The word “inference” means to reach a conclusion on the basis of evidence and reasoning. There are some examples of biblical truth which can be reached by “inference” even if the bible did not clearly state these truths. Things that are important like issues regarding “salvation” are stated clearly but some historical information that is not clear can be deducted by inference – so that the reader can understand what actually happened. A number of examples of this can be found in the scriptures such as the drop in the population of the tribe of Simeon between the first and second census and case of the circumcision of one of the sons of Moses by his pagan wife Zipporah and also the fact that Rachel was not buried in the tomb of the patriarchs (where Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Rebecca and Jacob and Leah were all buried).

Tribe of Simeon was Decimated

Numbers 1:23 (NASB95)
23 their numbered men of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.

The first census taken of military aged men of the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.

Numbers 26:14 (NASB95)
14 These are the families of the Simeonites, 22,200.

The second census shows that the military aged men of Simon were only 22,200. This was a drastic population decrease of over 37,000 men. It should also be noted that God counts the men (as heads of households) and the women and children are included under that number so only the heads of households are counted. Young military aged men (at age 20) they are considered an adult and therefore they are included in the census. If below age 20, then they are assumed to be under their father’s household and therefore not counted.

Men Counted as Heads of Households

As a side note it should be said that only men are counted as heads of households because their wives are one-flesh or one complete person together with their own husbands and their children are under the authority of the parents. If the head of household is counted then it is understood that it includes his wife and children together with him.

Numbers 2:32–33 (NASB95)
32 These are the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households; the total of the numbered men of the camps by their armies, 603,550.
33 The Levites, however, were not numbered among the sons of Israel, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Under the Old Testament era only the military aged men of twenty years old and above were counted in the census (with the exception of the tribe of Levi who was omitted from the count).

Numbers 1:45–46 (NASB95)
45 So all the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war in Israel,
46 even all the numbered men were 603,550.

God counted only the men who were twenty years only and upward because at age twenty these young men were considered an adult and were responsible before God. Prior to age twenty (from age 13-19) they were considered teenagers and below age 13 they were considered children. Thus those under age twenty were considered to be minors. Minors were considered as part of the family and under the authority of the head of the household. Therefore when God counted the military aged men (age twenty and above) he was counting the heads of households. If there was 603,550 heads of households this means that there was 603,550 families and the women and children under the authority of these heads of households were not counted because they were considered as part of the family belonging to the head of the household.

Numbers 11:21 (NASB95)
21 But Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.’

The figure of 600,000 men on foot was a “rounded figure” because it was given in whole numbers of 100,000 units. But actually it was a full 600,000 (plus some change) equaling 603,550 total. So there was 3,550 extra (over the whole number figure) given here. But it was generally true that there was over 600,000 families headed by over 600,000 heads of households.

Exodus 38:26 (NASB95)
26 a beka a head (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for each one who passed over to those who were numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men.

When the men were counted it was from twenty years old and above to give a total of 603,550 heads of households.

Exodus 12:37 (NIV)
37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.

The Israelites were counted after their Exodus from Egypt and it was found that they had about 600,000 men (besides women and children). Again this is a whole number given in full 100,000 units (with the specific number being 603,550 total). It should be noted that this figure was only for the male heads of households (not counting the women and children). The women and children were not counted (not because they were not worthy to be mentioned) but rather because (God sees the family unit as a whole) which is headed by the male head of household. Therefore if the male head of household is counted then it automatically includes his wife and children who are under his authority. When his sons reached the age of twenty and were married then they would be counted in the census as a new family unit together with their own wives and children included under them.

This same principle of counting the only the male heads of household did not end under the Old Testament era but was also continued under the New Testament era as well.

Under New Testament Era

Matthew 16:8–10 (NASB95)
8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?
9 “Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up?
10 “Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up?

Under the New Testament era Jesus fed large crowds on two separate occasions. On one occasion he fed five thousand men and on another occasion Jesus fed four thousand men. This was counted in whole number figures of 1,000 each so there may have been more than exactly five thousand and more than exactly four thousand men.

