Simeon is the second son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the tribe of Simeon. When ten of the sons of Jacob went to Egypt from Canaan to buy food during a famine, Simeon was imprisoned by Joseph as a guarantee that Benjamin, Joseph's younger brother, would be brought to him (Genesis 42 and 43). Simeon and Levi killed the people of Shechem to avenge the rape of their sister Dinah.
Jacob rebuked them for the murders, and sharply criticized them in his last words before his death (Genesis 49:5-6).
In Revelation 7:1-8, Simeon is among the tribes who are promised the Seal of God for 12,000 of their members.
The name Simeon means "God has heard."
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