דברי הימים א, פרק ד׳, פסוק מ״א

During the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah, in a period likely following the exile of the Ten Tribes [רלב״ג], leaders of the tribe of Simeon embarked on a journey to find new pasturelands. These thirteen tribal leaders and heads of households [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ] led their people until they discovered a settled region, which they decided to conquer and inhabit [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

In the course of their conquest, the Simeonites launched an attack against the tent-dwelling shepherds living in the area [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. There are different perspectives on who or what exactly was targeted alongside these tents. One approach suggests they fought a specific nation or tribe known as Me'on [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם], a group that had a history of harassing the Israelites [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Another perspective contends that the targets were not a specific people, but rather physical structures. According to this view, the Simeonites destroyed the built settlements, shepherd dwellings, and storage towers used for grain and livestock [רד״ק, רלב״ג].

The conquest resulted in the complete destruction of the local inhabitants. This eradication was absolute and permanent, lasting up until the time the historical record was written during the era of Ezra [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The original inhabitants were entirely wiped out and never returned to reclaim their land, remaining absent even long after the Simeonites themselves were eventually exiled [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, מלבי״ם]. Following the defeat of the local population, the Simeonites immediately settled in their place, drawn by the appealing landscape and the abundant pasture for their flocks [מצודת דוד]. Historically, it remains unclear whether this newly conquered territory was a previously unconquered pocket within the borders of Judah, or if it was a southern region located entirely outside of Judah's boundaries [ביאור שטיינזלץ].