And the second lot came forth to Simeon, for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families; and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah.
The second lot fell to Simeon — not fresh ground, but land already counted to Judah. Why plant one tribe inside another tribe's borders, and how does Jacob's old word over Simeon come true here?
Nothing in this chapter is human preference. Writers point to the way the land west of the Jordan was handed out, and to what the lot did and did not settle.
The first section gives the inheritance of the tribes by lot. The lot marks how the land was shared out on the west side of the Jordan; the east side, as noted elsewhere, was shared without it. The lot showed the mind of God more clearly than any other way could: "its every decision is from the LORD," says the voice of inspiration itself (Prov. 16:33). But the lot seems to have settled only the position of these possessions, not their size. That left room to revise the boundary lines as each tribe grew or shrank through its faithfulness or unfaithfulness.
Simeon received no separate territory. The reason is given a few verses later, in the note that Judah's share was larger than Judah needed.
The second lot came out for Simeon, and it is described in much the same way at the start of Joshua 19:1-8, with the added statement that Simeon's inheritance was taken out of Judah's portion, since Judah's part was too much for them; so Simeon had their portion inside Judah's part (v. 9).
What Simeon received was land Judah had not been able to hold, and it lay at the edge of the country.
The inheritance of the children of Simeon was not the best, for it was taken from what Judah could not keep. So they received their portion out of what another tribe had to spare. It lay at the southern edge of the land of Israel, on the border facing the desert.
Long before, Jacob had said he would divide Simeon and Levi and scatter them in Israel. Simeon's inheritance is the shape that word takes.
The second lot comes out for Simeon, and it fits the character of the tribe. We have seen that its weakness lies in the ties it forms so easily. Now, it seems, God gives it ties after His own mind. And so Jacob's prophecy about them comes true: "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." These two opposite-looking things happen together. Simeon receives his inheritance as cities scattered, more or less, inside the territory already given to Judah — cities Judah cannot occupy, because that portion is too large for them. How little we are able to enjoy all the blessing God has made our own! But in this way He makes Simeon's need supply Judah's need. He shows us how communion, which Simeon stands for, depends on worship — and how worship, with a difference, depends on communion. Much as the Levites were given to the priests in Leviticus, so here, we may say, Simeon is given to Judah.
Simeon and Levi were sentenced together, yet their stories go different ways. Commentators differ on how far Simeon's scattering became a blessing.
Levi really was scattered — but with what honour and blessing! God appointed him to keep up the worship of the LORD. He had no care or worry except what belonged to the worship of God. In Levi the word came true with wonder and grace: his scattering was his exaltation. Simeon was small in Israel: "nor did all their clan multiply like the men of Judah." Even so, those named were princes, and the house of their fathers prospered.
Another writer sets the two tribes side by side, then weighs what Simeon's limits decided.
In grace the Lord used Levi's scattering to give him priestly duties that suited his place. For Simeon it was otherwise: he went on bearing the mark of God's judgment. He was small in number, half surrounded by Judah's territory, open to enemy attack on the south, and without fixed borders. But we find here the truth already presented. When the faith of the whole people has failed, the faith of a few — as earlier the faith of one man, Caleb — moves them to "enlarge their borders." … The extent of their possessions depended neither on their numbers nor on their power.
The two tribal names, read together, suggest why this arrangement fits.
Judah's inheritance was so large that Simeon received a possession within Judah's borders. Simeon means "listening." Anyone who makes a habit of listening to God will praise Him. So he has a right to an inheritance within Judah, whose name means "praise." Scripture mentions no separating borders for Simeon, and God has a definite reason for this.
- Lot — God decided where each tribe's portion lay, not people. The lot fixed the position; the size could still change with a tribe's faithfulness.
- Leftover — Simeon got Judah's overflow: ground Judah could not keep, out on the desert edge. One tribe's excess met another's need.
- Scattered — Jacob said, "I will divide them." The gift itself makes it come true: cities dotted inside someone else's land.
- Grace — Levi's scattering became his exaltation in God's service. Commentators differ over Simeon: he stayed small, yet his named men were princes.
