And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families. And the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid;
At Shiloh, Israel divided the land by lot, and the third lot fell to Zebulun — a tribe whose name means "dwelling." Why does a list of place-names matter, and why is this tribe's border left less defined than the rest?
Before any tribe received a share, Joshua stirred up a people who had grown slow, and he set the whole process under God's hand. One commentator draws out both aims behind Joshua's survey-and-lot arrangement:
Joshua 18 shows the whole congregation gathered together at Shiloh, with the tabernacle set up there. Five tribes had entered their portions; seven had still to receive their inheritance. What a picture of lack of energy — in spite of the visible signs of God's presence — to go forward against the Canaanites according to His word, yes, His command! ... He wanted to rouse the people to feel what they ought to have. He also wanted to keep before them, in the way best suited to their state, that the whole disposing of the lot is of Jehovah.
So the third lot is not chance. Zebulun's families receive what God assigned them.
The name goes back to the day Leah named her son, and it sets the theme for everything that follows in these verses.
Now we go on to Zebulun, whose meaning is simple from his name and the way Leah uses it. She called him Zebulun (dwelling), saying, "This time my husband will dwell with me." The spiritual thought connected with Zebulun is dwelling in the relationship God has given us to Himself. This is the only true thought of consecration.
A border this vague looks at first like a defect. One writer reads it the other way:
The boundaries of Zebulun are not as clearly defined as natural thinking would expect. This itself points to a spiritual lesson we need. Dwelling with God does not need definition, but spiritual enjoyment and exercise. God's presence is a place of greatest joy for the believer. But it is also a place of serious concern that He should be honoured in every detail of our conduct.
Another writer answers those who blame damaged manuscripts:
We can hardly suppose that all the gaps here — in the list of cities, or in the tracing of the boundary lines — are only holes in the manuscripts! ... On the other hand, anyone who considers them with reverence can see that the omissions are by design.
The verse names one place only: Sarid. Its meaning carries weight:
Sarid means "remnant" — "what is left". Under a number that may suggest singularity or being alone, this should impress us enough... if we are to be truly consecrated people, we must, above all, dare to be different. God must control us, as if there were no one else... "You must start," it says, "if you are going to define for yourself what consecration to God is, by yourself alone — a remnant of one, if need be!" How important it is to get the right starting-point!
The tribe's towns are counted as twelve. Commentators differ over how to square that number with the five named separately; one weighs the textual puzzle at length, while another reads the twelve straight:
Twelve cities and their villages are listed as belonging to Zebulun (v.15), a picture of his representing all twelve tribes in the honourable character of dwelling with God.
Centuries later this same land reappears in the Gospels, and the name "dwelling" takes on its fullest meaning:
Zebulun, the dweller in relationship, as he should have been, had long since fulfilled Jacob's prophecy. "Dwelling at the haven of the sea," he had become the picture of Israel as a whole, giving up its "dwelling alone" to mix in unfaithful trade with the nations... But the Saviour of sinners is not stopped by this, and there in the darkness was the very place for light to spring up. And now there had come to Zebulun a Dweller, in whom God Himself could dwell with man.
- Given, not grabbed. Joshua cast the lot at Shiloh to stir a slow people, and to keep the Lord's hand in view.
- Named for dwelling. Leah named her son in the hope that her husband would now dwell with her. Zebulun stands for living in the relationship God has given us — true consecration.
- Started alone. The border runs to Sarid, "what is left." Anyone who means to be consecrated must dare to be different — a remnant of one, if need be.
- Left undefined. The blanks in the boundary are design, not damage. Dwelling with God is not measured by definition, but by enjoyment, exercise, and care for His honour.
- Filled at last. This land was long spoiled by mixing with the nations. Then a Dweller came to it, in whom God Himself could dwell with man.
and their border went up westwards, and [to] Marealah, and reached to Dabbesheth, and reached to the torrent that is before Jokneam;
This verse traces one leg of a border. The line runs west, touches two small places, and stops at a stream. Why does Scripture record such details, and what did this strip of ground come to mean?
