Genesis 49:13

13 Zebulun shall dwell in the brink of the sea, and in the standing of ships; and he shall stretch till to Sidon. (Zebulun shall live at the edge of the sea, and his shore shall be a haven for ships; and he shall reach as far as Sidon.)

Genesis 49:13 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 49:13

Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea
Of the sea of Galilee, sometimes called the sea of Tiberias and of Gennesaret; and of the Mediterranean sea; and accordingly we find that the border of this tribe, when settled in the land of Canaan, was toward the sea, ( Joshua 19:10 Joshua 19:11 ) and this was done, not at the discretion of Joshua, or at the choice of this tribe, but by lot; and which shows that Jacob said this under a spirit of prophecy, and which had its fulfilment two hundred years after; and is a full proof of the prescience and providence of God; and who, as he sets the bounds of the people, or of the nations of the world, and of the tribes of Israel, so the bounds of the habitations of particular persons, ( Acts 17:26 ) and he shall be for an haven of ships; shall have good ports commodious for ships to station in, and to cover them from storms and tempests; this tribe being situated by the sea shore F2: and his border shall be unto Zidon;
not the city Zidon, for the tribe of Zebulun reached no further than Carmel, as Josephus observes;

``the Zebulunites (says he) obtained the land from Carmel, and the sea to the lake of Gennesaret.''
Now Carmel was forty miles at least from Zidon; but Phoenicia is meant, of which Zidon was the chief city; and so the Septuagint in ( Isaiah 23:2 ) put Phoenicia instead of Zidon; and whereas Carmel was the border of this tribe that way, it is also said by Jerom F4 to be the border of Phoenicia; so that Zebulun reaching to Carmel, its border may be truly said to be to Zidon or Phoenicia.
FOOTNOTES:

F2 (Mymy Pwxl) "in litore maris", V. L. "ad litus marium", Drusius, Cocceius, Schmidt.
F4 Comment. in Amos, 9. 3.

Genesis 49:13 In-Context

11 and he shall tie his colt at the vinery, and his she-ass at the vine; O! my son, he shall wash his stole in wine, and his mantle in the blood of the grape;
12 (yea,) his eyes be fairer than wine, and his teeth be whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun shall dwell in the brink of the sea, and in the standing of ships; and he shall stretch till to Sidon. (Zebulun shall live at the edge of the sea, and his shore shall be a haven for ships; and he shall reach as far as Sidon.)
14 Issachar, a strong ass, lying betwixt [the] terms, (Issachar, like a strong donkey, lying between two burdens,)
15 saw rest, that it was good, and saw the land, that it was best, and he underset his shoulder to bear, and he was made serving to tributes . (saw that the resting place was good, and that the land was the best, and so he underset his shoulder to carry the burden, and was made to serve as a slave.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.