These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty and two thousand and two hundred.
The count of twenty-two thousand two hundred stands as proof that Jacob's sentence to divide and scatter Simeon was coming true in Israel. At that numbering just before Israel entered Canaan, Simeon had shrunk to become the smallest tribe. Moses afterward passed over Simeon altogether in his final blessing. In the settlement of Canaan Simeon received only a small portion lying inside Judah's lot. Families of Simeon that later grew powerful left to form colonies and settle outside the borders of the Holy Land, so the tribe remained divided and scattered.
The count of twenty-two thousand two hundred stands as proof that Jacob's sentence to divide and scatter Simeon was coming true in Israel. At that numbering just before Israel entered Canaan, Simeon had shrunk to become the smallest tribe. Moses afterward passed over Simeon altogether in his final blessing. In the settlement of Canaan Simeon received only a small portion lying inside Judah's lot. Families of Simeon that later grew powerful left to form colonies and settle outside the borders of the Holy Land, so the tribe remained divided and scattered.