The land is being handed out tribe by tribe, and this section belongs to one family group.
The third lot fell to the children of Zebulun, according to their families; their landmarks are laid down in verses 10-16.
These are not poetic inventions. At least one of them has been matched to a surviving site.
Border city of Zebulun. Joshua 19:11. Identified with ruins at ed Dabsheh, 33 N, 35 16' E.
Before tracing the line, it helps to know what the tribe's name carries. It goes back to the words of Leah, Zebulun's mother, when he was born.
Now we go on to Zebulun, whose meaning is simple from his name and from the way Leah uses it. She called him Zebulun (dwelling), saying, "This time my husband will dwell with me." The spiritual thought connected with Zebulun is dwelling in the relationship God has given us to Himself. That is the only true thought of consecration.
The three landmarks of this verse have meanings, and one writer reads them as a sequence with a hard edge to it — especially the last, whose name means "the possession of the people," yet the water is only before it.
The consequences are not hidden: "And the border went up westward, even to Maralah ('shaking'), and touched Dabbesheth (the murmuring of reproach), and touched the brook which is before Jokneam ('the possession of the people')." Before, in front of, not in the possession of, the people: there is the refreshment God has provided for you; and sadly, you will find, if you are on this track, that most people do not share it with you! It is beyond them, not because God will have it so, but because they will have it so.
Zebulun's border is never traced all the way round. Some treat that as damaged text; the same writer argues the shape of the record is intentional.
Zebulun's border comes in three divisions, and not completely. Why should we assume it ever was complete, or was meant to be? We touch everywhere here upon things that are beyond us... Surely we cannot suppose that every gap in the list of cities here, or in the tracing of the boundary lines, is simply a hole in the manuscripts! On the other hand, there is design in the omissions, and that is clear to anyone who will reverently consider them.
Commentators differ here. Some draw lessons from what the names mean. Others only record the boundary and its towns.
The westward reach of this border points Zebulun toward the sea. Jacob had already spoken of that, and what began as a location became a habit — and the whole nation's habit.
Zebulun, the dweller in relationship, as he should have been, had long since fulfilled Jacob's prophecy. "Dwelling at the haven of the sea" had become the picture of Israel as a whole. The nation gave up its own separate dwelling to mix in unfaithful trade with the nations. Now it was only "the way of the sea," as if swallowed up in its waters. Naphtali sat in darkness that was indeed the "shadow of death." But the Saviour of sinners is not stopped by this, and there in the darkness was the very place for light to spring up. And now there had come to Zebulun a Dweller, in whom God Himself could dwell with man.
Centuries later, this same territory was the despised end of the country — and that is exactly where Jesus settled and worked.
The citation of this in Matthew 4:14-16 gives much insight. There the fulfilment is the presence and ministry of the Lord in that region, which the people so despised... among the darkest and most despised in the land a great light would spring up. It was in Galilee, not Jerusalem, that the grace of Jesus shone.
- Name — Zebulun means dwelling, from what Leah said at his birth; it stands for living in the relationship God has given us to Himself.
- Land — the third lot gave that dwelling real ground: named towns in verses 10-16, one still matched to ruins on the map.
- Line — this verse is the westward run: shaking, the murmuring of reproach, and water lying before the people instead of in their hands.
- Gaps — the border is never traced all the way round, and one writer reads the missing parts as design, not damage.
- Dweller — the sea drew Zebulun into mixing with the nations, yet into that despised corner came One in whom God Himself could dwell with man.
and turned from Sarid eastward, toward the sun-rising, to the border of Chisloth-Tabor, and went out to Dabrath, and went up to Japhia;
This verse traces one stretch of Zebulun's border, east from Sarid through Chisloth-tabor, Daberath and Japhia. Why did God keep a survey report like this, and what does a boundary line say to a reader now?
God fixed where each tribe would live. How much of it each tribe really held was another matter.