Matthew 14:21 (NASB95)
21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

On the occasion of feeding five thousand men – this whole number figure did not include women and children. Again, this is not because women and children are not worthy of mention but rather because God sees the family unit as one. The woman is one-flesh or one-person together with her own husband and their children fall under their own parental authority. So if God counts the head of the household then this automatically counts the wife and children under the head of household. So this could be translated that Jesus fed over five thousand families – which were included under the headship of 5,000 male heads of households.

Matthew 15:38 (NASB95)
38 And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

When Jesus fed the four thousand men (this included the women and children that were under their own male authority). Only the men were counted because if you count the man then the the wife and children automatically included under his authority. The biblical principle of male heads of households is confirmed during the Exodus when Moses counted only the male heads of households (besides women and children). This same biblical principle was confirmed again under the New Testament era when Jesus also counted only the male heads of households.

Age Twenty was Age of Accountability

Numbers 14:28–29 (NASB95)
28 “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you;
29 your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me.

Notice that when God condemned the evil and unbelieving generation to death, it was from age twenty and above. This means that God holds a man accountable (as an adult) at age twenty. Again, if a boy is between age 13-19 then he is a teenager and if below age 13 he is yet a child. These youth are not held accountable as an adult until they reach age of twenty. This is why in the census that God only counted the military aged men of age twenty and above – who were held accountable as adults. Below that age they were still under the authority of their own parents.

Again, counting the males of age twenty and above was counting the male heads of households which included their wives and children who were under their authority. This is an important biblical principle that has not passed away in the modern times despite the deception of the “feminine equality” movement. God still says (both under the Old and New Testaments) that the head of the household is the man and the wife is one-flesh or one complete person together with her own husband and their children are under their parental authority. This biblical principle is still in effect until to day as God still views a family unit as one under the male headship. Wives are to submit to their own husbands for this reason and are not seek their own independence which is rebellion against God’s divine order established for the family unit. Christ is submitted to God and the man is submitted to the Lord and the wife is to submit to her husband and their children are to submit to their parents. Thus the divine order of God flows from God to Christ to the man to the wife to the children with everything in place according to God’s divine order. When the young men reach age twenty and marry they start a new family unit then again the new household is formed. This family unit comes under submission as Christ submits to God the Father and the husband submits to Christ and the wife submits to her husband and the children submit to their parents.

See the link “Head Covering and Submission” for more details.

NOTE: All of this was said to confirm why God only counted the military aged men of age twenty and above without counting the women and children who were under the authority of the men as heads of households.

Returning to Original Subject Text

Our original subject text deals with the drastic drop of the population of the Simeonites of over 37,000 decrease from the first and second census. All that we discussed above was to just establish why God counts only the heads of households that are military aged (twenty and above). Below are again the scriptures which show a population of 59,300 military-aged Simeonite heads of households (age twenty and above) as recorded in the first census of Numbers 1:23.

Numbers 1:23 (NASB95)
23 their numbered men of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.

The first census taken of military aged men of the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.

Numbers 26:14 (NASB95)
14 These are the families of the Simeonites, 22,200.

The second census shows that the military aged men of Simon were only 22,200. This was a drastic population decrease of over 37,000 men. Since the bible only counts males head of households (age twenty and above) this means that these men were held accountable by God as full mature adults that were responsible for their own actions and words.

The bible does not say specifically what happened to the over 37,000 Simeonites (that were eliminated from the second census). However, we can “infer” what happened by looking at the case of the sin of Baal of Peor.

Incident of Baal of Peor Decimated Simeonite Population

Revelation 2:14 (NASB95)
14 ‘But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.

The prophet Balaam was hired by the king of Moab to curse the Israelites but he could not curse those whom God had blessed. Instead Balaam counseled Balak (the king of Moab) to send pagan women into the camp of the Israelites and entice them to eat food offered to idols and to commit sexual immorality. Thus the Israelites would curse themselves by engaging in these sins.

Numbers 25:1–9 (NASB95)
1 While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab.
2 For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.
3 So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the LORD was angry against Israel.
4 The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”
5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you slay his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor.”
6 Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand,
8 and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked.
9 Those who died by the plague were 24,000.

