Zebulun, Tribe of

The tribe of Zebulun descended from Zebulun the sixth son of Jacob and Leah, through his three sons Sered, Elon, and Jahleel (Numbers 26:26–27). In the first wilderness census Zebulun numbered 57,400 men of military age (Numbers 1:31); in the second census 60,500 (Numbers 26:27). The tribe settled in lower Galilee, a region of fertile land and significant commercial activity on the trade routes between Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Zebulunites were praised for risking their lives in Deborah's victory over Sisera (Judges 5:18) and responded to David's call in significant numbers (1 Chronicles 12:33). When Hezekiah sent invitations to observe the Passover, some from Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 30:10–11). The tribe's territory, later part of the Assyrian province of Megiddo after the deportations of 733–732 BC, was prophetically described as the land where the Messiah's light would dawn (Isaiah 9:1–2; Matthew 4:15).