Genesis 49:13 Commentary and Bible Study

Zebulun means ‘dwelling’, ‘wished-for habitation’: ‘he shall dwell at the haven of the sea.’ This description puzzles people, because it is not clear that Zebulun extended as far east as Galilee and as far west as the Mediterranean. One problem is that the place names used to define her borders (Joshua 19:10-16) have not all been confirmed. Furthermore the borders of the tribes moved at times. Moses too associates Zebulun with the sea (Deuteronomy 33:18-19). Various suggestions have been made, some more and some less satisfactory: Zebulun never fully occupied the territory referred to by Jacob; the meaning of the Hebrew allows for Zebulun to be near but not on the sea; the borders referred to belong to a different period of Israel’s history; the border was close enough to the sea to gain wealth from trade that passed through its territory.Going with the last of these suggestions, we note that Zebulun stood between the places like Sidon and the Phoenician trade routes just to the north, and so through this tribal territory came all the produce from across the seas. It seems to have been the tribe that did most trade, and distributed all the things that were brought in, and all the things that were presumably exported; they were shipping agents for the land. They were the original Jewish business people, you could say. Zebulun would be noted for its ability in business and transportation and making those arrangements. So in the poetry, the prophecy of Jacob puts them on the coast. Well, they never actually were, but they were quite close and as good as there, because they did all the handling and the trading. Zebulon’s character is seen in his posterity. The tribe was active at first: they were one of the foremost tribes for valour and joined Gideon. But in spite of having a promising beginning, they became inconsequential. Why? Because of prosperity. They were never stretched; they had the least trouble, the least provision. He was one of two tribes affected by Phoenician trade. The trade came to her – sitting on the trade routes, hence he was probably never bothered by lack of access to the sea. He represents a potential never striven for. Later this tribe becomes very insignificant character; he doesn’t do much. It is the nonentity tribe. He had a nice area, the fourth-largest, but became absorbed into the surrounding area.