TEXT [Commentary]

4.   The final five (19:10-48)

10 The third allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Zebulun.

The boundary of Zebulun’s homeland started at Sarid. 11 From there it went west, going past Maralah, touching Dabbesheth, and proceeding to the brook east of Jokneam. 12 In the other direction, the boundary went east from Sarid to the border of Kisloth-tabor, and from there to Daberath and up to Japhia. 13 Then it continued east to Gath-hepher, Eth-kazin, and Rimmon and turned toward Neah. 14 The northern boundary of Zebulun passed Hannathon and ended at the valley of Iphtah-el. 15 The towns in these areas included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve towns with their surrounding villages.

16 The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Zebulun included these towns and their surrounding villages.

17 The fourth allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Issachar.

18 Its boundaries included the following towns: Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez. 22 The boundary also touched Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, ending at the Jordan River—sixteen towns with their surrounding villages.

23 The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Issachar included these towns and their surrounding villages.

24 The fifth allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Asher.

25 Its boundaries included these towns: Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. The boundary on the west touched Carmel and Shihor-libnath, 27 then it turned east toward Beth-dagon, and ran as far as Zebulun in the valley of Iphtah-el, going north to Beth-emek and Neiel. It then continued north to Cabul, 28 Abdon,[*] Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, and as far as Greater Sidon. 29 Then the boundary turned toward Ramah and the fortress of Tyre, where it turned toward Hosah and came to the Mediterranean Sea.[*] The territory also included Mehebel, Aczib, 30 Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob—twenty-two towns with their surrounding villages.

31 The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Asher included these towns and their surrounding villages.

32 The sixth allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Naphtali.

33 Its boundary ran from Heleph, from the oak at Zaanannim, and extended across to Adami-nekeb, Jabneel, and as far as Lakkum, ending at the Jordan River. 34 The western boundary ran past Aznoth-tabor, then to Hukkok, and touched the border of Zebulun in the south, the border of Asher on the west, and the Jordan River[*] on the east. 35 The fortified towns included in this territory were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, 38 Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh—nineteen towns with their surrounding villages.

39 The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Naphtali included these towns and their surrounding villages.

40 The seventh allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Dan.

41 The land allocated as their homeland included the following towns: Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, 46 Me-jarkon, Rakkon, and the territory across from Joppa.

47 But the tribe of Dan had trouble taking possession of their land,[*] so they attacked the town of Laish.[*] They captured it, slaughtered its people, and settled there. They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor.

48 The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Dan included these towns and their surrounding villages.

NOTES

19:13 Gath-hepher. This was the hometown of the prophet Jonah (2 Kgs 14:25).

19:15 Bethlehem. Not to be confused with the birthplace of David and of Jesus, which was Bethlehem of Judah, five miles south of Jerusalem.

twelve towns. The number of towns named is more than 12; some apparently did not belong to Zebulun, but were on its borders.

19:25 Acshaph. This was at the south edge of the plain of Acco, near the foot of Mount Carmel. Acshaph was one of the leading cities in the northern coalition against Israel (11:1).

19:30 Ummah. This should read “Acco,” reflecting LXX (Vaticanus), and with Judg 1:31. Otherwise, Acco is missing from this list, and it was too important a city to be left out (cf. Boling 1982:453, 455).

twenty-two towns. Not counting Tyre and Sidon, which Israel never controlled. The grammar of this list is not intended to claim Israelite control over them. Boling (1982:455) and others, however, propose different solutions.

19:36 Hazor. This was 10 miles north of the Sea of Galilee at the southwestern edge of the Huleh Valley. King Jabin of Hazor led the northern coalition against Israel (11:1, 10).

19:38 nineteen towns. With present knowledge, there is no sure way of reconciling this total with the 22 names in the text as it stands. As with several other lists, some border towns may not have belonged to the tribe whose borders are here described.

19:46 Me-jarkon. The Hebrew makes little sense as it stands: “and the waters of the Yarkon.” If we restore a missing final Mem, following LXX, it reads, “And on the west (lit., “from the sea”), the Jarkon, as far as the border facing Joppa.” This would designate the Mediterranean shoreline, from the Jarkon in the north, and southward to the northern edge of Joppa’s lands.

19:47-48 The text of these two verses varies greatly between MT and LXX, with each leaving out major elements, and a considerable difference in arrangement.

Dan had trouble taking possession of their land. See NLT mg, which is closer to the idea of the Hebrew: “but the borders of the Danites went out from them”— i.e., escaped their possession, were taken from them.

Laish. The Hebrew spelling Leshem [TH3959, ZH4386] probably includes enclitic Mem, a suffixed feature that must be discounted for purposes of recognition of the proper name of the city. Laish/Dan is at the northern end of the Huleh Valley, near the spring that is the middle one of the three major sources of the Jordan River.

