38 lines
1.7 KiB
Markdown
38 lines
1.7 KiB
Markdown
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title = "1 Chronicles 4:24–43"
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date = "2023-09-10"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1Chronicles4.24-43)
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_Ed.: I'm chronically running short on sleep, so length and frequency of posts
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are probably going to go down. My wife is also going to have a baby any day
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now, so I don't see a lot of sleep in my forseeable future._
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* * *
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The genealogy finally turns away from the tribe of Judah and begins listing the
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other tribes. This is interesting because the exiles were mostly from the
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tribes of Judah and Benjamin, being from the southern kingdom of Judah. The ten
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northern tribes were exiled earlier by the Assyrians and dispersed throughout
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that empire, and did not maintain their cultural identity the way the Jews did
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in Babylon.
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The tribe of Simeon was often associated with Judah, however, and many of the
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cities listed here were given to the tribe of Judah in the time of King David,
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so it makes sense for the Chronicler to remind the people of what their
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territory would be as they returned to the land. When the land allotments were
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first given, Simeon settled in an enclave within Judah's territory. We are told
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here that they did not multiply very much like Judah did, despite Shimei's
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twenty-two children. Over time, they probably mixed with the surrounding
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Judahites and ceased being a separate tribe.
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Even though they had few numbers, the Simeonites expanded their borders and
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grew rich. Their herds and flocks increased on the good pasture land. Some
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historical markers are given for the timeframe of this expansion, as it is
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linked with the reign of King Hezekiah.
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* * *
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You have glorified Yourself and will continue to do so throughout history.
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