Gen 30:20; Isaiah 9:1; Matt 4:15.
Zebulun (Heb. Zebûlûn, “exalted”, “dowry” or “dwelling”; Old Babylonian Ziblanum; Egypt. 0b3wnw; Ugar. Zbln; Gr. Zaboulón). 1. Sixth son of Jacob and son of Leah (Gen 30:19, 20). He had 3 sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel (46:14). When Jacob blessed his sons, he foretold that Zebulun’s descendants would live near the sea in northern Palestine in the direction of Sidon (49:13). 2. Tribe constituted by the descendants of Zebulun 1. It was divided into 3 tribal families, whose ancestors were the 3 sons of Zebulun (Num 26: 26, 27). During the early stages of the wilderness wanderings, the tribe’s leader was Eliab son of Helon (1:9; 10:16), and later Elisaphan son of Parnac (34:25). Gadiel son of Sodi represented Zebulun among the spies (13:10). When the tribes entered Canaan and gathered before Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, the Zebulonites*, along with 5 other tribes, stood on Mount Ebal and pronounced the curses that would come upon the people if they transgressed God’s commands (Deu 27:13; cÆ’Jos 8:30-35). 1211 When the country was distributed by lot among the 12 tribes, the territory of Zebulun was in the center of southern Galilee. This territory was bordered to the east and north by Naphtali, to the south by Issachar and Manasseh, and to the west by Asher (Jos 19:10-16). There were no major cities in this region, but it was strategically located – it controlled the east-west highway through the Jezreel Valley – and was blessed with highly fertile soil. Map VI, C-3. The tribe of Zebulun played an important role in the war of liberation led by Barak and Deborah to throw off the oppressive yoke of Jabin of Hazor (Jdg 4:6-10; 5:14-18). His participation was also highlighted in Gideon’s war against the Midianites (6:35). Elon, one of the lesser judges, was a Zebulonite (12:11, 12). When the northern tribes came to Hebron to invite David to rule the entire kingdom, Zebulun was represented by an impressive 50,000 warriors (1Ch 12:33, 40). The ruler of Zebulun in David’s day was Ishmaiah son of Obadiah (27:19). He separated from Judah along with the other northern tribes, and fell into idolatry. He suffered much in the wars against the Syrians and Assyrians, but Isaiah prophesied a glorious compensation through messianic light that would illuminate his territory (Isa. 9:1, 2). This prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus Christ lived in that territory and carried out a good part of his ministry there (Mat 4: 12-16). A number of Zebulonites accepted King Hezekiah’s invitation and celebrated the Passover in Jerusalem (2Ch 30:10, 11, 18); from here there are no more historical references to this tribe. The prophet Ezekiel included Zebulun among the 12 tribes of his ideal Israel (Eze 48:33), and he is mentioned in the vision of the sealing of the 144,000 (Rev 7:8).
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
the sixth son of Jacob and his wife Leah, Gn 30,19-20. Patriarch of the Zabulites. His inheritance was twelve cities with his villages, in Palestine, to the north, a fertile region that later would be called Galilee, Jos 30, 19-20.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
(Heb., zebulum, room).
1. Tenth son of Jacob, sixth and last of Leah (Gen 30:19-20). Three sons were born to him in the land of his birth (Gen 46:14).
2. One of the 12 tribes of Israel (Num 1:31). The place assigned to this tribe was on the east side of the tabernacle with the banner of Judah (Num 2:7). Zebulun’s territory was between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean. This zone included many points at which Christ later carried out his ministry, and Matthew records that in this way he fulfilled the ancient prophecy of Isaiah (Isa 9:1-2; Mat 4:12-16). 3. City located in the tribe of Asher between Beth-dagon and the valley of Jephteel (Jos 19:27).
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
(room).
Jacob’s tenth son: (with Leah), Gen 30:19-20.
– The Tribe of Zebulun was assigned a territory between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean: (Jos 19:10).
– Christ preaches first in the land of Zebulun, as Isa 9:1 had prophesied: (Mat 4:12-13).
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
Name of a person and a tribe of the OT.
1. The tenth of the sons of Jacob. Sixth of Lea’s. His name is related to a Hebrew term meaning † œto endow †. Thus, his mother said: † œGod has given me a good dowry † (Gen 30: 19-20). His descendants formed the tribe that bore his name. He had three sons, Sered, Elon, and Jahleel, who in turn formed family clans (Gen 46:14).
