Why Did Moses Not Bless The Tribe Of Simeon?

Posted on May 13, 2008 by God's Servant

A possible that Moses did not pronounce a blessing on the tribe of Simeon when he blessed the other tribes is that Jacob (Israel) had long before excluded Simeon and Levi from a direct inheritance because of their tendency to cruelty. Notice Jacob’s pronouncement:

“Simeon and Levi are brethren [a pair, Moffatt version]; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations “Hebrew: weapons of violence their kinship] …. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel [a clear reference to the incident recorded in Genesis 34:25-29]: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel” (Gen. 49:5-7).

This was fulfilled by the intermingling of the Simeonites in the inheritance of Judah (Josh. 19:1) and by the dispersion of the tribe of Levi among the other tribes (Josh. 14:3-4).

Of course, we should realize that Simeon was not cursed. It was simply a matter of not being qualified to receive a separate blessing like the other tribes.

Filed under: Blessings, Israel, Jacob, Joseph

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