COMMENTARY [Text]

The five final tribes were the descendants of five of the six sons born in the contest between Rachel and Leah for their husband Jacob’s affection (Gen 30:1-24). The sixth, Gad, already had received its inheritance across the Jordan (Num 32). All six of these tribal allotments were on the periphery of the national territory; these were small tribes, with lesser influence in Israel’s affairs.

Zebulun was Leah’s sixth son, Jacob’s tenth. Leah bore first Issachar, then Zebulun, when she “hired” Jacob for the mandrakes her son Reuben had found (Gen 30:14-17). Zebulun’s territory lay partly in the valley of Jezreel, partly in the hills of lower Galilee. Its southern border ran mostly along the Kishon and its tributaries along the foot of Mount Carmel in the southwest. Northward, Zebulun reached to the Beth Netophah Valley; its east-central border reached to Mount Tabor. Zebulun was bordered to the south by Manasseh, to the east by Issachar, to the north and northeast by Naphtali, and to the west and northwest by Asher. Both by the number of towns and by the size of its tribal territory, Zebulun was smallest among the tribes. However, the New Testament village of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up (Matt 2:19-23), was in the former tribal territory of Zebulun. We ought not despise either the day or the place of small things!

Issachar was Leah’s fifth son, and Jacob’s ninth (Gen 30:18). Issachar’s tribal lands bordered Zebulun to the west and northwest, Naphtali to the north, and Manasseh to the south; on the east, Issachar extended to the Jordan River. Issachar’s allotment included the eastern portions of the fertile Jezreel Valley. In antiquity, this valley was ill-drained and swampy; therefore, it was mosquito- and malaria-ridden. Around its perimeter, however, a number of prosperous and important cities flourished. Early on, Issachar’s allotment was a center of Canaanite strength, so this small tribe had trouble gaining a foothold. This is the backdrop to Jacob’s deathbed prophecy that Issachar would be a strong donkey, willing to shoulder the burden of hard labor because he was content in his good land (Gen 49:14-15). Not to sugarcoat Issachar’s situation, Jacob’s last words concerning him were mas ‘obed [TH4522/5647, ZH4989/6268], which we have seen earlier means “corvée laborer” (see note on 16:10). Early on, it would appear, when the Canaanites still overmatched Issachar in their allotted territory, Issachar’s labor profited Canaanite overlords as much as it did Issachar.

Both Zebulun and Issachar were strategically located because branches of the major international highway from Egypt to Mesopotamia ran through their territories. When Israel was strong, this brought prosperity. But whenever Israel was weak, these two tribes found their territory was the battleground for the armies of Egypt and the successive eastern powers Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia as they fought for control of western Asia.

Asher was Jacob’s eighth son and the second son of Zilpah, Leah’s maid (Gen 30:12-13). Asher’s tribal allotment included the plain of Acco on the Mediterranean coast, and the western portions of lower and of upper Galilee. On its southern ­border, Asher “touched Carmel” and shared a short common border with Manasseh. On the southeast, Asher bordered Zebulun; on the west, the Mediterranean Sea. To the north, Asher occupied territory inland from the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon. Most of Asher’s eastern border was shared with Naphtali. Asher’s significance in Israel diminished considerably when Solomon transferred 20 of its cities to pay Hiram, king of Tyre, for his crucial help in building the Temple and Solomon’s palace in Jerusalem (1 Kgs 9:10-11).

Naphtali was Jacob’s sixth son, and the second son of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid (Gen 30:8). The tribe of Naphtali occupied the eastern portions of lower and upper Galilee. Its northern border is not defined here, but certainly Naphtali extended farther north than does the Huleh Valley. Naphtali’s western neighbor was Asher. On the south, Naphtali bordered Zebulun (west) and Issachar (east). Naphtali’s eastern boundary was the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee. Two of the three major alternative routes of the international highway from Egypt to Mesopotamia ran through the territory of Naphtali. Because of this, Naphtali enjoyed periods of prosperity, first under David and Solomon, then at times in the divided monarchy when various Israelite kings were strong.

Dan was Jacob’s fifth son, the first born in the contest between Leah and Rachel (Gen 30:6). The first son of Rachel’s maid Bilhah, Dan was Naphtali’s older brother. Dan’s original tribal allotment lay west of Judah’s, and southwest of Ephraim’s main territory, between Judah and Philistia. Several of the towns listed here also occur in the list of Judah’s towns in chapter 15. The Philistines moved into the southern coastal plain 75 to 100 years after Israel came into Canaan under Joshua. Over the course of several generations, they proved too much for Dan in this originally assigned territory. The Israelite hero and judge, Samson, was a Danite, but his exploits did not relieve Philistine pressure for very long. The move northward to Laish of a group of Danites, only briefly mentioned here, is recorded in greater detail in Judges 18. The remaining Danites seem to have been absorbed into Judah and (perhaps) Ephraim.