Simeon (Biblical figure)
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Simeon (Hebrew: שִׁמְעוֹן, Shim'on) was Jacob and Leah's second son and the founder of the Tribe of Simeon, as related in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. The name "Shim'on" appears to be a contraction of the Hebrew words "Shama'" (שמע) & "'on," (עון), which means, "[God] has heard of my suffering," a reference to Leah's perception that Rachel was Jacob's favorite wife.
According to the Torah, when Simeon's sister Dinah was raped by Shechem (who was the son of Hamor, ruler of the city of Shechem), he and his brother Levi decimated the city's inhabitants in retribution. (Genesis 34:25) It was for this reason that Simeon was skipped over for receiving his father's blessings for the eldest brother (Reuben was skipped over for failing to be a good leader).
| Sons of Jacob by wife in order of birth (D = Daughter) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leah | Reuben (1) | Simeon (2) | Levi (3) | Judah (4) | Issachar (9) | Zebulun (10) | Dinah (D) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rachel | Joseph (11) | Benjamin (12) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bilhah (Rachel's servant) | Dan (5) | Naphtali (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zilpah (Leah's servant) | Gad (7) | Asher (8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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