Promise of Zebulun
It’s no wonder that the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, the region of Galilee, was considered a place of darkness. Towns had been sold to the Gentile Hiram, and apparently pronounced worthless (1 Kings 9). This region was the first to go into exile (2 Kings 15:29), and the Assyrians resettled Gentiles in the land (2 Kings 17). Galilee was not a thoroughly Gentile region, but it was considered a borderland, not quite fully Gentile but not quite fully Jewish either.
Yet the name “Zebulun” contained a promise of restoration. Like all the names of Jacob’s sons, “Zebulun” is a pun. When Leah bore a sixth son to Jacob, she said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband will dwell ( zabal ) with me, because I have born him six sons.”
Matthew records the fulfillment of this hope, for Jesus withdraws from Judea to Galilee to “dwell” in Capernaum (Matthew 4:13). Zebulun becomes truly Zebulun, the place of dwelling for the divine husband of Israel.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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