Genesis 49:13-15

49:13 Zebulun will live by the haven of the sea

and become a haven for ships;

his border will extend to Sidon.

49:14 Issachar is a strong-boned donkey

lying down between two saddlebags.

49:15 When he sees a good resting place,

and the pleasant land,

he will bend his shoulder to the burden

and become a slave laborer.


tn The verb שָׁכַן (shakhan) means “to settle,” but not necessarily as a permanent dwelling place. The tribal settlements by the sea would have been temporary and not the tribe’s territory.

map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

tn The verb forms in this verse (“sees,” “will bend,” and “[will] become”) are preterite; they is used in a rhetorical manner, describing the future as if it had already transpired.

sn The oracle shows that the tribe of Issachar will be willing to trade liberty for the material things of life. Issachar would work (become a slave laborer) for the Canaanites, a reversal of the oracle on Canaan. See C. M. Carmichael, “Some Sayings in Genesis 49,” JBL 88 (1969): 435-44; and S. Gevirtz, “The Issachar Oracle in the Testament of Jacob,” ErIsr 12 (1975): 104-12.