In the incident of Baal of Peor, pagan women were sent into the camp of the Israelites to entice them to eat food offered to idols and to commit sexual immorality. The Israelites were blessed and protected by God and the King of Moab could not curse them. Therefore he sent Moabite women to seduce the men into sin and thus the offending men would bring a curse upon themselves by sin.

The plague started and 24,000 men perished in the plague but this was not the only thing that killed those who sinned against God. There was 37,000 men missing of the men of Simeon (as calculated by the second census). So this means that there was 13,000 more men killed than those killed in the plague sent by God.

Numbers 25:5 (NASB95)
5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you slay his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor.”

It should be noted that Moses commanded the judges of Israel to put to death the men who joined themselves to Baal of Peor. Baal was the false god which was introduced to the Israelite men together with “sexual immorality” which was employed in the worship of this false deity. This means that another 13,000 men were executed by the sword in addition to the 24,000 that died by a plague sent by God against those who sinned.

Numbers 25:6–8 (NASB95)
6 Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand,
8 and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked.

It was a Simeonite man (a clan leader) who brought a pagan woman into his tent for sex and he paraded this pagan woman brazenly right within sight of Moses and in the sight of the congregation that were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting because of this terrible sin. Phinehas the grandson of Aaron saw this brazen act of sin (engaging in it without shame) so he followed the man into his tent with a spear. Phinehas pierced through both the man and the pagan woman while they were laying on top of each other having illicit sex. He pinned them both to the ground with one strike of his spear and thus stopped the plague because he was zealous for the honor of God.

Numbers 25:10–13 (NASB95)
10 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy.
12 “Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give him My covenant of peace;
13 and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.’ ”

God was pleased with the righteous indignation of Phinehas because he turned away the wrath of God by being zealous for God. Phinehas was honored with a covenant of peace with God because he was decisive in dealing with sin. Phinehas won a perpetual priesthood from God by his zealous actions. Many more may have died if the plague had not been stopped by Phinehas.

Numbers 25:14–15 (NASB95)
14 Now the name of the slain man of Israel who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites.
15 The name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was head of the people of a father’s household in Midian.

The man who brought a pagan woman into his tent for sex (within the sight of Moses and the congregation) was identified as a Simeonite leader. He was Zimri the son of Salu and was a clan leader among the Simeonites. This pagan woman was named Cozbi the daughter of Zur who was a leader of his clan in Midian. So a pagan woman (a daughter of a Midianite leader) seduced a Simeonite clan leader within the camp of Israel.

Inference that Indicates the Decimation of the Simeonite Tribe

Therefore, the massive fall in numbers between the first and second census (with 37,000) Simeonites missing can be accounted for by the judgement for sin that occurred during the incident of Baal of Peor. The loss of over 37,000 Simeonite men indicates that it was mainly the men of the tribe of Simeon who engaged in this sin. So they lost 24,000 to a plague and another 13,000 to execution by Phinehas and the judges and other leaders who put them to death for this sin.

While the bible did not specifically indicate this – however the difference in the census count could readily be accounted for by the deaths of those who engaged in the sin of Baal of Peor and lost their lives by bringing a curse upon themselves through sin.

Numbers 23:28 (NASB95)
28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor which overlooks the wasteland.

Note also that the location name of this place was “Peor” which was the name of one of the mountains in that region. Balak hired Balaam to curse the Israelites from this mountaintop. This mountain name later became an “identifier name” that describes how these pagan women came to seduce the Israelite men (primarily the Simeonites) to worship Baal and eat food offered to this idol and to engage in sexual immorality as a form of worship of this pagan deity. So today the name of this particular sin is that of “Baal of Peor” because this Baal worship occurred in a location named Peor by a mountain of the same name.

Why did the Simeonites Engage in Sexual Immorality and Idol Worship?

Genesis 49:5–7 (NASB95)
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence.
6 “Let my soul not enter into their council; Let not my glory be united with their assembly; Because in their anger they slew men, And in their self-will they lamed oxen.
7 “Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel.

