Simeon

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(who hears). (1) Son of Jacob and Leah (Gen. 29:3333And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. (Genesis 29:33)). For the crime in Genesis 34:25-3025And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that 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. 26And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out. 27The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field, 29And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house. 30And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. (Genesis 34:25‑30) his father denounced him (Gen. 49:5-75Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. 6O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. 7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. (Genesis 49:5‑7)). His tribe was small (Num. 1:22-23; 26:1422Of the children of Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, those that were numbered of them, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; 23Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred. (Numbers 1:22‑23)
14These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty and two thousand and two hundred. (Numbers 26:14)
), and their inheritance a scattered portion of Canaan (Josh. 19:1-91And the second lot came forth to Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families: and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah. 2And they had in their inheritance Beer-sheba, or Sheba, and Moladah, 3And Hazar-shual, and Balah, and Azem, 4And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah, 5And Ziklag, and Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susah, 6And Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities and their villages: 7Ain, Remmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages: 8And all the villages that were round about these cities to Baalath-beer, Ramath of the south. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. 9Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them. (Joshua 19:1‑9)). (2) Son of Judah in genealogy of Christ (Luke 3:3030Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim, (Luke 3:30)). (3) Simon Peter (Acts 15:1414Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. (Acts 15:14)). (4) A venerable and pious Jew who blessed the child Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:25-3525And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 33And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. 34And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 35(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. (Luke 2:25‑35)). (5) Simeon Niger (Acts 13:11Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. (Acts 13:1)). [NIGER.]

Concise Bible Dictionary:

1. The second son of Jacob and Leah, and head of the tribe bearing his name. Except the attack that he, with Levi, made on Shechem, and his being kept by Joseph as a hostage, nothing personally is recorded of Simeon. He entered Egypt with Jacob, taking his six sons with him. On leaving Egypt, those numbered of the tribe were 59,300, but on entering the land after the forty years’ wanderings, there were only 22,200.
When Jacob blessed his sons he said, “Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.... in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel” (Gen. 49:5-75Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. 6O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. 7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. (Genesis 49:5‑7)). This scattering seems also intimated by the circumstance that when Moses blessed the tribes, Simeon is not mentioned.
The lot of Simeon was in the extreme south, having the Philistines on their west and the desert of Paran on their east. On the division of the kingdom they nominally belonged to the ten tribes, but were completely isolated from the other nine, so that they would have had either to coalesce with the two tribes (and of this we read nothing), or, according to the prophecy of Jacob, be “scattered in Israel.” They were, in a sense, lost in the land. In the future day of which Ezekiel prophesies, when the twelve tribes will be restored and the land be re-divided, the tribe of Simeon has its portion (Ezek. 48:24-3524And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion. 25And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion. 26And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion. 27And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion. 28And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea. 29This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord God. 30And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures. 31And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. 32And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan. 33And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun. 34At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali. 35It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there. (Ezekiel 48:24‑35)). They are also mentioned in Revelation 7:77Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. (Revelation 7:7), when a remnant of them will be sealed for blessing.
2. A “just and devout” man at Jerusalem, to whom it was revealed that he should not die until he had seen “the Lord’s Christ.” When the “child Jesus” was presented in the temple Simeon took Him up in his arms, blessed God and asked that he might depart in peace, for he had seen God’s salvation (Luke 2:25, 3425And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. (Luke 2:25)
34And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Luke 2:34)
). He was one of those that looked for redemption in Israel.

Jackson’s Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names:

hearkening