. Tribe of the descendants of #1. In the census taken “in the fields of Moab” there were counted “sixty thousand five hundred” men of this tribe (Num 26:27). This tribe settled in Galilee and was able to dominate the Canaanites in the region. While the tribes of Asher and Naphtali are said to have dwelt “among the Canaanites that dwelt in the land” (Jdg 1:32-35), Z. notes that “the Canaanite dwelt in the midst” of that tribe (Jdg 1 :30). The Zebulonites actively participated in all the military campaigns carried out in the period of the judges. In the battle against Sisera at the Kishon brook fought “ten thousand men from the tribe of Naphtali and from the tribe of Zebulun” (Judges 4:6). That is why Deborah says in her song: † œZ.’s people exposed his life to death † (Judges 5:18). The Zebulonites also fought on Gideon’s side (Judges 6:35). Judge †¢Elon was from Z. (Jdg 12:11). In David’s army, the body formed by the Zebulonites was the most numerous, about “fifty thousand, who went out to campaign ready for war” (1Ch 12:33). It seems that this tribe suffered the least from the Assyrian invasion. King Hezekiah managed to attract some of the Zebulonites left in the land for the festivals in Jerusalem (2Ch 30:11). The Gospel of Matthew indicates that the transfer of the residence of the Lord Jesus to Capernaum and the beginning of his preaching there fulfilled “what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, when he said: Land of Z. and land of Naphtali, way of the sea, to the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people sitting in darkness have seen a great light.† (Matt 4:13-16).
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
One of the tribes of Israel, born of his so-called tenth son (Gen. 30. 19-20; 35.23). It occupied the north of Palestine, which included the land of Galilee, and was always a warlike tribe with a reputation for rebellion.
He destroyed the Canaanites in their territory who, led by Sisera, confronted the Israelites (1 Judg. 5:18). Of this tribe was Gideon (Judges 6 to 9).
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
(Tolerance; or, possibly: High Abode).
1. Sixth son of Leah, Jacob’s wife. As her least beloved wife, the birth of the child was a source of special joy for her. Her name that she gave him reflected her hope to get more recognition from Jacob. Leah exclaimed: “At last my husband will tolerate me, because I have borne him six sons.” (Ge 30:20; 35:23; Ex 1:1-3; 1Ch 2:1) Zebulun fathered three sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. (Ge 46:14) A distant descendant of Zebulun, named Elon, like one of his three sons, was judge of Israel. (Jg 12:11, 12)
2. The name Zebulun also designates the tribe that descended from him through his three sons. About a year after God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, this tribe numbered 57,400 able-bodied men over the age of twenty. (Nu 1:1-3, 30, 31) A second census taken toward the end of Israel’s forty years of wilderness wandering revealed an increase of 3,100 registered males. (Nu 26:26, 27.)
In the wilderness, the tribe of Zebulun and the tribes of Judah and Issachar camped on the eastern side of the tabernacle. This division of three tribes was the first in the order of march. Eliab, son of Elon, was the leader of the Zebulonite army. (Nu 1:9; 2:3-7; 7:24; 10:14-16.)
tribal heritage. The dying patriarch Jacob said of the inheritance of the tribe of Zebulun: “Zebulun will reside by the seashore, and he will be by the shore where the ships are anchored; and the remote side of it will be towards Sidon †. (Ge 49:13) Since Sidon was N of Israel and Zebulun’s territory was to be “towards Sidon,” the location of this territory would be north. Although the area assigned to Zebulun did not directly border the sea, it was situated between the Sea of Galilee to the E and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, giving Zebulun easy access to both seas. So its location made it easy for it to trade, a fact to which Moses’ words of blessing may allude: “Rejoice, O Zebulun, in your going out.” (Deut 33:18)
At the time of the distribution of the Promised Land that took place in Shiloh, the third lot came out for Zebulun. (Jos 18:8; 19:10-16) The tribe had a God-appointed representative who assisted in the division of the land: Elizaphan son of Parnac. (Nu 34:17, 25) When geographical boundaries were established, Zebulun’s territory bordered those of Asher (Jos 19:24, 27), Naphtali (Jos 19:32-34), and Issachar.
There were several Levite cities nestled in Zebulun’s territory. (Jos 21:7, 34, 35; 1Ch 6:63, 77) The Zebulonites failed to expel the Canaanites from two of them: Nahalol (Nahalal) and Chitron. (Thu 1:30.)
Outstanding warriors. The Zebulun tribe was the cradle of valiant warriors. Ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun answered Barak’s call to fight Sisera’s forces. (Jg 4:6, 10) After their victory, Barak and Deborah sang: “Zebulun was a people who despised his soul to the point of death.” (Jg 5:18) Barak was supported by Zebulonites †˜handling the scribe’s team†™, who were presumably in charge of numbering and enlisting the warriors. (Jg 5:14; compare 2Ki 25:19; 2Ch 26:11.) The Zebulonites also turned to Judge Gideon when he asked for warriors. (Jg 6:34, 35) David’s supporters included 50,000 Zebulonites, loyal men who did not have a “double heart.” (1Ch 12:33, 38-40) During David’s reign, the Zebulonites had a notable role in subjugating Israel’s enemies. (Ps 68:27)
Attitude toward true worship. In the second half of the VIII century a. CE, some members of the tribe of Zebulun humbled themselves and responded to King Hezekiah of Judah’s invitation to attend the Passover celebration in Jerusalem. (2Ch 30:1, 10, 11, 18, 19) Centuries later, in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isa…