Before Jacob passed away he pronounced both blessings and curses upon his sons. He cursed both Simeon and Levi because they destroyed the Shechemites who had raped their sister Dinah. As part of the curse Jacob pronounced upon them, it was said that these brother’s descendants would be scattered in Israel.

However, it might be inferred that some of the men of Simeon (who engaged in the sin of Baal of Peor) might have felt like they were already cursed by Jacob so they might as well just sin with abandon – since they were cursed anyway. This could be a possible reason why the Simeonites got decimated in the sin of Baal of Peor (where over 37,000 Simeonites perished).

It could be inferred that the curse of Jacob did not take affect on them for the separation they worked with the Shechemites but the curse only came upon those specific Simeonites who engaged in sexual immorality and pagan idol worship in the incident of Baal of Peor. Not all of the Simeonites were exterminated at that time but only about 37,000 of them because there was still 22,000 remaining after this judgement passed. The curse does not hold on someone who does not sin but only upon the 37,000 who just engaged in that sin with abandon. Again this bad Simeonite attitude that says, “What is the use?” and just yields to the sin without resistance might have been the main cause why the Simeonites had given up and did not resist sin because they thought they were already cursed anyway.

The lesson to be learned from the Simeonites is that God judges only those who sin but not everyone within the tribe. Those who who did not sin did not perish and so 22,000 Simeonites remained who did not engage in the idolatry of Baal of Peor.

Passivity of Jacob in Dealing with Situation

Genesis 31:3 (NASB95)
3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”

God told Jacob (now Israel) to go back to the land of his fathers and to his relatives and that God would be with him. So Jacob should have returned to Hebron where his father Isaac was still living.

Genesis 35:27–29 (NASB95)
27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre of Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned.
28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.
29 Isaac breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, an old man of ripe age; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Isaac lived to be one hundred and eighty years old and Jacob was present at his passing and both Jacob and Esau buried him. In fact Jacob should have returned to Hebron where his father Isaac was still living at the time Jacob returned from Laban in Syria. It was a bad move that Jacob decided to settle near a pagan city and even bought a parcel of land from these pagans. It was because of this that his daughter Dinah was placed in danger by these godless people.

Genesis 33:18–19 (NASB95)
18 Now Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and camped before the city.
19 He bought the piece of land where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money.

Jacob left Laban in Syria and entered the Promised Land but instead of returning to his father he went to the city of Shechem. This city was named after the man Shechem who later raped Dinah the daughter of Jacob. Jacob passively joined these pagans even buying a lot from them near their cursed pagan city.

Genesis 34:1–5 (NASB95)
1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.
2 When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.
3 He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.
4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young girl for a wife.”
5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in.

Dinah went out by herself (without a male guardian to protect her) and when the prince of the land (Shechem) saw her, he took her and raped her by force. But after raping her this same rapist then wanted to marry her after the immoral act was already committed. Now Jacob the father of Dinah heard about how Shechem had raped his daughter. But Jacob kept silent about it until his sons came in from the field. This silence indicates Jacob’s passivity in this manner. It also indicates a lack of leadership when Jacob (the male head of home did nothing and took no action whatsoever). Keeping silent until his sons came home indicates that Jacob was throwing the leadership to his sons to let them decide what to do about it. Therefore in the presence of (such indifference) displayed by Jacob – both Simeon and Levi took action.

Again, all this can be inferred from the text which shows the weak leadership of Jacob and the passive manner in which he threw the situation to his sons for them to decide what to do.

Genesis 34:6–17 (NASB95)
6 Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.
7 Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.
8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage.
9 “Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves.
10 “Thus you shall live with us, and the land shall be open before you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.”
11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “If I find favor in your sight, then I will give whatever you say to me.
12 “Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; but give me the girl in marriage.”
13 But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.
14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.
15 “Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male of you be circumcised,
16 then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people.
17 “But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”

Simeon and Levi already knew what they would do and planned to destroy these heathens and their rapist leader. They answered them deceitfully and tricked all of the men into being circumcised. They knew a circumcised man would be sore and feverish and weak by the third day after circumcision. Thus setting them up for an unopposed slaughter.

