The Tribe of Levi (according to Rashi & Talmud Yerushalmi) Fought a Civil War to Prevent Israel’s Attempt to Go Back to Egypt

In the last year of life of Moshe, a new count of the soldiers of Israel by Moshe and Elazar is recorded in Bamidbar / Numbers Chapter 26.
Regarding the tribe of Shimon (Simeon) the text as translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan in the “Living Torah” states:
[26:12] By families, the descendants of Simeon* were the Nemuelite family from Nemuel,* the Yaminite family from Yamini, the Yakhinite family from Yakhin, [26:13] the Zarchite family from Zerach,* and the Saulite family from Saul. [26:14] These are the families of Simeon, [numbering] 22,200*

Rabbi Kaplan comments:

26:12 Simeon. Of Simeon’s sons, Ohad, mentioned in Genesis 46:10 and Exodus 6:15, is missing here.
Some say that it is because he died childless ( Lekach Tov). Others say that this family was wiped out in the desert (Rashi on 26:13; Mid-rash Aggadah\ from Yerushalmi, Yoma 1:1, 2a), or during the plague that had just occurred (Rashi). According to others, this family became extinct in Egypt (Midrash Aggadah). The same is true of the other families mentioned in Genesis but not here.

— Nemuel. Yemuel in Genesis 46:10 ( Lekach Tov).
26:13 Zerach. Tzohar in Genesis (Rashi).

26:14 22,200. In the first census, they were 59,300 (1:23), so they suffered a loss of 37,100. Some say that since Zimri was of the tribe of Simeon, all 24,000 who died in the plague (25:9) were from Simeon (Rashi; Lekach Tov). Thus, Simeon was the instigator of most of the rebellion in the desert (Ralbag).

A Deeper Examination of Rashi’s First Explanation Explaining the Omission of Ohad from the List of the Families of The Tribe of Shimon (Simeon)

OF ZERACH — He is identical with Tzohar (mentioned in Exodus 6:15 as a son of Shimon), which is an expression equivalent to Tzohar (that is to say, both Zerach and Tzohar connote a type of shining). However, the family of Ohad (mentioned there) had ceased to exist by now.

The same was the case with five families of the tribe of Benjamin, for with ten sons did Benjamin go down to Egypt and here it enumerates only five. Similarly with Etzbon of the tribe of Gad. So you have seven families that had become extinct (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Pinchas 5). — And I have found in the Talmud Yerushalmi Yoma 1:2 the reason why these seven families were now extinct: that when Aharon (Aaron) died the clouds of glory departed and the Canaanites came to wage war against Israel. These therefore set their hearts on returning to Egypt and turned back eight stages from Mount Hor to Moserah, as it is said, (Deuteronomy 10:6) “And the children of Israel journeyed from Bene Yaakon to Moserah; there Aharon (Aaron) died”.

But did he not die at Mount Hor and from Moserah to Mount Hor there were eight stages in a backward direction? But the explanation is that they turned back, and the Levites pursued them to force them to return and slew of them seven families. And besides these, of the sons of Levi there fell four families: the families of Shimei and Uzzieli, and of the three sons of Yitzhar (Exodus 6:21) only the family of one son, Korach, is enumerated here, (verse 58), so that the family of Yitzhar may be regarded as extinct — making three families missing. And as regards the fourth family I do not know which of those mentioned in 3:21, 27, 33, it was that had become extinct by now (Talmud Yerushalmi Sotah 1:10; Yoma 1:1).

According to this view brought by Rashi – it appears we have a precedent that the conquest of the land of Israel overrides the value of unity.

With this in mind, see the posts: