4. THE OTHER KIDS 13-21 a. Zebulun. Verse 13 starts with Zebulun shall dwell, which is a play on words since Zebulun means a high or lofty dwelling. Jacob says that Zebulun would dwell at the shore and his border shall be at Sidon. If you look at a map of where Zebulun’s borders were you’ll notice that most maps have Zebulun landlocked. Was Jacob’s prophecy wrong? Many explanations make a credible attempt at explaining the seeming discrepancy. The fact is, we don’t know where the borders of Zebulun are because we don’t know for certain where most of the cities of Zebulun were. The maps we have, though most are similar are only a guess. The gospel writer Matthew and Josephus the Jewish historian, who wrote at about the same time, both state that Zebulun had land along the Sea of Galilee. Josephus also says that the territory in his day had extended to the Mediterranean. b. Issachar. His tribe would be a strong people that worked hard and would be keepers of animals. The land that they inhabited would be a good land and a place of resting. But like an idle donkey, he would rather become a servant and bow his shoulder than to lose his place. c. Dan. This prophecy has been interpreted in two main ways. The tribe of Dan, though it descended from a son of a concubine would be equal in status with the other tribes. The serpent in 17 is a poisonous snake that would blend in with its surroundings and strike when unexpected. The second interpretation is that this refers to Samson the Danite. He would judge Israel and like that snake struck the Philistines like the serpent. The last phrase has been viewed either as a separate exclamation of Jacob waiting for the Lord’s salvation or that it shows that the nature of Dan would be good and alluding to the salvation of the Lord. d. Gad. The sentence on Gad is very repetitive in Hebrew with the same root sound repeated over and over which the ESV attempts to capture by using raid. Raiders will attack Gad but Gad would triumph. As it says in 1 Chronicles about Gad, “From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were swift as gazelles upon the mountains.” e. Asher. This is fairly straightforward. The tribe of Asher would be richly blessed and would have rich delicacies. f. Naphtali. Another short message but it also contains the imagery of prosperity and abundance.