Genesis 34:18–24 (NASB95)
18 Now their words seemed reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.
19 The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father.
20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying,
21 “These men are friendly with us; therefore let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage, and give our daughters to them.
22 “Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised.
23 “Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will live with us.”
24 All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

These Shechemites were not innocent because not only did their leader commit rape but the entire clan was scheming to steal the livestock and possessions of the family clan of Jacob. These men of Shechem submitted to circumcision out of greed – which ended up working toward their own downfall.

Genesis 34:25–29 (NASB95)
25 Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male.
26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went forth.
27 Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister.
28 They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field;
29 and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses.

Simeon and Levi were actually authorized by their father Jacob when their father said nothing and did nothing waiting for his sons to come home to decide what to do. So Simeon and Levi came boldly upon the city when all of the men were too weak to fight and killed every male including the rapist leader and his father. They took their sister out of his house and plundered everything they found.

Genesis 34:30–31 (NASB95)
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household.”
31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister as a harlot?”

Again, Jacob was passive and threw the leadership of the situation to his sons but then he was angry when they took action and killed every male in Shechem and plundered those who intended to plunder them.

Jacob Pronounced Curse Upon Simeon and Levi

Genesis 49:5–7 (NASB95)
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence.
6 “Let my soul not enter into their council; Let not my glory be united with their assembly; Because in their anger they slew men, And in their self-will they lamed oxen.
7 “Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel.

Again, before his death Jacob pronounced a curse upon both Simeon and Levi saying they would be dispersed within the land of Israel in the future. Jacob cursed their anger and cursed their self-will and said their wrath was cruel. But this curse was unfounded because it was Jacob the clan leader who foolishly came and settled near Shechem and even bought a piece of land from these pagan men. Instead Jacob should have sought a place of separation away from the ungodly influence of these men of Shechem. In effect, it was the passivity of Jacob that resulted in his daughter Dinah being raped. If he had not settled near a city of ungodly men then he might not have had all of this trouble.

Again, it is by inference that one can see the truth of the passivity of Jacob. Jacob was passive to settle near a city of godless men who had no fear of the Lord. Jacob was passive when his daughter Dinah was raped and he said nothing and did nothing until his sons came home. This passivity is by default throwing the leadership to the sons to let them decide what to do. But then the same Jacob cursed his two sons for taking action – when he was the one who threw the decision to them by not saying or doing anything until they arrived home.

The principle is that the man is the head of the household and Jacob did not take action to protect his daughter. Dinah should not have been allowed to go alone outside without a male protector. Dinah was under the authority of Jacob because she was not yet married and had not yet come under the authority of her own husband. A girl is to be under the male protection of her father until she is married. Then after marriage the woman will come under the protection of her own husband.

So Jacob was in authority over his unmarried daughter Dinah (who was still under his authority as her father). It was Jacob who should have taken action but he said nothing in passive manner until his sons came home. It was Jacob who was passive after returning from Laban and entered the Promised Land and he failed to seek separation from the godless pagans and even bought a plot of land from them near the city of these pagans. This was the fault of Jacob who did not take leadership.

Genesis 35:1–7 (NASB95)
1 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments;
3 and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”
4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was near Shechem.
5 As they journeyed, there was a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
6 So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.
7 He built an altar there, and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother.

After Simeon and Levi destroyed the Shechemites – then God spoke to Jacob to arise and go to Bethel and to live there. It was Simeon and Levi who worked “separation” from the pagan influence of these godless people. It was then that God could speak to spiritually dull Jacob again and told him to move to Bethel. God could not speak to Jacob before this as he chose to settle among pagans and buy land from them. Jacob was to be separated from godless people and not intermarry with them and become an idol worshipper. God wanted to have one nation that served God and carried godly influence for the whole world. This godly influence would be lost if they intermarried and became one with godless people. Simeon and Levi worked the separation necessary to separate Jacob and his family away from ungodly influence.

