Joshua 19:10-16--The Inheritance for Zebulun

Joshua 19:10-16
English Standard Version
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The Inheritance for Zebulun
10 The third lot came up for the people of Zebulun, according to their clans. And the territory of their inheritance reached as far as Sarid. 11 Then their boundary goes up westward and on to Mareal and touches Dabbesheth, then the brook that is east of Jokneam. 12 From Sarid it goes in the other direction eastward toward the sunrise to the boundary of Chisloth-tabor. From there it goes to Daberath, then up to Japhia. 13 From there it passes along on the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and going on to Rimmon it bends toward Neah, 14 then on the north the boundary turns about to Hannathon, and it ends at the Valley of Iphtahel; 15 and Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve cities with their villages. 16 This is the inheritance of the people of Zebulun, according to their clans—these cities with their villages.

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When the text speaks of the "third lot," remember that many had their land given to them without being chosen by lot (Reuben, Gad, Manasseh, Judah, and Ephraim) and of those that were had their portion chosen by lot, the first lot fell to Benjamin, and the second lot to Simeon, now the third lot fell to Zebulun.  The boundaries of this allotment as decided by the survey completed by the 36 men sent out by Joshua is described here.

Zebulun would be the area in which the city of Nazareth would be in the northern part of Israel.  Matthew 4:15-16, quoting Isaiah 9:1-2, says,

Matthew 4:15-16
English Standard Version
​15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
    the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--
16 the people dwelling in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
    on them a light has dawned.”

The land of Zebulun would be part of Jesus' Great Galilean Ministry and he would spend much time there as well as in the territory of Naphtali (their allotment is a couple passages away).  This would be  an area that after the Exile would be a place associated with sin and darkness and would be overrun by the Gentiles as the passage from Matthew makes clear calling it Galilee of the Gentiles.

Of note, the Bethlehem mentioned here is not the Bethlehem where Jesus was born.  This is in the far north, and Jesus was born in the Bethlehem that was "the city of David" in the South in the land that belonged to the tribe of Judah, to which Joseph belonged.  That is why the LORD through the prophet Micah specified exactly which Bethlehem Jesus would be born in,


Micah 5:2
English Standard Version
​2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
    one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
    from ancient days.

The two towns were distinguished because the one in the South had an ancient name of Ephrathah and its citizens were called Ephrathites (you'll see this in the book of Ruth for instance).  So then, God made it clear in the prophecies He gave that Jesus would minister in Zebulun and many would even say He was from there as that's where He would grow up, but He was actually to be born in the land of Judah.