These nine and a half tribes had to gain their own foothold in their inheritance. The Lord Himself decided where their possessions lay. "By lot was their inheritance." But the foothold they actually gained depended on themselves — just as spiritual things depend on the Christian. Israel had reached the stage in Canaan where two roads met: laziness and earnestness. At that point, how many would be like Caleb? How many would be true possessors, who would rise up and follow the path of earnestness to victory?
The name of the tribe matters here as much as the map.
Zebulun means "dwelling." In Israel this meant a permanent home in the presence of God. That is a good reminder for us today, for "whoever abides (or dwells) in love abides in God, and God abides in him" (1 John 4:16). The borders of Zebulun are not as clearly marked as we would expect. That itself shows a spiritual lesson we need. Dwelling with God does not need definition. It needs spiritual enjoyment and exercise. God's presence is certainly the place of greatest joy for the believer. It is also a place of serious concern, that He should be honoured in every detail of how we live.
The border leaves Sarid heading east, and the verse names that direction twice.
The border "goes in the other direction eastward toward the sunrise." Here is the double view of the east. Like Judah in the wilderness, it meets the breath of the desert with the song of the dawn. It runs on "to the boundary of Chisloth-tabor" — the "loins," that is, the strength of purpose.
The last two names in the verse carry meanings of their own: food, then light.
Here is a well-supplied road: the border "goes to Daberath," which means "pasture," and then "up to Japhia," which means "shining." The splendor of the dawn already greets you on this higher land.
One of these border towns was never Zebulun's alone.
City of Issachar, given to the Levites. Joshua 19:12; 1 Chr. 6:72. In Joshua 21:28 the older English Bible calls it Dabareh, though the Hebrew is the same in both places.
Zebulun and Issachar, whose lands meet here, are also named together in one promise.
Zebulun is to rejoice in his going out, and Issachar in staying in his tents. It will be joy at home and away from home. There will also be power to affect others — calling the people to the mountain to offer the sacrifices of righteousness. All of this rests on one thing: they themselves will draw from the riches of the seas and from hidden treasures.
This land later became part of Galilee. By the time of Christ, its name told a sad story about God's people.
Galilee was "the land of Zebulun and Naphtali" on the one hand, and now "Galilee of the Gentiles" on the other. The name spoke plainly of the ruin the people of God had sunk into. Zebulun, the dweller in relationship — as he should have been — had long since fulfilled Jacob's prophecy. He was to "dwell at the shore of the sea," at its harbour, and so he became the picture of Israel as a whole, which gave up its "dwelling alone" to mix in unfaithful trade with the nations. Naphtali, the struggler, now sat struggling no more, in darkness that was truly the "shadow of death." But the Saviour of sinners is not stopped by this. There in the darkness was the very place for light to spring up. Now there had come to Zebulun a Dweller, in whom God Himself could dwell with man.
- Given — God set where Zebulun's land lay, by lot. Gaining a real foothold was left to the tribe. Spiritual things work the same way.
- Dwelling — Zebulun means dwelling. His borders are not sharply drawn, and that suits the name. Life in God's presence is not measured by definitions, but by enjoyment and exercise.
- Dawn — The line turns east toward the sunrise. It touches Chisloth-tabor, "strength of purpose," then Daberath, "pasture," then Japhia, "shining." The road is well supplied, and the high ground catches the light first.
- Shared — Daberath belonged to Issachar, and the Levites received it. Zebulun rejoices going out, Issachar rests in his tents, and both call the peoples to the mountain.
- Dweller — Later this region spoke of the ruin of God's people. Into that darkness light sprang up, and Zebulun received a Dweller in whom God Himself could dwell with man.
and from thence it passed eastward toward the sun-rising to Gath-Hepher, to Eth-kazin, and went out to Rimmon which reaches to Neah;
Joshua 19:13 traces one stretch of Zebulun's border through four obscure place names. Yet one of them, Gath-hepher, later turns up as a prophet's home town. This whole district became the country where Jesus grew up.
