창세기 49:13의 주석

לחוף ימים TOWARDS THE COASTS OF THE SEAS — (לחוף is the same as על חוף): by the shore of the seas will be his land. הוף means “border” as Onkelos has it; old French marche; English border. [והוא לחוף אניות] means he will constantly be at the haven of ships — the port — whither the ships bring merchandise. For Zebulun was engaged in business and provided food for the tribe of Issachar whilst these engaged in the study of the Torah. It is to this that Moses alludes, (Deuteronomy 33:18) “Rejoice Zebulun in thy going out. and Issachar in thy tents”, — Zebulun goes forth to trade and Issachar studies the Torah in the tents (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayechi 11; cf. Rashi on Genesis ישב אהלים 25:27)

לחוף ימים, the beaches of the sea which was sort of rubbing the shore, חופף. If you were to ask what good this was seeing the shore was so high that one could not descend to the water to buy merchandise from the ships, Yaakov adds

Zevulun will settle. See Rashi. Zevulun’s blessing precedes that of Yissachar both here and Devarim (33:18) because Torah study is impossible unless someone provides the scholars with their basic needs. For the same reason the study is accredited to scholar and supporter alike.

זבלון, up until this point Yaakov listed his sons in the chronological order of their birth, not paying attention to who was their mother. At this juncture he mentions Zevulun before Issachar although the latter had been born earlier by the same mother, Leah. Concerning this anomaly we read in Bereshit Rabbah 99,9 that the fact that Issachar chose the pursuit of Torah as his vocation whereas Zevulun supported him financially with his marine endeavours enabling his brother to concentrate on his Torah studies, he deserves to be mentioned first. The concept underlying this preferential mention of Zevulun here is explained in Proverbs 3,18 as עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה, “the Torah will prove a tree of life to those who support it (financially).” Moses followed Yaakov’s example when blessing Zevulun before Issachar (Deuteronomy 33,18) when he said שמח זבולון בצאתך ויששכר באהליך, “rejoice Zevulun when you set out (on your journeys) and Issachar in your tents.” Everywhere else Issachar is mentioned ahead pf Zevulun.

זבולון, Zevulun is the only one of Yaakov’s sons not mentioned in order of his seniority vis-à-vis his brothers. His name was mentioned ahead of its proper place in order for the name of his brother Yissachar to appear in between his name and that of Dan. The reason is that his ancestral heritage was situated between that of Dan and Yissachar.

His land will be by the חוף ימים. [Re’m explains that חוף ימים does not mean “seashore.” It means “border town.” And] since it is written ישכון, implying his dwelling place, this refers to his land — which will be on the border [between Eretz Yisrael and foreign lands]. But he himself will [not be there; he will] be at “a harbor of ships.” I.e., he will spend time [away from his land,] at the port where the ships bring merchandise. Nachalas Yaakov rejected all this and said that the land of Zevulun was at the edge of the sea, the dividing place between Eretz Yisrael and foreign lands; thus all the ships passed through his land. See there.

Mit Juda hatte Jakob gefunden, was er suchte: Führer und Träger der ganzen Zukunstsbestimmung des jüdischen Volkes bis in die fernste Zukunft. Jetzt geht er die anderen Söhne durch, und zeichnet mit kurzen Worten eines jeden Eigentümlichkeit für den künftigen Volksverein, bis er in Josef wieder zu einem Ruhepunkt kommt. In Juda war der Wehrstand gefunden, ihm schließt sich in Sebulun der Nährstand an. חוף von חפף, (wovon חופה die Umhüllung), die Hafenbucht, wo das Meer von möglichst vielen Seiten schützend vom Lande umschlossen ist, vielleicht auch, weil in einer solchen Bucht die Strömung des Meeres gehemmt ist und daher die Wogen am Gestade sich reiben, von חפף, rabbinisch: reiben. Sebulun wird also an einer Hafenbucht der Meere wohnen, dadurch wird er selbst zu einem Hafen für Schiffe werden, er wird von Handelsschiffen aufgesucht werden, die von dort den Produktenreichtum des Landes aufsuchen werden, aber Welthandel wird er nicht treiben, sein äußerster Rahon wird sich an Sidon, diese bedeutendste Handelsgröße der alten Welt, lehnen. Er wird ein Handelsstamm, allein in dies kommerzielle Streben nicht aufgehen. Er lässt sich aufsuchen von den Schiffen der Handelswelt und lehnt sich, kommerziell sich unterordnend, an Sidon.

