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Zebulun, at the shore of the seas

The twelve tribes · article 7 of 13

The gift and the dwelling: Zebulun lives on the shore, rejoices in his going out and draws the abundance of the seas.

Zebulun is Leah's sixth and last son: "G-d has endowed me with a good gift; this time my husband will dwell with me, for I have borne him six sons" (Genesis 30:20). Two words answer each other in the sentence: zeved, the gift, and zevul, the dwelling.

Jacob gives him a place rather than a portrait: "Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the seas; he shall be a haven for ships, and his flank shall reach toward Sidon" (Genesis 49:13). Note that Jacob names him before Issachar, his elder.

Moses takes up the pair again: "Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and you, Issachar, in your tents. They shall call peoples to the mountain, there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness, for they shall draw the abundance of the seas and the treasures hidden in the sand" (Deuteronomy 33:18 and 19). Zebulun goes out, Issachar stays: the two blessings are spoken together.

On the breastplate, according to the Targum attributed to Jonathan, his stone opens the fourth row: the tarshish (Exodus 28:20), often rendered as chrysolite or beryl; the identification remains uncertain. In the desert Zebulun encamps to the east, third after Judah and Issachar (Numbers 2:7), with Eliab son of Helon as prince. The Midrash cited by Ramban explains his place next to Issachar: he is the one who has wealth, and it cites the two verses, "at the shore of the seas" and "the abundance of the seas." According to Rashi, his banner had the color of his stone.

According to the order of the banners, Zebulun receives Sivan, the month of the letter Zayin (Sefer Yetzirah 5:2); in the Vilna Gaon's version, Zayin rules over walking. The Bnei Yissaschar writes it: "Zebulun for Sivan." The Shem MiShmuel, following the order of the Ari, links Sivan to Zebulun through Leah's word, "my husband will dwell with me." One may compare the walking of Sefer Yetzirah with the "going out" that Moses blesses; this is a reading, not a text. According to the order of birth, Sivan would go to Levi.

Keep this: Zebulun is blessed in movement, Issachar in the tent, and Moses names them in a single sentence. One goes out, the other studies, and each needs the other.

Source text

זְבוּלֻן לְחוֹף יַמִּים יִשְׁכֹּן וְהוּא לְחוֹף אֳנִיּוֹת וְיַרְכָתוֹ עַל־צִידֹן׃

Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the seas; he shall be a haven for ships, and his flank shall reach toward Sidon.

Genesis 49:13, Tanach with Nikkud, Public Domain.

Key terms

HebrewTransliterationMeaning
זבולןZevoulounfrom zevul, "dwelling"
חוף ימיםhof yamimthe shore of the seas
הלוךhilloukhwalking, faculty of the letter Zayin

Sources

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In the same section

Twelve tribes, one structureTwelve sons, twelve blessings, twelve stones, four camps of three around a center: the number twelve returns everywhere, even when the list changes.Reuben, the firstbornThe son of seeing: "G-d has seen my affliction." A firstborn unstable as water, to whom Moses wishes only that he live.Simeon, G-d has heardAfter seeing comes hearing. Blessed together with Levi by Jacob, absent from the blessing of Moses, Simeon lives in the midst of another.Levi, the tribe at the centerScattered by Jacob, charged by Moses to teach and to serve: Levi is not counted with the others, it encamps in the middle.Judah, the lion cubBorn of a thank you, praised by his brothers, bearer of the scepter: Judah encamps to the east and sets out first.Issachar, the rewardA strong donkey that bends its shoulder, a people that stays in the tent and knows "the understanding of the times."Zebulun, at the shore of the seasThe gift and the dwelling: Zebulun lives on the shore, rejoices in his going out and draws the abundance of the seas.Dan, the judge"G-d has judged me." Judge of his people, serpent on the road, lion cub of Bashan: Dan closes the march of the camp.Naphtali, the hind let looseBorn of a struggle, sated with favor: Naphtali gives words of beauty, and the Ari links him to Adar, the month of laughter.Gad, the troop"Good fortune has come." Raided by a troop and raiding it in return, Gad is blessed as the one who enlarges.Asher, the rich bread"For my happiness!" Rich bread, royal delicacies, a foot dipped in oil: Asher is the tribe of abundance.Joseph, Ephraim and ManassehA son added, a fruitful vine by a spring, and two tribes instead of one: Joseph receives the double portion.Benjamin, the belovedBorn on the road at the cost of his mother's life, a wolf that divides the spoil, beloved of G-d who dwells between his shoulders.

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