ZEBOIIM One of the five Cities of the Plain,
Gn 10i» (DPS) 142- 8, Dt 292S(22) (Kuh. in all c"i!i. If (re o:i3?), Hos 11' (KHh. D-Ni? ; ^eri o'\^'i, the k being regarded as guiescent ; AV and RV here Zeboim). The LXX has uniformly 2c/3w(f)iM [but in Dt 29" P"' AF Sf/Sufio]- According to Bijlime (on Neh 1-6, p. 3) the word is punctuated in MT upon the analogy of cyis ' hyajnas,' and so as to avoid suggesting O'^s, D"3i-, or Q'kjji 'gazelles.' I'he site has not been identified. Upon the
zr-T.oi.M
ZEBU LUX
pns
general question of tlie situation of the five Cities of the Plain see art. ZoAn.
ZEBOIM 1. 'The ravine of Zebo'im ' (OTiV" "I
' ravine of the hy;enas'; BA Tai ttjj' ^aiieli/, Luc. XaSalf) is named in 1 S 13" in ilescribing the route followed by one of the linnds of Philistine mar- auders. It is ])rob. the Wddij el-]^dt or one of its branches (Buhl, GAP 98 ; G. A. Smith, IIGHL 2U1 n. I). The name ICarfy abH dabd' ('Hya>na gor^'e') is still applied to a ravine in this nuij;h- bourhood, though perhaps not to the identical one referred to in 1 Samuel. The same locality appears to be referred to in the ^eboim (BA om., »'■' ■Ze^otln, Luc. Ze^uieh) of Neh 11". 2. Hos IP. See Zeuoii.m.
ZEBUL ("7^1; Zf^oi/'X, = 'hei';ht,"high dwelling' (?), perhaps shortened from '(t'od's) dwelling' or from (Bii.al)-zelml).— ,Jg 9'*- »"■ ^- ^- *', Abimelech's otiicer (piildd) and governor {sar) of Shechem. By his loyalty and resource he dealt successfully witli an insurrection against his master's authority in Sliecheni. It was an insurrection of Shechemites against Abimelech, who was only half a Shechem- ite by birth and had u.surped his position (so Mooie, Judges 255 II'., whose arguments are con- vincing). The interpretation of 9^ is uncertain ; Moore reads 'served for ' serve 3'e' (n?v for 'i3;), and explains, ' Abimelech and Zebul were formei ly the servants of Shechem ; why then should She- chemites serve them now?' Others take the in- surrection to have been one of Israelites against Shechemites (c.rj. Wellliausen, Composition 353 f.; liobertson Smith, ThT xx. 1886, 195-198); but this does not agree well with the rest of the narra- tive. See, further, Abimelech, No. 3.
G. A. Cooke.
ZEBULUN (pS;!, 1^31, p'-iDi ; ZojSot/Xiiy, Zabulon). — The tirst and .second forms of the name in Heb. ate u.sed interchangeably ; the third occurs only in Jg 1**. Two explanations of the name are given in Gn 30'"W. In the Krst (from E) Leah exclaims 3ia ij! '.-N o'n'~ti "jiji ' God has gifted me with a good gift,' n of 121 being made equivalent to "?. In the second (from J) she cries, 'V'if 'jS?i: cysn 'this time my husband will dwell (lie) by me,' Zcbulun receiving a meaning like 'neighbour' or 'borderer' (Dillmann). From an Assyr. root the meanin" 'will exalt (esteem) me' liius been suggested, ana Delitz.sch {Gc.ytcsii, in loc.) points out that this agrees with the LXX rendering atpemi; it seems doubtful, however, whether znb/ilu means more th.in to rarry or bear (not to lift up).
Zelmlun appears in the lists of Jacob's sons, and as the ancestor of the tribe (Gn 10'^, Nu 26-"). An old Jewish tradition says he was tlie lirst of the live brethren presented by Joseph to Pharaoh [Targ. pseudo-Jon. on Gn 47"). So far as our records go, the man and his life are wrapped in oUscurity. The chief tribal families are tiiree, at the head of which stand Zcbulun's three sons : Sered, Elon, and .Jahleel, said to have been born in Canaan before t he settlement in Egj'pt (Gn 46").
In the desert journey Zeb. was placed with Issacliar in the cam]) of .ludah, eastward of the tabernacle. These marched in the van, under the standard of Judah (Nu 2'-'). The tribe then numbered 57,400 men capable of bearing arms, and the headman or 'prince' was Eliab, son of Hclon (Nu l"-*" 2'). Gaddiel, son of So(li, rcpre- eenteil Zeb. among the spies (Nu 13'°). At Shittim, after the camp hud been deva-statcd by the plague, the warriors of Zeb. are given at 60,500 (Nu 26"). Elizaphan, son of Parnacli, acted with the repre- seniatives of the other tribes in the division of the land (Nu 342»). At Shechem, Zeb. the youngest ■on of Leah, and Reuben, who had fallen from
honour, are placed with the sons of the liandm.-iids, over against the other six sons of Uachel and Leah, to make equal division of the tribes (Dt 27"). Zeb. earned no special distinction either under .Moses in the wilderness, or under Joshua during the Con- quest. In the second division of territory the lot of Zeb. came up third (Jos 1!)'"), and there fell to him a stretch of country, richly diven-iilied, with sylvan vale, fruitful plain, and breezy height.
The boundaries of Zeb. cannot now be traced with any certainty. As described in Jos 191"-"^ it marched with Issachar on the S., Nai)htali on the VI. and N.E., and Aslier on the A\ . and N.W. The eastern boundary probably ran from Tabor, along the W. border of Naplitali, as lai nmlli as Ke/r A?ia7i (Hannathon); turning westward, it skirted the district of er-lidmeh, reaching the eastern border of Asher down the vale of 'Abilin, in which lies Ja/at, which some identify with Iphtah-el, or down Wadij cl-Kurn, further to the north (('onder) : thence it p.issed southward to the lip of Kishon, opposite Tell Knimun (Jokneam). We can hardly even guess at the southern bound- ary. Chislotli-tabor, or ChesuUoth (Ilcsul), and Daberath (Debfirieh) seem to be given to Zeb. in V.'- ; but in v." the former, and in 2r-* the latter, are assigned to Issachar. Tabor, possibly the city on the mountain, 1 Ch 6" places in the land of Zebulun. If Deburich belonged to Issachar, this would mean possession of at least part of the mountain, perhaps the western and southern slopes. If the two tribes shared the mountain, this may be alluded to in Dt 33'". It is the most striking feature in the landscape, and round it sacred associations from of old were sure to gather. Other identifications proposed are precarious, and, if established, would produce a very peculiar border- line. Tell Shadiid may be identified with Sarid, by the substitution of il for ;-. In that case Md'ltil caiuiot be Marala, as it lies not westward, but a little east of north from Tell Shadiid ; and not only the change of r to /, but also the intrusion of 'ain before lamed, must be accounted for. Af;ain, it is ditlicult to conceive the line running irom Tell Sliddud past Iksal to Deburich, and then doubling back upon Yafa, as the identiiication of this last with Japhia would require. The authority for locating Gath-hepher at el-Meshcd is very slender, and the name, which is of someanticiuity, is against it. The line indicated for the western border of Nai)htali seems to throw the boundary of Zeb. further to the east; so also the identihcation of Nahalal with 'Ain Mahil.