The land was handed out to the tribes by lot. But being given a boundary and holding the ground were two different things.
These nine and a half tribes had to make their own foothold in their inheritance, even though Jehovah Himself decided where their possessions lay. "By lot was their inheritance," but their foothold in that possession depended on themselves — as it does for the Christian in spiritual things. Israel had reached the point in their history in Canaan where they stood at the meeting of two roads: laziness and earnest effort.
Leah named Zebulun at his birth. Older translations of her words read "dwell," where the ESV has "attached to me."
Now we come to Zebulon. His meaning is plain from his name and from the way Leah uses it. She called him Zebulon ("dwelling"), saying, "This time my husband will dwell with me." The spiritual thought tied to Zebulon is dwelling in the relationship God has given us to Himself. That is the only true thought of consecration.
One writer traces the meaning of each name along the line. He quotes an older translation, where the border "reaches to Neah" instead of bending toward it.
"And from there it passed eastward, toward the rising of the sun, to Gath-hepher ('the winepress-digging'), to Eth-kazin ('the occasion for a captain'); and it went out to Rimmon," the "pomegranate," which we saw a little while ago stands for the precious word of God — "which reaches to Neah" (the "wanderer"). Thank God, it does! All this speaks easily of the activity and energy that mark the Zebulonite who dwells with God. Notice that the word of God in its fullness, which the pomegranate pictures so well, supplies these activities and gives them direction. And "captain" is, literally, "the outermost man," the one who stands out from the rest.
The same writer does not treat the gaps in the record as damage to the text:
Zebulon's border is given in three parts, and not completely. Why assume it ever was complete, or was meant to be? Everywhere here we touch things that are beyond us, and perhaps they cannot always be fully defined — sometimes they need not be.
Several of these sites can no longer be located on a map. Eth-kazin and Neah are each listed simply as a landmark or city on Zebulun's border, "not identified." Gath-hepher fared better:
Town in the border of Zebulun. 2 Kings 14:25: named also GITTAH-HEPHER in Joshua 19:13.
Jonah came from a town on this border. Religious leaders later used Galilee to deny that any prophet came from there.
Jonah is an interesting type of Christ. He belonged to Galilee. Gath-hepher was not far from Nazareth. The Jewish council members were wrong when they said to Nicodemus: "Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee" (John 7:52). They probably ignored Jonah because his mission was to Gentiles — a thought hateful to their pride.
Moses' blessing gives Zebulun a character of its own. One writer starts from Jonah's home town and follows that character to Christ.
The Spirit of God tells us on purpose that Jonah was of Gath-hepher, and we have noted that this was a town of Zebulon. Turn back to Deuteronomy 33:18, to the blessing of "Moses the man of God," and we see that he said, "Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar, in your tents." It seems that Zebulon's special portion from the Lord was to "go out." How truly our own Lord and Master fulfilled this character of Zebulon! He is "The Prophet" whom the Lord raised up, brought up in Nazareth in the country of Zebulon. Out from the palace of His glory, down to this world of woe, His path was always one of "going out."
Centuries later the same two tribal names describe Galilee, and one writer reads in them how far God's people had fallen.
Galilee was on the one hand "the land of Zebulon and Naphtali," and now on the other "Galilee of the Gentiles." It spoke plainly of the ruin the people of God had sunk into... But the Saviour of sinners is not stopped by this. There in the darkness was the very place for light to spring up. And now a Dweller had come to Zebulon, in whom God Himself could dwell with man.
- Dwelling. Zebulun means dwelling — living in the relationship God has given us to Himself.
- Boundary. God fixed where each portion lay, but the tribes had to take the ground. Laziness or earnest effort: the choice was theirs.
- Direction. The names along this eastward line speak of energy and activity, supplied and steered by the word of God, reaching even the wanderer.
- Going out. Gath-hepher on this border gave us Jonah. Zebulun's blessing was to rejoice in going out — the character Christ fulfilled.