Dispersion in the Time of Joshua

Joshua 19:1 (NASB95)
1 Then the second lot fell to Simeon, to the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families, and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Judah.

In the time of Joshua when they divided the land, the lot of Simeon fell within the midst of the inheritance of Judah.

Joshua 19:9 (NASB95)
9 The inheritance of the sons of Simeon was taken from the portion of the sons of Judah, for the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; so the sons of Simeon received an inheritance in the midst of Judah’s inheritance.

Again, the inheritance of Simeon fell within the portion of the sons of Judah because the portion allotted to Judah was too large for them so the clan of Simeon joined them within the borders of their inheritance. In this respect it could be said the Simeon was dispersed within the land belonging to another tribe – when the land was divided according to tribal inheritance.

Judges 1:3 (NASB95)
3 Then Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I in turn will go with you into the territory allotted you.” So Simeon went with him.

The Promised Land was divided in the time of Joshua but each tribe was still responsible to conquer their allotment and destroy the pagans that were squatting on their land. So Judah and Simeon joined together and went to war to clear the pagan inhabitants from the land. Simeon helped Judah in war and Judah helped Simeon in war as well.

It should be noted that Judah represents the tribe from which descended the Messiah who is Yeshua or Jesus the Christ. When Simeon was joining with Judah it speaks of joining their zeal for war together with a righteous cause. It should be remembered that Phinehas the grandson of Aaron was zealous for the Lord when he pinned a man and pagan woman to the ground with a spear (while they were having illicit sex). God credited his zeal as something good. So in fact when Simeon was allotted land within the inheritance of Judah this speaks of the fact that God was not angry at Simeon for his zeal in working separation with the Shechemites – when Jacob first arrived in the land (after leaving Laban in Syria).

Levites Separated to God

Exodus 32:23–29 (NASB95)
23 “For they said to me, ‘Make a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’
24 “I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
25 Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies—
26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.
27 He said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’ ”
28 So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.
29 Then Moses said, “Dedicate yourselves today to the LORD—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”

When the Israelite people fell away from God and began to worship an calf idol (which was made by Aaron) then the wrath of God came. Moses cried out, “Who is on my side?” as Moses stood with God on the side of righteousness. It was the Levites who rallied together to Moses and they put on their swords and killed every man who engaged in this idolatry. Levi did not consider family relations but killed even brothers or friends of neighbors without mercy to all those who broke God’s laws. Levi was zealous for the Lord just as Phinehas also had been to put to death those who sinned against God in the incident of Baal of Peor.

Deuteronomy 10:8–9 (NASB95)
8 At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve Him and to bless in His name until this day.
9 Therefore, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance with his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, just as the LORD your God spoke to him.)

After Levi demonstrated their zeal for the Lord, they were set apart by God to stand before the Lord and carry the ark of the covenant and to serve in the tabernacle. They belonged to God so they did not receive an inheritance because the Lord would be their inheritance. They won a special and vaunted position with God because of their zeal for the Lord in executing God’s judgment upon those who worshipped the calf made by Aaron.

Numbers 3:5–12 (NASB95)
5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him.
7 “They shall perform the duties for him and for the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.
8 “They shall also keep all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, along with the duties of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
9 “You shall thus give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the sons of Israel.
10 “So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that they may keep their priesthood, but the layman who comes near shall be put to death.”
11 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
12 “Now, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn, the first issue of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine.

God spoke to Moses saying that the Levites would be set apart to God.

Deuteronomy 33:1 (NASB95)
1 Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death.

Later when Moses pronounced blessing upon the tribes he specifically addressed the tribe of Levi.

Deuteronomy 33:8–11 (NASB95)
8 Of Levi he said, “Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man, Whom You proved at Massah, With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;
9 Who said of his father and his mother, ‘I did not consider them’; And he did not acknowledge his brothers, Nor did he regard his own sons, For they observed Your word, And kept Your covenant.
10 “They shall teach Your ordinances to Jacob, And Your law to Israel. They shall put incense before You, And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
11 “O LORD, bless his substance, And accept the work of his hands; Shatter the loins of those who rise up against him, And those who hate him, so that they will not rise again.”

