Deuteronomy 33:18

18 He said about Zebulun: Rejoice, Zebulun, in your journeys, and Issachar, 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 choice gifts of the land and everything in it; and with the favor of Him who appeared in the [burning] bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the prince of his brothers.

17 His firstborn bull has splendor, and horns like those of a wild ox; he gores all the peoples with them to the ends of the earth. Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and such are the thousands of Manasseh.

18 He said about Zebulun: Rejoice, Zebulun, in your journeys, and Issachar, in your tents.

19 They summon the peoples to a mountain; there they offer acceptable sacrifices. For they draw from the wealth of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.

20 He said about Gad: The one who enlarges Gad's [territory] will be blessed. He lies down like a lion and tears off an arm or even a head.