Jacob’s Twelve Sons — Simeon
“The sons of Leah … Simeon” (Genesis 35:23).
We are told very little of the personal life of Simeon. He and Levi made an attack on Shechem to avenge their sister Dinah. “Two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males” (Genesis 34:25). He was also kept by Joseph as a hostage in Egypt while the others were sent back to their father. “And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes” (Genesis 42:24).
When Jacob blessed his sons he linked Simeon and Levi together and said, “Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations” (Genesis 49:5). When Moses blessed the 12 tribes, Simeon is not mentioned. As a punishment for his cruelty, Simeon, along with Levi, has experienced a continual dispersion among their brethren. He was the last of the tribes to enter the land of Canaan, and his inheritance was in the extreme south.
