Tribe of Zebulun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Tribes of Israel |
|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Tribe of Zebulun (Hebrew זְבוּלֻן / זְבוּלֹן "Dwelling; habitation", Standard Hebrew Zəvulun / Zəvulon, Tiberian Hebrew Zəḇûlun / Zəḇûlōn) was one of the Tribes of Israel. At its height, the territory it occupied was at the southern end of the Galilee, with its eastern border being the sea of Galilee, the western border being the Mediterranean Sea, the south being bordered by the Tribe of Issachar, and the north by Asher on the western side and Naphtali on the eastern.
Contents |
[edit] Origin
According to the Torah, the tribe was founded by an individual, Zebulun a son of Jacob, and of Leah, from whom it took its name; however Biblical scholars view this also as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation[1]. With Leah as a matriarch, Biblical scholars believe the tribe to have been regarded by the text's authors to have been part of the original Israelite confederation. According to the Book of Judges, some Canaanites were not driven out when the tribe settled in their portion of Canaan[2]; according to an increasing majority of archaeologists, the Israelites simply arose as a subculture within Canaanite society, rather than by invading, and so the Canaanites not driven out actually represent those elements which continued in full the traditional religious practices[3].
[edit] Character
In the ancient Song of Deborah, Zebulun are described as sending to the battle those which handle the sopher shebet. Traditionally this has been translated and interpreted as referring to the rod of the scribe, an object which in regard to Assyrian monuments was a stylus of wood or metal used to inscribe clay tablets, or to write on papyrus; as such, the ones who wielded it would have been the associates/assistants of lawgivers[4]. Consequently, in Jewish tradition, the tribe of Zebulun was considered to have a symbiotic relationship with the tribe of Issachar, its neighbour and a tribe which traditionally was seen as being heavily composed of scholars, whereby Zebulun would financially support Issachar's devotion to study and teaching of the Torah, in exchange for a share of the spiritual reward from such learning; the terms Issachar and Zebulun came to be used by Jews for anyone engaged in such a relationship. More recent scholarship, as expressed for example in translations such as the Revised Standard Version, instead render the description in the Song of Deborah of the people sent to battle by Zebulun as those who handle the marshal's staff; in other words, Zebulun had simply sent military officers.
[edit] Fate
As part of the Kingdom of Israel, the territory of Zebulun was conquered by the Assyrians, and the tribe exiled; the manner of their exile lead to their further history being lost. However, some modern day groups claim descent, with varying levels of academic and rabbinical support. The Igbo Jews of Nigeria claim to descend from the tribe, as well as from the tribes of Ephraim, of Manasseh, of Levi, and of Gad.
[edit] References
- ^ Peake's commentary on the Bible
- ^ Judges 1
- ^ Israel Finkelstein, The Bible Unearthed
- ^ Archibald Sayce
- This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.