- Listening — Simeon's name means listening, and his home sits inside Judah, "praise." Those who listen to God live inside worship.
And they had in their inheritance Beer-sheba, and Sheba, and Moladah,
The second lot falls to Simeon, and it opens with towns instead of a border. Why does one tribe get cities inside another tribe's land instead of its own territory? And what do names like Beersheba and Moladah mean?
The cities named here were not carved out of fresh ground. They came out of a portion already assigned, because the tribe holding it could not fill what it had been given.
The second lot came forth to Simeon; and this is described similarly in the beginning of Joshua 19:1-8, with the added statement that Simeon's inheritance was taken out of the portion of Judah, the part of the former being too much for them: and therefore the latter had their portion within their part.
Commentators read this arrangement in different ways. One sees the placing as fitting and honourable:
Judah's inheritance was so large that Simeon was given a possession inside Judah's borders. Simeon means "listening," because the one who makes a habit of listening to God is sure to praise Him. That gives him title to an inheritance within Judah ("praise"). The account mentions no separating borders for Simeon, and God has a definite reason for this. But it does list many cities with their surrounding villages as belonging to Simeon.
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Another reads the same facts as a lesser portion, and notes where it lay:
But the inheritance of the children of Simeon was not the best, because it was taken from what Judah could not keep. So they received their portion out of what another tribe had to spare, at the southern edge of the land of Israel, on the border facing the desert.
The scattering of Simeon was foretold. It turned out to be provision — for Simeon and for Judah.
In this way Jacob's prophecy about them is fulfilled: "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." These two seemingly opposite things happen through their receiving their inheritance as cities scattered, more or less, inside the territory already given to Judah — cities Judah cannot occupy, because its portion is too large for it. How little we are able to enjoy all the blessing God has made our own! But in this way He makes Simeon's need supply Judah's need.
The verse gives Simeon town names, not boundary lines. One writer treats that silence as deliberate.
So Simeon has no real territory at all, and no boundary lines are drawn or mentioned. The cities do not speak of what Simeon has for its own private enjoyment. They speak of what God has provided for it, so that it may be kept going.
The first name carries an oath sworn generations earlier, and it marks the far edge of the nation.
This name means well of the oath. It was given to the place where Abraham and Abimelech made a covenant not to harm each other, and confirmed it with an oath. Later it became the home of Abraham and of Isaac... It became part of Simeon's lot, Joshua 19:1-2. After Israel settled the land, Scripture keeps pointing to it as the most southern part of the land they held, just as Dan marks the most northern.
The oath in that name is read as God's own pledge of blessing:
Blessed be God that for us there is this constant need of water from below and from above. Egypt, with its river whose source they cannot see, is not our portion. We need the Spirit, and so we need His gracious, patient, abundant ministry, shown to us in the first of Simeon's cities, secured to us by oath. "He who can swear by no greater has sworn by Himself, saying, Surely, blessing, I will bless you!"
The third name points to where the life of communion begins.
Moladah means "birth." We are born of the Spirit, born of the Word. This is the first qualification for communion: a nature able to grasp and enjoy the things of God.
The count and the spellings of these towns are not uniform across Scripture, and this is acknowledged openly rather than smoothed over.
There are questions about these Simeonite cities, even about how many there were. The first series is given as thirteen, while the Hebrew text has fourteen. According to the commentators, the names themselves often appear in a different form in Judah's list, and sometimes in a third form in 1 Chronicles.
- Oath. The list opens at Beersheba, the well of the oath. Simeon's portion starts at a sworn promise, not at a won border.
- Birth. Moladah means "birth." A nature able to take in the things of God is the first qualification for enjoying them.
- No borders. Simeon gets cities, not boundary lines. The towns supply what keeps the tribe going; they do not mark off what is his.
- Scattered. Jacob said Simeon would be scattered in Israel. These towns fulfil that word, and they also fill land Judah could not fill.
- Two readings. Commentators differ: is Simeon's place inside Judah an honour, or land left over? They also note that the number and spelling of the cities differ between Joshua and 1 Chronicles.