Today we begin Joshua Chapter 19.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click HERE.
For the King James version, click HERE.
Alrighty, we’re now in Joshua Chapter 19 and continuing on with our study of how the Promised Land was parceled out to the 12 Tribes of Israel.
Next up is Simeon which is quite a fascinating case.
Why do I say that?
Well, they were given land inside the territory of powerful Judah.
As prestigious as Judah territory was and as unhappy as Judah would have been with having to give up some of its territory to Simeon, this was actually the manifestation of a curse on Simeon.
Here’s why.
Because Simeon was surrounded by Judah, they had no power and were dependent on Judah for their livelihood.
Now what do I mean when I say this was a curse?
Let’s travel back in time to Genesis Chapter 49 to find out why.
Check out these verses:
“Simeon and Levi are brothers—
their swords are weapons of violence.
Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly,
for they have killed men in their anger
and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
and their fury, so cruel!
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.”
-Genesis 49:5-7
First, notice how Levi and Simeon were joined together and basically given the same curse by their father Jacob that they would both be divided and scattered inside the land of Canaan.
Yet, how this actually manifested for these two tribes was quite unique.
We know that Levi went on to become the most respected priestly tribe.
Actually, God elevated the Tribe of Levi to the point where they would no longer be considered a tribe of Israel anymore since they would be set aside as special servants to the Lord.
“But how was Levi scattered?”…you ask?
Recall that the Levites received 48 cities sprawled throughout the Promised Land with a ridiculously small amount of pastureland given for their animals located outside of each city they were given.
This is how Jacob’s prophecy over Levi came to be fulfilled.
They were scattered all over Israel in all the tribal territories via the giving of 48 cities.
It must have been a pain in the neck for the Levites.
Why?
Because yeah, technically speaking they did own the cities they were given but they still had to receive approval from the local tribe in order to move in and take control of the city.
So in one sense, the Levites were indeed landless.
Next, how was Simeon cursed?
Well, Simeon was scattered too but not exactly in the same way.
When one reads the Scriptures, apparently it seems like they weren’t even cursed at all.
But let’s take a closer look at the description of the territory they were given.
“The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon according to its clans.
Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah. It included:
Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah, Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, Eltolad,
Bethul, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth Markaboth, Hazar Susah, Beth Lebaoth
and Sharuhen—thirteen towns and their villages”.
-Joshua 19:1-6
Notice something interesting.
There are actually zero boundaries or borderlines being described here.
Let me say that again homies.
There are ZERO borders described here!
It’s just a list of cities and villages man and they’re all concentrated in the territory of Judah.
Historically, we know that it was a weak collection of cities and that Simeon went into a decline over the centuries due to a population decrease.
And in the final analysis, any designated territory of Simeon eventually ceased to be.
We know that over time, many of the clans of Simeon were swallowed up by the tribes who would eventually make up what would come to be known as the Northern Kingdom.
And the other Simeon clans and families ended up surrendering their allegiance to the powerful Judah and to the tribe of Benjamin who we talked about yesterday.
So we see the curse that Jacob placed on Simeon was fulfilled to a tee by them being scattered and split up among all the other tribes of Israel.
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