the powerful tribe of Judah. In time, part of the tribe of Simeon was absorbed by Judah, while other members possibly relocated to the north. After the death of King Solomon (922 BC), Palestine split into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah. If the tribe of Simeon is counted among the tribes that formed the northern kingdom, then it too was assimilated by other peoples after the Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in 721 BC. One way or another, the tribe of Simeon disappeared from history and is thus numbered among the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel (q.v.).
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Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, 10 of the original 12 Hebrew tribes, which, under the leadership of Joshua, took possession of Canaan, the Promised Land, after the death of Moses. They were named Asher, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, and Zebulun—all sons or grandsons of Jacob. In 930 BC, the ten tribes formed the independent Kingdom of Israel in the north, and the two other tribes, Judah and Benjamin, set up the Kingdom of Judah in the south. Following the Assyrian's conquest of the northern kingdom in 721 BC, the ten tribes were gradually assimilated by other peoples and thus disappeared from history. Nevertheless, a belief persisted that the Ten Lost Tribes would be found one day. Eldad ha-Dani, a 9th-century Jewish traveler, reported locating the tribes "beyond the rivers of Abyssinia" on the far side of an impassable river called Sambation, a roaring torrent of stones that becomes subdued only on the Sabbath when Jews are not permitted to travel. Manasseh ben Israel (1604–57) used the legend of the lost tribes in pleading successfully for admission of Jews into England during Oliver Cromwell's regime. People descendants of the lost tribes at various times include the Assyrian Christians, the Mormons, the Afghans, the Beta Israel of Ethiopia, the American Indians, and the Japanese. Among the numerous immigrants to the State of Israel since its establishment in 1948 were a few who likewise claimed to be remnants of the Ten Lost Tribes. The descendants of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin survived as Jews because they were allowed to return to their homeland after the Babylonian Exile of 586 BC.