Everything about The Tribe Of Zebulun totally explained
The
Tribe of Zebulun (
Hebrew זְבוּלֻן /
זְבוּלֹן "Dwelling; habitation",
Standard Hebrew Zəvulun /
Zəvulon,
Tiberian Hebrew Zəḇûlun /
Zəḇûlōn) was one of the
Tribes of Israel. At its height, the territory it occupied was at the southern end of
the Galilee, with its eastern border being the
Sea of Galilee, the western border being the
Mediterranean Sea, the south being bordered by the
Tribe of Issachar, and the north by
Asher on the western side and
Naphtali on the eastern.
Origin
According to the
Torah, the tribe was founded by an individual,
Zebulun a son of
Jacob and
Leah, from whom it took its name. Some
Biblical scholars, however, view this as
postdiction, an
eponymous
metaphor providing an
aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation. With Leah as a
matriarch, Biblical scholars believe the tribe to have been regarded by the text's authors as a part of the original Israelite confederation. According to the
Book of Judges, some Canaanites were not driven out when the tribe settled in their portion of Canaan, and so the Canaanites
not driven out actually represent those elements which continued in full the traditional religious practices.
Character
In the ancient
Song of Deborah, Zebulun are described as sending to the battle those which handle the
sopher shebet. Traditionally this has been translated and interpreted as referring to the
rod of the scribe, an object which in regard to
Assyrian monuments was a
stylus of wood or metal used to inscribe
clay tablets, or to write on
papyrus; as such, the ones who wielded it would have been the associates/assistants of lawgivers. Consequently, in Jewish tradition, the tribe of Zebulun was considered to have a
symbiotic relationship with the tribe of
Issachar, its neighbour and a tribe which traditionally was seen as being heavily composed of scholars, whereby Zebulun would financially support Issachar's devotion to study and teaching of the Torah, in exchange for a share of the spiritual reward from such learning; the terms
Issachar and
Zebulun came to be used by Jews for anyone engaged in such a relationship. More recent scholarship, as expressed for example in translations such as the
Revised Standard Version, instead render the description in the Song of Deborah of the people sent to battle by Zebulun as
those who handle the marshal's staff; in other words, Zebulun had simply sent military officers.
History of the tribe
The
Tribe of Zebulun plays an important part in the early history of Israel. At the census of the tribes in the Desert of
Sinai during the second year of the
Exodus, the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400 men fit for war (
Numbers 1:31). This army, under the command of
Eliab the son of Helon, encamped with
Judah and
Issachar east of the
Tabernacle and with them made up the vanguard of the line of march (
Numbers 2:3-9). Among the spies sent by
Moses to view the land of
Canaan,
Gaddiel the son of Sodi represented Zebulun (
Numbers 13:10).
At
Shittim, in the land of
Moab, after 24,000 men were slain for their crime, a second census was taken; Zabulon numbered 60,500 fighting men (
Numbers 26:27).
Elizaphan the son of Parnach was chosen to represent Zebulun at the division of the
Promised Land (
Numbers 34:25).
The tribe seems to have easily conquered its portion. During the rule of
Joshua it received no special mention. While the judges ruled, its prowess was worthy of note. In the Song of
Deborah, the tribe is specially singled out as having "offered their lives to death in the region of
Merom," (
Judges 5:18); and praised because there came "out of Zebulun they that led the army to fight," as in Hebrew, "they that carry the pen of the writer," for example, such as recruiting and inspecting officers (
Judges 5:14).
The reference is to
Barak's campaign against
Sisera, the commander of the forces of
Jabin, King of
Canaan (
Judges 4:10). They answered the call of
Gideon and joined in battle against
Madian (
Judges 6:35); and gave to Israel
Elon, who judged it ten years (
Judges 12:11). Among those that followed
David to
Hebron to make him king were 50,000 fully armed men of Zebulun with no double heart (I
Chronicles 12:33), who brought with them, as sign of their hearty allegiance, bounteous supplies of meat and drink to celebrate the accession of their new ruler (I
Chronicles 12:41). When
Hezekiah made reparation for the abominations of his father
Ahaz, he invited all Israel to keep the
Passover in the house of the Lord. Mockery and ridicule met the emissaries of the reformer; yet some were true to the religion of their fathers, and, even from far away Zebulun, went up to
Jerusalem, destroyed the idols, and kept the feast of the
unleavened bread (II
Chronicles 30:10-23).
Division of the land
At the division of the land of Israel between the seven tribes not yet provided for, the lot of Zabulun was third. The tribe's territory started with Sarid (
Joshua 19:10), which is supposed to have been
Tel Shadud, some five miles southwest of
Nazareth. Zebulun's boundaries have not been made out. Of the nineteen proper names that the book of Joshua gives to guide us, only
Bethlehem (
Beit lahm, seven miles northwest of Nazareth) can be identified with certainty. The historian Josephus assigns to Zebulun the land near to
Carmel and the sea, as far as the Lake of
Genesareth. To its northwest lay
Asher, to the southeast
Issachar. It included a part of the
Jezreel Valley, and the great highway from the sea to the lake. Within the territory of Zebulun,
Christ was brought up, and did and said much that's narrated in the
Gospels, especially in the
Synoptics, about His Galilean ministry.
Fate
As part of the
Kingdom of Israel, the territory of Zebulun was conquered by the
Assyrians,
and the tribe exiled; the manner of their exile lead to
their further history being lost. However, some modern day groups claim descent, with varying levels of academic and rabbinical support. The
Igbo Jews of
Nigeria claim to descend from the tribe, as well as from the tribes
of Ephraim,
of Manasseh,
of Levi, and
of Gad.
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