Levi was exalted because they put the things of God and their zeal for the Lord even above father and mother and brothers and sons and relatives. Service to God was of a higher priority than even their own blood relatives. It was said of Levi that they would teach God’s ordinances to Jacob and God’s laws to Israel. In this sense the scattering of Levi was turned into a blessing because they taught the laws of God within the territory allotments of all the other eleven tribes. Levi was first zealous for separation when they killed the Shechemites and Levi was again zealous to put to death those people who went wild in worshipping the Aaron’s calf idol and those who also engaged in sexual immorality.

Exodus 32:4–6 (NASB95)
4 He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
5 Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”
6 So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

Rising up to play speaks of sexual lasciviousness which is typically a part of all pagan idol worship. They falsely ascribed to this calf idol the very things God had done for them saying that this idol brought them out of Egypt (with great miracles).

So it was the Levites who rallied to Moses and then executed those who engaged in the debauchery of idol worship before this calf idol. The Levites gained favor with God from that time forward because of their zeal for the Lord just as Phinehas also was honored by God for the same reason when he was zealous in the incident of Baal of Peor.

Jacob’s Curse Turned into a Blessing

So the curse of Jacob against Simeon and Levi said that they would be scattered throughout Israel. But in the case of Levi, this was a good thing because the Levites went to all of the tribes of Israel to teach God’s law to them. Even Simeon ended up within the tribe of Judah which was distinguished as the tribe from which the Messiah descended from. Both Simeon and Levi were honored for their zeal to work separation from those who were ungodly and to execute God’s wrath upon those who broke God’s laws and sinned in wanton manner.

It is a tragic loss however that 37,000 Simeonites perished in the incident of Baal of Peor. Did they just give up and jump into sin with abandon? Did they falsely imagine that they were cursed already anyway so since they were already wet they may as well take a bath? It is possible that 37,000 Simeonites engaged in this sin because they felt hopeless anyway as if they were already cursed by Jacob.

Proverbs 26:2 (NASB95)
2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, So a curse without cause does not alight.

The truth of the matter however is that a curse pronounced upon someone will not alight (or fall upon them) if there is no cause for it. This means that no one can really curse another but instead the curse comes from their own decisions and behavior and actions. Note that 22,000 Simeonites did not perish in the plague because they held themselves and refrained from indulging in idolatry and immorality. The 37,000 Simeonites who perished cursed themselves when they sinned against God and jumped into sin with abandon!

Deuteronomy 18:22 (NASB95)
22 “When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

“Presumptuously” describes acting with excessive self-confidence, overstepping boundaries, or doing something you have no right to do, showing little respect for others.

If someone speaks “presumptuously” in a prophecy then they are overstepping boundaries and doing something that they have no right to do. They are also showing little respect for others and in this definition it seems that parts of Jacob’s prophecy against both Simeon and Levi was spoken in presumptuous manner. It could very well be that 37,000 Simeonites perished because they wrongly assumed they were already cursed anyway so they might as well jump into sin with abandon. This is what caused them to bring a curse upon themselves which killed them all off in judgment.

If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord but what he says does not come true then that thing he spoke was not of the Lord. It is possible that certain prophecies can be contaminated by human motives. If the one prophesying has a grudge against someone – then that bad attitude could come out in their prophecy. It is ironic that Jacob cursed both Simeon and Levi for working separation from the pagans and executing God’s wrath the same as Phinehas did at Baal of Peor and later the Levites did at the scene of the golden calf of Aaron. It seemed as if Jacob was trying to cultivate good relations with the pagans (the same people he was supposed to be living separation from). Why did he fear the remaining pagans would exterminate his family clan – after the Shechemites were destroyed? It was the God of Israel who was protecting Jacob and protecting his entire family and God promised to give all of the Promised Land to him and his descendants. Therefore, it seems that Jacob faithless in this respect. He also held a grudge against Simeon and Levi and pronounced a curse upon them before his death. In fact both Simeon and Levi should have been rewarded for saving Jacob from being absorbed and defiled and eventually destroyed by these pagans. Simeon and Levi actually did a good thing to save the family of Jacob from being absorbed and defiled and destroyed by pagan contamination.

