“Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence.
- KJV Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
- BSB Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.
- NASB ¶“Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence.
- NLT “Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Simeon and Levi are paired as brothers whose violence marks their character.
Overview
Their 'swords are weapons of violence' recalls their treacherous slaughter at Shechem (Genesis 34) in avenging Dinah. Jacob condemns the cruelty of their zeal, distinguishing righteous justice from vengeful rage. The verse sobers us against anger that wounds rather than heals, contrasting with Christ, who bore violence rather than inflicting it.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Gen 34:25–31On the third day, when they were sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword, came upon the unsuspecting city, and killed all the males.
- Gen 29:33–34She conceived again, and bore a son, and said, “Because Yahweh has heard that I am hated, he has therefore given me this son also.” She named him Simeon.
- Gen 46:10–11The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.
- Prov 18:9One who is slack in his work is brother to him who is a master of destruction.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 49:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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