- Light. This ruined district was the very place for light to spring up — a Dweller had come to Zebulun, in whom God could dwell with man.
and the border turned round it northwards to Hannathon and ended in the valley of Jiphthah-el; ...
Joshua 19:14 closes the last stretch of Zebulun's boundary. Two obscure place names finish the line. Why does Scripture record them at all, and what can a list of survey markers teach a reader today?
Both names mark points on Zebulun's frontier. One has a known site:
Hannathon. A border city of Zebulun. Joshua 19:14. Identified with Kefr Anan.
The second marks where two tribes meet, and no one today can say where it was:
The Valley of Jiphthah-el. The boundary of Asher and Zebulun. Joshua 19:14, 27. Not identified.
The list of Zebulun's borders is incomplete. One writer refuses to treat the gaps as damaged text:
Scripture gives Zebulun's border in three divisions, and not completely. Why should we assume it ever was complete, or was meant to be? Everywhere here we touch things that are beyond us. Such things cannot always have a complete definition, and sometimes they do not need one. The spiritual sense, the spiritual profit, governs everything here as much as in any other part of the word of God... we must take God's point of view here, not the merely human one. Surely we cannot suppose that all the missing cities here, or the unfinished boundary lines, are simply gaps in the manuscripts! If they were, the manuscripts would be far more faulty than we have ever imagined. There is design in the omissions, and that is evident to anyone who will reverently consider them.
The vagueness of the outline fits the meaning of the tribe's own name:
Zebulun means "dwelling." In Israel this implied a permanent home in the presence of God. That is a good reminder for us today, for "whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him" (1 John 4:16). The boundaries of Zebulun are not as clearly defined as natural thought would expect. This itself points to a spiritual lesson we need. Dwelling with God does not need definition, but spiritual enjoyment and exercise. God's presence is certainly a place of greatest joy for the believer, but also of serious concern that He should be honoured in every detail of our conduct.
The name at the turn speaks of grace:
We have now come to the third and last part of the border, which seems as if it should speak of inward realisation of the Zebulun portion. Hannathon means "obtained by grace," and the border clings to Rimmon in reaching it. For the soul that walks with God, no experience can be deeper than this: that all is of grace. And there is no experience the Word joins itself to more closely. But why does the border turn northward here? Is it because this abundant grace is at the same time a great mystery?
The last name — also spelled Jephtah-el — joins a word for opening to the name of God:
It ends at Jephtah-el, "God opens," the word for God being El, the Mighty. But opens what? Is it the way of access to Himself? Is it the deep things His Spirit searches? Is it the way before us as we travel it? It may well be all these, since nothing here seems to limit it. In the same way, the line ends in a valley. There we come to know our weakness and nothingness — not with dismay or discouragement, but the very opposite. Still we do come to know them. For "the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy" says: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite" (Isaiah 57:15).
Zebulun's later history did not match its name. One writer traces what came of the land in the end:
Galilee — "the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali" on one side, and "Galilee of the Gentiles" on the other — spoke plainly of the ruin into which the people of God had sunk. Zebulun, the dweller in relationship, as he should have been, had long fulfilled Jacob's prophecy. "Dwelling at the haven of the sea," it had become the picture of Israel as a whole, giving up its "dwelling alone" to mingle in unfaithful trade with the nations. Now it was only "the way of the sea," as if swallowed up in its waters, while Naphtali, the struggler, sat struggling no more, in darkness that was indeed the "shadow of death." But the Saviour of sinners is not hindered like this. There in the darkness was the very place for light to spring up. And now there had come to Zebulun a Dweller, in whom God Himself could dwell with man.
- Dwelling. Zebulun's name means dwelling. It speaks of a settled home in God's presence — something to enjoy, not to map.
- Undefined. The unfinished border is deliberate. The gaps show design, not a damaged manuscript.
- Grace. Hannathon means "obtained by grace." The line turns at grace, and no experience runs deeper for the soul that walks with God.
