Zebulun (; also ''Zebulon'', ''Zabulon'', or ''Zaboules'') was, according to the Books of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...

and Numbers,Genesis 46:14 the last of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's tenth son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Zebulun. Some biblical scholars believe this to be 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. The Tomb of Zebulun is located in Sidon, Lebanon. In the past, towards the end of Iyyar, Jews from the most distant parts of the

land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

would make a pilgrimage to this tomb.

Etymology

The name is derived from the Northwest Semitic root ''zbl'', common in 2nd millennium BCE Ugaritic texts as an epithet (title) of the god Baal, as well as in Phoenician and (frequently) in

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew (, or , ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite branch of Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Israel, roughly west of ...

in personal names. The text of the Torah gives two different

etymologies Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words and ...

for the name ''Zebulun'', which

textual scholars Textual scholarship (or textual studies) is an umbrella term for disciplines that deal with describing, transcribing, editing or annotating texts and physical documents. Overview Textual research is mainly historically oriented. Textual scholars ...

attribute to different sources – one to the

Jahwist The Jahwist, or Yahwist, often abbreviated J, is one of the most widely recognized sources of the Pentateuch (Torah), together with the Deuteronomist, the Priestly source and the Elohist. The existence of the Jahwist is somewhat controversial, ...

and the other to the

Elohist According to the documentary hypothesis, the Elohist (or simply E) is one of four source documents underlying the Torah,McDermott, John J., ''Reading the Pentateuch: A Historical Introduction'' (Pauline Press, 2002) p. 21. Via Books.google.com.a ...

; the first being that it derives from ''zebed'', the word for ''gift'', in reference to Leah's view that her gaining of six sons was a ''gift'' from God; the second being that it derives from ''yizbeleni'', meaning ''honour'', in reference to Leah's hope that Jacob would give her honour now that she had given birth to six sons. In

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...

, however an allusion is made to a third potential etymologyDeuteronomy 33:19 – that it may be connected with ''zibhe'', literally meaning ''sacrifice'', in reference to commercial activities of the tribe of Zebulun''Jewish Encyclopedia'' – a commercial agreement made at Mount Tabor between the tribe of Zebulun and a group of non-Israelites was referred to as ''zibhe-tzedek'', literally meaning ''sacrifice to justice'' or ''sacrifice to Tzedek''. Some believe the depopulated village of Sabalan in the

District of Safad The Safad Subdistrict ( ar, قضاء صفد, he, נפת צפת) was one of the subdistricts of Mandatory Palestine before it was captured by Israel in 1948. It was located around the city of Safad. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the subdistric ...

was named after Zebulun.

Biblical account

The Torah states that Zebulun had three sons – Sered, Elon, and Jahleel – each the eponymous founder of a clan. Beyond this, there is little other reference to Zebulun.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Founders of biblical tribes Children of Jacob