John 2:17 (NASB95)
17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”

Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah and it was said of him that “Zeal for God’s house would consume him!” Simeon later was joined to the tribe of Judah and this was an honor and speaks of having zeal for the Lord.

Again, the only curse that comes upon people is the one that results from their own actions and words and behavior that breaks God’s laws. I could say that the surviving 22,000 Simeonites (who did not sin) were blessed by God to be joined together with Judah. The Levites were also set apart by God because of their zeal for the Lord.

Never should anyone give up and “throw-in-the-towel” just because someone uttered a negative prophecy over them. No curse will alight upon them except they curse themselves by breaking God’s laws.

1 Thessalonians 5:20–22 (NASB95)
20 do not despise prophetic utterances.
21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;
22 abstain from every form of evil.

We are not to despised prophetic utterances but we should examine everything carefully and hold fast to that which is good. If some part of the prophecy is not good or was derived from human grudge then that part should be discarded. We must abstain from every form of evil because engaging in evil is what killed off the 37,000 Simeonites (not the negative prophecy of Jacob). If the negative prophecy of Jacob cursed Simeon then why did 22,000 survive? This is because there was 22,000 Simeonites who refrained from doing evil and so did not curse themselves.

Never should we throw in the towel if someone utters some prophecy against us which was derived form their own human anger or grudge in the manner that Jacob cursed Simeon and Levi for spoiling his pagan assimilation and adaptation program. In reality Simeon and Levi saved the whole family clan of Jacob by working separation and causing them to leave that place.

Genesis 35:1–2 (NASB95)
1 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments;

Notice that God finally spoke to Jacob again as soon as he had been separated from the pagans (because of the actions of Simeon and Levi). Then God told Jacob to return to the place where God first appeared to him – when he fled from Esau as a young single man. The family of Jacob then put away the foreign gods from among them. They purified themselves which indicates that they were already contaminated by idolatry – due to the constant interaction with the godless “idol-worshipping” pagans at Shechem.

In conclusion there are things that we can infer about the Simeonites and the loss of 37,000 Simeonite men between the first and second census. It can be inferred that 37,000 Simeonites perished in judgment do to the sin of Baal of Peor. Furthermore, it can be inferred that the Simeonites that perished may have given up hope because of the curse of Jacob upon them. This could have caused them to just resign themselves to fate and to just jump with both feet into sin with abandon. But not all of them did so and 22,000 Simeonites survived. They did not choose to sin against God despite the terrible prophecy uttered against them by Jacob. No curse will alight on anyone without a cause so even if someone utters a curse no one has to accept it and they can know “full-well” that the only one that can curse them is themselves (if they choose to break God’s laws and sin with abandon).

So the bible did not say specifically what happened to the missing 37,000 Simeonites. If these 37,000 Simeonites perished by cursing themselves by engaging in the sin of the Baal of Peor, the bible does not say why they decided to sin without restraint. But from the scriptures we can infer that they may have been discouraged by the curse that Jacob pronounced against them. One group of Simeonites sinned with abandon and cursed themselves while the other group of Simeonites refrained from sin and controlled themselves. The whole tribe of Simeon were cursed by Jacob but only those who sinned willfully cursed themselves and were destroyed.

Curse Based on Human Free Choice

Therefore it can concluded that humans still have a free choice and they can use their human freewill to choose to serve God and say NO to sin. They also can choose to use their human freewill to indulge in sin with abandon as those 37,000 Simeonites who perished by plague and sword. The bottom line here is that each person can determine their own destiny by the choices they make. They can choose to serve and obey God and live or they can choose to disobey God and sin and bring destruction upon themselves. Never should anyone assume their life destiny is controlled by some curse uttered by a disgruntled person who has assumed the role of a prophet over them. They can choose to obey God and be blessed or choose to disobey and bring a curse upon themselves. Their destiny is within their own hands for this reason.