Genesis 49:5

49:5 Simeon and Levi are brothers,

weapons of violence are their knives! ¹ 

Genesis 35:23

35:23 The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

Genesis 46:10

46:10 The sons of Simeon:

Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar,

and Shaul (the son of a Canaanite woman).

Genesis 42:24

42:24 He turned away from them and wept. When he turned around and spoke to them again, ²  he had Simeon taken ³  from them and tied up ⁴  before their eyes.

Genesis 42:36

42:36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You are making me childless! Joseph is gone. ⁵  Simeon is gone. ⁶  And now you want to take ⁷  Benjamin! Everything is against me.”

Genesis 29:33

29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, ⁸  he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. ⁹ 

Genesis 34:25

34:25 In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword ¹⁰  and went to the unsuspecting city ¹¹  and slaughtered every male.

Genesis 34:30

34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought ruin ¹²  on me by making me a foul odor ¹³  among the inhabitants of the land – among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I ¹⁴  am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!”

Genesis 43:23

43:23 “Everything is fine,” ¹⁵  the man in charge of Joseph’s household told them. “Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. ¹⁶  I had your money.” ¹⁷  Then he brought Simeon out to them.

Genesis 48:5

48:5 “Now, as for your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, they will be mine. ¹⁸  Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are.

[49:5]  ¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מְכֵרָה (mÿkherah) is uncertain. It has been rendered (1) “habitations”; (2) “merchandise”; (3) “counsels”; (4) “swords”; (5) “wedding feasts.” If it is from the verb כָּרַת (karat) and formed after noun patterns for instruments and tools (maqtil, miqtil form), then it would refer to “knives.” Since the verb is used in Exod 4:25 for circumcision, the idea would be “their circumcision knives,” an allusion to the events of Gen 34 (see M. J. Dahood, “‘MKRTYHM’ in Genesis 49,5,” CBQ 23 [1961]: 54-56). Another explanation also connects the word to the events of Gen 34 as a reference to the intended “wedding feast” for Dinah which could take place only after the men of Shechem were circumcised (see D. W. Young, “A Ghost Word in the Testament of Jacob (Gen 49:5)?” JBL 100 [1981]: 335-422).

[42:24]  ² tn Heb “and he turned to them and spoke to them.”

[42:24]  ³ tn Heb “took Simeon.” This was probably done at Joseph’s command, however; the grand vizier of Egypt would not have personally seized a prisoner.

[42:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he bound him.” See the note on the preceding verb “taken.”

[42:36]  ³ tn Heb “is not.”

[42:36]  ⁴ tn Heb “is not.”

[42:36]  ⁵ tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is desiderative here.

[29:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.

[29:33]  ⁵ sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the Lord “heard” about Leah’s unloved condition and responded with pity.

[34:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “a man his sword.”

[34:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they came upon the city, [which was] secure.” In this case “secure” means the city was caught unprepared and at peace, not expecting an attack.

[34:30]  ⁶ tn The traditional translation is “troubled me” (KJV, ASV), but the verb refers to personal or national disaster and suggests complete ruin (see Josh 7:25, Judg 11:35, Prov 11:17). The remainder of the verse describes the “trouble” Simeon and Levi had caused.

[34:30]  ⁷ tn In the causative stem the Hebrew verb בָּאַשׁ (ba’ash) means “to cause to stink, to have a foul smell.” In the contexts in which it is used it describes foul smells, stenches, or things that are odious. Jacob senses that the people in the land will find this act terribly repulsive. See P. R. Ackroyd, “The Hebrew Root באשׁ,” JTS 2 (1951): 31-36.

[34:30]  ⁸ tn Jacob speaks in the first person as the head and representative of the entire family.

[43:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he said, ‘peace to you.’” Here the statement has the force of “everything is fine,” or perhaps even “calm down.” The referent of “he” (the man in charge of Joseph’ household) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[43:23]  ⁸ sn Your God and the God of your father…This is the first clear reference in the story to the theme of divine providence – that God works through the human actions to do his will.

[43:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “your money came to me.”

[48:5]  ⁸ sn They will be mine. Jacob is here adopting his two grandsons Manasseh and Ephraim as his sons, and so they will have equal share with the other brothers. They will be in the place of Joseph and Levi (who will become a priestly tribe) in the settlement of the land. See I. Mendelsohn, “A Ugaritic Parallel to the Adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh,” IEJ (1959): 180-83.