Simeon and Zebulun

As Joshua continues to cast the lot to distribute the remainder of the land of Canaan to Israel’s seven still-unsettled tribes, the second lot goes to the tribe of Simeon. Interestingly, this tribe is given a tract carved from within the territory previously apportioned to Judah. Apparently the Judahites had occupied their land, making it clear to the surveyors sent out by Joshua that some of its territory could be given to another tribe. Some commentators, including Matthew Henry, see Simeon’s inheritance within Judah as a fulfillment of Jacob’s prophecy in Genesis 49:7. In his “last will and testament,” Jacob declared that because of the cruelty of Simeon and his brother Levi, “‘I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.’ ” This prophecy is fulfilled clearly in the wide distribution of the Levites that we soon will see, but it is more difficult to see how it applies to the Simeonites, who are placed together. In any case, the tribe is given land in what had been southern Judah and is given 17 cities (15 of which previously were allotted to Judah, Josh. 15:20–63). To their credit, the Judahites apparently are completely willing to surrender their unneeded territory. The Simeonites later expand outward from this base (1 Chron. 4:39–43) for the particular purpose of finding pasture for their flocks and herds, which are well suited to the arid conditions of their land.

The third lot falls for the tribe of Zebulun. It is given a landlocked region in the north—the Jezreel Valley and Manasseh lie to its south; the lands to be allotted to Issachar and Naphtali lie to the east and northeast, along with the Sea of Galilee; and the future land of Asher lies to the northwest along the coast of the Mediterranean. Jacob had prophesied that Zebulun would “‘dwell by the haven of the sea’ ” (Gen. 49:13a) and Moses had said that the tribe would “‘partake of the abundance of the seas’ ” (Deut. 33:19b); these verses point not so much to location as to the prosperity the Zebulunites would draw from the nearby waters. The tribe is said to receive 12 cities, but more than that are listed; scholars are unsure which were actually with in the tribe’s borders. But one important city of Zebulun is not listed: Nazareth, the city of Jesus’ upbringing. Later, His ministry in the cities of Zebulun and nearby Naphtali brings a “‘great light’” to the people of those regions (Isa. 9:1–2; Matt. 4:12–16).