Simeon (Hebrew Bible)
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Simeon () was the second of the six sons of
Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
and
Leah Leah ''La'ya;'' from (; ) appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son ...
(Jacob’s second son), and the founder of the
Israelite The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
Tribe of Simeon According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Simeon (; he, ''Šīm‘ōn'', "hearkening/listening/understanding/empathizing") was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Book of Judges locates its territory inside the boundaries of the Tribe of ...
, according to the
Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...
. However, some
Biblical scholars Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 For ...
view this as postdiction, an
eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...
ous
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
providing an
etiology Etiology (pronounced ; alternatively: aetiology or ætiology) is the study of causation or origination. The word is derived from the Greek (''aitiología'') "giving a reason for" (, ''aitía'', "cause"); and ('' -logía''). More completely, e ...
of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation.'' Peake's commentary on the Bible'' With Leah as a
matriarch Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general E ...
, Biblical scholars regard the tribe as having been believed by the text's authors to have been part of the original Israelite
confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
. However, the tribe is absent from the parts of the Bible which textual scholars regard as the oldest (for example, the ancient
Song of Deborah According to the Book of Judges, Deborah ( he, דְּבוֹרָה, ''Dəḇōrā'', "bee") was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Many scholars ...
). Some scholars think that Simeon was not originally regarded as a distinct tribe."Simeon, Tribe of", ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
/ref>


Simeon's name

The text of the
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
says that the name of ''Simeon'' refers to Leah's belief that
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
had heard that Jacob preferred her sister,
Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...
, implying a derivation from the
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
term ''shama oni'' ( ''šāmaʿ ʾōnī'') meaning "he has heard of my suffering"; this is a similar
etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
as the Torah gives for the
theophoric A theophoric name (from Greek language, Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or God's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relat ...
name ''
Ishmael Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
'' (" El has heard"), implying that the names are
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
. The name is sometimes interpreted as meaning "he who listens to the words of God", and at other times thought to derive from ''sham 'avon'' ( ''šām ʿāvōn''), meaning "there is sin", which is argued to be a prophetic reference to Zimri's sexual
miscegenation Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...
with a
Midianite Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Ar ...
woman, a type of relationship which rabbinical sources regard as sinful. Alternatively, Hitzig, W. R. Smith, Stade, and Kerber compared שִׁמְעוֹן ''Šīmə‘ōn'' to Arabic سِمع ''simˤ'' "the offspring of the hyena and the female wolf"; as supports, Smith points to Arabic tribal names ''Simˤ'' "a subdivision of the defenders (the Medinites)" and ''Samˤān'' "a subdivision of Tamim".


Simeon in Shechem

In the Torah's account of the rape of Dinah, wherein Dinah was raped (or in some versions, merely seduced) by a Canaanite named Shechem. Simeon and his brother
Levi Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and M ...
took violent revenge against the inhabitants of the city by tricking them into circumcising themselves and then killing them when they are weakened. The account dramatizes the theme of tension between marriage within a group (endogamy) and marriage with outsiders (exogamy)."Dinah: Bible.", ''Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia''. 20 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on August 6, 2014)
/ref> Jacob castigates Simeon and Levi for this as their actions have placed the family in danger of a retaliatory strike by their neighbors. Later, in his final
blessing In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption, or divine will. Etymology and Germanic paganism The modern English language term ''bless'' likely ...
, he condemns Simeon's descendants to become ''divided and scattered''. Some Biblical scholars regard the account of the rape of Dinah as an aetiological myth, created by the Jahwist, to justify the presence of a sanctuary at Shechem; in comparison to the
Elohist According to the documentary hypothesis, the Elohist (or simply E) is one of four source documents underlying the Torah,McDermott, John J., ''Reading the Pentateuch: A Historical Introduction'' (Pauline Press, 2002) p. 21. Via Books.google.com.a ...
's justification of the Shechem sanctuary, where the land is simply purchased by Jacob, and dedicated to ''El Elohe Israel'' (meaning '' El is the God of Israel'', ''mighty is the God of Israel'', or ''God, the God of Israel''). The Jahwist's account is viewed as a veiled slight against the sanctuary.Friedmann, Richard Eliot, ''Who wrote the Bible'' Simeon's vengeance, and punishment in the blessing, are viewed by biblical scholars as aetiological postdictions which were designed to explain why, in the time of the author of the blessing (900-700BC), the tribe of Simeon was dwindling out of existence. The midrashic book of Jasher, argues that it was Simeon who deceived
Hamor In the Book of Genesis, Dinah (; ) was the seventh child and only daughter of Leah and Jacob, and one of the matriarchs of the Israelites. The episode of her violation by Shechem, son of a Canaanite or Hivite prince, and the subsequent vengean ...
by insisting that the men of Shechem would need to be circumcised. It goes on to argue that Simeon was extremely strong, despite only being 14 years old, and was able to slaughter all the men of Shechem nearly single-handedly, only having assistance from his brother
Levi Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and M ...
, and captured 100 young women, marrying the one named "Bonah".