- Opened. Iphtahel, "God opens," leaves the object unstated: access to God, the deep things of His Spirit, or the road ahead. The line ends low, in a valley, where the God of the high and holy place dwells with the lowly.
- Dweller. In the end a Dweller came to this land, and God Himself could dwell with man where darkness had settled.
and Kattath, and Nahalal, and Shimron, and Jidalah, and Beth-lehem twelve cities and their hamlets.
Joshua 19:15 lists five towns in Zebulun, then counts twelve cities. The gap between those two numbers, and the meaning of the five names, are the questions this verse raises.
One commentator begins with the meaning of the tribe's name.
Zebulun means "dwelling." In Israel this implied a permanent home in the presence of God. That is a good reminder for us today, for "whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him" (1 John 4:16). The boundaries of Zebulun are not as clearly marked as we would expect. That itself points to a spiritual lesson we need. Dwelling with God does not need definition. It needs spiritual enjoyment and exercise. God's presence is certainly a place of greatest joy for the believer. It is also a place of serious concern that He should be honoured in every detail of our conduct.
One writer sets out the two ways around the gap between five and twelve.
The cities are said to be twelve in number, while only five are named apart from the boundary towns... There are two alternatives. One is to imagine a gap of that size in the text, which no one can fill. The other is to put five in place of twelve as the number of cities, and that means changing the text by guesswork.
He takes neither way out. Both figures stand as written.
To me the proof is complete. The names of the cities are not a fragment, but a perfect whole. And the number twelve is right as well, in the way others have suggested: by counting in the border cities. So the text of our Bibles is right in both respects.
The same writer sets out what the five names mean, and flags the one that is uncertain.
The fourth word, Idalah, is much more uncertain. The other names are clear, and the list stands like this: Kattath, "little." Nahalal, "pasture." Shimron, "watch," or "watchful care." Idalah, "God exalts," "memorial of God." Bethlehem, "house of bread."
The same writer turns to the first of these names and the test hidden in it.
The first name is Kattath, "little"... It is the little things that test us. "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much" (Luke 16:10). Many motives may combine to make us take great things seriously. Things that are in themselves moral or immoral command any ordinary conscience. But when the only reason for something is that it is the Lord's will, how many excuses we find for disobedience!
The Bethlehem in this verse is not the famous one in the south. One writer separates the two.
This small town in the south of Palestine is of exceptional interest all through Scripture. Its main interest comes from its connection with the life of David — Luke 2:4 calls it "the city of David" — and afterwards with David's Son and Lord. Here and in a few other places Scripture calls it Bethlehem-Judah. That name marks it off from another Bethlehem in the north of Palestine, west of Nazareth, which belonged to another tribe, Zebulun (Joshua 19:15).
The last name on the list points past Zebulun's borders.
The fifth and final name is Bethlehem, the "house of bread." We have already recognised it as the sweet and fitting title of the Father's house. There all testing will be over. Even now God is pleased to have a tent in the wilderness. So for the one who dwells with God here, the longing to dwell with Him in His own house will only be greater.
Centuries later this same land appears in the Gospels. By then its story had turned dark.
Galilee was "the land of Zebulun and Naphtali." It had also become "Galilee of the Gentiles." Both names spoke plainly of the ruin into which the people of God had sunk... But the Saviour of sinners is not stopped by this, and there in the darkness was the very place for light to spring up. And now there had come to Zebulun a Dweller, in whom God Himself could dwell with man.
- Dwelling. Zebulun's name means "dwelling." His borders are left vague, because living in God's presence is not a matter of definition but of enjoyment and exercise.
- Counted. Five names against twelve cities is a real difficulty. One writer keeps both numbers by counting in the towns already named along the border.
- Tested. The names carry the tests of that dwelling. The first is Kattath, "little" — small matters, where the only reason to obey is that the Lord wills it.
- Bread. Bethlehem here is a northern town west of Nazareth, not the famous one in the south. It means "house of bread," and it closes the list by pointing to the Father's house, where testing ends.
