Joshua 19:1

Within the inheritance. Joshua had ordered the remaining part of the land, after Judah and the children of Joseph had received their inheritance, to be divided into seven portions (ch. 18:4-6). However, it may have been that the land was not sufficient for seven parts so as to give every tribe a fair portion. Probably also the contour of the land was not such as to be conveniently divided into seven. Inasmuch as Judah had received such a large share, it was probably suggested that Judah share its territory with one of the tribes. When the lot was cast the portion fell to Simeon. Perhaps, at the beginning, the Israelites had supposed the land to be large enough to give Judah a large share. In fact, if the people had possessed all the land that God originally intended “from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Gen. 15:18; cf. Deut. 11:24), Judah would have been able to retain her full allotment. But Israel had become negligent and content. Now the boundaries had to be adjusted according to their faith. Similarly with us — we too could have much more from the Lord if we possessed the faith to attempt great things for Him. These things are “written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Cor. 10:11).

In the lot of Simeon it can be seen how explicitly God guided in the selection of the inheritances. Because of the massacre of the people of Shechem by Simeon and Levi (Gen. 34), Jacob, in his dying prophecy, had prophesied that he would divide these two tribes in Jacob and scatter them in Israel (Gen. 49:7). Levi, as has already been noted, was not to have any inheritance of his own, but was to have cities in the various tribes, and now Simeon was to have his portion inside the inheritance of Judah. Simeon was still further isolated, so that at the time of the division of Judah and Israel in the reign of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12), the tribe of Simeon, though adhering to the kingdom of the 10 tribes, was separated from the territory of that kingdom by the kingdom of Judah. Thus they were divided in Jacob. Nothing much is said in Scripture concerning the tribe of Simeon. It gave to the nation neither judge, prophet, nor any other illustrious person. We may suppose, therefore, that this tribe became absorbed in that of Judah, and its individual identity was probably, to a large extent, lost (see on Gen. 49:7).