This is Scripture Roundtable 77 from The Interpreter Foundation, in which we discuss the Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson #27, The Influence of Wicked and Righteous Leaders, focusing on scriptures in 1 Kings 12-14, 21-24, and 2 Chronicles 17 and 20, bringing in various insights to help us better understand the scriptures. These roundtables will generally follow the 2014 Gospel Doctrine schedule of scriptures, a few weeks ahead of time.
Panelists for this roundtable are Stephen Smoot, Daniel Peterson, and Craig Foster.
This roundtable is also available as an audio podcast, and will be included in the podcast feed. You can listen by pressing the play button or download the podcast below:
Podcast: Download (Duration: 53:31 — 18.4MB)
In talking about 10 tribes in the northern kingdom and Judah and Benjamin in the southern kingdom, I have to ask about Simeon, something I have wondered about for 4 decades since I was a teenager.
Simeon was the southernmost of the tribes, around Beersheba. In the beginning of the Book of Judges, Judah and Simeon cooperate in taking their respective lands.
Much of Simeon’s land seems to have been lost to Israel and Beersheba eventually is seen as part of Judah.
It is possible that Simeon had moved north, like Dan. Dan had had difficulty in the Book of Judges with their land–it was occupied by Philistines. So, the tribe of Dan moved to the far north and in doing so, set up its own worship center centuries before Jeroboam. Simeon could have done the same thing, but there isn’t a record of Simeon moving north. Instead, it seems more like Simeon had been absorbed into Judah.