- Light. The land of the dweller later sank into darkness as "Galilee of the Gentiles." That was the very place where the light sprang up, in a Dweller in whom God could dwell with man.
This was the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities and their hamlets.
This closing line signs off a list of border points and towns as Zebulun's settled inheritance, shared out family by family. Why does Scripture keep a property record like this — and what would this land later become?
Zebulun did not choose where their land lay. Taking hold of it was their own work.
These nine and a half tribes had to win their own foothold in their inheritance. Jehovah Himself settled where their possessions lay: "By lot was their inheritance." But the foothold they got in that possession depended on them — just as it does for the Christian in spiritual things. Israel had reached the stage in their history in Canaan where they stood at the meeting of two roads: laziness and earnest effort.
Chapters of place names invite skipping. One writer insists the opposite — that the spiritual sense is what makes these pages worth anything at all.
Our main interest in it today is as a shadow of spiritual things. That meaning has shaped these pages and gives the greatest value to what would otherwise seem only a dry list of names and peoples long gone. Read spiritually, they become living and present realities again, and that they do so is the fullest proof that this is the right way to read them.
Everything in these verses is filed under one word: Zebulun. Its sense goes back to the mother who named him.
She called him Zebulun (dwelling), saying, "This time my husband will dwell with me." The spiritual thought tied to Zebulun is dwelling in the relationship God has given us with Himself. That is the only true idea of consecration.
Zebulun's boundary lines are left loose. A reader who wants a surveyor's precision will not find it here — and that, one writer suggests, is the lesson.
The boundaries of Zebulun are not as clearly marked as we would naturally expect, but this itself shows a spiritual lesson we need. Dwelling with God does not need a definition. It needs spiritual enjoyment and spiritual exercise. God's presence is the place of greatest joy for the believer. It is also a place of serious concern, that He should be honored in every detail of how we live.
The number of towns carries its own meaning.
Twelve cities and their villages are listed as belonging to Zebulun. This pictures him representing all 12 tribes in the good character of dwelling with God.
Only five towns are named after the border description, so commentators differ over how the count reaches twelve. Some have suggested a gap in the text or a mistake in the number. One answer keeps the figure as it stands.
To my mind the proof is complete: the names of the cities are not a fragment, but a perfect whole. Yet I also believe the number twelve is right in the way others have suggested — by counting in the border cities. So the text of our Bibles is right in both ways.
Translated, the names of the five towns read like this.
Kattath, "little." Nahalal, "pasture." Shimron, "watch," or "watchful care." Idalah, "God exalts," "memorial of God." Bethlehem, "house of bread."
Later, this same territory spoke of how far God's people had fallen. Light rose there all the same.
Galilee was called "the land of Zebulun and Naphtali" on the one hand, and "Galilee of the Gentiles" on the other. Both names said plainly how far the people of God had sunk into ruin. Zebulun, who should have been the dweller in relationship with God, had long since fulfilled Jacob's prophecy: "dwelling at the haven of the sea," he had become a picture of Israel as a whole... But the Saviour of sinners is not stopped by this. There in the darkness was the very place for light to spring up. And now a Dweller had come to Zebulun, and in Him God Himself could dwell with man.
- Dwelling named. Zebulun means "dwelling." Leah used the word when she hoped her husband would dwell with her. The name pictures our settled nearness to God.
- Dwelling assigned. The lot fixed where the portion lay. Winning a foothold in it was left to the tribe. Israel stood at the fork between laziness and earnest effort.
- Dwelling undefined. The loose border lines are not a flaw. Life with God is not measured by surveyed limits but by spiritual enjoyment and exercise.
- Dwelling complete. Twelve cities with their villages round off the tribe's portion, read as Zebulun representing all twelve tribes in this character.
- Dwelling fulfilled. The towns run from "little" to "house of bread." This same region, sunk in darkness, received a Dweller in whom God could dwell with man.