Simeon Directs His Final Burial Arrangements

Simeon reaches 120 years of age before dying in the fertile Nile river delta. His extended family prepares his remains using local Egyptian bodily preservation methods. Workers secure his bones inside a heavy coffin built from imported cedar planks. This sealed wooden box protects his physical body from the damp river valley air.

The text outlines an eventual migration out of Egypt back to the Canaanite highlands. This overland caravan route stretches nearly 250 miles across a landscape of harsh sand and stone. Simeon orders his descendants to transport his heavy coffin back to the burial cave at Hebron. This ancient limestone tomb holds the physical remains of his father and grandfather. The physical transfer anticipates a massive population shift occurring later in the second millennium b.c.

Simeon issues a firm command regarding tribal authority right before his actual death. He instructs his family to submit their leadership to the descendants of Levi and Judah. He understands his own people will soon lose their distinct territorial land boundaries. The tribe of Simeon eventually scatters across agricultural lands heavily controlled by Judah. Their local settlements simply merge into larger hilltop cities built from rough stone.

Obey Levi, and in Judah you will find redemption. Do not rebel against these two tribes, because from them will arise the salvation of God.

The surviving brothers close the thick wooden coffin and leave it hidden in Egypt. Many generations live and die alongside the slow currents of the main river. The promised journey back to Hebron remains an unresolved command for the growing population. They wait for an opportunity to leave the mud brick cities and carry the patriarch home.