Relation with Joseph

The classical rabbinical sources argue that Simeon was very fearless, but also was particularly envious, and so had always been antagonistic and spiteful towards
Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, owing to Joseph being Jacob's favourite son. The midrashic book of Jasher argues that Simeon was the one who proposed that the brothers should kill Joseph, and other classical sources argue that it was Simeon who threw Joseph into a pit, and became furious when he found out that Judah had sold Joseph rather than killed him. According to the classical sources, Simeon suffered divine punishment for this inhumanity, with his right hand withered, but this caused Simeon to repent, and so his hand was restored a week later. In the biblical Joseph narrative, when Joseph, having settled in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, asks his brothers to bring
Benjamin Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...
to him, he takes Simeon
hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...
to ensure that they return. According to classical rabbinical sources, Joseph chose Simeon to be the hostage because he was concerned that if Simeon was not separated from Levi, then Levi and Simeon might destroy Egypt together, since they had already destroyed Shechem. Another theory was that Joseph singled out Simeon due to his taking a prominent role in Joseph's betrayal, however Driscoll points out that there is no mention of this in the narrative.Driscoll, James F. "Simeon." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 6 Aug. 2014
/ref> According to the midrashic book of Jasher, Simeon was not willing to become a hostage, so Joseph sent 70 strong Egyptians to take Simeon by force, but Simeon had a very powerful voice, and so was able to scare off the Egyptians simply by shouting. The text states that Simeon was eventually subdued by
Manasseh Manasseh () is both a given name and a surname. Its variants include Manasses and Manasse. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh (died 1944), Singaporean rice and opium merchant and hotelier * Jacob Manasseh (die ...
, and imprisoned. The Testament of Simeon, on the other hand, declares that Simeon acknowledged that it was just for him to be imprisoned, given his earlier mistreatment of Joseph, and so he went willingly. According to the
Book of Jubilees The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), where it is ...
, Simeon was born on 21
Tevet Tevet ( he, טֵבֵת, ''Ṭevet''; ; from Akkadian ) is the fourth month of the civil year and the tenth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It follows Kislev and precedes Shevat. It is a month of 29 days. Tevet usually occ ...
, and according to the
book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...
he had six sons. Although some classical rabbinical sources argue that the mother of his children, and his wife, was Bonah, one of the women from Shechem, other classical rabbinical sources argue that Simeon's wife (and the mother of his children) was
Dinah In the Book of Genesis, Dinah (; ) was the seventh child and only daughter of Leah and Jacob, and one of the matriarchs of the Israelites. The episode of her violation by Shechem, son of a Canaanite or Hivite prince, and the subsequent vengean ...
, his sister, who had insisted on the marriage before she would be willing to leave Shechem's home (Shechem was her rapist/lover). Many of the rabbinical sources argue that Simeon died at the age of 120, roughly three years before the death of his brother
Reuben Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugue ...
, although
Numbers Rabbah Numbers Rabbah (or Bamidbar Rabbah in Hebrew) is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers (''Bamidbar'' in Hebrew). In the first prin ...
states that Simeon became the senior of the brothers after Reuben had died.


Tomb

A Samaritan tradition recorded in the late 19th century considered Neby Shem'on, a
maqam MAQAM is a US-based production company specializing in Arabic and Middle Eastern media. The company was established by a small group of Arabic music and culture lovers, later becoming a division of 3B Media Inc. "MAQAM" is an Arabic word meaning a ...
near
Kfar Saba Kfar Saba ( he, כְּפַר סָבָא), officially Kefar Sava, is a city in the Sharon region, of the Central District of Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-largest city in Israel. The population of Kfar Saba i ...
, to be the burial place of Simeon.


Children

*Jemuel *Jamin *Ohad *Jachin *Zohar (also called Zerah)See
Shlomo ben Aderet Shlomo ben Avraham ibn Aderet ( he, שלמה בן אברהם אבן אדרת or Solomon son of Abraham son of Aderet) (1235 – 1310) was a medieval rabbi, halakhist, and Talmudist. He is widely known as the Rashba (Hebrew: ), the Hebrew acronym ...
: (responsa i.
No. 12
quoted in th
Jewish Encyclopedia
: "one of the sons of Simeon is called Zohar in and , and Zerah in , but since both names signify 'magnificent,' the double nomenclature is explained."
*Shaul


See also

*
Tribe of Simeon According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Simeon (; he, ''Šīm‘ōn'', "hearkening/listening/understanding/empathizing") was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Book of Judges locates its territory inside the boundaries of the Tribe of ...
* Simeon in rabbinic literature


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simeon Founders of biblical tribes Children of Jacob Book of Genesis people Tribe of Simeon Book of Jubilees