ZABULON (Heb. Zêbûlân). — Son of the patriarch Jacob (see), from whom the tribe descended, of which he was the eponymous ancestor. Little is said of Z. as an individual; he was the sixth son of Leah (Gen. 30:20; 35:23) and father of Sered, Elon, and Jahleel (Gen. 46:14).
The tribe of Z. also played a minor role in the history of Israel. At the Exodus, 57,000 and 60,500 (Num. 1:13; 26:27) able-bodied men descended from Z. are recorded, figures to be understood in relation to the other numbers of the two censuses. In Jacob’s blessing (Gen. 49:13), only the region of the tribe north of Palestine along the coast as far as Sidon is mentioned. The same idea, with some additions, is the theme of Moses’ blessing (Deut. 33:18–19). In the division of the Promised Land, with boundaries not always identifiable, Z. was assigned Lower Galilee with the northern part of the Plain of Esdraelon, though the coastal region was left to the tribe of Asher (Josh. 19:10–16, 24–31).
In Judg. 1:30 it is noted that, like other tribes, Z. entered into coexistence with the Canaanites, whom it had not succeeded in driving out of its territory. It took an active part with the tribe of Naphtali in the campaign of Barak against Sisera under the leadership of the prophetess Deborah (Judg. 4:6–10), who extolled its heroism (Judg. 5:18). This explains the praise for its leaders found in Ps. 68:27. The tribe of Z. was also summoned by Gideon for the struggle against the Midianites, but it does not appear to have responded with enthusiasm (Judg. 6:35). The minor judge Ahian, who held office for ten years, belonged to the tribe of Z. (Judg. 12:11).
The tribe of Z. was part of the Kingdom of Israel after the schism, but is mentioned only occasionally. In 1 Chron. 27:19, Ishmaiah, son of Obadiah, is named as tribal leader during the reign of David.
For whose exaltation the descendants of Z. sincerely cooperated (cf. 1 Chron. 12:33). After the fall of the Kingdom of Israel (722 B.C.), the remnants of the tribe of Z., like the others, were invited to the solemn celebration of the Passover, but only a few responded to the call (2 Chron. 30:10–11, 18).
In the prophetic books, Z. is mentioned in Isa. 9:1 as sharing in the peace and prosperity of the messianic age. The text is used by the evangelist Matthew, who relates it to the temporary transfer of Jesus to Capernaum, a locality near the border between the tribes of Naphtali and Z. (Matt. 4:13–14).