Zebulun

Zeb´yuh-luhn; Heb., “exalt”

The sixth son of Jacob (Gen 30:19-20). Jacob’s blessing of Zebulun implies that his descendants would live along or near the Mediterranean coast and would maintain close relations with the Phoenicians (Gen 49:13). The tribe was allotted the territory of south-central Galilee (Josh 19:10-16). Zebulun, while a hinterland, was not isolated; some of Canaan’s most important highways passed along its boundaries, by which the tribe had easy access to the sea (Gen 49:13; Deut 33:19). Jesus’s hometown, Nazareth, was located in the heart of Zebulun (Isa 9:1; Matt 4:15).