As Reuben confessed his sin upon his death-bed, and warned his children
and his family to be on their guard against unchastity, the vice that
had brought about his fall, so Simon, when he was about to die,
assembled his sons around him, and confessed the sin he had committed.
He had been guilty of boundless envy of Joseph, and he spoke: "I was
the second son begotten by my father Jacob, and my mother Leah called
me Simon, because the Lord had heard her prayer. I waxed strong, and
shrank from no manner of deed, and I was afraid of naught, for my heart
was hard, and my liver unyielding, and my bowels without mercy. And in
the days of my youth I was jealous of Joseph, for our father loved him
more than all the rest of us, and I resolved to kill him. For the
prince of temptation sent the spirit of jealousy to take possession of
me, and it blinded me so that I did not consider Joseph to be my
brother, and I spared not even my father Jacob. But his God and the God
of his fathers sent His angel and saved him out of my hands.
When I went to Shechem to fetch ointment for the herds, and Reuben was
in Dothan, where all our supplies and stores were kept, our brother
Judah sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites. On his return, when he heard what
had happened, Reuben was very sad, for he had been desirous of saving
Joseph and bringing him back to our father. But as for me, my wrath was
enkindled against Judah, that he had let him escape alive. My anger
abode with me all of five months. But the Lord restrained me from using
the power of my hands, for my right hand withered for the length of
seven days. Then I knew that what had happened was for the sake of
Joseph. I repented and prayed to God to restore my hand and withhold me
henceforth from all sorts of defilement, envy, and folly. For two years
I gave myself up to fasting and the fear of God, for I perceived that
redemption from jealousy could come only through the fear of God.
My father, seeing me downcast, asked to know the cause of my sadness,
and I replied that I was suffering with my liver, but in truth I was
mourning more than all my brethren, seeing that I had been the cause of
Joseph's sale. And when we went down into Egypt, and Joseph bound me as
a spy, I was not grieved, for I knew in my heart that my suffering was
just retribution. But Joseph was good, the spirit of God dwelt within
him. Compassionate and merciful as he was, he bore me no resentment for
my evil deeds toward him, but he loved me with the same love he showed
the others. He paid due honor to us all, and gave us gold, and cattle,
and produce. And now, my dear children, do ye love one another, each
one his brother, with a clean heart, and remove the spirit of jealousy
from the midst of you."
Like Reuben, so also Simon adjured his sons to beware of unchastity,
for this vice is the mother of all evil. It separates man from God, and
abandons him to Behar. These were the closing words of his exhortation:
"In the writings of Enoch I saw that your sons would be corrupted
through unchastity, and they would maltreat the sons of Levi with the
sword. But they will not be able to do aught against Levi, for the war
he will wage is the war of the Lord, and he will vanquish all your
armies. As a small remnant you will be scattered among Levi and Judah,
and none among you will rise to be a judge or a king of our people, as,
my father Jacob prophesied in his blessing."
Having completed his admonitions to his sons, Simon passed away and was
gathered to his fathers, at the age of one hundred and twenty years.
His sons placed him in a coffin made of imperishable wood, so that they
might carry his bones to Hebron, as they did, in secret, during the war
between the Egyptians and the Canaanites. Thus did all the tribes
during the war; they took the remains each of its founder from Egypt to
Hebron. Only the bones of Joseph remained in Egypt until the Israelites
went out of the land, for the Egyptians guarded them in their royal
treasure chambers. Their magicians had warned them that whenever
Joseph's bones should be removed from Egypt, a great darkness would
envelop the whole land, and it would be a dire misfortune for the
Egyptians, for none would be able to recognize his neighbor even with
the light of a lamp.[8]