Joshua 19:1 - Meaning and Application

Simeon’s lot was drawn after Judah’s, Joseph’s, and Benjamin’s, because Jacob had put this tribe under a kind of shame. Even so, it is placed before the two younger sons of Leah and the three sons of the servant girls. As far as we know, no judge or prophet came from this tribe.

Their land lay inside Judah’s borders (Joshua 19:1), and it was later taken out of Judah’s territory again (Joshua 19:9). It seems the first survey of the land made it look larger than it really was, so the land assigned to Judah was thought able to hold more cities than it truly could. After a closer look, it was found that it was not enough (Joshua 19:9). The share of Judah was too large for them, more than they needed, and more than they actually received in the end. Yet God did not change the lot itself. He left it to their wisdom and care to notice the mistake and correct it afterward.

When they did, the men of Judah did not fight the removal of the cities that had first been included in their border. Once they saw that they had more than their fair share, they allowed the change. In matters like this, mistakes should be corrected if there is a good reason. Though, by strict right, what fell to them by lot was theirs against the whole world, they would not hold on to it when it became clear that another tribe needed what they could spare. We should care about other people’s needs, not only our own. The abundance of some should meet the lack of others, so that there may be a fair balance, even where the law does not force it.

What was taken from Judah and given again by a new lot was directed by Providence to Simeon, so Jacob’s prophecy would come true: “I will divide them in Jacob.” Simeon’s cities were scattered through Judah, and Simeon was surrounded by Judah on every side except toward the sea. This brought the two tribes into close partnership (Judges 1:3). Later, it also helped many from Simeon stay loyal to David’s family when the ten northern tribes turned to Jeroboam. People from Simeon also came over in large numbers to Asa (2 Chronicles 15:9). It is good to live among good neighbors.

The cities in their lot are then named. Beersheba, or Sheba, for those names seem to point to the same place, is listed first. Ziklag, which we read about in David’s story, was one of them. How they enlarged their borders and made room for themselves is told in (1 Chronicles 4:39) and the verses that follow.