והוא לחוף אניות, “and he shall be in ports for ships.” Having used the expression לחוף ימים in the beginning of this verse for Zevulun, Yaakov repeats the simile for the ports in which Zevulun’s ships will anchor. There are towns that are situated right next to the shores of the sea, as opposed to others which are further inland, making it more difficult for ships unloading their cargoes to transport them to their customers. They will therefore prefer to anchor further away from such shores, so that other towns will enjoy the trade generated by ships anchoring there. The shores in the territory of Zevulun will make landing and unloading there easy for these sailors.

זבולון לחוף ימים ישכון, “Zevulun (his territory) will border on the ocean.” The sons of Yaakov are listed here in the order of their births. The only exception is that Zevulun although younger, is mentioned ahead of his brother Yissachar. The reason is that the territory of Yissachar was located between that of Dan and that of Zevulun. An alternate explanation: the reason why Zevulun here appears before his senior brother Yissachar was because Yaakov foresaw that in the future it would be thanks to the financial support of that tribe, that the Tribe of Yissachar could devote themselves to intensive Torah study.

וירכתו על צידן AND HIS BORDER SHALL BE UNTO ZIDON — the end of his territory will extend close up to Zidon. ירכתו means his end, as (Exodus 26:22) ולירכתי המשכן “and for the ends of the Tabernacle”.

לחוף אניות, that he speaks of inlets where there are harbours at which ships can lie at anchor. There are no high cliffs there making making ships and their wares difficult to access. Yaakov’s reference to

והוא לחוף אניות, he will travel beyond the borders of his own land with ships carrying and bringing all kinds of wares. Part of these rare wares are the chalazon, the worm needed to provide the blue colour for the tzitzit, fragrances needed for the daily incense offerings. Many of these, as well as the silicon from which to make glass, were found on his shores and he would export such items. Deuteronomy 33,19 describes the members of the tribe of Zevulun as harvesting the bounty of the sea and the hidden hoards of the sand.”

לחוף ימים ישכון, part of his ancestral heritage will be situated along the shores of the sea as stated in Joshua 19,11 ועלה גבולם לימה, ”their boundary ascended to the sea.” Moses had already hinted at this in Deut. 33,19 when he said כי שפע ימים ינקו, “they will draw from the riches of the sea.” The word חוף describes something covered, or better: “a place where ships can find refuge from the storms.”

והוא לחוף אניות, “and he will border seas.” There are many locations in the sea itself which do not qualify as anyone’s heritage.

על צידון, “as far as the city of Tzidon.” This city was an international trading center, as is known from Isaiah 23,2: דומו יושבי אי, סחר צידון, “moan you dwellers of the coastland, you traders of Tzidon, once thronged by seafarers over many waters.” This is also why some hundreds of years later, Moses blessed that tribe by saying: שמח זבולון בצאתך ויששכר באהלך, “rejoice Zevulun when you set out, and you, Yissachar, in your tents.” Moses referred to Zevulun setting out on ocean voyages for trading purposes.

צידון, a well known harbour, a center of trade and commerce, illustrates the nature of his blessing. In Isaiah 23,2 Tzidon and its traders are mentioned as having been a great trading center in the past that has been ruined by the Assyrians in the prophet’s time. This is also why Moses, when blessing the Jewish people before his death, (Deuteronomy 33,18) describes Tzidon in its heyday as a model for Zevulun, who will enjoy similar prosperity.

והוא לחוף אניות, he, Zevulun, will constantly be as a haven for ships. Most of his mercantile endeavours will be related to wares brought from overseas. Hence, ships will constantly anchor on its coast.

The word: על, before the word: צידון, means “close by.” Another example of that word being used in this sense is in Exodus 40,3: וסכות על הארון, “you will make the Dividing curtain screen it.”

וירכתו על צידון, his borders will extend as far north as the coastal town Tzidon. The meaning of the word על in this phrase is similar to the meaning of the word עד, “as far as.” The word על occurs as meaning “as far as” also in Joshua 2,7 על המעברות, “as far as the fords.”

וירכתו, as if the Torah had written ולירכתו as in Exodus 26,23 ולירכתו המשכן, “at the rear of the Tabernacle.”