Deuteronomy 33:18

18 Then he told Zebulun: "Zebulun: celebrate when you are out and about; Issachar: celebrate when you are at home in your tents!

Deuteronomy 33:18 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 33:18

And of Zebulun he said
The tribe of Zebulun, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, with whom Issachar is joined, they being brethren, and of the same mother as well as father; though Zebulun the youngest is set before Issachar the older, as in Jacob's blessing, ( Genesis 49:13 Genesis 49:14 ) ;

rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out;
in their going out to sea, to merchandise, to traffic in foreign parts, it being a maritime tribe, see ( Genesis 49:13 ) ; and so are called upon to rejoice and be thankful for their safe preservation on the seas, and success in trade; and to this sense are the paraphrases of Jonathan and Jerusalem: though Onkelos interprets it of their going out to war against their enemies, and certain it is that they were also a warlike as well as a seafaring tribe; see ( Judges 5:18 ) ;

and Issachar, in thy tents;
being a tribe that stayed at home, and attended to husbandry, and dwelt in tents, to take care of and feed their cattle; in doing which they should be prosperous, and have occasion to rejoice, and be thankful to the Lord: though the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem carry it to a different sense, to their schools, in which they dwelt: this tribe being, as supposed, a learned tribe, studious, in the law; which is gathered from ( 1 Chronicles 12:32 ) .

Deuteronomy 33:18 In-Context

16 with the gifts of the earth and all that fills it, and the favor of the one who lives on Sinai. I pray that all these rest on Joseph's head, on the crown of that prince among brothers.

17 A firstborn bull—that's how majestic he is! A wild ox's horns—those are his horns! With them he gores all peoples completely, to the far ends of the earth! His horns are Ephraim's tens of thousands. His horns are Manasseh's thousands."

18 Then he told Zebulun: "Zebulun: celebrate when you are out and about; Issachar: celebrate when you are at home in your tents!

19 They call all sorts of people to the mountain, where they offer right sacrifices. It's true: They're nourished on the sea's abundance; they are nourished on buried treasures in the sand."

20 Then he told Gad: "May Gad's broad lands be blessed! He lives like a lion: he rips an arm, even a head!